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My car came with paint protection film on the entire front. Worried polish and wax will get stuck on the edges and be hard to remove. Are you supposed to polish and wax the clear bra? Will it damage it?
Of course polish or wax will be on the edges already most likely, or if you wax it it will get in there.
Just take a mf towel with a spray wax, spray your finger in the towel and then work the edge of the PPF. Really if the work was done right, there should be no edges to worry about. When applying any type of sealants, you want to run the application from on top of the PPF to then off it. Thus not pushing product into the edge. Still wipe off and remove from the edge with the towel and spray wax. Fingernail and spray wax works on dried old product.
Yes you should protect the PPF with a coating or sealant. I prefer coatings due to its PPF. But sealants work just fine. I use AMMO SKIN and the carnauba Creme on mine. But my RR has 22ple ceramic Mistico Elemento on it. Some say not to protect it due to the new PPF's all have their own protectants and hydrophobic properties built into their top layer. My train of thought is that applying a coating or sealant is only giving a ton more protection to the PPF, which in the end is very expensive. Why not protect the investment to make sure the PPF lasts longer.
Polish it? You have a film on top of the paint that is about 6mils thick. Taking a machine polisher to it with an abrasive pad and polish is like taking sandpaper to plastic. Not good in general and unless you are very very skilled you will damage it absolutely. I can last resort lightly polish PPF to remove embedded marring and scratches that didn't heal itself. But I coat the PPF afterwards due to removing a bit of the film and removing whatever protectants it had on it.
Last edited by SheriffDep; 12-02-2018 at 07:34 PM.
Do the clay bar or Nano mitt over the film and either a sealant, wax or nothing. Depends how much energy I have. You can also mask around the edge of the film and not worry about products getting onto the edge.
@SheriffDep I like the spray wax idea to get the residue off and will try that the next time.
Was planning on replacing the few pieces of film that came pre-installed on the Rapide at some point as well.
Do the clay bar or Nano mitt over the film and either a sealant, wax or nothing. Depends how much energy I have. You can also mask around the edge of the film and not worry about products getting onto the edge.
@SheriffDep I like the spray wax idea to get the residue off and will try that the next time.
Was planning on replacing the few pieces of film that came pre-installed on the Rapide at some point as well.
I would NOT clay bar or nano mitt type clay over any film or Vinyl. These are abrasives also and there is no need to do it anyway. They will most likely mar the surface!!!!!
Vinyl wraps are a totally different material and thickness than PPF. Also the way you treat Vinyl is different.
PPF can have carnauba waxes, synthetic waxes, coatings etc..... put on top of them for an additional layer.
I do not work with Vinyl so cannot advise what to use or do to them.
I would NOT clay bar or nano mitt type clay over any film or Vinyl. These are abrasives also and there is no need to do it anyway. They will most likely mar the surface!!!!!
How would you remove all the stuff that is on the film then? I can feel a difference on the film before and after the clay.
How would you remove all the stuff that is on the film then? I can feel a difference on the film before and after the clay.
I've used P21/3M polish on a rotary pad, or by hand, that worked well to remove the oxidation on the Xpel film. Afterward, I used P21 wax. or any quality wax. Include the one Xpel sells in the above thread. Works great on headlight film too.
That said, sometimes the discoloration is the glue under the film. Especially older films yellowed more. Lastly, years ago, people used Plexus, which made the film turn yellow too.
I decided to give Griot’s Garage a try after hearing so many positive reviews about it. I need some help with understanding their polishers to be used on paint, not ppf. They have so many different polishing products it’s confusing. I bought this Correcting Creme but then the representative told me this is actually the wrong product because It only works if I apply it with an orbital machine. I prefer to apply by hand.
Why do they sell certain polishers that work with machine and certain polishers that work with hand?
If I use this Correct Creme and apply by hand, will it not do it’s job?
How would you remove all the stuff that is on the film then? I can feel a difference on the film before and after the clay.
PPF --- sure you can polish it with a dual action buffer and a polish. Sure you can use a clay bar or nano skin on the surface. However the film is NOT supposed to be touched in those manners. The film gets the same embedded contaminants that your clear coat layer gets. That is why the films are not permanent and are supposed to be changed out every 5 -7 or so years. The more they are on a daily driver the more they will get embedded contaminants and road grime dulling the finish.
PPF is polyurethane and is typically 6 mils thick. Unless you are very skilled and have attempted to polish the surface layer of PPF before it is highly recommended to NOT touch it. You are basically removing the layer of hydrophobic properties the manufacturer built into it, the uv protection layer, and taking minute layers of polyurethane. Kinds like shaving layers of plastic off. Unless this is absolutely necessary to be done it shouldn't. You also have a very very good chance of damaging the film. So again, unless you are experienced and have done this many times dont do it.
All the above is the reason why I suggest putting a layer of protection on top of the PPF. IT will help to keep the surface cleaner over time. But nothing will prevent it from getting road grime on it over time. Even clear coats get a road grime on it that have been coated by ceramic coatings.
ANY synthetic sealant (PS I wouldn't touch the XPEL sealant and would throw it away and never look at it) will work well, and last 4-6 months depending on driving conditions. Carnauba wax will last 4 or so weeks and protect well. Coatings will protect the best and will last several years. Ceramic, glass, quartz coatings are all silica dioxide so therefore all similarly the same. Names are marketing strategies.
12-02-2018, 07:00 PM
