Clear Bra Options
 

I am getting XPel Ultimate paint protection film installed on my car. There is 2 options for A8 in terms of template. The regular cut goes straight across the hood whereas the bikini cut has a concave contour that sort of follows the curvature of the front. Which do you think would look better?

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/5492/p2416l.gif
Regular Cut

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/472/p2416m.gif
Bikini Cut

Thanks,

Your paint protection film (PPF) should be clear enough to not be noticeable in either pattern. I'd go with the regular cut because it covers more surface area---more protection.

Before you install the X-Pel film, you should look into what is currently considered to be the best PPF available---Nano-Fusion PPF which is made by Avery Dennison. Their product has outstanding gloss and lack of orange-peel appearance. The base layer of urethane film is topcoated with a penetrating layer of coating which gives the surface excellent chemical resistance (bird droppings, road tar, etc. simply wipe off). The topcoat doesn't stiffen the base film like most layered PPF's so installers love how easily it conforms to rounded surfaces can rounded edges. The film is warrantied for "lifetime" when installed by an authorized installer. Read the installers' blogs on-line about this product. It is the BEST and is the standard by which other PPF is measured.

I have it my wife's Black 2011 Q5 and it's amazing. The hood line is barely visible and only if you really look for it. I'll be having Nano-Fusion PPF installed on my 2012 A8L which I'm ordering on Monday.

I ended up having durashield flex installed on the entire hood and from the front edge to the front door edges. This way I avoided seeing any film edges. Also had the A pillars covered and the top portion of the rear bumper. Looks great. We'll see how it holds up in the sun here in SE WA.

Do your self a favor and do the whole hood. Also get the lower section on the sides of the car where rocks and debris normally kick up, makes it so much easier to clean in the long run. Also do a patch in the door handle area especially if your wife has nails because they will show after a while.

A Few Videos On XPEL Ultimate...
 

We Appreciate The Business!

I wanted to share a few videos that will showcase why XPEL Ultimate is the most durable film in the marketplace and the right choice for protecting your Audi.

Instant Self Healing Demo:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUqzFvRw4-A




We put a piece of our new XPEL ULTIMATE Paint Protection Film on a black painted panel, and then scratched it with a wire brush to demonstrate the world's first self healing clear bra.


Stain Resistance Demo with A Raw Egg:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzemnoR72Q0




In this video, we attempt to stain the XPEL Ultimate paint protection film with a permanent marker. This is important since yellowing, common to many brands of paint protection film, is caused by staining from environmental contaminants such as road oils, diesel smoke, pollen and pollution. The significance of the permanent marker is that it represents the most difficult known stain to erradicate. To top it off, we added a raw egg baked on in 100 degree weather.


Bugs Left on Surface for 2 Months:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdT1gzpQlhE




In this video, we took a white SUV that has the full hood covered in XPEL's ULTIMATE paint protection film and didn't wash it for over two months. The SUV was stored outdoors everyday and parked under trees when ever possible.

Brake and Transmission Fluid Demo:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q99I2EyeWQ




Once the two months had passed, we shot a video of cleaning all of the bird droppings, bugs and other contaminants off the film to show just how easy it is to keep XPEL ULTIMATE Paint Protection Film clean.

In the previous video it was marked up with a permanent marker. Here we scratched it up with a key, smeared brake fluid all over the hood and added some smeared transmission oil. Then let it sit for several hours. It all came off with regular alcohol!! The was truly amazing to witness.

I had the installation today, but will need to do the hood and one of the fenders again. The film had a funny looking defect in the middle of the hood. This is the second roll that had these funny looking defects (My original install had to be postponed because of this). XPel is sending out another roll and hopefully I can get this finalized by the end of the week. It seems to be a bad batch or something. The defect looks like a clumped up piece of urethane or excess film protrusion that's about 3/8" in diameter in middle of the film.

This is the picture of the film defect.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/2844/img0480ns.jpg

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/1362/img0479rp.jpg

They couldn't see this while they were installing it? Or did they decide to just do it anyway and then re-do it when they got new film? This is pretty blatant.

He couldn't see this until the film was peeled from the back sheet and on the car. As soon as he saw it, he said that this would have to be redone. Since XPel wanted the roll sent back, he couldn't simply recut the pattern from the existing roll.