New PPF, looks bad or am I nitpicking?

wiredgizmo@gmail.com · 10-13-2022, 06:44 PM

I just got PPF done on the new x5. Never had PPF before so need some opinions. Looks pretty bad to me. Am I nit-picking? or is this really bad...

Some problems I see:
-1 side of the fender was tucked in but the other side was cut at the edge, looks like it's not sticking and will peel.
-pretty bad lifting right in the middle of the bumper at a curve
-some overlapping on the bumper towards the bottom
-overstretch? or some type of damage on hood
-some parts are not really tucked in, just somewhat flapping
-lots of bubbles around, was told that bubbles will go away in some days

Flyboy2017 · 10-13-2022, 07:00 PM

I've only had ppf applied to a car once, but it looked a lot better than that.

nZtiZia · 10-13-2022, 07:10 PM

you're not nit picky. mind you, this stuff isn't supposed to be invisible, but the installer is supposed to be nit picky. truthfully, I've seen better installations.

air bubbles should disappear. give it a week, preferably under the sun. what kind of guarantee does your installer provide regarding re-installation? will their re-installations be better or worse?

my initial installer is super OCD. (the kind you want for this option!) I scuffed one side of my front bumper, but fitting me into his schedule was a bear, so I went with my second choice installer who didn't do as good a job as my first. I've learned to live with the dust bubbles now, but it really bothered me at first. truth be told, for all the compliments I've been getting, nobody has remarked on any of the imperfections (but we know them all, don't we?)

P1 · 10-13-2022, 07:28 PM

If you can see there's PPF, the PPF wasn't done right.

Happy to take some pics of mine and show you what it should look like.

wiredgizmo@gmail.com · 10-13-2022, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1

If you can see there's PPF, the PPF wasn't done right.

Happy to take some pics of mine and show you what it should look like.

Looks like I'm going to go back to the shop tomorrow. Wow, if there's any chance you can do that, would be super so I can have a comparison.

Blueboxer · 10-13-2022, 07:47 PM

The bubbles are normal, provided they aren’t large, but a lot of the other issues are poor workmanship overall. There will inevitably be some lines where the pattern wasn’t exact, but the overlapping and loose edges would be unacceptable for most shops let alone the customers.

espressoo · 10-13-2022, 07:55 PM

The bubbles will slowly go away. The edges if not corrected soon after install probably won’t stick well after dirt gets on the adhesive. Sometimes it can be cleaned and adhesive promoter can help. If you bring it back, the installer will probably trim it off rather than redo a large portion of the bumper. A good installer would disassemble parts of your trim before install so they can tuck certain parts. The grill is easy to remove and those edges would be better tucked. I installed PPF myself as a DIY on the X5. My last new vehicle I paid someone to install it and it was a pretty good job but it was expensive. It’s extremely difficult to make all the seams perfect but if you’re paying someone thousands of dollars for an install you should expect a certain level of quality. Warranty is also important because some edges will always peel over the first year or so. My installer before offered 3 year warranty and replaced a few parts that peeled right before year 3.

P1 · 10-13-2022, 08:29 PM

Apart from the grills and the fender, everything you see has PPF on it (full bumper, including all the black trim, headlights and hood).

kgelfen360 · 10-13-2022, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgizmo@gmail.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1

If you can see there's PPF, the PPF wasn't done right.

Happy to take some pics of mine and show you what it should look like.

Looks like I'm going to go back to the shop tomorrow. Wow, if there's any chance you can do that, would be super so I can have a comparison.

Yea it's not terrible but it's definitely not great. I guess it depends how much you paid but I would not be happy with this.
As mentioned above bibles will go away most likely but the edge stuff you pointed out in pictures is not right.

wiredgizmo@gmail.com · 10-13-2022, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1

Apart from the grills and the fender, everything you see has PPF on it (full bumper, including all the black trim, headlights and hood).

Where's the ppf?

yeah, this is clean

P1 · 10-13-2022, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgizmo@gmail.com

Where's the ppf?

yeah, this is clean

Exactly!

Shllshck · 10-15-2022, 05:02 PM

P1 That is done right. Curious, what PPF did you go with? XPEL, Suntek, 3M, Stek, or something else? Did you throw on a ceramic coat as well?

