Paint Protection Films has been gaining a lot of popularity in the car detailing world. Many car owners flock to detailers for a paint protection film installation, but not all of them leave the shop happy. The problem is, performing a PPF installation takes plenty of practice, and not every shop who offers the service are qualified. If you’ve just got your car wrapped in a clear bra and isn’t completely satisfied, here are some common problems we see you can find from a local shop that did it below. This was very recent too from just a day ago from this post.
Below is a 1 Star Yelp review from our competitor shop that was just posted yesterday. His car was at the shop for several weeks and multiple drop offs days and still did not only a poor job but didn’t take care of the customer. This is the type of scenario we never want to happen here at OCDetailing.
I decided to trust (Shop Owner) and do a full car Xpel Stealth Paint Protection Film on my brand new 2020 Type R (w/30 Miles on Odometer) with ceramic coating. (Shop Name) had my car for 7 business days. When I came to pick the car, I started to notice all the issues. Dirt under the paint protection film, many bubbles, film peeling on the edges, the seams not lining up and many edges not rolled over the corners as promised. I expressed my concerns and the owner of (Shop Name) promised me to take care of it after giving it 10 days or so for the film to settle.
Second visit:
After 10 days. I went over the film applied on the car and made a list of the issues I had noticed (ignoring some of them). I went over the details with the owner and sent him the list I prepared. I was hoping that the second time around, they will take their time to properly address my car. I was in for a big surprise. While picking the car after 5 more days at (Shop Name) I noticed more issues.
At this point I started to question my decision on choosing (Shop Name) and never understood how they are able to deliver a car to the customer with all these issues clearly visible?!
Third Visit:
After another 2 weeks, I took pictures highlighting issues and handed the car back to (Shop Name) hoping this would be my last and final visit. Boy was I wrong and the nightmare had just begun.
After keeping my car for another 4 days, The owner asked me to come pick up the car. Immediately upon arrival I was in utter shock. The wheel arches did not have film and I saw the paint had been stripped on two areas while they were removing the film. My brand new car now needed new painted wheel arches. I know the painted plastics are never going to match with the other body panels and after spending nearly 6k and waiting over 3.5 weeks, my new car was damaged thanks to the careless and reckless work carried out by the staff at (Shop Name).
Even after 3 attempts, there are still bubbles all over the car, the film seams are not lining up with edges on many parts along with the damage to the rear wheel fender flares. Don’t trust this shop for your PPF work!
Attaching Pictures for evidence.
What Can You Do?
The first step to ensuring you will have a proper paint protection film installation is vetting your installers. Even though plenty of shops in the Bay Area offer installations of paint protection film, it’s always worth combing through online reviews or asking your friends and family for recommendations. Don’t forget to also check YouTube videos to see if you can watch them do the wrapping too. Paint protection film brand is important too as they are not very cheap and messing up is not a good idea during install.
That said, if you did end up with an unsatisfactory installation, there’s always a way to fix it. Paint protection films, by design, are easy to remove without leaving any traces on the original car paint. It is all too simple to rip off the old layer of film and install a new piece in its place. However, if your original body shop refuses to correct your paint protection film, or if you’d rather go with a more reliable place that wouldn’t screw up again, then you have the luxury of picking a new place that promises to take good care of your vehicle.
Before committing to a service or a shop, make sure they answer any questions you might have about the films and techniques they use. Want to avoid misaligned edges? Ask your installer to use a flexible film and wrap around the edges. Want to eliminate stretch marks and relief cuts? Make sure your installer will be using a pliable paint protection film that doesn’t have to be stretched out excessively to fit on the car surface. Prefer to avoid dust and dirt trapped under your film? Choose an installer that will be doing the installation in a clean environment. What it ultimately boils down to is communication. Know what you want and expect, and talk to your installer before you commit to any kind of paint protection film. At the end of the day, if you cover all your basis, you’re far more likely to get the result you have in mind.
If you ever have questions or need advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us OCDetailing. We have been installing paint protection film for years in the Bay Area and do custom bulk with all edges wrapped and tucked in.
