I plan to wrap my car and would prefer to diy as I don't have the $ to hire a pro to do it. I will enlist help with my buddies after reading the instruction and watch some YouTube vids. What brand and what size should I go with if I want to wrap the entire car. I plan to order from Amazon and see the 3M brand is very popular. Suggestion please and if anyone has experience to share, that would be awesome.
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DIY PPF...which one to choose from Amazon?
- Thread starter TonyLSF
- Start date
Go Xpel. You can buy from some suppliers online in big roles.
PPF is an arts and crafts project, not a car project. If you are handy with crafts, you can do PPF well. And if you screw up, peal off the piece and do it again with another piece. You learn the techniques by practicing, and you also learn the right mix of soapy solutions and alcohol solutions. That is incredible keys to get those mixes right or it won't go well, but trial and error is your friend.
Have good knives. Try not to cut on the paint, but if you practice on some test surface, e.g. a panel you buy at the junk yard, you can learn how to safely score the top layer and pull off the piece without every endangering your paint. I prefer to use bulk and wrap the edges as much as possible so I have less scoring to do over paint.
Once you learn how to do it, you can save big money over and over again as you buy new cars, or it comes time to replace the film. It doesn't last forever, especially if you park outside all the time.
And don't think the pros can't do damage to your car. Many people have pulled off old clear bra to find out that the installer was an idiot and cut all the way through the film and down to the metal. You won't know if they screwed up your paint until you take if off years later and they are gone. And some idiots put adhesive promoter everywhere to make their install life easier, but it's an absolute nightmare to get the film off later.
PPF is an arts and crafts project, not a car project. If you are handy with crafts, you can do PPF well. And if you screw up, peal off the piece and do it again with another piece. You learn the techniques by practicing, and you also learn the right mix of soapy solutions and alcohol solutions. That is incredible keys to get those mixes right or it won't go well, but trial and error is your friend.
Have good knives. Try not to cut on the paint, but if you practice on some test surface, e.g. a panel you buy at the junk yard, you can learn how to safely score the top layer and pull off the piece without every endangering your paint. I prefer to use bulk and wrap the edges as much as possible so I have less scoring to do over paint.
Once you learn how to do it, you can save big money over and over again as you buy new cars, or it comes time to replace the film. It doesn't last forever, especially if you park outside all the time.
And don't think the pros can't do damage to your car. Many people have pulled off old clear bra to find out that the installer was an idiot and cut all the way through the film and down to the metal. You won't know if they screwed up your paint until you take if off years later and they are gone. And some idiots put adhesive promoter everywhere to make their install life easier, but it's an absolute nightmare to get the film off later.
How much of the car are you trying to cover and what is your realistic budget? What color is the car? how many miles are on it? What level of OCD/perfectionist are you? Let's make sure you are on a path that will lead to a realistic goal.
Gotta love some Tesla owners. You mention diy on some things and they become helpless people and would rather throw gobs of money at a company to do something that is very much possible diy. Poor kids, how do you manage?
I just did my car this week since we had 70+ degree weather. I used a 3m pro kit from ebay and did the partial front end. I would recommend not getting the hood emblem cut out because mine did not line up at all. They are sending me one without and I will cut it out myself. This is my 2nd time doing a full front bumper and very happy with the results. I had one small mistake near the top of the bumper where a very small finger just would not lay down 100%. Maybe the size of a pea at most. I was able to get it down but had to trim the film slightly. Its small and I will be the only one who notices it. The seams near the bottom front bumper between the two pieces were pretty challenging to stretch to.
Laying down PPF is not rocket science. You need the right ratio for your slip mix and also your stick mix. I used baby shampoo and distilled water, and 70% alcohol and distilled water. The kit will come with ratios. I added a little more shampoo to get it to slide around better. The hardest part is stretching since it's much more challenging than vinyl. You have to spray your stick solution on an area, and then stretch the film to that spot and adhere it. Fenders, headlights, and mirrors are all pretty easy. Hood will be easy when i get the new kit since it's flat. Bumper is a challenge. Lots of stretching and curves and there are a lot of painted surfaces.
I do recommend this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCSTC3Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX4VXI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Both were helpful. My kit same with a squeegee but this one I posted is better.
I will say this. Installing a kit is much easier than buying a roll of film and going at it on your own. That takes some very mad skills for the front bumper.
One more tip. Look at your car from all angles as you are squeegeeing. I did not and when I stood up there were about a dozen water bubbles I could not see from the position I was in on the bumper. Most were pretty small but a couple were medium and large. I have great led lighting in my garage but because I refused to look from all angles I could not see some of the bubbles. I went to walgreens and bought one hypodermic needle for $1. Smallest needle you can get. That removes the water and you cant see where you stuck the needle in since it will self heal the hole. You have about a 10 minute window to squeegee the water out. Once you are past that use the needle. Even the pros use them. I read about it from a ppf and tint forum.
