DAP in the uk

minty · January 14, 2016

I have just started using the Xpel UKs DAP demo, as I have had some good reports from fellow UK installers, and found the few kits that I have used to be really very good and was about ready to sign up when I had I had an Audi RS3 in for a full ppf wrap and another to do in the new year. The customer was good enough to let me have the car for quite an extended period if needed as I had expected I would have to design the kit for the car but I checked the DAP and saw that although the full kit was available for the S3 Sedan only the front clip and sills (rocker covers...) were available for the RS3 hatch back. I called Xpel UK and offered them the chance to come and template the rest of the vehicle pretty much at their leisure and was told that they weren't interested as it wasn't high up on their list of kits to do and they won't see many of them (bear in mind the Aston Martin GT12 is fully templated and there will only be a total of 100 of them world wide). Fair enough I thought, then I was told that in the new year I will have to buy Xpel film as well as paying a monthly subscription if I wanted to use their patterns. Now I have been designing ppf templates for nearly as long as I have been installing the film so I am well aware of the costs both in time and film involved as well as the difficulty in accessing some cars and consequently have no problem paying a monthly subscription / cutting fee as I believe you do in the USA, so why is it that in the UK we are forced you into buying their film if we want their patterns? And I am not the only UK installer who is not happy about it. It reminds me of the old Ventureshield days.

As an installer the way I see it is there are two different commodities here, film and patterns, and they should be marketed separately as I feel it is good for the industry to have different pattern houses competing for business just as it is for film companies to do the same, pushing each other to make a better product. Otherwise the market stagnates when companies start to rest on their laurels and get complacent as happened with Ventureshield in the UK.

Let me be crystal clear here, I am in no way bashing or rubbishing Xpel film but MY personal preference at the moment is Suntek for road and Premium Shield for track but as always I am open to new developments and if Xpel come out with a film that better suits me and my customers I will have no hesitation in buying it.

Make me want to buy your products, don't force me.

Rant over...for now anyway

atb

Steve

silverbullet · January 15, 2016

Very well said and your spot on...find an independent design house such as, paintshield.com or fitsall and as colleague's to many, pick the film that you like or if your customer likes a certain brand...let them choose.