Aden

3m matte film is a little less sticky than stealth, both are fairly easy to install since you really don't get any silvering with matte films. I've put about 14 inch stretch on a 72 inch rocker piece without any stretch mark. If you are gonna use xpel for plotting I would free hand the doors, trunk, hood and rear bumper just because they have some quality of life seams and relief cuts that you don't want with matte wraps. For the front bumper make sure the butt joints are super tight you might even want to overlap the joint and hand cut it this will avoid the need to one piece that front bumper which is probably the only hard thing on the Tesla's. Good luck

Update: tried the orange crush beveled 5 inch and it seems to have the flex and power I'm looking for, cheers guys.

I'm using xpel film with super tacky adhesive, which I have grown to love as I've had zero problems with warranties and lifting, but I'm looking for a squeegee that can really drive out moisture. The only squegees that have been working well for me is the red baron and blue max without a handle. Only problem I'm having is that the red baron has almost no flex and the blue max hurts my wrist and is somewhat directional. Do you guys know of any squeegees with the power of the red baron but the flexibility of the thinner blue max, or a way to "break in" the red baron?

I definitely agree its about technique, but without cheap and effective learning resources in the ppf world (To my knowledge there is no Justin Pate for ppf and guys like Bemaro don't make how to videos) I feel that I need to abuse the positive characteristics of different films while I learn to be a better installer, cheers. 

Has anyone had any experience either of these films in regards to adhesive strength (needs to resist pull back, needs to have supreme edge sealing) and stretchibility? Are these infused top coats like the old avery ppf or is this a top coated film like llumar and xpel? Would be looking to keep one roll of highly stretchable film just for ultra deep recesses (stamps on f350 hoods) and one piece mirrors, tailgates etc. If not these films which film would be most suitable for "things you probably shouldn't one piece but will try anyways" cheers! 

roughly 95 width 80 long, most have stripes down the middle which means you can still complete a full hood and hide the seems along the vinyl, my point was just that some bonnets are just so ludicrously large you'd need a 84 inch roll to complete them. 

12 inches bigger than the previous largest roll yet 8 inches too short for a viper hood, riperino 

Thanks for all the tips, if I get another one of these I'm gonna work out the solution from the middle out rather than outside in cause that should ensure there are no dryspots, definitely makes it harder to keep the valley from popping up when you're not 6 foot 11 and trying to do a f350 hood haha. Cheers 

Just bought some J and J this morning,  I remember needing to use it to install xpel 6200 without stretch marks back in the day 

I recently made the switch from suntek to xpel and need some help avoiding chicken skin looking stretch marks. When I'm installing full hoods and there is a deep recess (ie f150 s and f350s) I try to get rid of all the air before squeegeeing the recess but what I find is that I also get rid of too much slip solution and then I end up getting dry spots and chicken skin like stretch marks, do you guys have a particular squeegee and slip combo to tackle these valleys without having them pop up or become dry? I usually use the black smoothie with dawn and a small bit of alcohol mix because it really gets into the valley but it doesn't seem to have the stiffness to get rid of the moisture and keep the valley from popping up. I also notice that in order to get rid of all the moisture from the film I need to use a red baron or wait overnight for the bubbles to dissipate. Never got any bubbles or dry spots with suntek but I understand the adhesive is much much more forgiving. 

I can't imagine the phone ever rings (for things being wrong) at xpel, xpel kits are unbelievably accurate. Installing them is easy mode (not faster though; more coverage = more time) because they are just that accurate. 

Just out of curiosity, how long did your car stay inside after being wrapped? I've had film pull back from going from 22 C to 10C within 30 minutes. Its also possible that he just forgot to heat that edge I don't know. Suntek is practically held on by static which is a double edged sword;

The good: you can pull that back and get a faint or even non existent lift line (silvering line). Do this by spraying the area with hot soapy water (1litre and a couple drops of dawn) I would gently lift the film only about a half inch while spraying your fingers with the slip solution making sure not to scrape the glue while you pick up the film. After picking up the film clean the adhesive side by spraying the solution and gently rubbing any dirt specs off the film. Then spray more solution under the film and massage the soap into and along the lift line if you do it right you shouldn't get much silvering. Then you should be able to tack the film back down with a heat gun and pressure from your fingers, a lint free cloth or a squeegee. Heat it until you don't see that half mm of white along the edge, in the picture you can see that film wants to pull back or at the very least the edge isn't sealed. 

The bad: suntek really doesn't like hyper stretch so you may in the future need to 2piece, relief cut and or adhesive promote that mirror to avoid pull back.

Alternatively if your guy sells xpel ultimate plus you could try to wrap the mirror in that. I've tested hyper stretching xpel and I did not observe any pull back or fingering (I don't use xpel and have no reason to prop it up this is just my observation). The easiest fix that I will get absolutely toasted for suggesting is having a guy who knows how to cut film just cut that ugliness off lol, just keep in mind that film that is stretched is much easier to cut so ease up on the pressure. Hope that helps! Good luck! 

