Headlight PPF pattern for BMW E71 2008?

conandrum · July 25, 2023

4 hours ago, PRatx said:

the marks are on outside of the film , the clear top layer , from rubbing ( in the box , or where was stored)

Then it could be from transport or when they were cutting it, cause I never took it out.

In that situation, can you polish then with a polishing pad & 3D One maybe?

Dano · July 25, 2023

I would try pouring near boiling water on it. Or use a clothes steamer to heat it up. Dry heat probably won't help. If it's an impression from a piece of tape holding a roll closed then it's likely permanent.

mobiledynamics · July 26, 2023

Are we discussing Post #2. I just presume it was air/liquid bubbles in addition to some -defects- in the lense itself. I still see -marring- directly to the right of the sample square

conandrum · July 27, 2023

Yesterday I tried a piece of film to see how it behaves on the headlight and to prepare for the first application.

Tonight around 22:00 the temperature dropped below 32 degrees Celsius so I tried to apply the film.
I quickly realized that this will be as hard as I wished it wouldn't be!

PPF size was good. Soapy solution was good. Film was moving fine. IPA solution was good and gave a bit of a bite when needed.

The PPF film though is quite hard and difficult to iron out its fingers. Even though I was doing this carefully and taking it easy, pushing down a finger would create a permanent fold down the middle of it! This happened 3 times and I decided to minimize the fingers by pulling the film horizontally along the top of the headlight and then along the bottom of it. This stretched the film a bit along those areas and reduced those fingers somewhat, but still it needed leveling the fingers remaining.

I even used the blade to cut the film successfully along the top edge for testing and found it quite easy with a new blade. I thought this would be difficult.

So basically what I thought would not be a problem, ended up being the worst issue for me.

Now I am seriously thinking of my contingencies as @mobiledynamics already said.

Any advice before jacking up the car, removing the wheels and fender lining, removing the headlights and then visiting a paint shop for a clear-coat? 🙂

mobiledynamics · July 27, 2023

Don't have the answer for you in any way but why are you tacking to the hood.

You got some plastic ontop of the headlight ....before you reach the assembly where you can tuck it.

I dunno how much you paid but PPF retail ain't cheap in my neck of the woods ( LOL, I bought some material to do my snowblower).......

So you don't need to drop the front bumper . Just the liner ?

I would have had it out for either 2K or just have it out on table for wrapping if it just needed to open it up from the well to get access...

Are there are PPF/ Vinyl Wrap shops in your vicinity....Should be a fairly reasonable fee just to get the headlights wrapped.

conandrum · July 27, 2023

15 minutes ago, mobiledynamics said:

Don't have the answer for you in any way but why are you tacking to the hood.

You got some plastic ontop of the headlight ....before you reach the assembly where you can tuck it.

I saw the hood obstructing, so I cut it. And then I pulled it to reduce the fingers and i moved it to do this. As soon as I saw those folds happening I knew this was a failed attempt.

Price was about 60$ with shipping for 60"x24". I have another 3 or 4 such pieces left.

Yes.. only the liner and it comes inwards through the engine compartment. I had the car up and the right liner out about 4 weeks ago when I replaced the windshield sprayer pump and the headlight sprayers. Maybe this is why I want to avoid doing it again on both sides LOL.

Going for the least effort if it will provide results is logical. However, no results for me in this case because I have zero experience plus limited ppf plus no readily available wrap shops.

I tried finding someone to do this back in May but they did not make a professional impression - more like a cowboy.
I may need to check in another city and send the headlights there. IDK.

mobiledynamics · July 27, 2023

$60 with shipping is actually a decent price.....I can't think of any of the handful of PPF installers I would use that is still using 3M PPF thou. Maybe 2 decades ago...

Top tier film would run like 2X that (non dealer cost) at straight retail MAP pricing....

Consider it a learning lesson.....

I mentioned liner , cause that is still alot less work than having to pull the front bumper and not break a clip or a wire harness......so removing it to spray or wrap if you have the means is going to net the best results regardless.

conandrum · July 27, 2023

27 minutes ago, mobiledynamics said:

......so removing it to spray or wrap if you have the means is going to net the best results regardless.

