GrumpyDave

I'm getting Xpel Ultimate installed on my new ES350 this Friday. I'm wondering about having the headlights and fog lights done too. I've done some searches and it seems mostly positive. The two things I'm concerned about are clarity/light diffraction, and heat retention.

One potential (rare) problem I read about is the film increasing heat retention in the light and causing issues. That doesn't sound too likely but I live in the desert, a place that will freeze over long after Hell does, so potential heat issues are something I pay attention to.

So, to anyone who's had it done for a good period of time, do you think it's worth it? Has it been problematic at all?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Headlight coverage is often included. I'd recommend it.

4482

I've had it on the 2 RX's and a RAV4 lights with no problems. I started covering the lights with my Clear Bra installs in 2005.

PTmobile

Film will not affect the light output in any way nor will it cause heat buildup. I have installed thousands of light kits without any issues what so ever. Film will protect the clear coat on the lights which in turn prevent oxidation from occurring. Walk around a parking lot sometime and look at all the headlights that are getting cloudy and dull. That is due to the clear coat on the plastic lenses being chipped which exposes the plastic to the atmosphere.

GrumpyDave

I did go for the film on the lights. I figure I can remove them easily if desired later. Personally I don't think they'll do anything to stop the oxidation over the long haul but they should keep the lights from getting pitted from sandblasting.

Nospinzone

I didn't think of it at the time I had my car done. I wish I had.

sydtoosic

A must if you ask me...

F_Throttle

Can anyone recommend a pre-cut film for the 2ndGen IS headlights? I am going to be stripping away the original clear and will need something to protect the headlight from re-yellowing.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Technically speaking, layering anything on top of the lens will reduce the light output. Any additional coating or film application will reduce it, but you will not see that difference with your naked eyes. That's why you usually see two lumen output readings on things like Flashlights. There's the theoretical lumen output that the LED module or incandescent bulb is capable of and OTF "out the front" lumen output which is always lower (in some cases significantly lower" than the other figure becasue when light passes through a lens, some of the light output is lost.

Try Xpel and see if they offer a kit for that model. They should. When we did my '12 ISF lights, my PPF installer had to stretch it a good amount to make the film work around the bulge on the side. I don't know if that's an install you want to try as a beginner with no experience.

AndyL

I would recommend either Xpel or Proform Design kit on regular PPF (I.e. Not the thick one). I had. There are indeed kits available for the headlights of 2IS or 3IS. The installer should not need to stretch a lot on the headlight film if they know what they are doing (from my own experience of installing this film on 2IS and 3IS)

Sometimes if you stretch too much, the edge of the film will be out of the boundary and from a high standard point of view, you have to start it over rather than trimming it off. But debris may get inside.

For a beginner, installing film on headlight is a challenge as you need to have a lot of patience and failures. There are some techniques particular to installation on headlights which is different to installing PPF on painted surface.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I've been messing around with some PPF lately and it's definitely not as easy as the pros make it look. Our installer makes it seem like it's nothing but he's got probably over 10,000 cars under his belt, full car PPF, all custom cut, etc.

If you try it yourself, mix a little bit of baby shampoo in a spray bottle with water. It helps alot with being able to move the piece around to align it just right before you start to tack an edge and squeegee it.

I remember doing my 2GS headlights as close to the edge as possible. That was a pita because A, I had no idea what I was doing (didn't know you could wrap a non linting towel on a squeegee and help absorb water out of the edges so it doesn't keep going under the film and not sticking right), and B, I did it in the cold with the wrong lube (ONR). But to this day, they still look amazing and film hasn't peeled after 1.5 years.

911's are really common at our work, the kit for them is kind of crappy as it's like 1.5" away from the edge, I assume they do that because trying to wrap a bubble shape to the edge gets tricky the further down you try to go on the spherical shape.