2002-2005 Paint Protective Film | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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2002-2005 Paint Protective Film

  • Thread starter Thread starter hpe1087
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hpe1087

hpe1087

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Thunderbird Year
2002
Curious if any owners have had paint protective films, similar to XPEL, applied to protect finishes from paint chips or road dust/contaminants. Read that these films have advanced in quality, endurance, & minimal, if any, yellowing. Would be interested what the costs might average for this service. Read there are different application packages to cover Hi-impact areas, like front bumpers & side panels, to having a complete bumper-to-bumper coverage.

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How long has the film been in place and how well does it "blend" to the surfaces without the film? The installation looks perfect as there's no sign of any edges of the XPEL film in the photo!
 
I had the front of my 1963 Corvette covered with SunTek Self-Healing invisible bra....its nearly undetectable unless you are 3' away and looking closely at the line where it stops.....it has been on 3 years in the Florida sun with no yellowing or peeling and its saved me untold dings and chips on the highway. The cost is laregely determined by whether or not there are pre-cut kits for a particular car. There were none for my car so the cost for a professional install was over $1,000. This pro does all the Ferarris and exotics for local dealers, so he was the best.
 
hpe1087 said:
Curious if any owners have had paint protective films, similar to XPEL, applied to protect finishes from paint chips or road dust/contaminants. Read that these films have advanced in quality, endurance, & minimal, if any, yellowing. Would be interested what the costs might average for this service. Read there are different application packages to cover Hi-impact areas, like front bumpers & side panels, to having a complete bumper-to-bumper coverage.
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I just installed a protective film by "Armour Up". It's a urethane material similar to the Xpel headlight protective film. I purchased a 3" x 60" roll from Amazon. Use spray detailer to wet the film/paint and force out excess water. Takes a few days to let the water evaporate. Don't place the top on it for at least 3-5 days (in warm weather). It's almost invisible from 4-5' away.
 

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How many separate pieces did you need to cut it in? (Assuming it's not flexible enough to make the curves)
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I used 3 pieces and trimmed the excess along the junction of the rear deck and canvas top. I found that a sharp pair of small scissors worked better than a blade. If the scissors are new, you could open them partially and run the it along without exercising the scissors. The material being "Rubbery" was not happy with a blade trimming.
 
The place that the film is a "Must" is the headlight lense. I've been using Expel light covers for 15 years and they work, and work well. On my truck which is left in the sun, the lenses look perfect. And that's saying a lot in AZ. I installed them as soon as I bought the T-Bird. No chips or sand blasting and fogging. It's $65 well spent. I will say there is another paint protective product that I've used in the past, but it's hard to locate an installer. I believe it's called Armour Coat and it's a "Spray on" coating guaranteed to last the life of the car. I've used it on several vehicles and it works perfectly. It completely coats all surfaces where chipping is an issue. And unlike a film, it's sprayed on so every nook and cranny is coated. It's perfectly invisible but you can feel it. It has a cushing effect so rocks just bounce off. It was sprayed on by a detail shop in WA State the last time I was able to find it. Cost me $500 to do the entire vehicles areas of vulnerability.
 
Based on great experience with previous vehicles, I went with 3M PPF for my 2005. Front bumper, mirrors, and also where hardtop mounts (MUCH better than the mylar strips provided by Ford). 3m does not yellow or shrink - self healing.
 
********* said:
How many separate pieces did you need to cut it in? (Assuming it's not flexible enough to make the curves)
Click to expand...
It depends on how of clear tape you use, I got away with using three pieces. I just removed the top and the taped area still looks perfect after 6 months of having the top on.
 
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