Can you help me pinpoint the problem?
In my opinion, the scotchguard film is too thick for my extremely curved headlights? Would that be accurate?

This guy on the same headlights used 3M’s VViViD PPF and it looks soooooo soft! If I had seen this video back in March I would have ordered this one instead.

but as you already know I was influenced back then by the vid in a previous post, where the headlight is less curvy, a heatgun is used and a bit of pulling/stretching:

Maybe there is still hope with a heatgun?

conandrum · July 31, 2023

On friday, 3 days ago, I found a PPF installer in a nearby city, Nicosia and I went to visit.
He told me that the 3M film I showed him was a tough film with little stretch and it is not recommended, at least for my own headlights. I arranged an appointment for the 8th of August when they will be installing their own ppf on my headlights after doing some final polishing.

According to them, my headlight still has clear-coat on it. When the guy said this I was shocked and said that I sanded every shiny bit off the headlight until it was all hazy. To this he replied that if there was no clear-coat, polishing would not bring back such a shine.
I am not entirely sure this is correct; what do you guys think.

Anyway I will update when it is done.

Chilled · August 1, 2023

I want to preface this response with, I am not a professional, I am not event an enthused/ amatuer that knows anything. I am just someone who watches a bunch of youtube, and thinks that its a cool skill to DIY/learn.

On 7/27/2023 at 12:03 PM, conandrum said:

Can you help me pinpoint the problem?
In my opinion, the scotchguard film is too thick for my extremely curved headlights? Would that be accurate?

This guy on the same headlights used 3M’s VViViD PPF and it looks soooooo soft! If I had seen this video back in March I would have ordered this one instead.

To my knowledge there is no such thing as 3M VViViD, those are two separate companies. It maybe/has been made in the same factory, but the specs are completely different. The only place you see this label is in knock off ebay/amazon. So if the kit you bought off ebay is 3M VViViD, its fake.

On 7/27/2023 at 10:13 AM, conandrum said:

Yesterday I tried a piece of film to see how it behaves on the headlight and to prepare for the first application.

Tonight around 22:00 the temperature dropped below 32 degrees Celsius so I tried to apply the film.
I quickly realized that this will be as hard as I wished it wouldn't be!

PPF size was good. Soapy solution was good. Film was moving fine. IPA solution was good and gave a bit of a bite when needed.

The PPF film though is quite hard and difficult to iron out its fingers. Even though I was doing this carefully and taking it easy, pushing down a finger would create a permanent fold down the middle of it! This happened 3 times and I decided to minimize the fingers by pulling the film horizontally along the top of the headlight and then along the bottom of it. This stretched the film a bit along those areas and reduced those fingers somewhat, but still it needed leveling the fingers remaining.

I even used the blade to cut the film successfully along the top edge for testing and found it quite easy with a new blade. I thought this would be difficult.

So basically what I thought would not be a problem, ended up being the worst issue for me.

Now I am seriously thinking of my contingencies as @mobiledynamics already said.

Any advice before jacking up the car, removing the wheels and fender lining, removing the headlights and then visiting a paint shop for a clear-coat? 🙂

Have you tried to put in some relief cuts? I would say that if this is your first attempt, you goal should be just to get it on. Even if you have to use relief cuts, that's ok.

The reason why you are getting the creases is because you are:

Not using enough slip on both under the film, and on top whilst squeegeeing. ( the entire surface layer looks dry.)
You squeegee way to fast.
There maybe too much film to press down.( in your case it does not look like the case, just bad install technique)

So try:

use ALLOT, more slip for both underneath and ontop.
Get a proper squeegee and loose the felt edge. (The felt stuff is for vinyl wrap, not wet ppf I would not use that hard card to do the install as it would scratch the ppf. Get one of those soft rubber squeegees.)
Put in some relief cuts. ( Looking at some of pre-cut packs from like xpel, the headlights all have a relief cut in them.

For the relief cuts i would say you have 2 options, either do a single horizontally on the edge to remove the excess material and flatten the top and bottom sections. Or option two, flatten out the bottom and side of the headlight and but a vertical cut a bit of the way in.

And prob watch some PPF install vids.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Chilled