[noemon]

I tried to install the oem pre-cut ppf on the wheel arches and failed miserably.

Don't really want to ever try again.

[BroDoze]

I’ll do almost any work to my cars, except tint and PPF. Been there, tried that. Nope, and nope.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

I’ll do almost any work to my cars, except tint and PPF. Been there, tried that. Nope, and nope.

Amazing. What looks to be fairly easy with patience turns out to be truly a nightmare.

[ZPD]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

Interesting.. did you do anymore other than the hood and mirrors? How long that all take you?

I did the hood, front bumper/fascia, front fenders, and mirrors. I spent about 6 hours on one Saturday doing the precut kit, then ripped off the precut kit for the hood and spent about 4 hours the next Saturday doing the hood using a roll.

[starlights]

PPF'ed my MacBook Air last night if that counts

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by starlights

PPF'ed my MacBook Air last night if that counts

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by ZPD

I did the hood, front bumper/fascia, front fenders, and mirrors. I spent about 6 hours on one Saturday doing the precut kit, then ripped off the precut kit for the hood and spent about 4 hours the next Saturday doing the hood using a roll.

I also think the better quality is likely only available in a roll or authorized installers.

[Yuille36]

I do think that the installers or the distributors will have the highest quality film.

[ZPD]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

I also think the better quality is likely only available in a roll or authorized installers.

I bought my precut kit and roll directly from Xpel

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

Anyone ever attempt installing PPF themselves? I realize it's not of faint of heart but most of us seem to have no problem tearing into their cars to mod them, and since PPF can be removed why not give it a shot?

It takes a combination of art, skill, and experience to do quality PPF yourself.
Similar to surgery - you will reap humongous labor savings if you DIY the job, but you REALLY want to practice on someone else first!

Other than that, go for it!

IMHO,
a

P.S.: Same applies to painting your own car!

[///M TOWN]

Being cheap always turns out expensive

[JerseyM3]

https://youtube.com/shorts/nxSBmV9k-...18tmGm6BcsenQW

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by ///M TOWN

Being cheap always turns out expensive

For me it's not about being cheap. I'm a guy who likes to do things himself. I'm an mechanical engineer. I have a level of expectation and perfection that drives me to do things myself. Yeah, there's definitely things to leave to the pros, which is what prompted me to post this thread.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by afadeev

It takes a combination of art, skill, and experience to do quality PPF yourself.
Similar to surgery - you will reap humongous labor savings if you DIY the job, but you REALLY want to practice on someone else first!

Other than that, go for it!

IMHO,
a

P.S.: Same applies to painting your own car!

I've actually painted a portion of my own car way back when. I didn't have the money to fix the door damage from thieves who broke in so I fixed the door with a little tap tap here and bang bang there... bondo, then duplicolor match. I was 19yo. Came out ok.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

For me it's not about being cheap. I'm a guy who likes to do things himself. I'm an mechanical engineer. I have a level of expectation and perfection that drives me to do things myself. Yeah, there's definitely things to leave to the pros, which is what prompted me to post this thread.

PPF is not something you just jump into you learn from your experiences so at your own expense, you would end up with a subpar installation. It’s not worth it. Go to somebody who’s very good at it.

You’ll be happy you did.

[hufington]

I just did the doorsills and door edges on my 760i. Took me 2 hours. But I have been installing small pieces of vinyl since 2010 on my own cars for chrome delete, rear light tint, vinyl wrap on spoilers, interior parts, etc. You need patience and understand the characteristics of the material.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by ///M TOWN

PPF is not something you just jump into you learn from your experiences so at your own expense, you would end up with a subpar installation. It’s not worth it. Go to somebody who’s very good at it.

You’ll be happy you did.

Totally. I do want to try, but I won't for the sake of the risk of doing damage to the paint.

[JoeyO]

I think I will attempt to PPF my door sills. I figure that’s probably the easiest thing on a car to PPF.

[Chilled]

Is it possible to DIY, yeah. Does it take a specialized skill, to the point where installers think they are Moses parting the sea, fuck no. It feels like all the people saying you cant DIY are either pro installers terrified that the idea that it's possible to DIY getting out, or people who are butthurt because they failed their attempt.


JerseyM3 Do a search a on this sub, a number of people have done full PPFs with good result.

Here is my attempt. No it's not perfect, but it was the first attempt. The fill is 3M's 200 Pro Series and I can fix all of these issues. I have enough material left over to do either 4xdoors, or 1 bonnet, or 2x bumpers, etc. Ps. The Car is dirty in these, and the thread is where one guy did his m4.

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2#post30692162

If you do try, go in with realistic expectations.

For me it was

• DO NOT SCRATCH THE CAR
• Have some film on it.

Originally Posted by JoeyO

I think I will attempt to PPF my door sills. I figure that’s probably the easiest thing on a car to PPF.

Yeah, no. If you are thinking of doing a single piece from the floor into the pillars.

The flatter the surface the easier. In a way, the bonnet is the easiest as you only really need to stretch the film in the direction of the headlights (if you need to). Yes it's a cumbersome piece as it is large, but as far as actual application would be the easiest.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by Chilled

Is it possible to DIY, yeah. Does it take a specialized skill, to the point where installers think they are Moses parting the sea, fuck no. It feels like all the people saying you cant DIY are either pro installers terrified that the idea that it's possible to DIY getting out, or people who are butthurt because they failed their attempt.


JerseyM3 Do a search a on this sub, a number of people have done full PPFs with good result.

Here is my attempt. No it's not perfect, but it was the first attempt. The fill is 3M's 200 Pro Series and I can fix all of these issues. I have enough material left over to do either 4xdoors, or 1 bonnet, or 2x bumpers, etc. Ps. The Car is dirty in these, and the thread is where one guy did his m4.

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2#post30692162

If you do try, go in with realistic expectations.

For me it was

• DO NOT SCRATCH THE CAR
• Have some film on it.

Yeah, no. If you are thinking of doing a single piece from the floor into the pillars.

The flatter the surface the easier. In a way, the bonnet is the easiest as you only really need to stretch the film in the direction of the headlights (if you need to). Yes it's a cumbersome piece as it is large, but as far as actual application would be the easiest.

My mindset exactly.

[Pheonix]

I paid over $1,400 to have Xpel Partial Frontal on my e93! I had to brought the car back 2 times for multiple issues.
My buddy helped me with my VW Id4, full Frontal Suntek pre-cut.. It wasn't too bad!
We recently got the Cayenne as a family car! Tried again with Full Frontal Suntek Pre-cut. Unfortunately, Suntek is cracking down on retail sell (supposed to be for certified Pros only) so it was extremely difficult and my buddy thinks the PPF wasn't Suntek.
Here are some of my lessons learned:
-Prepping is very critical! At least a one stage polish to make sure the surfaces are pristine. Including the underside if want to tug the PPF.
-Make sure you wash off every nook and cranny so not dirt will come out during PPF installation.
- Have a very clean, bright working area is a a must.
- Pre-cut are great but bulk PPF is so much easier for certain parts of the car.
-The brand of PPF is also important. Somes are easier than others.
I would do it again.

[jnj2455]

This has been an interesting read! I've installed Xpel on my old GTI headlights before that were pre-cut and echoing what everybody else has done, the curvatures/creases is the biggest pain to align correctly ESPECIALLY if the film is remotely cool/cold. Lot of patience and a heat gun to align and stretch and push the air bubbles out.

My father just bought a new Audi, possibly my parents last new car purchase ever and I've been considering "gifting" him with a PPF kit and am exploring various options.