FYI I apologize for the accidental double post, if someone knows how to delete one let me know thanks! 

I'm used to using straight water with suntek and can apply door handles like vinyl wrap and get instantaneous tack. However, when I tried to apply xpel ultimate plus with straight water, I had to wait and use a heat gun to apply the door handle, what solution do you guys use on slower setting adhesive films? Thanks  

I'm used to using straight water with suntek and can apply door handles like vinyl wrap and get instantaneous tack. However, when I tried to apply xpel ultimate plus with straight water, I had to wait and use a heat gun to apply the door handle, what solution do you guys use on slower setting adhesive films? Thanks  

Some of these kits may have since been fixed but the fenders 15-present gmc yukons, fenders and upper bumper on 2017 challenger srt, 2019 ford explorer bumper and 2019 jeep wrangler fenders and hood (the newest one I think its JL?) 2016-present silverado roof kit and 2019 honda oddysey bumper. Such an odd assortment of cars and some of them are so flat and easy it doesn't really make sense why the kit is off. I should note on the 2018 f150s one of the software's kit is absolutely perfect and the other needs to have 3 seems cut in the middle of the bumpers (1 on the upper and 2 on the lower) otherwise the film is just waaaaaay to far from the foglight cutouts. Additionally on 2013 qx60s one software's kit is super nice and tight to all the edges of the bumper and the other is like 1 quarter inch away on all sides but that's an older car so i'll cut them some slack

Oh wow that makes a lot of sense,  thanks for the insight. I guess I have to consider that kits do save time and material even if they aren't always perfect. 

Thanks for the insight! I'm at the point now where I don't plot any fog lights, tow hooks or sensors because, without those features I can sometimes save kits that would be otherwise thrown out. If, however, I know from previous installs that the kit is perfect I will definitely plot the sensors and tow hooks simply to save time. 

Every once in a while I use a kit that feels like the general right shape but is off by a half inch (obviously way more than acceptable) when you let the film relax and read the fingers. When the kit is bad, it is immediately obvious: It either needs an excessive amount of stretch (enough stretch that you will see fingering and pull back like a failing vinyl wrap if you let it sit after tacking) or is so loose that you can't get the fingers down without totally misaligning the kit. What's weird is the inconsistency of some program's kits. 70 to 80 percent of the kits will snap together so nicely but then the others are just completely off.  The other weird thing is that the kit will be off on really easy pieces that need next to no stretch. Basically my question is why is it that some kits were never actually tested by the kit maker (at least that's what I'm assuming)  and others are flipping perfect from the same software company. Thanks so much cheers! 

I actually only have extensive experience with a couple different films and software programs. A high end shop in my town now offers premium shield elite, so maybe I'll have to give the film a try. Thanks for the reply Brett

F&V authors k001 and p001 are indeed awesome! Thanks drtint!

Thanks Jeff! DAP is definitely the most reliable and accurate program I've used.

Hey guys! I'm looking to figure out which film and software combos are going to work best in my world.I'm hoping you guys can fill me in on how you would rank the various films based on:

Adhesion (Do you have to fight it to stick in deep recesses?, does dripping water/moisture cause the film to lift when you don't want it to? (perfect example is around fog lights on truck bumpers), does it wrap around edges easily?, is it tacky enough to be pressure washed?, will an overstretched area (which I admit is a installer error) peel back or finger over time?, Do you need to apply adhesion promoters to wrap edges?)

Forgiveness(Can you fish out a nib/fibre/hair during install, what about a few minutes/days/weeks after? What kind of stretchmarks does it leave behind?, Does it get "permanent stretchmarks" ie: stretchmarks you cant just get out by re lifting and re wetting the film?

Performance(Does it actually prevent rocks from leaving any impression in the paint or does it just keep the paint from chipping?, can the top coat heal out gritty coin wash brush scratches?, can the top coat resist chemical etching?)

Aesthetics(How glossy and clear does the film look minutes/weeks/years after installation?, Does the film have low orange peel?, Is the film hydrophobic?(I don't know how much that matters but customers like it lol))

Cost(This is a pretty objective category)

I'd also like to know what your favorite software is, based on:

Accuracy (Are the kits reasonably accurate?(I understand that squeegee stroke and "installer style" makes a difference in perceived accuracy), do you often need to make a seam/relief cut/overstretch to make the kit work?)

Reliability (How consistently good (or bad) are the patterns?, does it depend on the author of the pattern?, does it depend on the year/make/popularity of the vehicle? Are vehicle sub model kits and/or unpopular models available and properly labeled (ie focus rs, focus se, focus base etc)

Features/Ease of Use (are patterns easily edited? can you cut down or extend patterns easily? are there options for seemed/unseemed or bikini/straight or wrapped/unwrapped or easy/hard kits?)

