Time to DIY PPF!!

[dudelove90]

Thank you, Kairide. May i ask where did you get your kit from please?. I have found 2 places that have reputable reviews, northtints.store or precutppf.store I heard good things about precut store that they have great customer support based on reading reviews, there is a slight price difference also between the stores.
Is STEK easy to work with ? i have never installed PPF before. I'm watching videos on YouTube right now, it seems doable, but bumper is hard for sure.

 

[Manbutter]

XPEL worked great for me. 8mm thick. Seems that the better brands are around 8mm.

I owe this forum a full review on my Xpel journey. Just been really busy lately.

 

[Manbutter]

Thank you, Kairide. May i ask where did you get your kit from please?. I have found 2 places that have reputable reviews, northtints.store or precutppf.store I heard good things about precut store that they have great customer support based on reading reviews, there is a slight price difference also between the stores.
Is STEK easy to work with ? i have never installed PPF before. I'm watching videos on YouTube right now, it seems doable, but bumper is hard for sure.

Kitcutz.com

A full Xpel precut kit cost me $1300.

I would not recommend doing it yourself though. Some more skilled folks managed to do it here but I ruined two pieces and gave up. Hired someone off Craigslist to come do it for me. It took him two days and he did an ok job. $3400 total. Would have cost me $5800 from an Xpel pro installer.

 

[Kairide]

Thank you, Kairide. May i ask where did you get your kit from please?. I have found 2 places that have reputable reviews, northtints.store or precutppf.store I heard good things about precut store that they have great customer support based on reading reviews, there is a slight price difference also between the stores.
Is STEK easy to work with ? i have never installed PPF before. I'm watching videos on YouTube right now, it seems doable, but bumper is hard for sure.

I went with Northtints, full front STEK for $640. The only difficult part is the front bumper. I would definitely have another set of hands to help at least unroll the front bumper PPF. Just remember to keep spraying the PPF with slip solution as you unroll it to keep it from sticking to itself.

 

[dudelove90]

Thank you guys for all your help, ill go with STEK @ precutppf.store they seem to reply to emails faster, ill keep everyone posted here on my install in few weeks.

 

[Yelobird]

I went with Northtints, full front STEK for $640. The only difficult part is the front bumper. I would definitely have another set of hands to help at least unroll the front bumper PPF. Just remember to keep spraying the PPF with slip solution as you unroll it to keep it from sticking to itself.

Did the same myself. As long as you take your time not really a big challenge. And yes to a helper!

 

[JonB65]

Did the same myself. As long as you take your time not really a big challenge. And yes to a helper!

Another Thumbs Up for getting a helper. And if you can jack up the front of the car when doing the bumper it will make it a bit easier. Take your time. I recommend starting on the door panels since I found those the easiest to do. Make sure you wrap the edges and use tack solution to keep them adhered. This will take several times to press and hold these areas down. And make sure you have enough light. I didn't and have three hairs under the PPF on my hood. It is the first thing people see when they look at my car. I'm probably going to redo that piece in the springtime.

 

[Manbutter]

Is dust and dirt under some PPF edges typical? I find it in places where it was impossible to tuck in. How do you clean it out without making the PPF peel off worse?

 

[nate704]

Is dust and dirt under some PPF edges typical? I find it in places where it was impossible to tuck in. How do you clean it out without making the PPF peel off worse?

Even without tucked in edges, you should not have any lifting or dirt under it. It means your PPF installer did not do the job correctly. I have many non tucked edges and corners, but none of them is lifting or getting dirt under it.

 

[FatherTo1]

I only applied the small rocker panel PPF, obviously with non-tucked edges. It has been a year and no dirt/dust under any portion or edge. It was actually really simple and easy, about 10-15 minutes per side. I kind of want to try DIY PPF on the front. This thread has been helpful and inspiring.

 

[JonB65]

I was referring to the edges that wrap around the sides of the panels, like the doors or hood. I had to keep pressing these areas to get them to stick.

I should have used the alcohol solution here more than I did.

 

[youscott]

My supplier (on eBay), vitofi-91, is the best when it comes to the precise cut and pattern, but they are in Canada, so the shipping is about $60-80 for any piece and it takes about 7 business days to get to VA. It is still cheaper even after the shipping if you order all you want at once.
They can do any custom pieces and they will create the eBay listing per request.

