tophalope

I'm wondering if anyone else is having problems with PPF adhesion. I had quite a bit of my Ara blue RS3 covered with Xpel Ultimate and CeramicPro over everything, but have had a number of problems with the film lifting in a number of areas. The hood creases and rear bumper have been particularly problematic. The hood is now on the 4th redo, the front bumper on the second, and the rear bumper ended up getting redone in panels to avoid the deep angles. The installer has a good reputation. In addition to regularly doing super/hypercars, they have also done a number of the new RS3's and TTRS's, allegedly without problems. My car was delivered undetailed specifically to avoid this kind of issue.

Anyone else running into a similar situation?

russbert

I am having a couple of very small issues that I just noticed last week when I was washing the RS3. I will take a couple of pictures and post them later today along with additional details.

tophalope

The latest is that the film appears to be delaminating, rather than adhesive problems. When they pulled the film the last 2 times, the adhesive layer was staying in the creases. This film isn't in wide use right now. So far we've tried film across multiple lots. Giving it one last go with the "plus".

MXblau

Full wrap in 3M Pro and no issues.

Interwest

Tophalope,

I am sorry to hear about this but I am glad to hear that your installer is standing behind their work and that they have been willing to redo it as many times as they have without giving up. It can be frustrating for both parties involved. I want to be transparent and let you know that I am a trainer and distributor for 3M that has been involved with PPF for 17 years. Both XPEL and SunTek are commonly talked about and they are both good films but both have similar issues when it comes to Audi's and their current body lines on some models. This is partly due to film construction as well as installation. At the end of the day all three of the films installed on flat areas protect and are well worth the investment vs.not having any film applied.

XPEL tends to be the most rigid out of the three so when it is installed in the areas that you are speaking of it is hard to get it to conform to those ridge lines. XPEL also does not have their own manufacturing capabilities for PPF or Window Film so there tends to be more differences between Run#'s and Lot#'s that most XPEL dealers also mention to me when I talk to them. 3M also had issues in the past with their first versions of Pro Series but I can tell you that when you have your own manufacturing capabilities it is much easier to correct and we have not seen issues in the past 12 months with adhesion since the last version of film was released.

SunTek is actually the thinnest film out of the three and has the least aggressive adhesive. It is also the least expensive material (up to 30% less) out of the three to installers so when consumers are getting quotes for any of the three they should take this in consideration as you are getting more value for your money with 3M or XPEL compared to SunTek when it comes to actual protection. A less aggressive adhesive is a plus for newer installers as it is easier to install by the installer but you also are not getting as much protection due to the actual thickness of the film. In these types of applications it has more issues than XPEL or 3M as there more adhesion issues that you are describing in areas like this.

Now that I have described the construction of the film the other side of it is the installation. This is the art of the process as any film will add protection but it takes a great installer to make it look like it was never there! The more stretch that the film is under to account for pulling the film tight over the hood creates additional tension in the film to bridge those valleys where you are having those issues. If an installer has too much tension in those areas any film will fail to adhere and if not enough moisture is removed the cure out process will result in issues that you are describing with bubbles or air pockets. If the adhesive is left behind in the deep valleys like you described then that is a film delamination problem and a bit more of a manufacturing issue. Most of the time I see the other issues that that film does not conform well or the installer has not used proper techniques that lead to the defects described. This is a 50/50 as I have seen multiple installs with all three films and depending on the skill set and method of the installer I have seen great installs with all three films.

This is where my bias will kick in and I will let people know that 3M Pro Series has the least amount of issues when it comes to the issues you are describing when it comes down to just film. Again 50% will also be up to the installers skill set. 3M has the best bond strength out of all of the films and a pliability between SunTek and XPEL so it works great in these situations. "MXblau " has described his experience on his RS3 that was installed with 3M Pro Series and is happy with his full body wrap. I am an installer at heart with 17 years of experience but transitioned to training and sales over the last eleven years while training over 500 PPF installers across the country. I wanted to give you some additional feedback that you would most likely not hear from an installer or the installation company no matter what film that the use as it is easy for people to blame the installer or the film. At the end of the day I do hope that it will work out with the next install and that you are happy with the added protection that any Paint Protection Film adds to your vehicle. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.

tophalope

I have my car back again, and the work looks perfect again. Hopefully it will stay great - but both my installer and I are somewhat skeptical given the history. It may be worthwhile to track if others have Xpel Ultimate Plus to see what happens after a few seasons of thermal cycling.