Let’s talk PPF - self-install results, experiences

[TarWHeelinCO]

I just recently took possession of a 2022 JLUR-XR Sting Gray. I’ve had it about 3 weeks now and I’ve put 5 miles on it. The trip from the dealer to my garage. I decided I was going to wrap it in PPF, professionally, until I saw the price.

Xpel installed full body is like 7k. I thought there has to be a market for self install crowd. You know, us guys that tried
to put window tint on our cars in high school and it looked like A$$.

But! I was still willing to give it a shot if I could get the film. I found Xpel to be incredibly over priced. I mean self install 2 door cut is like $900. I found that kind of silly and of course thought about 3M, wondering can I get pre-cut film and install it myself.

the answer is yes, and I’m not a paid spokesperson, but I decided to go with 3M Scitchgard PRO. I got it cut from an online vendor, it showed up on a roll, I bought some squeegees and spray bottles and went to town.

I’m pleasantly surprised by this film and I’ve been able to almost complete my jeep, with some decent ass results. I’ve spent about $1700 bucks all in (film and tools and beer) and I’ve learned quite a few things.

1. Counterfeit stuff exists, and I bought some unknowingly, but you can measure it with a caliper.
2. It’s doable and will look better than your 90s window tint
3. There are tips you need and things to understand, but once you get it, you got it.
4. It’s highly cathartic and very enjoyable at times.
5. You can do it soberish and
6. I hope there are others I can help spread some recommendations to, but otherwise, let’s just talk about film.
7. It’s my first post, hope it doesn’t suck
8. I still have a Bronco Badlands Sas on order, mainly just for curiosity on how long it’ll take.

I have zero real world experience of the 10 year warranty, self-healing, 8mil 3M in the wild, but happy to report back on the usefulness/longevity of it. I got it mainly so I didn’t have to worry about pinstripes or just hard dirt in general. I want to enjoy it without the worry of trashing a 65k vehicle right off the bat.

I’ll attach some pics for giggles. All surfaces shown have PPF on them.

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[dragoneggs]

Well... looks good from here.

I bought a roll of Xpel 6in wide on Amazon and figured I would give it a go on the the front of my hood and my painted fenders to start. Also hoping to protect the door hinges. Need a nice day to get at it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748QPJTP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Any specific install tips?

 

[JABCAT]

I've got Xpel ultimate on both my Z06 & my wife's '20 Grand Cherokee. I did full fronts on both vehicles that included: front fascia, headlights, fog lights, full hood, full fenders, & side mirrors. The GC also has the a-pillars & sunroof area. Cost was $1,995 ea, minus multi-car discount & car club discounts of about 15% for each vehicle.

Full vehicle in my area was ~$5k, so your quote seems a bit high. I'd be cautious of 3M honoring the warranty for self-installed film as their warranty reads "This warranty does not apply to damage caused by misuse, accident, misapplication or ordinary wear". If you're not a qualified, authorized installer they can easily point to "misapplication".

While I agree these products are over-priced, part of what you're paying for is the professional install that maintains the warranty. The film on the entire front bumper & side mirrors on my wife's GC just developed hundreds of tiny blisters out of nowhere last week. Sent pics in to Xpel & they said it would be warrantied. I'd hate to have that denied if I had installed it myself (which I am fully capable of doing).

 

[ErAcEr]

Props to the OP for the DIY and completion, this should be more widely known about to be put on vehicles.

Others may call it a ClearBra.

I just had some Xpel put on my bike last weekend to protect the painted frame, thinking about going back and having the tank covered as well. While I was at the shop having it done there was also a Porsche, Ferrari and an Acura NSX in the garage bays being worked on

 

[aldo98229]

What exactly are we supposed to be looking at...?

 

[Gladius Nova]

What exactly are we supposed to be looking at...?

His "Clear Bra" Paint Protection Film (PPF).

 

[aldo98229]

His "Clear Bra" Paint Protection Film (PPF).

Ah. So we are looking at the fact that it is invisible. Got it.

 

[sherpaJL]

What exactly are we supposed to be looking at...?

c'mon man, put your glasses on. It's clear PPF film!
or maybe it's not

 

[Jim1964]

I did the door sills and the rocker panels on mine. That’s about all I have the patience for, but also where it’s most needed in my experience, with wear from boots and gravel spray from tires.

I hate fidgety work and would happily pay a professional to do it, IF they did good work. Unfortunately the shop I used on a previous vehicle did not impress me with their workmanship.

There’s plenty of YouTube vids on installation.

 

[TarWHeelinCO]

Well... looks good from here.

I bought a roll of Xpel 6in wide on Amazon and figured I would give it a go on the the front of my hood and my painted fenders to start. Also hoping to protect the door hinges. Need a nice day to get at it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748QPJTP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Any specific install tips?

i used 2 bottles but you can probably get away with this all in one solution.

The 2 most important factors I’ve found are the solution mix and the squeegees.
The mix I used is:

- 3 parts distilled water (24oz)
- 1 part 70% isopropyl alcohol (8oz)
- Johnson’s baby shampoo (2ml/cc), but I tried just regular dishwashing soap and it seemed to work just as well, but the baby shampoo is recommended by 3M on the product sheet.

If you’re doing large areas or places where you need the edges to stick quickly, I used a separate bottle of the same strength as above just no shampoo. The alcohol and water mix rinses away the shampoo solution and it sticks in 1 or 2 passes.

