Making an Educated Decision Before You Buy
[URL=http://s149.photobucket.com/user/timcoats/media/PPF%20Close%20Ups/IMG_5111.jpg.html]
**Fully wrapped in Clear Bra^
Clear bra, PPF, Clear Wrap, Protection Film etc. are all words that any Tesla owner has bound to have stumbled on in the past couple years. The industry has been growing substantially with newer vehicles in need of protection now more than ever. With the protection industry rapidly growing, many wrap shops are jumping on the bandwagon to fulfill the growing demand.
As a Tesla owner, you want to ensure you know who is working on your car and ultimately protecting your investment. As a Tesla owner myself, I sure do! Unfortunately, you may not know REALLY who is the one working on your car. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what a shops perceived reputation is, what brand or product they use, how many Instagram followers they have or even how many cars they have in their shop at once. What matters is the skills and experience behind the squeegee or behind the blade that is working on your car.
Unfortunately as a consumer, it can be VERY difficult to know what to look for. As both an installer and owner, my ONLY concern is with quality. To obtain the optimal level of quality, there are key details that differentiate between a good install and a GREAT install. The challenge is avoiding a producer of a BAD install. Thankfully, there are metrics and determinants that can ultimately guide you to making an informed and educated decision about with what shop you place your trust.
*Let me preface that there is no such thing as "perfect." With every installation there is the potential for small imperfections simply based upon the nature of installing films; However defects such as Knife cuts, lifting edges, jagged cuts etc. do not fall under the standard of normal working conditions.
More elaborately, a great example of a "reputable shop" in the SoCal area, providing inconsistent results, is a vehicle that recently received a Full Body Stealth Wrap. Unfortunately the owner of the car did not know Adonis performed custom clear bra installations only originally bringing the car into the shop for our Spectra Photosync window film. With every vehicle we receive in the shop we do a thorough and in-depth inspection and evaluation before performing any work. Upon inspection of this vehicle we noticed a few of these Red Flags which could result in further issues down the road.
Below are tips/tricks when shopping for both a shop and a product that ensures high quality protection for your vehicle:
A Few Red Flags when consulting with a shop
What to look for in a great wrap:
Example’s of a BAD Wrap
Cut Paint, this for obvious reasons is a big NO NO. Never should paint be cut on a car, A great installer can properly score film without cutting through or damage the surface underneath.
You can see the knick on the clear bra of the bumper even^
Jagged cuts and lifting film
Dirt/Debris under film
Uneven/jagged cuts/edges/bubbles and distortion
Lifting film/ fingers (will collect dirt overtime)
Loose, uneven panels and components, broken clips etc.
Damage due to removal and re-installation of body panels
What you should look for in a installation:
Clean, neatly trimmed and wrapped corners and edges
Precise trimming
These are all items to look for, many shops will post pictures far away outside to hide these critical installation flaws.
Thanks for taking the time to look through, I highly recommend doing your research prior to making a decision.
Happy to answer any questions below.
-Tim Coats
Owner/Installer, Adonis Detail, Inc.[/URL]
[URL=http://s149.photobucket.com/user/timcoats/media/PPF%20Close%20Ups/IMG_5111.jpg.html]
**Fully wrapped in Clear Bra^
Clear bra, PPF, Clear Wrap, Protection Film etc. are all words that any Tesla owner has bound to have stumbled on in the past couple years. The industry has been growing substantially with newer vehicles in need of protection now more than ever. With the protection industry rapidly growing, many wrap shops are jumping on the bandwagon to fulfill the growing demand.
As a Tesla owner, you want to ensure you know who is working on your car and ultimately protecting your investment. As a Tesla owner myself, I sure do! Unfortunately, you may not know REALLY who is the one working on your car. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what a shops perceived reputation is, what brand or product they use, how many Instagram followers they have or even how many cars they have in their shop at once. What matters is the skills and experience behind the squeegee or behind the blade that is working on your car.
Unfortunately as a consumer, it can be VERY difficult to know what to look for. As both an installer and owner, my ONLY concern is with quality. To obtain the optimal level of quality, there are key details that differentiate between a good install and a GREAT install. The challenge is avoiding a producer of a BAD install. Thankfully, there are metrics and determinants that can ultimately guide you to making an informed and educated decision about with what shop you place your trust.
*Let me preface that there is no such thing as "perfect." With every installation there is the potential for small imperfections simply based upon the nature of installing films; However defects such as Knife cuts, lifting edges, jagged cuts etc. do not fall under the standard of normal working conditions.
More elaborately, a great example of a "reputable shop" in the SoCal area, providing inconsistent results, is a vehicle that recently received a Full Body Stealth Wrap. Unfortunately the owner of the car did not know Adonis performed custom clear bra installations only originally bringing the car into the shop for our Spectra Photosync window film. With every vehicle we receive in the shop we do a thorough and in-depth inspection and evaluation before performing any work. Upon inspection of this vehicle we noticed a few of these Red Flags which could result in further issues down the road.
Below are tips/tricks when shopping for both a shop and a product that ensures high quality protection for your vehicle:
A Few Red Flags when consulting with a shop
- The shop rarely exhibits the completed work up close or in good lighting in pictures, hiding paint cuts and irregular trimming. They often take pictures from far way, outside or with poor lighting. Never highlighting the difficult to wrap areas of the vehicle.
- When viewing the shop’s work in person (which is highly recommended) they want to show the consumer the work outside, or excuse bubbles or other defects by asserting that the defects will "dry out".
- The shop lacks investment in its customers, not taking the time to educate on their installation process; whether they will be doing "custom" or “precut" etc.
Pay close attention to these details: - The underside of wrapped panels: examine how the film looks when wrapped around edges (if it was wrapped around).
- Corners and edges: See if the trim is smooth and neat without peeling film around seams or body edges.
- High tension areas such as bumpers and curved panels: Examine angles, taking into consideration large areas of distortion or tension in the film.
What to look for in a great wrap:
- Edges are trimmed clean and consistently, with no jagged lines or peeling film along the edge.
- Corners are wrapped smoothly, trimmed precisely wrapping firmly around the corner, hugging close to the tip of the corner, if possible.
- Panels are wrapped around cleanly where possible, otherwise film is wrapped closely to the edges of panels or trim pieces.
- Bumpers are wrapped cleanly with very little exposed paint without very high tension areasreflected in the form of distortion in the film or “fingers” that have lifted from paint.
- Mirrors are wrapped cleanly with film all the way up to the edge.
- Little to no seams present, typically indicating custom and highly skilled installation techniques (for example: One piece mirrors or rear trunk on a Model S/X).
Example’s of a BAD Wrap
Cut Paint, this for obvious reasons is a big NO NO. Never should paint be cut on a car, A great installer can properly score film without cutting through or damage the surface underneath.
You can see the knick on the clear bra of the bumper even^
Jagged cuts and lifting film
Dirt/Debris under film
Uneven/jagged cuts/edges/bubbles and distortion
Lifting film/ fingers (will collect dirt overtime)
Loose, uneven panels and components, broken clips etc.
Damage due to removal and re-installation of body panels
What you should look for in a installation:
Clean, neatly trimmed and wrapped corners and edges
Precise trimming
These are all items to look for, many shops will post pictures far away outside to hide these critical installation flaws.
Thanks for taking the time to look through, I highly recommend doing your research prior to making a decision.
Happy to answer any questions below.
-Tim Coats
Owner/Installer, Adonis Detail, Inc.[/URL]
