Xpel; rookie (me) popped air pocket and nicked paint

JonMN · June 8

Hate to have my first post be a problem, but that's the case here. I'm a fan of PPF. Have had Suntek, 3M, and Xpel on various cars over the years. Even had an installation removed and replaced when I was not happy. I am not an installer, as you will soon see . . .

My favorite installer did a great job on my new Jeep. But, as often the case, there was one or two very small air pockets (not fluid). I decided to pop one and push it down. Not the best idea for a rookie with strong OCD tendencies. Should have went back to the dealer, but it's a LONG drive . . .

Anyway, I will admit that I not use the correct tool. I thought a brand new Exacto blade tip would be fine enough. I popped the bubble, got it to adhere to the paint, but when I looked under magnification I found that I cut the paint down to shiny metal. (I am way to much of a DIY type; it's my own fault). The metal exposure is really small--about 0.3mm long and 0.1mm wide. But I live in the salty winter state of Minnesota, so envision a salt hit.

Options:

1. Redo the sheet. But it's a complicated hood piece and they did a great job--hate to take it off.

2. Wait and see what happens.

3. Apply a very small dab of touchup paint to seal the small cut. We are talking really small amount of paint--typically use the tip of a toothpick.

4. Torch the car for an insurance claim . . .😏

After running the options past the installer I went with #3. A very small dot of touchup paint. Covered the exposure, looks OK and is very hard to see unless you look for it.

So, question is this: Think this might survive a few MN salt seasons??

[By the way, found a nice way to flatten the bubble if you do pop one--place a strong magnet over a thin piece of plastic over the bubble. Leave it over night if needed. Worked great]

Mpameno81 · June 9

Least noticeable would probably be the smallest drop/dab of clear-coat. In my humble opinion 👍

JonMN · June 9

40 minutes ago, Mpameno81 said:

Least noticeable would probably be the smallest drop/dab of clear-coat. In my humble opinion 👍

Thanks, I appreciate the reply. Thinking that between the fact the cut is really small, the film probably recovered over the top, and a tiny bit of paint to seal the margins it should survive our salt seasons. Sound logical?

Part of me wants to have the hood redone just to train myself to be more careful, but this is such a small defect and so hard to see I'm leaning towards the very small dab of paint approach.

Speed · June 13

Sometimes customers show up with a few chips but no touch up paint to fix them before the install. I have had pretty good luck putting a few drops of touch up paint in a syringe and injecting that under the film into the chip once they come back with the paint. You might want to try that when that paint on top washes off.

JonMN · June 13

1 hour ago, Speed said:

Sometimes customers show up with a few chips but no touch up paint to fix them before the install. I have had pretty good luck putting a few drops of touch up paint in a syringe and injecting that under the film into the chip once they come back with the paint. You might want to try that when that paint on top washes off.

Thanks for the reply! I will see what happens. I tested the paint on a scrap of PPF I had sitting around, the it seems really secure. Just for perspective, I attached a photo of my goof. It really was a small divot, just bugged me that I did it at all. I did place a very small bit of paint on the top of the exposure. Living in MN, rust is always the concern, so I am hoping I have this sealed. While I know that PPF can't heal a cut like this, it was very flat so the exposure should hopefully be minimal.

(What looks like a fold is the reflection of a seam in the ceiling)