Start in the middle of a piece and always swipe towards an edge. The great thing about the 3M is that you can pull it up and RE-spray and the try again without it stretching out or losing tackiness. Wet your fingers before you peel it from the backing otherwise it’s easier to leave finger prints. I’ve found with wet hands it doesn’t leave prints more stick to you.

you can never have too much water so keep it wet. I’ll post a link to the 2 squeegees I used and they are fantastic.

here to answer any questions you might have. I’ll be back at my computer later this afternoon and I’ll send some links.

 

[dragoneggs]

i used 2 bottles but you can probably get away with this all in


The 2 most important factors I’ve found are the solution mix and the squeegees.
The mix I used is 3 parts distilled water + 1 part 70% iso alcohol + Johnson’s baby shampoo, but I tried just regular dishwashing soap and it seemed to work just as well. For 24oz water and 8oz alcohol I added about 2ml of shampoo. That’s about a 1/2 teaspoon.

If you’re doing large areas or places where you need the edges to stick,I used a separate bottle of the same strength as above just no shampoo. The alcohol abd water mix rinses away the shampoo solution and it sticks in 1 or 2 passes.

start in the middle of a piece and always swipe towards an edge. The great thing about the 3M is that you can pull it up and RE-spray and the try again without it stretching out or losing tackiness. Wet your fingers before you peel it from the backing otherwise it’s easier to leave finger prints. I’ve found with wet hands it doesn’t leave prints more stick to you.

you can never have too much water so keep it wet. I’ll post a link to the 2 squeegees I used and they are fantastic.

here to answer any questions you might have. I’ll be back at my computer later this afternoon and I’ll send some links.

Please do tell more... I have been staring at my roll of PPF and am hesitating. I am not usually so but I suppose it's only money and time and I can't do damage. Knowing me, it will take a chip in the paint to motivate me.

 

[JEEPmole]

I just installed xpel on my door sills (which were only body paint from the factory). I predicted that over time they'd start looking horrible and be scraped up from getting in and out of the Jeep. I didn't want to add the thick black rubber protectors, as I thought they might compromise the door seal at the bottom edges.

The install went fine, but I was surprised at how thick and non-conforming the xpel was. I'm sure it will provide great protection though. I had hoped to wrap it all the way around the edge of the door sill to the outside rocker panel, but it just wasn't sticking well for me. It could easily be my lack of experience installing that's the real issue though.

In the future I'll try 3m protection instead. My experience with the 3m wraps is that it's a more "plasticy" feeling material that conforms, stretches, and tucks better. The xpel is more rubbery and difficult to work with, but as a result might add better protection. I'm not sure if the 3m protection film is similar to their wrap material as I haven't used their protection film.

 

[TarWHeelinCO]

What exactly are we supposed to be looking at...?

exactly...

 

[TarWHeelinCO]

Please do tell more... I have been staring at my roll of PPF and am hesitating. I am not usually so but I suppose it's only money and time and I can't do damage. Knowing me, it will take a chip in the paint to motivate me.

Yeah I probably wouldn't have done it if it wasn't brand new and I had 90 days sitting there waiting for it to show up, so I went ahead and bought the pre-cut film. DM for the vendor, not sure if I should post links to the website, but one site sent me 3M just not the pro they charged me a 10% upcharge for, so I had to re-order pieces from my first guy (that didn't have all of the pieces on his website which is why I had to look somewhere else for some of it), turns out he did have the patterns for the rest of the jeep.

These are the squeegees I used:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0716ZGWGM?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
-These are the main ones I use and they're great. Use a dragging motion not a pushing motion unless you're trying to seal around badges, key holes, door handles, etc.

Then I used this one because it's firmer and was great to really lean on it and put bubbles out when the softer rubber ones would grab too much. The felt part is key to allowing it to slide on the film without grabbing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DY6SUYO?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Here are the sprayers I used:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QSCTT31?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

the larger one for the soap solution and the smaller for the water and alcohol only.

 

[TarWHeelinCO]

I just installed xpel on my door sills (which were only body paint from the factory). I predicted that over time they'd start looking horrible and be scraped up from getting in and out of the Jeep. I didn't want to add the thick black rubber protectors, as I thought they might compromise the door seal at the bottom edges.

The install went fine, but I was surprised at how thick and non-conforming the xpel was. I'm sure it will provide great protection though. I had hoped to wrap it all the way around the edge of the door sill to the outside rocker panel, but it just wasn't sticking well for me. It could easily be my lack of experience installing that's the real issue though.

In the future I'll try 3m protection instead. My experience with the 3m wraps is that it's a more "plasticy" feeling material that conforms, stretches, and tucks better. The xpel is more rubbery and difficult to work with, but as a result might add better protection. I'm not sure if the 3m protection film is similar to their wrap material as I haven't used their protection film.

yeah the 3M scotchgard Pro is supposedly the tackiest. That's how I knew I was sold lesser 3M film because it wouldn't stick worth a damn and that was making it really hard to install. Plus it looked like crap. The 3M Pro will stick usually after a couple of passes on the edges even without using the water + alcohol only solution. The Pro is 8mil thick (6mil plastic + 2mil of adhesive). I know some of the truck bed xpel is like 13 mil thick. It's stretchy and on the fenders I had to tack down the middle and stretch it down to reach the bottom of the fender but that also helped it conform around the fender without the edges bunching up.

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