Xpel film grille photos

[soSincerious]

Lol yeah, go ahead and learn how to be a pro and take the dive for the first time on your own truck ...

Good luck, all the best! Happy new year!

 

[PM-Performance]

It’s a LOT harder than you think

I’m sure it is, but not thousands hard.
Pretty sure I can do as good a job as the bunk stuff posted above and I’m half retarded with no prior skill. Lol

 

[soSincerious]

Please post your results! High quality, latest camera phone pics, middle of the day, perfect focus and from less than 12 inches away

Not trolling, honestly wishing you the best. Possible business opportunity awaits you

 

[PM-Performance]

Lol yeah, go ahead and learn how to be a pro and take the dive for the first time on your own truck ...

Good luck, all the best! Happy new year!

If you think the work above is “pro work” I am concerned.
This pro for a trailer park in Kentucky maybe.
The OP isn’t terrible, but the second guy that I was replying to is very bad.
I’d be pissed over that work.
That’s like what you pay a meth head $50 to score his next bag for.
Sorry but, it’s the truth

 

[soSincerious]

No problem. Just looking forward to your results. Also how long it took you start to finish, along with calendar quality photos of your work.

#challengeaccepted
#2021

 

[PM-Performance]

No problem. Just looking forward to your results. Also how long it took you start to finish, along with calendar quality photos of your work.

#challengeaccepted
#2021

Put it this way, it can’t be any worse that what was posted.
If that is what you expect of pro quality, I feel bad for what you have available for pros near you.

 

[DanoUF]

I agree. I’m taking mine to a guy who seems to be a massive perfectionist. He will remove the grille and do ALL of it, not just the traditional Pre-cut areas. I’m going with him based on his obvious compulsions for giving customers the best (and he’s barely more expensive than the other companies in the DC area).

Venom, Could you PM the info for the detailer your going with. I'm in the DC area and will need to get my truck done when it gets delivered.

 

[securityguy]

Put it this way, it can’t be any worse that what was posted.
If that is what you expect of pro quality, I feel bad for what you have available for pros near you.

Oh yes it can...you REALLY have no clue as to how difficult this is to do. I have seen it done to my vehicles more than 10 times and each time I am amazed. As @soSincerious stated, I wish you no ill-will and hope doing it yourself turns out amazing. However, this stuff is VERY pricey and the front bumper and grill are difficult installs. Your truck...your money, but I think you'll find, fairly quickly, this is WAAAY over your head

 

[PM-Performance]

Oh yes it can...you REALLY have no clue as to how difficult this is to do. I have seen it done to my vehicles more than 10 times and each time I am amazed. As @soSincerious stated, I wish you no ill-will and hope doing it yourself turns out amazing. However, this stuff is VERY pricey and the front bumper and grill are difficult installs. Your truck...your money, but I think you'll find, fairly quickly, this is WAAAY over your head

I by no means think it is easy, but Jesus if you guys are happy with that quality of work, I cannot imagine me doing it would be much worse.
Sure the individual grille slats would be difficult, but I probably would not even care to have those done.
For the price people are paying, I rather pay to have my front end repainted a few times over to be honest

 

[securityguy]

I by no means think it is easy, but Jesus if you guys are happy with that quality of work, I cannot imagine me doing it would be much worse.
Sure the individual grille slats would be difficult, but I probably would not even care to have those done.
For the price people are paying, I rather pay to have my front end repainted a few times over to be honest

No one is having their grill SLATS done...just the grill surround As was said above...please do try it on your own. Hopefully you'll be honest with us after you've pulled half your hair out quickly learning the level of difficulty to get it done. My installer has been doing this for 15+ years and I have always been more than satisfied. However, there are some installers that are just starting out and learn on other peoples vehicles as you have to start somewhere. I would hope their work is being closely supervised by a Master Installer, but we all know how that goes. In the end, most all installers offer either a 5-year or 10-year warranty on install and product integrity. If I wasn't happy, I wouldn't pay until it was redone correctly and to my satisfaction. You might be surprised to see how hard it truly is to get seams to line up perfectly when working with this material.

 

[Atlantic Blue]

Not sure how i feel about PPF for the long term. I had it on a car that i bought practically new. The original owner had a high quality PPF installed - over time (5 years or more) the PPF breaks down and cracks. At this point you will have to have it removed (likely by a professional) and then reinstalled. Seems like over time it gets to be really expensive to "maintain".

 

[securityguy]

Not sure how i feel about PPF for the long term. I had it on a car that i bought practically new. The original owner had a high quality PPF installed - over time (5 years or more) the PPF breaks down and cracks. At this point you will have to have it removed (likely by a professional) and then reinstalled. Seems like over time it gets to be really expensive to "maintain".

Wax it regularly, or ceramic coat it and it will never be an issue. You have to take care of it just like you do the paint on your car. If you've see peoples PPF crack, they did not do all that they were supposed to to maintain it.

