Bubbles due to 'divots'?

doc81 · June 25, 2017

Last question related to this: is this 'glue' that will disappear (which I was told) or stretch marks? Looks like stretching (which won't get fixed over time).

BTW, all the which specs/crap you see is just pollen; extremely spring-like here right now, stuff dumping pollen all over.

minty · June 25, 2017

Gotta say, the more I see the less I like it. That will not go, looks like it was caused by forcing a bubble out from the film after it had started to cure, you can see where it has distorted the back edge of the film. The panel will need replacing. The third pic you posted was above the license plate mount wasn't it? Did they remove the mount (not always possible, but I have never worked on this model of car) Also it looked like the back edge of the film was quite short of the grill, I would usually aim to get the film as close to an edge as possible. Did it have a join in the middle?

I usually charge a little less than twice that amount including taxes for the same coverage but that is my business model and everyone has different expenses.

Steve

Tinteks · June 25, 2017

wow.. yeah I think you got a botched install.

minty · June 25, 2017

Just now, Tinteks said:

wow.. yeah I think you got a botched install.

LOL, I was trying to be diplomatic...

doc81 · June 25, 2017

6 minutes ago, minty said:

Gotta say, the more I see the less I like it. That will not go, looks like it was caused by forcing a bubble out from the film after it had started to cure, you can see where it has distorted the back edge of the film. The panel will need replacing. The third pic you posted was above the license plate mount wasn't it? Did they remove the mount (not always possible, but I have never worked on this model of car) Also it looked like the back edge of the film was quite short of the grill, I would usually aim to get the film as close to an edge as possible. Did it have a join in the middle?

I usually charge a little less than twice that amount including taxes for the same coverage but that is my business model and everyone has different expenses.

Steve

Re: your question about the license plate, no, it could not be removed (it's hard bolted on). However, the installer lined up the other side (the left side) just fine. He made a hash of the right clearly.

Thought that was a stretch mark too; thank you for confirming.

I do realize the caveat of 'one gets what one pays for', but I paid a fairly average rate for this area for these jobs at what is a recommended shop. I expected better than this, even on an older (but still great condition) car.

minty · June 25, 2017

I am not for one minute knocking the condition of the car but ppf can be very unforgiving and although it will mask swirl marks and holograms, any damage that causes the paint to lift at all will be enhanced. If you had given the car a claybar and single stage machine polish you would most probably have done away with a lot of the issues and seen exactly what kind of condition the paint was in before going to have it ppf'd.

I recently had a Ferrari 458 in with similar paint issues and in the end I said to the customer I wouldn't do it because it would look terrible, I wouldn't be happy taking his money and he wouldn't be happy with the final finish. So he collected it and it's now in having a repaint.

Steve

doc81 · June 25, 2017

Thanks Steve, I appreciate all your advice.

The car had been polished (I'd say more likely waxed/paint sealant) before I bought it a couple weeks ago. The PPF installer said he clay-barred it... not sure if I should believe him at this point.

I intend to tell the guy tomorrow that I've spoken to a few other installers (I showed the photos to some other shops in town) and that I've been given the opinion that the install was poor. I'm going to ask for a re-do or a refund.

minty · June 25, 2017

33 minutes ago, doc81 said:

Thanks Steve, I appreciate all your advice.

The car had been polished (I'd say more likely waxed/paint sealant) before I bought it a couple weeks ago. The PPF installer said he clay-barred it... not sure if I should believe him at this point.

I intend to tell the guy tomorrow that I've spoken to a few other installers (I showed the photos to some other shops in town) and that I've been given the opinion that the install was poor. I'm going to ask for a re-do or a refund.

No problem, good luck.

Steve

DynamicATL · June 26, 2017

The car is clean and is great condition as far as the appearance. Just any vehicle that has been on the road for a few plus years will have small imperfections that are not normally noticed when looking at the vehicle. However when it comes to adding PPF, those imperfections can be magnified after installation. Which is why ideally we all want to install on brand new cars straight from the dealership to minimize any imperfections.

doc81 · June 26, 2017

29 minutes ago, DynamicAppearance said:

The car is clean and is great condition as far as the appearance. Just any vehicle that has been on the road for a few plus years will have small imperfections that are not normally noticed when looking at the vehicle. However when it comes to adding PPF, those imperfections can be magnified after installation. Which is why ideally we all want to install on brand new cars straight from the dealership to minimize any imperfections.

I fully allow that the magnifying of problems that might occur with PPF, and while the car is very clean, it's not perfect. However, some of these issues in these photos really seem to be install-related; there's no reason for the stretch mark photo on this page, the lip-overhang on the previous page, nor some of the bubbling in areas around the bumper that seem to have occurred because the car wasn't prepped properly. I had my '06 BMW done in 2015 by a different company (also an older vehicle), and it didn't come back looking like this red car.