Questions about 3m film kits

[hemi1300]

Want to install some protecrive film on my black harley street glide saddlebag lids. Not only to protect from boot scuffs, but to protect against scratches, as the paint swirls fairly easily and I find myself breaking out the rupes on them pretty often to remove swirls. Curious though, with the film installed, do they get swirls as easily as paint? If treating them just like paint using quality micro fibers, are they more resistant to hairline scratches than clearcoat?

[dnull]

In  my experience using that type product I can say that it does scratch but you need to realize it is used as a protection for the paint. The newer coatings are a little better than the original ones but you will notice some imperfections.

[hemi1300]

That's my only concern. I understand that obviously it is there to protect the paint, and who cares if a protective film gets scratched, as that's it's intended purpose, but I am ocd about surface scratches on my black vehicles and it would drive me nuts if the protective film developed a bunch of swirls.

[hemi1300]

Is it possible to polish these films with products like adams finishing polish? Tried to research and some say yes, others no

[LT1xL82]

Use care when polishing ppf...many suppliers say no go. Some folks have been successful with hand polish like Revive. It is really a great cleaner. Scratch removal is not it's forte. I would be real leary of using a machine...and beware the film's edges!

 

Some ppf like Xpel Ultimate self heal...leave it in the sun or pour hot water over the scratches. 

[dnull]

I haven't seen anyone have my luck with polishing the film, keep in mind how soft that vinyl is.

[Tim]

I have Xpel Ultimate on my cars vs 3m. It is self healing, so a day in the sun removes any "swirls". I haven't had to polish the bumper of my wife's Camaro since installation. No complaints.

 

(My car has less than 2,400 miles on it, so I don't really count that even though it has Xpel also.)

[hemi1300]

Found a site online that sells pre cut xpel film for the saddlebag lids and tank area of my street glide, think i'm gonna order some today

[Ricky Bobby]

I second Tims idea. XPel ultimate is great, I have my retrofitted headlights wrapped in it to protect the lenses. A year later it looks like it was just applied and still the lenses look new

[GXPaycheck]

XPel has its own brand of polish.

[Nick@DreamMakers]

Stay away from the 3M stuff.  They were the industry leaders for a long time, but have been bypassed in terms of quality by a handful of other manufacturers.

 

If you found the pre-cut XPEL kits, that would be a solid choice for your application.

 

We use Suntek PPF-C in our shop, and it kicks ***.  Clarity is amazing, and it's very user friendly.  Self-healing top coat on the PPF-C is a nice bonus as well.