 

[PM-Performance]

Not sure how i feel about PPF for the long term. I had it on a car that i bought practically new. The original owner had a high quality PPF installed - over time (5 years or more) the PPF breaks down and cracks. At this point you will have to have it removed (likely by a professional) and then reinstalled. Seems like over time it gets to be really expensive to "maintain".

It does not need to be removed by a professional. It’s just a clear film like people used to put on their cell phones basically
Yes it will break down. We have all seen them get chewed up and yellow and crack. While I am sure technology has gotten better and proper care helps, yes it won’t last forever

 

[securityguy]

It does not need to be removed by a professional. It’s just a clear film like people used to put on their cell phones basically
Yes it will break down. We have all seen them get chewed up and yellow and crack. While I am sure technology has gotten better and proper care helps, yes it won’t last forever

Exactly! Just peels off at a 45 degree angle nice and slow. I have seen it done and anyone can remove it. The films of the past were very different than the technology available in today's high quality films. Just like window tint has gotten much better over the years too.

 

[SpeedyV]

No one is having their grill SLATS done...just the grill surround As was said above...please do try it on your own. Hopefully you'll be honest with us after you've pulled half your hair out quickly learning the level of difficulty to get it done. My installer has been doing this for 15+ years and I have always been more than satisfied. However, there are some installers that are just starting out and learn on other peoples vehicles as you have to start somewhere. I would hope their work is being closely supervised by a Master Installer, but we all know how that goes. In the end, most all installers offer either a 5-year or 10-year warranty on install and product integrity. If I wasn't happy, I wouldn't pay until it was redone correctly and to my satisfaction. You might be surprised to see how hard it truly is to get seams to line up perfectly when working with this material.

I would’ve wanted my slats done (Longhorn grille). There’s no kit for that.

 

[2019REBEL]

I got 5 years out of my Suntek film on my 2014 Outdoorsman and it looked exactly like the day I put it on, got my 2019 Rebel done when I bought it 2 years ago. Still looks good.

 

[PurpleRT]

A few things since you guys seem to be blowing it out portion

-PM performance - I encourage you to do it yourself and please post results if you do. Your entitled to having a opinion but don’t be a d*ck about it.

-security guy if you had it done on your new or old truck please post results

-I’ll say it again up until now I’ve never noticed the rough cuts, if it eventually bothers me or if I get some time maybe I’ll have that fixed. Kits are usually laser cut and I’m not the installer so I can’t answer what happened maybe it was a a issue on Xpel end who knows what condition it arrived in, I don’t think he laser cuts in house (based on boxes I seen) but I was also not in shop due to what’s been going on. Taking a looking at the rest of the kit this is the only area that has this issue. It’s almost always guaranteed that if you stare at anything for so long you’ll find some kind of flaw. For now it will continue to do what I had it installed for to protect my painted end. Some would rather pay that money and have their front end repainted if necessary but I like my factory paint to stay intact.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[securityguy]

A few things since you guys seem to be blowing it out portion

-PM performance - I encourage you to do it yourself and please post results if you do. Your entitled to having a opinion but don’t be a d*ck about it.

-security guy if you had it done on your new or old truck please post results

-I’ll say it again up until now I’ve never noticed the rough cuts, if it eventually bothers me or if I get some time maybe I’ll have that fixed. Kits are usually laser cut and I’m not the installer so I can’t answer what happened maybe it was a a issue on Xpel end who knows what condition it arrived in, I don’t think he laser cuts in house (based on boxes I seen) but I was also not in shop due to what’s been going on. Taking a looking at the rest of the kit this is the only area that has this issue. It’s almost always guaranteed that if you stare at anything for so long you’ll find some kind of flaw. For now it will continue to do what I had it installed for to protect my painted end. Some would rather pay that money and have their front end repainted if necessary but I like my factory paint to stay intact.

1. There is nothing for me to show or prove to anyone...my Xpel looks awesome and I am very happy with the results as stated previously
2. I have used Xpel for 10+ years on all of my cars and trucks and it has always looked great (the installer makes the difference)
3. Film is not laser cut, but cut with a very fine blade on a plotter using Xpel CAD Software. No professional installer use pre-made "kits"
4. You can attempt a DIY, but I am telling you our bumper is a level 4 (out of 5) difficulty. This stuff is expensive and I am only trying to save @PM-Performance the heartache of pissing away hard earned money by destroying film. I have witnessed this being done, in its entirety, on my 2019 and my 2021. Some areas are easy (headlights and the flat areas directly below them headlights). Hoods, grills and bumpers not so much...very tough to get it to look good!
5. 100% agree that you NEVER want to paint unless there is no other option left. This new film will outlast your truck ownership if prepped and installed correctly and taken care of like you would your paint
6. It takes installers months, if not a year, to perfect this trade. Some installer are FAR better than others. Do your research...ask the right questions. Find an installer whose been doing this for 5+ years and feel that you're in great hands

My 2 cents and I'll bail out of this conversation since it's not going anywhere at this point unless I feel the desire to jump back in

 

[HAL9001]

You can get bulk PPF very inexpensively. You can even get it for free if you email mfgrs and request samples. I did this and received more than I know what to do with. They sent it to me in large rolls.