Heres the important thing. My ppf job is not at a pro level and I didnt expect it to be. I wanted it to look good with some minor mistakes and protect the front end. I can peel it off in a year or two and do it again if needed. The whole kit was $280 which is 1/5th the cheapest quote I received. I saw the work of the cheapest guy I could find and he had some mistakes too. Better than me though. I also received quotes for a partial front end for almost $2,000. Hell no...
I just did my car this week since we had 70+ degree weather. I used a 3m pro kit from ebay and did the partial front end. I would recommend not getting the hood emblem cut out because mine did not line up at all. They are sending me one without and I will cut it out myself. This is my 2nd time doing a full front bumper and very happy with the results. I had one small mistake near the top of the bumper where a very small finger just would not lay down 100%. Maybe the size of a pea at most. I was able to get it down but had to trim the film slightly. Its small and I will be the only one who notices it. The seams near the bottom front bumper between the two pieces were pretty challenging to stretch to.
Laying down PPF is not rocket science. You need the right ratio for your slip mix and also your stick mix. I used baby shampoo and distilled water, and 70% alcohol and distilled water. The kit will come with ratios. I added a little more shampoo to get it to slide around better. The hardest part is stretching since it's much more challenging than vinyl. You have to spray your stick solution on an area, and then stretch the film to that spot and adhere it. Fenders, headlights, and mirrors are all pretty easy. Hood will be easy when i get the new kit since it's flat. Bumper is a challenge. Lots of stretching and curves and there are a lot of painted surfaces.
I do recommend this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCSTC3Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX4VXI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Both were helpful. My kit same with a squeegee but this one I posted is better.
I will say this. Installing a kit is much easier than buying a roll of film and going at it on your own. That takes some very mad skills for the front bumper.
One more tip. Look at your car from all angles as you are squeegeeing. I did not and when I stood up there were about a dozen water bubbles I could not see from the position I was in on the bumper. Most were pretty small but a couple were medium and large. I have great led lighting in my garage but because I refused to look from all angles I could not see some of the bubbles. I went to walgreens and bought one hypodermic needle for $1. Smallest needle you can get. That removes the water and you cant see where you stuck the needle in since it will self heal the hole. You have about a 10 minute window to squeegee the water out. Once you are past that use the needle. Even the pros use them. I read about it from a ppf and tint forum.
Heres the important thing. My ppf job is not at a pro level and I didnt expect it to be. I wanted it to look good with some minor mistakes and protect the front end. I can peel it off in a year or two and do it again if needed. The whole kit was $280 which is 1/5th the cheapest quote I received. I saw the work of the cheapest guy I could find and he had some mistakes too. Better than me though. I also received quotes for a partial front end for almost $2,000. Hell no...
That will offer ZERO protection from rocks. You will definitely help these ceramic companies pay their kids college tuition and a 3rd beach house though.
What's the correct ratio for the slip mix and the stick mix if I use Xpel? Also, where can I get large size single piece? Amazon only sells the largest size at 6" x 84". See https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748QPJTP/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1
Ocala.Joe
Member
Take your sweet time, do not rush. Your outcome will come out fine with time. If you mess up, start over. I am doing my wifes car before I wrap mine with vinyl.
Good for you. I think you may want to watch a bunch of tutorials online. Everything looks easier on TV hahah.
I got mine professional installed and here is some of the details he shared with me. If you can tuck it, then tuck it, like the hood is easy. PPF is thicker than vinyl., So you cannot expect to just heat gun and try to stretch. You want the thickness for the protection.
Make sure you have all your tools that you'll need. Maybe do some research on the mixture for the glue, I hear that based on the temperature and humidity you need to adjust the formula.
**Wrap over all your parking sensors, do not make any cut outs.** This will prevent dirt and dust from clogging up in that area. You may get false alarms on the senors but let it dry in the sun and that should stop.
Good luck and hope it goes well. I think I will try to wrap more of my own car in the future. Like the trunk area and doors.
I got mine professional installed and here is some of the details he shared with me. If you can tuck it, then tuck it, like the hood is easy. PPF is thicker than vinyl., So you cannot expect to just heat gun and try to stretch. You want the thickness for the protection.
Make sure you have all your tools that you'll need. Maybe do some research on the mixture for the glue, I hear that based on the temperature and humidity you need to adjust the formula.
**Wrap over all your parking sensors, do not make any cut outs.** This will prevent dirt and dust from clogging up in that area. You may get false alarms on the senors but let it dry in the sun and that should stop.
Good luck and hope it goes well. I think I will try to wrap more of my own car in the future. Like the trunk area and doors.
Fusion
Member
You should probably buy the full roll. If it's your first time, You will need extra. Let me know if you plan to do it and maybe I could come over and help/try. I tried to do my front bumper in one piece and it wasn't easy. The hood and side panels are much easier. I would say use a full roll for anything else other than the front bumper. I would definitely say buy a pre-cut front bumper kit.
Check this out too:
Cheap DIY Paint Protection Film Project
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