Cost(Up front costs?, ongoing costs?, do they offer small/large kits (ie 24inch bumper vs 30 inch bumper)?, proprietary/obligatory film requirements?, any additional per usage/cut costs?)

I understand that there is going to be no perfect film or perfect software, but ill share what I'm looking for in film:

Adhesion - Very strong edge lock/seal and stretch and hold (no stretch and shift back, that's just annoying), but not so tacky that you cant re lift the film during install. I'm not really concerned with lifting the film post install and am totally willing to make that sacrifice if the film's edges hold up to customer abuse.

Forgiveness -  A film that is reasonably forgiving at least during install. I don't expect the film to not leave a stretch mark if I lift it a month/year after install lol, but if you literally cant install a mirror without getting a stretch mark then maybe its not forgiving enough (or i'm just really bad hahaha) Does the film rip easily (I know this is a hundred percent my fault but it feels bad when your top coated bumper kit is scrap because you didn't see a relief cut lol)

Aesthetics - A film that looks good on application ***and a few years down the road*** I think they all look good on application so this might be the least important category in my world.

Cost - Most films are pretty well the same cost except for a few outliers that are about 30-50% more expensive, I don't know how much of the additional film expense customers want to embrace and competition is really crazy around here, so a film that is closer to the average is going to be a lot better in my world. Additionally, if I did a bad install (hey man ill admit I'm not perfect) and want to make it right for the customer, a film kit that costs more than I make off the job just wont work for me.

What I'm looking for in software is:

Accuracy - Reasonably accurate, I would prefer if the author leaves a small gap on either edge (or wraps the edge) and doesn't make the kit ride on the edge because this requires me to do one of two things: trim one edge or the other so there is a small but proper gap between the edge and the film edge (more cutting, more time, more wavy hand cuts), heat the living snot out of both edges (and pray the customer doesn't pressure wash that spot). Although it should be noted that maybe that kit author is using a film with far better edge sealing than my current film.

Reliability - I would like very good kit accuracy reliability on all cars after 2009. It would be nice to have kits for all the sub models, new models, and unpopular models but i'm more concerned with proper labeling/matching of kits to model. (Ie: ford f150 w/fender flare kit wouldn't show up with f150 base model w/no fender flare selected). In my opinion there is one software program that obviously stands out with regards to reliability

Features/Ease of Use - Not overly concerned with this aspect of the software as most are just fine with a little tutorial and practice

Cost - Obviously prefer lower ongoing, and usage costs, but if the software is exceptionally accurate, reliable and has options for easy/hard, small/big kits than I think the software can provide enough value to pay for itself. (If you guy's have ever had to fight with a bad kit or throw out a bumper because it wasn't properly labeled then you know what i'm talking about) The proprietary film usage thing is kind of annoying, but if the film is also exceptional then it really doesn't matter.

I didn't want to mention any specific films or software programs here because I'm not posting this to "expose" the shortcomings of certain products (You can draw your own conclusions). I'm simply looking to know what you guys are using and why. 

As always, thanks so much for your time.

Thanks so much for your help guys, I'm also thinking it's some kind of sealant or coating I'll try using surface prep on all the edges and maybe try out dawn slip solution. Cheers

Hey folks, I'm a ppf installer that mostly installs on repainted panels. Therefore I am used to a great deal of tackiness when applying film (which I like). Recently I've installed on a couple of brand new cars for a local detail shop and I noticed a massive reduction in the films ability to wrap and stick properly. I don't notice any issue's regarding tackiness with headlights and pre owned cars with a few thousand miles on them. I am using next to no baby soap when installing on new cars (approximately half a drop, the solution has almost no lubricity what so ever) and yet when it comes to heating and wrapping my edges I am finding that it takes me at least 3 times longer to properly heat and tuck than it would if I were installing on a repainted panel. Even when I get everything fully tacked I am not confident enough to use a 2000 psi pressure washer on the film (even though I know my customer will). Please point out any variables I can change to make these jobs wrap easily and give me more confidence in the long term durability of the install. Right now I am...

- Using johnson and johnson baby soap (not dawn, but maybe dawn would work better?)

- Using llumars 5 year film (maybe llumar platinum 10yr would work better?)

- Clay barring and IPA wiping panels prior to install

- Using next to no soap in soap solution

- Using 200ml 99% IPA to 900ml water tack solution

- Heat gun set at 950 degrees Fahrenheit

- I am currently not compounding or polishing the cars prior to installation but I could if it would increase tack

- Waiting about 30 minutes for areas to dry prior to wrapping or heating edges

Thanks so much for your input guys, I really appreciate it!