So, for my last vehicle, I took this free PPF and tried installing it myself. It was a bit tricky but no harder than anyone with fairly decent DIY skills can handle. The material is amazingly forgiving and can be applied, removed, and reapplied many times to get it right. After a while, you get the feel of it and it goes on much easier. Start off with an easy area with few contours to learn the technique and then you can progress to harder areas. You have little to lose if you buy the inexpensive bulk PPF. It comes off easily if you fail the first time. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials to show you how to apply it. For easy areas, it's really no big deal. For heavily contoured areas, it can be a bit challenging, but once you learn the technique, you'll be able to do it. Even if it doesn't come out 100% perfectly, you can save yourself thousands by doing it yourself.

People on vehicle forums take on all kinds of challenging retrofits and mods, so I'm always amazed at how many people shy away from installing PPF. It's really not that hard. The course to train "professional" installers is only a couple of days and, from what I hear, most take to it quickly. These people are no different than you or me. It simply a minor skill almost anyone can learn if they try. Unless you're tasked with installing PPF professionally and 100% perfectly on an entire car, it certainly does not take years to learn. Almost anyone can do select areas with a little bit of a learning curve. It's not rocket science nor is it an artistic skill as everyone seems to think. I'll bet the professional installers get a kick out of that and do nothing to alter anyone's perceptions about it, lol.

I was able to apply mine correctly the first time I tried. It looked great and protected the front end and rear quarter-panels for the two years I owned the vehicle, not a single rock chip. Was the installation 100% perfect? No, but it was very close, and no one ever noticed it was even there. I'm now going to apply the rest of the free PPF I received on my 2021 Limited. If I run out, I'll order more bulk PPF for very little cost. There's no need to spend a thousand dollars or more on PPF. You can do all the areas that really need it for just a couple hundred dollars or even less if you're simply willing to give it a try. If you're all thumbs, have it done professionally for $$$$, but if you think you have decent DIY abilities go buy a $20 piece of bulk PPF and simply give it a try.

 

[SpeedyV]

You can get bulk PPF very inexpensively. You can even get it for free if you email mfgrs and request samples. I did this and received more than I know what to do with. They sent it to me in large rolls.

So, for my last vehicle, I took this free PPF and tried installing it myself. It was a bit tricky but no harder than anyone with fairly decent mechanical skills can handle. The material is amazingly forgiving and can be applied, removed, and reapplied many times to get it right. After a while, you get the feel of it and it goes on much easier. Start off with an easy area with few contours to learn the technique and then you can progress to harder areas. You have little to lose if you buy the inexpensive bulk PPF. It comes off easily if you fail the first time. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials to show you how to apply it. For easy areas, it's really no big deal. For heavily contoured areas, it can be a bit challenging, but once you learn the technique, you'll be able to do it. Even if it doesn't come out 100% perfectly, you can save yourself thousands by doing it yourself.

People on vehicle forums take on all kinds of challenging retrofits and mods, so I'm always amazed at how many people shy away from installing PPF. It's really not that hard. The course to train "professional" installers is only a couple of days and, from what I hear, most take to it quickly. These people are no different than you or me. It simply a minor skill almost anyone can learn if they try. Unless you're tasked with installing PPF professionally and 100% perfectly on an entire car, it certainly does not take years to learn. Almost anyone can do select areas with a little bit of a learning curve. It's not rocket science nor is it an artistic skill as everyone seems to think. I'll bet the professional installers get a kick out of that and do nothing to alter anyone's perceptions about it, lol.

I was able to apply mine correctly the first time I tried. It looked great and protected the front end for the two years I owned the vehicle, not a single rock chip. Was the installation 100% perfect? No, but it was very close, and no one ever noticed it was even there. I'm now going to apply the rest of the free PPF I received on my 2021 Limited. If I run out, I'll order more bulk PPF for very little cost. There's no need to spend a thousand dollars or more on PPF. You can do all the areas that really need it for just a couple hundred dollars or even less if you're simply willing to give it a try. If you're all thumbs, have it done professionally for $$$$, but if you think you have decent DIY abilities go buy a $20 piece of bulk PPF and simply give it a try.

I tend to agree that it’s doable with proper prep, ample patience, and attention to detail.

It’s like home improvement...I’m “the best contractor I know” when it comes to quality on my own home, as I’m very detail-oriented and actually care about the result. But it takes at least 2-3x as long for me to complete a project, and it probably costs just as much as hiring a pro once I’ve purchased supplies and corrected any mistakes!