I had a 3m PPF put on about 5 years ago. Due to the age I had it reapplied recently. It was a very good 3m film. Warning to others, when I had the old film taken off it was hell to remove it. It would only come off in 1/2 pinky fingernail size pieces. It took hours and days to get it off and the glue. Nothing worked to help. Goo gone, Steam, Hot water, and none other worked.

The caution here is don't leave it on over 3 years if you ever plan to remove it or re-apply new. I had seen this warning before but did not really think it would be that bad getting off but it was. It almost damaged the factory paint removing. Which would have defeated the very purpose of paint protection underneath.

 

Every 3 years? I hope XPEL doesn't have to be reaplied.. ever lol

 

XPEL is rated for 5-7 years protection. PPF takes the damage and keeps the paint finish protected and from being damaged and chipped up. Hope you understand it's not immune to damage. But it's not the durability that I was warning about it's the glue upon removal. XPEL is actually the worst to remove.

One of many stories linked.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetaili...ot_coming_off/

 

Gotcha. Thanks.

Sounds like the poster was finally able to remove it. I keep the car garage and hand wash it every few weeks. Hopefully ill get the 7 years out of it and pay a bit extra for removal and re application.

 

I would say that PPF is worth if it you own and plan to keep the car. I got it done on the entire front end (bumper, headlights, hood, fender, a pillar and any black trim)

also helps making washing the car easier and swirl free.

 

Ok, I had the film put on and it looks good.

For car washing;

What are the dos and don't s?

The instructions said to be careful and are distance when power washing.

But what about using a clay bar with iron remover? Allowed or no no ?

 

Don't:

• Pressure wash too closely near the seams/edges
• I have heard polishing it can affect the self-healing properties, so I would avoid unless you really need to.

Do:

• Ceramic coat it!
• You can wash and treat it like normal paint
• You can use a clay bar/iron remover on PPF. I would suggest synthetic clay product (towel, mitt, etc..) as those mar a lot less then standard clay bar and should remove what you need it to, unless you are dealing with some serious contamination.