What brand PPF does he use? His listing mentions 3 different brands. How do we know the brand is legit?

PreCut Paint Protection Film Clear Bra Kit for Tesla Model Y XPEL, 3M, Suntek

 

[nate704]

What brand PPF does he use? His listing mentions 3 different brands. How do we know the brand is legit?

PreCut Paint Protection Film Clear Bra Kit for Tesla Model Y XPEL, 3M, Suntek

Based on my experience on all of them, go with the XPEL film. 3M film was too stiff to stretch and work around the curves, and SunTek was thinner than Xpel/3M.

 

[youscott]

Based on my experience on all of them, go with the XPEL film. 3M film was too stiff to stretch and work around the curves, and SunTek was thinner than Xpel/3M.

i meant that his ebay listing doesn’t specify which one he is selling. his title says all 3 brands. i think he’s just doing that to get more search results. for all i know he could be selling some random knock off brand

 

[Kokukenji]

Material definitely matters. I went with some Amazon variant and it was too stiff to stretch and I wouldn't recommend it. Definitely failed the attempt and went and took my damaged FIY ego and paid for a local shop to do my front bumper and lights, lol.

I did get the passenger rear rocker panel done and it turned out great, haha.

 

[2101Guy]

I only applied the small rocker panel PPF, obviously with non-tucked edges. It has been a year and no dirt/dust under any portion or edge. It was actually really simple and easy, about 10-15 minutes per side. I kind of want to try DIY PPF on the front. This thread has been helpful and inspiring.

same here but on mine (white) the edges do get dirty. But when I wash the car, I go over the edges with the wash mitt/soap and 90% of the dirt is gone

 

[2101Guy]

This is a GREAT thread. Kudos to the OP (and others).

As an alternative viewpoint, my wifes Y is now 2 years old this month and has ~30k miles on it. The only PPF I did was on the hood about a month after delivery. In hindsight, I consider that a waste of $200. Why? I'll post pictures later this weekend of the Y after I wash it, and will include closeups of all panels, including front bumper. That may explain why for me, PPF not worth the thousands of dollars of expense (especially when we consider resale value added when PPF is on a car).

 

[nate704]

This is a GREAT thread. Kudos to the OP (and others).

As an alternative viewpoint, my wifes Y is now 2 years old this month and has ~30k miles on it. The only PPF I did was on the hood about a month after delivery. In hindsight, I consider that a waste of $200. Why? I'll post pictures later this weekend of the Y after I wash it, and will include closeups of all panels, including front bumper. That may explain why for me, PPF not worth the thousands of dollars of expense (especially when we consider resale value added when PPF is on a car).

I guess it is more like personal tolerance to the rock chips, scratches, etc. Some people don't even mind those at all. Also, one of the benefits of the PPF is easy of clean. you don't have to be careful when you wash your car or try to remove dirt, bug, stain on the paint. I even use dirty rag to wipe off anything on the surface since I know it will not damage either paint of PPF. Bare paint surface on the cars these days is very soft and thin, so that even a few fingernail rubbing will cause permanent paint/clear coat damage.

 

[2101Guy]

I guess it is more like personal tolerance to the rock chips, scratches, etc. Some people don't even mind those at all. Also, one of the benefits of the PPF is easy of clean. you don't have to be careful when you wash your car or try to remove dirt, bug, stain on the paint. I even use dirty rag to wipe off anything on the surface since I know it will not damage either paint of PPF. Bare paint surface on the cars these days is very soft and thin, so that even a few fingernail rubbing will cause permanent paint/clear coat damage.

Understood, and I do understand that the bolded part can vary a lot, especially for those who may drive offroad or on gravel roads, etc. My wifes driving over the past two years has been 99% on city streets, boulevards, major interstates. I will post the photos (now the forecast here is for rain tomorrow, so it may be a few days) to show evidence of a non PPF car (except for hood) and condition of the paint/surface over the 2 year/30k mile period.

 

[zoomer0056]

Awesome, if I can do it so can you.

DIY PPF on 2022 Blue Model S

Model S is one week old. I've spent the last four months YouTubing PPF. This first post is practice on the front license plate holder which I will not put back on. It's a good test piece for practicing several techniques. There are compound curves in the corners, edges to wrap and circles to cut...

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