DIY PPF and ceramic coated last weekend

[maximus96]

I think the headlight cover protection is the first think that I would do, if anything else.

both of my headlights have something inside...thats why i want to wait and see if they will be replaced,

 

[Watts_Up]

both of my headlights have something inside...thats why i want to wait and see if they will be replaced,

May be can you circle the area you are concerned about? I'd like checking mine too!

 

[maximus96]

May be can you circle the area you are concerned about? I'd like checking mine too!

 

[acarney]

Great job. The trick to get out those small tiny bubbles is to take a small needle syringe, poke a hole at the edge of the bubble, and suck out the air. Once you suck out the air, you can run your finger on the bubble and make it dispensary. I also DIY my model 3 (bumputers, hood, front fenders, and all the doors), which saved me a ton of money. My front bumper has seen the most damage with all those road rocks hitting it. So glad I have PPF on it. I definitely recommend doing the hood. Gets a lot of rocks hitting it. It's pretty easy since it's super flat and you can cut the PPF near the end and tuck it under the hood which nobody whill really see. Once you do the hood, you will get comfortable with PPF.

A good discussion on this is here: Vendor - Tesla Model 3 | DIY Ceramic Coating

cheers and good luck!

I’ve heard from a couple installers and videos online that a good installer should never need to puncture the PPF to remove a bubble, that everything should be removed as it’s applied and stretched tight enough not to allow bubbles under it...

Who knows if that’s true or if that’s installers just trying to justify the costs... would be curious what Xpel’s classes teach/say on the subject.

 

[Falcon3]

I’ve heard from a couple installers and videos online that a good installer should never need to puncture the PPF to remove a bubble, that everything should be removed as it’s applied and stretched tight enough not to allow bubbles under it...

Who knows if that’s true or if that’s installers just trying to justify the costs... would be curious what Xpel’s classes teach/say on the subject.

the needle puncture is so small i don't think it has any long term affects to the protection of the film. I've had mine on for 2+ years and haven't seen any impact.

 

[snord]

I got mine from XPEL Paint Protection Film from PaintProtectionFilm.ca . I think the pricing depends on the PPF brand. I got Xpel. I know some suppliers will claim a certain brand and sell you something cheaper. just make sure if they are selling you Xpel, that they also give you the roll # too so you can claim it on xpel warranty if anything happens.

what size roll and how many rolls did you need?

 

[jjs1]

Followed the tutorials here, InvisibleMask

Bought the precut 3M "pro" kit on ebay for less than $300 and it turned out pretty good. It's a partial hood kit that included the bumper, fenders, lights and mirrors. I requested the seller to include tucked edges so the hood and fender parts could be wrapped around. The edges on the rest are exposed though so they will probably collect dirt eventually. I will need to be more vigilant with then cleaning. The tall and flat bumper is too much of a bug / debris / rock magnet so I'm pretty stoked for $300. There are some air bubbles that have started going away. I couldn't completely line up the tow hook cover but on a white car these things are hard to see when more than 2 feet away.

For the coating I used CQuartz UK. About $60 on amazon. Washed, decontaminated with Iron X, clay, polished with Chemical Guys V36 and V38, wiped down, 2x ceramic coat, and a topper next day. The good thing with picking up at Fremont is that the car didn't need to be transported. The Iron X normally reacts with embedded iron particles and turns purple but on the Y there was absolutely nothing.
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For the partial hood, can you see the top edge of the ppf mid-hood? I'm hesitant to do partial hood because the you might get a dividing line effect? On the front bumper, did you line up the sensors as an alignment guide?

 

[maximus96]

For the partial hood, can you see the top edge of the ppf mid-hood? I'm hesitant to do partial hood because the you might get a dividing line effect? On the front bumper, did you line up the sensors as an alignment guide?

Yes you see the line in the hood if you look closely. On a white car it kind of blends in. It doesn’t bother me enough to spend more. I didn’t do a good enough job at the beginning of the bumper install and had to stretch quite a bit to get the driver side sensors to line up. At the end I had to trim about 1mm off the last 2 sensors.

to clarify some more - i tacked down the middle of the bumper first. now i know I shouldn't have done that. tack down below the headlight on one side first and stretch to tack down the other headlight. that should make things easier.

 

[WillN to Go]

I bought a pack of these syringes for popping bubbles. The tip is super tiny. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NXY2LPF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Be very careful with those needles. Probably best to get them from a nurse or a drug store. I bought some blunt needle craft syringes (on Amazon) and got sharps instead. I didn't think about it, but after stabbing myself half a dozen times I realized I could've just received washed medical waste- which can still give you hepatitis. It's cheaper to get a hold of used sharps than buy blunt craft syringes. And washed? you can't tell that they're used and contaminated.