XPEL Jeff

Our adhesive is solvent free.  

Your right about the marketing part. I like them for that b/c I can price a little higher for better profits. After 20 years I don't want to race to zero b/c some fly by nite hack wants a price war. We have all seen it.

As for the glue. I live in Florida where the uv index is always high and it's hot. This progresses the aging process of glue. Even the best brands. All glue has solvent in it, they use it to thin glue out.

In vehicle wraps we use solvent printers and they have to out gas or solvent ruins print. I was just courious about it. It smells like cheap packing tape.

Over all it was good, I was doing a Benz gl350 hood with it. My pattern had a relieve cut on it and my rep said it won't need it b/c it's that good. The glue stressed after trying to get the front corner to tact. He was trying to prove a point and was wrong. No biggie

http://www.tintdude.com/forum/index.php/topic/74993-test-of-chemical-resistance-of-ppf-3m-avery-kpmf-orafol-xpel-and/

http://www.tintdude.com/forum/index.php/topic/74932-test-of-durability-of-ppf-3m-avery-kpmf-orafol-xpel/

We've got b-grade film that we can sell substantially discounted if you need a product to use for patterning.

Shame not to have access to scrap bulk (dumpster destined) PPF for pattern making as it can be applied (which involves a stretch pattern tapes aren't able to do) and traced before the scan or digitizing begins; one would think this captures the essence of how well the pattern could/should fit without guesswork of where to take out access on a tape template.

 

Nice instructions Sav!

New to the forums and working on getting a new PPF instalation company started and was wondering what size plotter you would recommend that would give me the best nestablility and yield of the kits per roll.

I am leaning towards getting a Graphtec FC8000 just not sure if the 100 size or 130 is the better one to pruchase. the 100 will take a 48" wide roll with a cut area of 42" and I believe, the 130 will take up to a 60" wide roll I think with a 54" wide cut area.

or, is it better to get a smaller one?

havent narrowed in on a specific cut program so haven't been able to look at cut program files and try and rearrange and modify the programs for best nesting and yield. I know the DAP program by Xpel is best but don;t think I can afford that right from the start. Leaning towards maybe the Suntek program or the Enpro version. still researching but just wanted to give you an idea of what I was leaning towards.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks,

I would say buy the FC8000-100 if you are looking to keep your costs down and if you are primarily going to be installing basic coverage rather than full hoods. It will be able to cut out just about any of the full fender kits out there. However, if you are going to be doing a lot of full hoods, go for the FC8000-160 like Norm mentioned. The FC8000-130 will be a bad size, being that you won't be able to cut 60" hood kits.

Let us know if you are interested in a Graphtec and we can check if there are any promotions going on this month!

Hmm, thanks for the info guys. Whats your favorite way to remove wax? I want to try the Xpel stuff but wonder if its any better then good ole cheap rubbing alcohol

I would assume you are referring to Surface Prep. Surface Prep is actually not a wax remover, but rather an adhesive promoter. You'll only want to use it on small areas like edges (especially if wrapping) and difficult valleys that might otherwise give you trouble. It is designed to give you varying levels of adhesion. This allows the majority of the kit to continue to be user friendly and easy to lift and reapply if necessary, whereas the edges will stick the first time you squeegee them and not lift.

We use Acry Solvent as a wax remover for our local installs, however just about any wax remover will do. Alcohol alone will not do much to remove a thick coat of wax. In fact, a car that is regularly waxed will likely require quite a bit of hard scrubbing with a true wax remover. If you look closely, you can actually see the remover dissolve the wax as you rub it on. The best way to tell is to check whether water is still beading up or if your hand still glides across the paint smoothly. If the wax is properly removed, the surface of the paint should almost be tacky to the touch and water should sheet on the surface.

The only time we don't remove the wax is if we have anything with a less than OEM quality automotive paint job (think RV or respray) to avoid paint lifting.

With XPEL film, people generally have success using Westley's for removing stains and Meguiar's #9 for scratches and/or etching. For preventative purposes, I would recommend our film sealant on future jobs. It applies like a liquid wax, filling in the pores, and hardens when exposed to UV light, creating an additional stain resistant barrier.