Paint Protection Film Questions

[dosun]

Just upgraded my vehicle to a BMW with a matte finish and looking to get some paint protection film on it.
Been a while since I've had to delve into this, so I thought I'd get some advice from the experts!

What's your recommendation on..
1. PPF brand and model? I hear 3M Scotchguard is the best, but it's the premium. So is it worth it or would other suffice?

2. Shops (or person) in Calgary who will do a quality job and not charge and arm+leg for it

3. Front vs. Complete wrap? Is it overkill to do the entire car? Is doing just the front going to show the lines where it ends?

4. Special film for matte finish? I'm being told that I need to get PPF that will match the matte finish otherwise it will look funny with gloss on matte. Is that true? Has anyone done it either way and can comment?

Thanks in advance!

[Mitsu3000gt]

1) SunTek or Xpel seem to be the best

2) Rainer @ SR International is your guy

3) Just doing the front will eventually show if the film discolors over time and the edges get slightly dirty. Depends on the color of the car too though, it's way easier to see on white, for example. It will be completely invisible at first - I got one of my prevous cars detailed with 3M on the hood and the detailer wrecked my PPF with polishing compound because they couldn't see it. Full wrap is unnecessary IMHO unless this is your baby or an extremely expensive vehicle. If it's a lease, do absolutely nothing other than maybe a ceramic coating so that washes are easier.

4) SunTek has specific film for matte paint, I am not sure about others. I don't know how necessary it is though.

[dosun]

Awesome, thanks for the detailed reply!

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1) SunTek or Xpel seem to be the best

2) Rainer @ SR International is your guy

3) Just doing the front will eventually show if the film discolors over time and the edges get slightly dirty. Depends on the color of the car too though, it's way easier to see on white, for example. It will be completely invisible at first - I got one of my prevous cars detailed with 3M on the hood and the detailer wrecked my PPF with polishing compound because they couldn't see it. Full wrap is unnecessary IMHO unless this is your baby or an extremely expensive vehicle. If it's a lease, do absolutely nothing other than maybe a ceramic coating so that washes are easier.

4) SunTek has specific film for matte paint, I am not sure about others. I don't know how necessary it is though.

[Heru-Farukon]

1) Xpel has a matte finish PPF. Imo I never liked sunteks film from an installs POV

2) contact rene @ the auto protectors.

3) I would do whole car as it just helps resale value in the end. But if whole car is not within your budget, I would do full front end (full hood fenders etc)

[Misterman]

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1) Xpel has a matte finish PPF. Imo I never liked sunteks film from an installs POV

What did you dislike from install perspective? It's thinner, my guess would've been it is easier to work with. From a consumer perspective I've personally found Suntek to be best thus far. I was pretty unimpressed with Xpel, especially when word on the street is how good they are.

[Heru-Farukon]

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What did you dislike from install perspective? It's thinner, my guess would've been it is easier to work with. From a consumer perspective I've personally found Suntek to be best thus far. I was pretty unimpressed with Xpel, especially when word on the street is how good they are.

From the time I had to install customer supplied suntek, the adhesive on the film started to come apart from the film after 6monthw down the road.

If you were unimpressed with xpel, you possibly may have experienced the basic non top coated level film.

[Misterman]

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From the time I had to install customer supplied suntek, the adhesive on the film started to come apart from the film after 6monthw down the road.

If you were unimpressed with xpel, you possibly may have experienced the basic non top coated level film.

Both my vehicles with Suntek were great for years. And no yellowing, nice and shiny and clear.

It's possible I got some shit level Xpel. I made the mistake of allowing the dealer to send it to whatever shop they use, instead of going with my regular shop. The Xpel yellowed on my white car, and it always looked dull.

[Heru-Farukon]

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Both my vehicles with Suntek were great for years. And no yellowing, nice and shiny and clear.

It's possible I got some shit level Xpel. I made the mistake of allowing the dealer to send it to whatever shop they use, instead of going with my regular shop. The Xpel yellowed on my white car, and it always looked dull.

Ohh they possibly have revamped the quality of their films. As my experience was years and years ago.

And dealers will always use the cheaper quality film and charge an arm n leg for a 24inch kit(hood fenders mirrors and sometimes lights/fogs )! with no bumper

[Mitsu3000gt]

At least the last time I inquired, SR International seemed to like SunTek the best and they do the work for Ferrari/Maserati Calgary if I am not mistaken. I imagine things change quickly in that industry though.

Never use a dealer for the PPF if you can help it, just go to the shop yourself for a proper education and product selection, not to mention probably a much better install unless they are farming it out anyway.

[Tej.S]

The only expert you need to get in contact with is @rlim891

Absolute stand up dude. His work is amazing, and he's super honest and fair with his pricing.

[rlim891]

Thank guys!

Alright so where do I start, so I've sold SR last year and am now doing training for PPF, Paint correction and windshield film. Things were getting a bit too crazy for me at SR, went from a detailer to a micromanaging. I still do work on cars so pm me if you have any questions.

A few things to note about matte paint/finish. Rock chips cant be touched up and the finish cannot be polished. A full wrap is always recommended especially for us here in Calgary but not everyone cant cough up $4000+ to do it. So I strongly recommend you cover all the high impact areas. You can consider full front end, meaning full hood, full fenders, mirrors, bumper, apillars and roofline....rockers..lower doors ..rear impact etc. These are what we call high impact areas

As for what material to use, Suntek used to be my favorite but now it seems that there's alot of choices. Xpel films has evolved the past year and is actually quite nice now. The main reason we used suntek before was that the clarity on the Xpel film was very orange peely and no matter how good an installer is, there's always going to be lift/stretch marks. That has all changed and I actually use alot of Xpel now. Xpel do have better glue/adhesive.

Hope this answers your questions.

cheers

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The only expert you need to get in contact with is @rlim891

Absolute stand up dude. His work is amazing, and he's super honest and fair with his pricing.

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

1) SunTek or Xpel seem to be the best

2) Rainer @ SR International is your guy

3) Just doing the front will eventually show if the film discolors over time and the edges get slightly dirty. Depends on the color of the car too though, it's way easier to see on white, for example. It will be completely invisible at first - I got one of my prevous cars detailed with 3M on the hood and the detailer wrecked my PPF with polishing compound because they couldn't see it. Full wrap is unnecessary IMHO unless this is your baby or an extremely expensive vehicle. If it's a lease, do absolutely nothing other than maybe a ceramic coating so that washes are easier.

4) SunTek has specific film for matte paint, I am not sure about others. I don't know how necessary it is though.