A little history on PPF and installers:
Times change and expectations evolve. Products increase in cost, demand goes up(or down) as does awareness. For instance, in 2010 you would be hard pressed to find installers who installed PPF(clear bra) on a full hood or full fender. That was before the time that the 60" film required for full panel coverage was made widely available and even then, very few purchased it because there was little demand. Most installers kept 1 (or 2) 24" roll of film on hand that was about it because cars just did not require wider film and if they did, they seamed it....yes, seamed it. But, people did not care. It was standard.
What else was standard was junky looking installations. There simply was NOT a great looking installation available. The adhesive sucked which resulted in terrible silvering and distortion. There was no top coated nor self-healing film. Literally, as an installer squeegeed down the film they scratched it and those scratches stayed there forever.
Wrapped edges were rare. Most installers whipped out a knife and cut the crap out of the film as well as the paint. (that did not make it okay and quite frankly that was my worst nightmare....but people did that none the less)
Debris in the installation was expected.
Plotters were not common among installers. The software for the patterns was not very good and there was not enough demand for many installers to justify spending $4,000-$7,000 on the plotter.
Most installers were mobile, doing what they could to keep their heads above water and pay bills. Overhead was a minimum but so was demand for the product.
With little demand, many had to work for almost nothing to get by and stay busy.
What has changed since 2010 and has taken 6 years to do so?
*Film has dramatically increased in cost.
*The need to stock $5,000-$20,000 of rolls in different brands and widths to meet market demands.
*The need to purchase and maintain expensive plotters.
*Plotter software costs many clear bra installers THOUSANDS of dollars each month.
*The need to have a fixed location.
*With improvements in film comes an awareness of what's possible in terms of folks wanting perfection or something very near to perfect. So the labor has actually dramatically increased because folks rightly want a beautiful looking installation. Oh, that piece that looks pretty awesome except for 1 small defect that is near impossible to spot that you installed and invested potentially hours in? Yeah, that's gotta come off and now the business loses big bucks on the material cost as well the labor. All in the name of getting something as close to perfect as possible because it's what the client rightly expects. That absolutely has a real affect on prices.
*Overhead is a real thing now. The days of mobile installers giving "meh" looking jobs and that being satisfactory are done. Climate controlled indoor shops that stay very clean are a necessity. It used to be a lot of guys didn't even have insurance due to the cost and because everyone viewed PPF installs similar to mobile detailers, no one cared....and costs stayed even lower.
*Inflation. EVERYTHING is more expensive not just due to demand but also because things just cost more.
*Training and return on investment take 3+ years. Before someone is able to be efficient and make okay money at this it tends to take 3+ years. For those 3 years they are burning a metric ton of expensive PPF aiming for those high expectations and if a shop is training an employee, well....there's no guarantees that they work out. Training staff on PPF has a real cost and it's steep.
This is not meant as a rant or picking on anyone. But there's a disconnect between what some folks perceive about clear bra and what our reality is. The reality is that your local clear bra installer is just like you. He has to make something to pay bills and put a little something away. You know how hard you've worked to get where you are. How would it feel to be told, even though they don't know you nor the personal cost, that you rip people off? We are not raking in huge bucks. Most of us are really hard workers trying to ethically provide a highly skilled service and support our families.
I genuinely hope no one feels I am being nasty. Merely trying to give some insight that most have never heard. If anyone has any questions, I am happy to try to answer them.
