Q:We are having a really tough time trying to get the 6mil 3m film to wrap properly. Is there someone out there that might be able to offer any suggestions??

A:What are you installing it on?

Q:Old Paint, 89 Cavalier Z24. Started with Gen purpose Adhesive Cleaner 3m 08984, Then hit it twice with 3m waterbased degreaser 3m 38350 @ 10 to 1. Next we wiped the area down with 70% iso rubbing alchohol (not diluted), then applied the water &johnsons baby shampoo as sugessted by 3m at 2 drops per 8 oz. This was applied to the car, back of film fingers and front of film. Once lined up we used the 70% iso diluted 1 iso to 3 water. This step we have gone as high as 50 50 but it almost seems that the tack is being burned off the back of the film..... One other note, on the last attempt, once the film was dry, we could roll the film down into place with our fingers and it would hold (although not a really strong bond).

I'm really baffed. We have now tried this on 4 different cars with poor results. If you are using a kit which stops short of the front hood edge by 1/8" there is no real problem but try to wrap? Nope!

A: Sounds like it may be too wet, use a heat gun or hair dryer(works great with ppf) to remove excess moisture. From what I understand sometimes to much alcohol will have a bad effect on the adhesive. Back off tha alchohol...Its not good for you or the film when used in Excess.

A: From your description you are trying to wrap around the edges of a panel, Correct? To wrap around the edges with any brand of film (even the ones more pliable than 3M) you need surface area for the film to adhere to. If it is going around a 90 degree corner you need at least 20mm for the film to adhere to, preferably more. If the panel has a curve in it then you will have to "V" the wrapped edge to allow it to sit flat. I have done only one 180 wrap around an edge and required about 40-50mm of film to adhere. It still required a lot of work. Also, if you have been trying to get the film down for a while, try drying the surface you are trying to adhere to with a clean, lint free rag. The tack on the film may work with a dry surface.

A:Preping and solution mixture are some of the biggest problems when it comes to adhesion failure, along with needlessly handling the film. I would use only the Adhesive Cleaner, then hit it with the alcohol/water solution (mixed 65%water and 35%alcohol, using a 70%isopropyl), then use a baby diaper to wipe dry removing any haze or residue that may remain. When you use too much of a concentrated amount of alcohol, the solution becomes 'too hot' for the adhesive and can sometimes break it down from the material. Using too much baby shampoo in your solution will cause the soap to embed itself onto the adhesive and it is hard, if not almost impossible, to wash off. Thirdly, and a lot of people don't realize this when installing, but handling the material needlessly will cause big problems for adhesion. I usually take my alcohol/water solution (using warm water) and spray my fingers vigiorously while rubbing them together really hard. You don't realize the amount of oils your fingers possess and when you grab the material (especially if you have squeegeed an area down and then decide to lift it back up, I see many people grab the material to lift it and they do this with dry fingers and forget that the area they just squeegeed is dry underneath! This needs to be lifted with WET fingers and spray while lifting!) doing this before an install will help to get rid of most of the oils on your fingertips. Remember, the more you touch the adhesive backing, the less it will want to stick. Once you have all of this in place, while you are installing, try to wrap the edges with the alcholol/water, if you are not successful, then let it stand alone until it dries and then wrap it. We do ALL of our door edges dry and never have adhesion problems. If it is cold where you are, using a heat gun to only warm the material slightly would be helpful, but be very careful as this material will melt if you keep too much heat in one spot. Hope this tid bit of info helps, good luck

A: If I wrap anything, I don't worry about the fingers in those areas, I just leave them there to dry and go on with another part of the install. Once they have dried out, they stick much better.