Stretch marks, orang peel, lift lines.....

[Guest Michelle]

Hello, came across this forum while searching for solutions to some issues I encounter installing with Expel 9300. Almost all of these go away or occur less working with Ultimate but the default product at the company I'm with is 9300 therefore I'm wondering if anyone has any advice or tricks to working with this particular film. The environment I'm installing in isn't ideal either, I'm in a body shop where the guys are sanding and polishing all day so there is so much dust in the air making it hard to lay it without any dirt underneath, it's also very cold which makes the film harder to work with. My biggest problem is I'm getting a lot of stretch marks and when I lift the film to massage them out the lift line doesn't go away. This happens even when I haven't used any alcohol, just soap and water. With ultimate the lift lines disappear as it heals. I've been doing this less than a year so I'm not very experienced and I have a lot to learn but want to do the best job I possibly can. Any advice would be helpful and very much appreciated! Thank you!!

 

~ Michelle

[JoshVette]

Are you using mainly pre cut kits or doing it with bulk sheets?  

 

It's ideal to stretch and tack all your corners before you start to squeegee out the water.  If you can cut several inches more then you need on each panel you should be able to tack to the next panel for panels that need more stretch.  Once it's in place and squeegee out don't lift it again.  If you find you're getting excessive dirt and dust under the film then you need to re evaluate your prep process and try flushing out trim better.  Getting a clean install is usually all about prep work.  If stretch marks are your problem then it's more about the techniques you're using while installing the film.  

 

Josh

[XPEL Jeff]

Hi Michelle, the things that you are speaking of usually are related to install solution mixtures and timing.  
 

what are you using for your install mixtures?