Water bubble under Stek PPF, will it go away or should I take it back?

Hi guys,

Recently had Stek PPF installed on my new Forester, did the whole front of the car (full hood, fenders, bumper, lights, fog lights, mirrors, a-pillars, and top edge of the roof. Most of the install I am happy with, however, there is a bubble in a visible spot and it's driving me mad, and I am not sure if it will go away by itself over time, or if this needs to be looked at. The guy mentioned something about bubbles when I was picking up the car, but I had to rush home to a meeting and didn't clue in, as at initial inspection I didn't see any bubbles.

Anyways, just want to get people's opinion on the matter before I reach out to the installer. Saw some info online on a youtube video where it was mentioned they would evaporate....not sure how since the film is not breathable as I understand it.

You can see it in the middle with soapy bubbles underneath, about the side of a finger tip. There is another area that's less visible that has a similar problem.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...mLjthbF-X3.jpg

Don’t know if installers still do this, but I remember if a bubble didn’t go away, they have small syringes to pop and suck out the water. It barely leaves a mark.

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Originally Posted by realazy

Don’t know if installers still do this, but I remember if a bubble didn’t go away, they have small syringes to pop and suck out the water. It barely leaves a mark.

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Good to know. I will leave it for a bit and see. I actually have a tiny needled syringe at home myself, I am sure I could do it just as quick at home, hopefully the film lays flat after that. Going to give it a few weeks and see if anything changes. I was initially thinking of maybe just a needle to make a small hole and push the water out, but syringe seems like a better idea. Think the film is pretty thick, so might still take it over there to address if it doesn't go away. Worried that if it remains trapped in there and it gets cold out that it would freeze and damage the film.

I remember reading that it will heal if you pour warm/hot water over it, after you pop it out.

Check with the installer first. Or don't because life's too short for a phone call.

Park it in the sun for a day.

It's also worth getting your car doors wrapped if you haven't done that.

Will save some of the inevitable scratches when you park next to someone else.

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Originally Posted by Twin_Cam_Turbo

Park it in the sun for a day.

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Yah tried that yesterday, but the smoke blocked most of it. I sent a txt and a picture to the installer and he said it should go away in a week or two, or to bring it in to the shop and he can fix it right away. Didn't want to originally bug him (feels like I am questioning his skills as an installer) but sounds like it can be fixed on it's own or with his intervention, so happy with that.

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Originally Posted by rx7boi

It's also worth getting your car doors wrapped if you haven't done that.

Will save some of the inevitable scratches when you park next to someone else.

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I thought about it, but they said they have to remove the door handles to do a proper job, which would require tearing out all of the interior door panels, which is something I don't want to do, and one of the reasons I got rid of the Crosstrek. Don't want to tear apart a brand new car.

Park in sun for a day, the heat should make it disappear but if not, as others have mentioned, installers will use a syringe to suck out.

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Originally Posted by eblend

I thought about it, but they said they have to remove the door handles to do a proper job, which would require tearing out all of the interior door panels, which is something I don't want to do, and one of the reasons I got rid of the Crosstrek. Don't want to tear apart a brand new car.

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That's interesting. Get a second opinion if you can. I'd rather at least have some door protection if it meant not having film underneath the handle. I'm not sure what they mean by a proper job.

I went back to Rainer (Nano Defense) last week for my doors. It was such an obvious thing to do but it slipped my mind last year.

And yeah, let the pros handle the syringe instead of mucking with it yourself haha.

Or heat gun.

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Originally Posted by rx7boi

That's interesting. Get a second opinion if you can. I'd rather at least have some door protection if it meant not having film underneath the handle. I'm not sure what they mean by a proper job.

I went back to Rainer (Nano Defense) last week for my doors. It was such an obvious thing to do but it slipped my mind last year.

And yeah, let the pros handle the syringe instead of mucking with it yourself haha.

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Yah, I think I might drop by and double check. The place I went to and the place that did the work were two different companies, it was a referal from a different shop. I don't mind if it's cut around the handle but would be nice to get doors done, because that was a problem with my old Crosstrek as well, though the Forester does have some additional plastic on the bottom of doors to keep those areas mostly protected from factory.

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Originally Posted by The_Rural_Juror

Or heat gun.

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Crossed my mind, but didn't want to mess anything up. Never had film before so don't know how it reacts.

After all the advice, you are not going to wing it? Disappointing thread.

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Originally Posted by The_Rural_Juror

After all the advice, you are not going to wing it? Disappointing thread.

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LoL.

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Originally Posted by The_Rural_Juror

After all the advice, you are not going to wing it? Disappointing thread.

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Most expensive protection I have ever put on any vehicle I ever owned haha, so don't want to wing it and have to repay to redo it :D

First time with film, won't be my last, but I need to not fuck it up a few days after getting it :D

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Originally Posted by eblend

Most expensive protection I have ever put on any vehicle I ever owned haha, so don't want to wing it and have to repay to redo it :D

First time with film, won't be my last, but I need to not fuck it up a few days after getting it :D

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I had some small bubbles that went away after about a week. Put some of that Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic wax spray on it today to see if that helps keep it cleaner.

I have a syringe that I got from Shadow. Be happy to help if you are in the NW.

Bubble is still there but getting small, but I am going back on Tuesday to do the doors. Spoke with the installer and he said he can do the doors without taking them apart, with a few seams, which is fine. He totally understood why I wouldn't want to take my car apart, finished the sentence when I said I didn't want rattles. Said if the bubble is still around when I go there next week, he will fix it.

If the bubbles don't go away after a while and after you've parked it in the sun, I'd take it back and get them to fix it. Sounds like they are taking care of you.

Rule of thumb is unless it is a tiny bubble, otherwise once water evaporates it will become an air bubble.

It's extremely hard for ppf installers to track down all bubbles unless we have the luxury of keeping vehicles overnight AFTER all film has been installed.

If you see bubbles, always call your installer or take a pic and send it to them. They will know if it will go away "nicely" or if they should "poke" it for you. It is literally a 5 mins fix.


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Cheers