New to the forum, want to say hi

[Guest dbrisson]

hey guys, came across this forum a few days ago and have been reading alot since then. Im new to ppf, I started making vinyl decals about 4 years ago, and have slowly been taking on more and more work. I recently took a course on ppf installation and have done about a dozen cars in the last 2 weeks, I am extremely picky with my installs and get very frustrated when I see imperfections in my work. I am using xpel ultimate, I was wondering how forgiving the material is with water bubbles, and what sort of timeline should I give the water bubbles to come out, or is there a way to get rid of them once they are there? I understand it will take time to get them perfect, but what sort of things will "work themselves out with time"? id rather redo it while I have the vehicle there rather then the customer come back.

any info is greatly appreciated, im having a blast doing these otherwise.

thanks

Dan

[XPEL Jeff]

While most moisture bubbles will dissapate over time, air bubbles will not. Most customers won't be happy picking up a car with bubbles though, so it is best to form a habit of working in sections. For instance, on a bumper you would work from one alignment point to the next (we'll say the center emblem to the headlight) by stretching and squeegeeing everything down, but before moving on you would clear all of the moisture from the surface and check the film from a few different angels (in a well lit area) to make sure it is completely bubble free. If it is free of bubbles, move on to the next section. If not, lift the film immediately before it has much of a chance to develop a firm tack and resqueegee.

This way, you won't notice bubbles at the end of the install when it is too late, but instead you will fix them as you go!

[Guest dbrisson]

Thanks for the advice Jeff, I did a maxima hood mirror fender kit yesterday with much better results, the only thing I wasnt happy with on this one was a few spots that looked like there was a bit of orange peel... I am hoping to eventually come down and see you guys for some more training

[XPEL Jeff]

Usually if you see small spots of orange peel it is a section where the film stuck to the paint before you had squeegeed it. This can happen from a variety of things, but usually it is where your hand was on top of the film when stretching. Another good habit is to squeegee everything up to your hand to hold the film in place, but lift the film where your hand was and respray for good measure.

[Guest dbrisson]

yup, thats exactly where my hand was, makes sense, I don't have issues with mirrors, and fenders, I have not attempted a bumper yet, but the way I was trained to do hoods, is to tac both edges then squeegee to the middle, the problem with that now is that I can't re-lift the material where I've pushed to stretch it out to the edges, I guess I will have to change my approach a little.

I appreciate all the input Jeff,

does the installation gel work better then soap and water solution?

[XPEL Jeff]

Installation gel can be more forgiving, but we switch between gel and soap/water depending on the car and the temperature. Whichever solution you use, it is a good idea to "wiggle" the film as you stretch it, as it will keep it from tacking up. WHen you get it stretched where you want it, just stop wiggling and let it sit for a few seconds and squeegee.