Can you identify which film is fake?

[lanzer]

Hello all PPF experts:

 

I'm a newbie at all of this.  Last month I got my new Tesla Model 3 and I decided to wrap its hood and fenders myself.  I purchased 2 pieces of 3M Scotchguard Pro from 2 different Ebay vendors (many of you probably cringe this point), and long and behold, the two films that I received are different. 

 

The two sheets feel very similar, but the backing sheets are clearly different in opacity.  Upon closer inspection, the sheet with the more opaque backing is more rough, as seen by the reflection of the light bulb in the second photo.

 

So my question for all esteemed experts on this forum.  Do anyone know how I can tell which one is a genuine 3M Scotchguard Pro film?  Or could both of them be fake?

 

Hopefully I'll only have to return one of them.  Any input is much appreciated.

 

 

[highplains]

It's nearly impossible to say. 3M has released several updates/versions of the Pro Series film since it's introduction. Some of those updates addressed the backing among other things. They could both be Pro Series from a different point of manufacturing V1-V4, or neither of them could be, which is why it's so important to purchase from a reputable distributor. 

[lanzer]

I see.  I thought version 4 is the pro version and version 3 is regular Scotchguard, then Ventureshield, etc.  That's confusing indeed.

 

Would there be any documentation or info on how these versions differ?  I assume if someone is installing PPF on their car they would want to know if the latest version of film is being installed, but how to even check for that?

[highplains]

 

Nope regular Scotchgard is just Scotchgard, there have probably been updates to it over the years but I'm not familiar with there being any V1, V2, etc tacked on. It's backing is more paper like and is printed with the red 3M all over it and the film itself has a more noticeable orange peel texture. Ventureshield is similar in terms of the backing, 3M logos used to be printed in black although if I remember correctly they stopped doing that and the backer is just plain now. As far as the different versions of Pro Series there's not any real documentation as to what's been changed that I'm aware of, and isn't anything that should be of concern to the customer. An example would be from V1 to V2 they changed the backing in order to make the backing easier to separate from the film. V2 to V3 I don't remember off hand what the change was for sure, I believe it saw the aggessiveness of the adheasive bumped up a bit. V3 to V4 saw a stiffening of the top coat to help reduce overstretching. All things that make a difference to the installer but not the end customer. The only way to tell would be from the roll number.

[lanzer]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, much appreciated.

[Guest Pixo]

Hi lanzer

 

Did you find out at last about the authentication of the film. I just had similar situation as yours. Bought new roll from eBay vendor. But look so different than my left over genuine 3m pro film. Thank you .

[3M Tech Guy]

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine the actual identity of most PPF's. One very reliable method is to analyze the film via Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy. Each PPF has a unique chemical fingerprint which can be analyzed via IR. While that is a standard piece of equipment in most analytical labs, it isn't so much in the real world. We use this equipment to verify warranty claims because 10-15% of the claims we process are not 3M film.