PPF Possible Issue

[ouhockeyplayer]

Hello,

 

I had Xpel paint protection film installed on my 2016 STI and noticed something interesting today as I was looking over the edges.  With the hood closed I noticed what looked like a faint line of no paint or a chip between the weather stripping and the edge of the bumper in a couple spots.  When raising the hood and pulling back the stripping my fears where confirmed.  Pictures below.  Now I'm not sure if the installer could have caused this with a knife when doing any trimming or not.  I guess it would be hard to prove anyways.  It almost looks like it is strike through or just typical crap Subaru paint that was somehow damaged closing the hood causing the weather stopping to rub.  I'm afraid to brush on some touch up paint as it is right against the edge of the film and I certainly don't want to make something not very noticeable, noticeable.  What would you guys do in my situation?  I am going back to see the installer Saturday to fix a few spots that were not satisfactory to me so I'm not sure if I should bring this up or not. 

 

 

[Dan@Adams]

Do you have any zoomed out pictures? If that is right where the hood meets the front bumper, it's possible that maybe the bump stops are too low or the alignment of the hood is off and it caused that rubbing from opening and closing the hood.

 

Has the hood or bumper even been removed from the car, and have you ever machine polished in that area? Those could both be determining factors, but it's also very possible they could have done something during installation. Scratches from razor blades are usually noticeable and gouge into the paint and metal - are there any slices in the weather-stripping in those areas?

 

I would definitely show them, but it would be hard to know for sure if that happened during installation or some other time.

[ouhockeyplayer]

The bumper has never been off the car.  I lightly polished this portion of the bumper before I had the film installed to make sure any imperfections were out.  I'm usually careful about edges with my porter cable and taped off the weather stripping with painters tape.  I'm not sure if the installer tried to polish anything or not.  There are no visible cuts in the weather stripping and the film itself has a pretty straight line and not jagged like a couple areas I noticed he trimmed by hand.  When running my finger over the area there are no jagged edges that would usually indicate a chip.  It is smooth to the touch.  Below is a more zoomed out shot and one with the hood closed.  I put red boxes around the areas the defects are present (hood closed picture is approximate as you can't see them in the picture).

 

 

[ouhockeyplayer]

If this is a warranty issue with something rubbing I doubt Subaru would pay for the film to be reinstalled after repainting the bumper.  Would it be best to just leave this alone if its not very visible?  Like I said, I'm afraid touch up paint could go horribly wrong being that close to the film edge.

[Bryce]

There is certainly enough clearance between the panels so I don't think it would be rubbing.  It does however look like a rubbing mark as oppose to a razor blade or something sharp gouging it.  

Is there also paint damage below the weather stripping?  In your 1st and 2nd photo, it looks like there is paint missing lower as well.

To my eye, without feeling it, it is a rubbing motion or a very high grit sanding.

With your Porter Cable, I don't imagine you could have done that to the edge without a lot of misuse.  

[marquez93]

If you're okay with it, then it's okay to leave it. It's on plastic so rust will never be an issue. If it were mine, I would get a really fine brush and try to get some paint in there. If you mess it up, you can wipe it off with some solvent.

[ouhockeyplayer]

It doesn't look like paint is missing below the weather stripping.  I definitely agree that it appears to be a rub marks of some kind.  I think if it was a cut you would see some nicks or gouges in the plastic as well or at least feel them.  I can't see anything being visibly off hood alignment wise.  The bumper has never been repainted as I ordered the car from the factory and it only has 2,200 miles.  I do wash the car weekly and open and close the hood to dry things off.  Maybe I can probe the installer before I show him anything Saturday to see if he polished anything while he had the car.  

[ouhockeyplayer]

I might give the fine brush idea a try.  I'm very OCD about my cars just like most of us on here so even if it is not very noticeable I will know that it is there.  

[DREWBUSH]

Do you have the xpel on the hood also? I would check the clearance between the rub spot on top of your bumper and the matching spot on the edge of the hood. Also on my WRX, I notice the bumper is not very well attached. Its held on by a few clips and some screws, it has a lot of play in all directions. Your bumper might actually be shifting around while you drive and be rubbing on the hood or seal. 

[ouhockeyplayer]

I don't have Xpel on the hood just yet.  Its in the plans but I wanted to try the installer with the bumper first before I let him do a full wrap on the hood.  I took a closer look at the edges of the hood and did not notice any issues.  I guess if I put a little touch up paint on the edge and if it comes off again I know something is rubbing while driving or opening/closing the hood.  

[Dan@Adams]

It doesn't look like paint is missing below the weather stripping.  I definitely agree that it appears to be a rub marks of some kind.  I think if it was a cut you would see some nicks or gouges in the plastic as well or at least feel them.  I can't see anything being visibly off hood alignment wise.  The bumper has never been repainted as I ordered the car from the factory and it only has 2,200 miles.  I do wash the car weekly and open and close the hood to dry things off.  Maybe I can probe the installer before I show him anything Saturday to see if he polished anything while he had the car.  

 

I'm not saying this is the case, but it's common for cars to get some damage during shipping from the factory to the dealership. Bumpers can be re-sprayed, dents repaired, etc, and the dealership does not have to disclose any of this information prior to sale. I guarantee on my Regal G.S. that I used to have that it was repainted on the rear bumper...the white pearl blend was several shades off in one spot from the rest of the vehicle. I shrugged it off because it was only viewable at a certain lighting angle.

[ouhockeyplayer]

I worked at a dealer in my younger days and saw many new cars being pulled off the lot for body work unfortunately.  I'm always very cautious of buying any car of the lot now because of it.  My salesman took a picture of the car on the hauler when it came in and I picked it up the very next morning.  It would have had to have been some record time body work. I did not allow them to wash it only pull the plastic off to make sure there was no damage.  I'm leaning more and more towards the PPF installer which is disappointing that he would try and hide something and not be up front about it.  I guess this is also why I have to take it back to him to redo a piece (hair under the film and just a crappy overall cut), remove an air bubble and trim a piece that he forgot to do around the grill.      

[Nick@DreamMakers]

At a quick glance, that looks like air trapped under your PPF to me.

 

If that's the case, it's an easy fix for any competent installer.

[ouhockeyplayer]

Holy cow you might have just saved me from a mistake. When I got home I used some of my Dr Colorchip touch up paint and went along the edge to hide the blemish completely. I just ran out there and very faintly I could see a film edge wrapped down in there. I quickly grabbed some rubbing alcohol and cleaned the paint off. I'll show him Saturday and hopefully it's just air as you said. Glad that film cleans off so easily.

[marquez93]

If that's an air bubble, it must be one hell of a bubble because it doesn't come across that way to me, even zoomed in.

 

And if it's Xpel and it's a good installer, they shouldn't be doing any cutting. You can get pre cut pieces from Xpel (or I think your own cutting machine) for pretty much any car. Much better than having cut lines in your paint if you ever remove it.

[ouhockeyplayer]

I have my doubts it's a bubble too but whatever happened it's now trapped under film. The installed I used is factory trained according to the Xpel website. The kit was pre cut but he did trim in a few spots that he did not like. According to him its more of a score on the top of the film and then tearing the piece away.

[Nick@DreamMakers]

What did you find out Saturday?  I'm curious now.