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Has anyone DIY'd a PPF installation?

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I'm sure someone has. I am trying to figure out is it cost effective vs having an installer do it.

If you don't mind answering a couple questions, I would be grateful.

How much material did you need?

Where did you source the material?

Thanks
 
I got a pre fab full front suntek kit from ebay for about 600. First time DIY and I am fairly handy but struggled with it. I also have a black car so any imperfection is magnified and the edges are not wrapped and dirt in the seams is starting to show. Looking back I would have gladly paid someone and wrapped the edges. Just pony up and get the whole car wrapped, it's expensive but worth it if your concerned abt scratches chips etc.
 
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I'm sure someone has. I am trying to figure out is it cost effective vs having an installer do it.

If you don't mind answering a couple questions, I would be grateful.

How much material did you need?

Where did you source the material?

Thanks
I'm in the process of it. I've already done the precut partial front hood, 30" which goes up about 2/3rds of the way, using 3M Scotchguard Pro, for $200. Includes the partial front quarter panels to match the hood, and the mirror covers and door guard strips. The hood piece is oversized so I can wrap the edges. You can also order Suntek, less expensive than 3M, and buy insurance if you think you might screw it up and need another piece.

I ordered from Invisiblemask.com, and they've been fast, and they supply all the tools needed.

The hood was fairly easy as it's quite flat. Wrapping the edges, you have to wait for for the soap solution to dry, so it has enough tack to stick. I have a few small bubbles in the lower right corner, but I'll pop them with a needle. The quarter panels were slightly harder, since it's more curvy. The mirrors were hard because you have to do alot of stretching.

This was a bit of an experiment for me, I figured if I couldn't do the partial hood, then it was only $200. Now that it's been successful, I've ordered the doors for $400, coming tomorrow, I think. If that goes well, I will likely order the hardest piece, which is the front bumper, for $180. Maybe the rockers $110 as well, since there's another thread showing how much pitting the rockers suffer. I've installed mudguards, thinking that would solve the problem, but they don't stop all the dirt that flies off the tires.

Just looking at their order page, a full wrap is about $2000, I think you could probably email and ask for a discount if you're ordering the full wrap.

Here's a pic of the partial 30" front hood and quarter panels that I did this past week. You can see a hint of where the wrap starts where the shadow crosses the hood:
 

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Thanks for the write-up. Lots of info.

I'm thinking that the hood would have to be pre-cut because I don't want to remove the badge, but other parts I would try to do myself from raw material. That is if I can source it for a reasonable price :p
 
Thanks for the write-up. Lots of info.

I'm thinking that the hood would have to be pre-cut because I don't want to remove the badge, but other parts I would try to do myself from raw material. That is if I can source it for a reasonable price :p
The badge is precut. That's how you line it up, you center the badge, then work your way out, removing bubbles and liquid.
 
I have DIY the full car. First purchased a Suntek full front kit off of eBay just to experiment, it was about $600. I asked the seller (ServPPF) to cut the film so it was 1cm longer on the hood and fenders so I can wrap the edges. I started with the headlights just to see how the film needs to be worked. Took a long time and lots of patience to get right but then I was confident enough to do the hood, mirrors, fenders and ultimately the front bumper, which is no doubt the most difficult. I think front bumper took me 3 hours. All the pieces were pre-cut so it was easier to work with.

I was happy with my results and order the rest of the pre-cut film for the rest of the car. I think total cost for materials was around 2k for the entire car. A professional job would be at least 4k easily with labor. I’m happy to work on my own car and save that money.

If you are handy I recommend buying a small piece to work with to see if you are comfortable. Start with headlights and mirrors. If you struggle with those two you won’t be able to handle the bumpers.

I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and there are some Model 3 specific tutorial installs as well to help learn. Good luck!
 
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I might do it for the doors. But I’m getting the fronts done as we speak for $1200. Doors are flat surfaces so I think an DIY would not be bad to do myself. I did headlights on my gti a few years ago and it was easy. It’s the curves of the bumper that make me have second thoughts.
 
I might do it for the doors. But I’m getting the fronts done as we speak for $1200. Doors are flat surfaces so I think an DIY would not be bad to do myself. I did headlights on my gti a few years ago and it was easy. It’s the curves of the bumper that make me have second thoughts.
Just did the doors last week. The hard part of doing the doors is that the pieces are quite large, making handling harder. 3 or 4 hands are ideal. My rocker pieces and front bumper piece are coming next week. I'm going to wait for a nice warm day to do the front bumper, because it'll need the most stretching to fit over the curves. I think the key is to center it, lock down the middle, then work one half at a time, very patiently.
 
Did you do a stretching on the door? The pros that did mine did a pretty great job but they said they had to stretch it to make the curves.
Curves? No. As long as any bends are linear, it’s fairly easy to wrap. It’s when bends are in two or more directions, a compound curve where stretching gets tricky. The front fenders, mirrors and front and back bumpers have compound curves, and thus are much harder. The doors are fairly easy, but the pieces are large. A 3rd hand would help a lot, just to keep it positioned, and to peel it without it folding on itself, or touching the ground. I raised the side I was working on, to help with the install.

The stretching on the door I did try to do was to get the precut to fit left and right. Since I wrapped the door edge, I was short on the other side, so I tried my best to stretch it to cover. Still left a small gap. In hindsight, I would just leave the door edge unwrapped, and then used the included door edge guards, just 36” ¼” strips, and covered the edge. I thought doing it my way would be a cleaner look.
 
I did the 3m pre cut clear bra purchased from ebay. That was a pain in ass to install. Id suggest get it done from a professional. After hours of stretching and heating I got it on but I'm satified with the results. I also ceramic coated my M3 as well.
 
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Just did the doors last week. The hard part of doing the doors is that the pieces are quite large, making handling harder. 3 or 4 hands are ideal. My rocker pieces and front bumper piece are coming next week. I'm going to wait for a nice warm day to do the front bumper, because it'll need the most stretching to fit over the curves. I think the key is to center it, lock down the middle, then work one half at a time, very patiently.
Can you post pics of the results door ppf
 
Can you post pics of the results door ppf
Here are 4 pics. If you look carefully, you'll see I came up a little short on the front edge of the door, since I wrapped the open-ends of the doors. I don't think the wrap was meant to be done that way. All-in-all, it came out well:
 

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