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^Exactly what he said... Xpel is not a bullet proof magical shield that will prevent all visible damage. It is a film that acts as a barrier that will take the beating of minor impacts, scratches, and chips rather than your paint having to take the damage. The benefit is that the film can be polished (your damage looks like paint transfer that can be removed) or simply peeled off and replaced, which is WAY better than repainting a panel.
^Exactly what he said... Xpel is not a bullet proof magical shield that will prevent all visible damage. It is a film that acts as a barrier that will take the beating of minor impacts, scratches, and chips rather than your paint having to take the damage. The benefit is that the film can be polished (your damage looks like paint transfer that can be removed) or simply peeled off and replaced, which is WAY better than repainting a panel.
Oh wow. I didn't know it can be polished. I shall try that. Thanks!
Suntek and Xpel actually should not be polished (you can polish it but almost nothing happens). If you have paint transfer, yes that can be rubbed out with compound or light polish.
These self healing films supposedly have a top self-healing coat that might be jeopardized if you excessively polish it and remove material (never really tested the long term self healing properties to confirm).
Suntek and Xpel should not need any polishing and should not scratch or swirl anywhere near the rest of the paint. The picture Zach has is most likely VERY old Xpel film that had the self healing property fail (it does wear out over time), OR it's just some no-name cheap ppf film that you see a ton of cheaper dealers use. The top dealerships (Porsche/Ferrari/Lambo/Bentley, etc.) in our area all use the same installers (less than a handful of guys) who use good brands like Xpel/Sunktek/3M. Most cheaper car dealerships use garbage film.
In short, self healing ppf does not respond well to polishing by hand or machine, unless it's like Zach said to remove material transfer. Also, the OEM film used on old school 911s Pre-2000 is the same way, if you polish it, you will permanently damage it. I've had it happen a few times and let me tell you, it is NOT fun removing that material as it comes off in little chunks and is a big mess and headache to deal with.
On Xpel use a heatgun or leave it in the sun, scratches will heal on their own. However OP, you have permanent damage on your film that can't be repaired.
If you get bug splatter or bird droppings that etch your Xpel, then aggressive polishing is the only way to try and remove it. I've never been able to remove etching from self healing ppf completely like paint but I can get it down to where it's alot better. Even if you go real aggressive with wool pads and compound, it's not enough to fully remove it.
09-05-16, 08:14 AM
xpel ultimate saved me or did it?
