PPF didn't go exactly as I had expected

[seattlefox]

Today I finally got my GTS to the ppf shop for the standard full front wrapping. When I picked it up earlier today, I noticed that the corners were wrapped a bit "ugly", especially true for a corner of one of the driver-side panels. See pics. The shop owner told me that that was not up to their standard, and would offer to redo that panel for me tomorrow morning. Well, as a n00b in PPF in general, I have a few questions for you guys:
1/ Is the corner wrapped like that normal? Am I being too picky? Honestly the same corner on the passenger side is more or less the same, but with a smaller area hence less ugly. The owner didn't offer to replace the film on that panel.
2/ Will peeling off the film and re-doing that panel potentially damage the paint in any way? I worry I will be getting a small issue fixed while causing a larger one.

If you were me, would you allow them to re-do that panel, or just live with it?

Thanks all!

The driver-side panel that they think it's not up to their standard and offers a re-do:

The passenger side which they think it's more or less expected and didn't offer a re-do:

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[Calaxer19]

If this was Eastside Auto Salon, then absolutely not. They literally wrapped every edge and corner underneath. My assumption is that any exposed edge collects to dirt and may peal over time.

I wouldn’t worry about rewrapping since that’s one of the major benefits of PPF in the first place (simply replace film after nicks and damage).

Agree that the wrapping seems equally poor on drivers and passenger side. Good luck.

 

[seattlefox]

If this was Eastside Auto Salon, then absolutely not. They literally wrapped every edge and corner underneath. My assumption is that any exposed edge collects to dirt and may peal over time.

I wouldn’t worry about rewrapping since that’s one of the major benefits of PPF in the first place (simply replace film after nicks and damage).

Agree that the wrapping seems equally poor on drivers and passenger side. Good luck.

Thanks! Not Eastside Auto Salon - I actually wanted to go with them but their wait time was too long.. It's "the other" shop. It seems that there's a much bigger difference between those two than most people were saying.

I'll probably try to convince them to re-wrap both sides.

 

[PCFishman]

You have edges because they use precut templates. You need to go with someone who does custom hand trim install. I took mine to Snok Film solutions in Kirkland. They did a near seamless install for me and every edge was wrapped. Having a seamless install was especially important to me because I went with the satin finish, so any exposed edge would pop. There are photos of my car in this forum if you want to check out their work.

 

[seattlefox]

You have edges because they use precut templates. You need to go with someone who does custom hand trim install. I took mine to Snok Film solutions in Kirkland. They did a near seamless install for me and every edge was wrapped. Having a seamless install was especially important to me because I went with the satin finish, so any exposed edge would pop. There are photos of my car in this forum if you want to check out their work.

I wish I had known the nuances of PPF.

Btw, your car looks absolutely gorgeous!

 

[whitex]

@seattlefox
Did you ask the shop about these corners? Maybe they want a chance to rewrap those panels? If they say that is just what they do, they should have no issues with you posting a review with pictures of what their standard install is.

I wish I had known the nuances of PPF.

Some more nuances relevant to anyone wanting to PPF their car.

 

[DirtyPop]

Today I finally got my GTS to the ppf shop for the standard full front wrapping. When I picked it up earlier today, I noticed that the corners were wrapped a bit "ugly", especially true for a corner of one of the driver-side panels. See pics. The shop owner told me that that was not up to their standard, and would offer to redo that panel for me tomorrow morning. Well, as a n00b in PPF in general, I have a few questions for you guys:
1/ Is the corner wrapped like that normal? Am I being too picky? Honestly the same corner on the passenger side is more or less the same, but with a smaller area hence less ugly. The owner didn't offer to replace the film on that panel.
2/ Will peeling off the film and re-doing that panel potentially damage the paint in any way? I worry I will be getting a small issue fixed while causing a larger one.

If you were me, would you allow them to re-do that panel, or just live with it?

Thanks all!

The driver-side panel that they think it's not up to their standard and offers a re-do:

The passenger side which they think it's more or less expected and didn't offer a re-do:

Pre cut vs custom job. How much did you pay for your PPF? You also need to account that the custom wrap would have been more expensive. I’ve had my GTS precut PPF for 2 years now and I have had zero yellowing, zero lifting, and zero issues. The chances of a rock hitting that corner are very slim. My car is carrera white metallic.

 

[seattlefox]

Pre cut vs custom job. How much did you pay for your PPF? You also need to account that the custom wrap would have been more expensive. I’ve had my GTS precut PPF for 2 years now and I have had zero yellowing, zero lifting, and zero issues. The chances of a rock hitting that corner are very slim. My car is carrera white metallic.

Do you have similar corners/edges as I posted on yours?

cost was 2.1k

 

[DirtyPop]

Yes. I paid $2,600 because everything in the Bay Area is more expensive than other places. I’m pretty sure a custom job would have cost more. When they don’t use pre cut pieces I believe they use a lot more film, and film gets wasted. I’m not an expert but that is what I think. It takes longer and there is material waste thus it costs more.

 

[gtm]

Today I finally got my GTS to the ppf shop for the standard full front wrapping. When I picked it up earlier today, I noticed that the corners were wrapped a bit "ugly", especially true for a corner of one of the driver-side panels. See pics. The shop owner told me that that was not up to their standard, and would offer to redo that panel for me tomorrow morning. Well, as a n00b in PPF in general, I have a few questions for you guys:
1/ Is the corner wrapped like that normal? Am I being too picky? Honestly the same corner on the passenger side is more or less the same, but with a smaller area hence less ugly. The owner didn't offer to replace the film on that panel.
2/ Will peeling off the film and re-doing that panel potentially damage the paint in any way? I worry I will be getting a small issue fixed while causing a larger one.

If you were me, would you allow them to re-do that panel, or just live with it?

Thanks all!

The driver-side panel that they think it's not up to their standard and offers a re-do:

The passenger side which they think it's more or less expected and didn't offer a re-do:

Not a good job and they need to correct it. I paid about what you paid for a front half wrap (Xpel Ultimate Plus). Every edge that could be wrapped was. Not a seam visible and no "missed" corners.
That is not good work and any excuse they offer is a lame excuse for poor craftsmanship.

 

[tayCanadian]

As others have said, those corners are like that because (a) they are using pre-cut kits, but also I've been told that (b) there is a lot of pull in those corners when they wrap all the way around and it often leads to the film pulling back and becoming undone, so that's why they cut those corner tips to prevent the peel back.

Another member on this forum has his PPF installed this way as well.

In my case, I wanted my film to be bulk cut (not pre-cut) and I wanted all the edges wrapped because I was using matte ppf and didn't want gloss showing in those corners.

It's been 1.5 years and so far, those corners have not come undone, so it looks like it's fine to wrap em. If the shop is willing to re-do, have them re-do it.

 

[seattlefox]

Yes. I paid $2,600 because everything in the Bay Area is more expensive than other places. I’m pretty sure a custom job would have cost more. When they don’t use pre cut pieces I believe they use a lot more film, and film gets wasted. I’m not an expert but that is what I think. It takes longer and there is material waste thus it costs more.

Thanks for the pic! Interestingly, they did well on the edges as in they are tucked, but the downside of that choice is the corners are left more exposed. It's a trade-off though.

 

[seattlefox]

@seattlefox
Did you ask the shop about these corners? Maybe they want a chance to rewrap those panels? If they say that is just what they do, they should have no issues with you posting a review with pictures of what their standard install is.


Some more nuances relevant to anyone wanting to PPF their car.

That's fair enough. I left the car there this morning and will update on how it goes.

Basically, they said the corner tip from my first few pics is not up to their standard and they'll redo that panel. The other corner tip shown on my last pic is expected. I guess that's the best they can do.

After picking up the car later today, I'll share what the outcome is, especially to PNW friends so they know what can be expected from this shop.

 

[bwherry]

I just ran out to my car and snapped a pic of that same corner so y'all can see how the PPF on my car looks there:

(this is at work in underground parking structure, so it's a bit dark and car is dirty)

My full-car PPF was done by Bulletproof Auto Spa here in Los Angeles and as you can see from the photo, the edges of the film are not visible. I can feel the edge of the film if I put my finger underneath that bit of the hood. IIRC they used an "oversized, pre-cut" strategy where they basically use the computer-cut PPF pieces, but oversize them all just a wee bit, so they can wrap the corners (possibly/probably using heat or whatever). Seems like a good compromise between normal pre-cut w/ edges visible and full-custom (wasteful and $$$). You can check out a little video of the work in progress here - if you watch very closely you can see the slightly oversized pieces of PPF going on etc.

FWIW, in case this is helpful for anyone considering PPF etc. HTH!

Brian

 

[seattlefox]

I just ran out to my car and snapped a pic of that same corner so y'all can see how the PPF on my car looks there:

(this is at work in underground parking structure, so it's a bit dark and car is dirty)

My full-car PPF was done by Bulletproof Auto Spa here in Los Angeles and as you can see from the photo, the edges of the film are not visible. I can feel the edge of the film if I put my finger underneath that bit of the hood. IIRC they used an "oversized, pre-cut" strategy where they basically use the computer-cut PPF pieces, but oversize them all just a wee bit, so they can wrap the corners (possibly/probably using heat or whatever). Seems like a good compromise between normal pre-cut w/ edges visible and full-custom (wasteful and $$$). You can check out a little video of the work in progress here - if you watch very closely you can see the slightly oversized pieces of PPF going on etc.

FWIW, in case this is helpful for anyone considering PPF etc. HTH!

Brian

Super helpful! Based on what the shop told me, that corner cannot be completely wrapped like how yours looks. They said if a corner is wrapped like that, the edge of the film will soon lift up. Obviously that's not the case for yours!

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