Shllshck · 10-15-2022, 05:07 PM

wiredgizmo@gmail.com Did you pay for a kit or a custom install? If they did a kit, could explain why some lines are visible. If they did a custom, they didn’t cut and tuck the edges properly. Either way, it doesn’t look right. Good luck getting this corrected.

P1 · 10-15-2022, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shllshck

P1 That is done right. Curious, what PPF did you go with? XPEL, Suntek, 3M, Stek, or something else? Did you throw on a ceramic coat as well?

Both my wife's M2 Comp and her X5 were done using PremiumShield Elite NexGen. I'm not a ceramic coat guy, honestly. I only use Menzerna Power Lock as a sealant and Optimum Instant Detailer as my quick detailer. Have for years...

Blueboxer · 10-17-2022, 05:39 PM

Menzerna and Optimum is a great combo, I used to use their FMJ, but the AIO McKee's has been a time saver with a better overall gloss. I hope the OP posts an update that the shop takes care of him/her.

Bavar-ian · 10-17-2022, 06:59 PM

Ive done Xpel and you have to avoid rain for the 1st day or 2.

2nd day i had to tuck in some of the edges with a card.
No bubbles on mine;down to workmanship issues and im sure your local store would touch them up for you.

dD_E90AW · 10-21-2022, 08:07 AM

I had precut PPF Xpel applied to the whole hood, front bumper, and partial fenders/wheel arches where the seams aren't noticeable when the car is clean.
There were a few minor bubbles and lifted edges after the install which the vendor resolved by trimming the edges or releasing the contents of the bubble.
About 7 months later all is looking good and all of the issues have been resolved. I'd contact the installer immediately to have the issues mended. I wish you luck!

SplendidCamel · 10-26-2022, 04:44 PM

The installer will be able to correct the PPF lift at the kidney grille and bumper by using some adhesive. The installer tries not to use adhesive to avoid peeling the paint when removing the PPF, but those few places may require a little extra adhesive.

If the hood stretch marks don't go away, I would have them replace the hood PPF. One of the reasons that PPF application is expensive is that the installer knows they may have some re-work. The price should include some buffer for materials and labor for re-work.

The fender looks questionable. It may need a new sheet of PPF.

There shouldn't be any bubbles.

10-13-2022, 06:44 PM	#1
wiredgizmo@gmail.com Registered 1 Rep 3 Posts Drives: 2023 x5 45e Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: new mexico iTrader: (0)	New PPF, looks bad or am I nitpicking? I just got PPF done on the new x5. Never had PPF before so need some opinions. Looks pretty bad to me. Am I nit-picking? or is this really bad... Some problems I see: -1 side of the fender was tucked in but the other side was cut at the edge, looks like it's not sticking and will peel. -pretty bad lifting right in the middle of the bumper at a curve -some overlapping on the bumper towards the bottom -overstretch? or some type of damage on hood -some parts are not really tucked in, just somewhat flapping -lots of bubbles around, was told that bubbles will go away in some days Attached Images
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10-13-2022, 07:00 PM	#2
Flyboy2017 Private First Class 54 Rep 177 Posts Drives: Ford F150 Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	I've only had ppf applied to a car once, but it looked a lot better than that.
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10-13-2022, 07:10 PM	#3
nZtiZia Major General 4652 Rep 8,694 Posts Drives: eVeRyOnE mAD! Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: neither here nor there... iTrader: (0) Garage List 2021 BMW X5 xDrive 45e [9.88]	you're not nit picky. mind you, this stuff isn't supposed to be invisible, but the installer is supposed to be nit picky. truthfully, I've seen better installations. air bubbles should disappear. give it a week, preferably under the sun. what kind of guarantee does your installer provide regarding re-installation? will their re-installations be better or worse? my initial installer is super OCD. (the kind you want for this option!) I scuffed one side of my front bumper, but fitting me into his schedule was a bear, so I went with my second choice installer who didn't do as good a job as my first. I've learned to live with the dust bubbles now, but it really bothered me at first. truth be told, for all the compliments I've been getting, nobody has remarked on any of the imperfections (but we know them all, don't we?)
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-13-2022, 07:28 PM	#4
P1 Lieutenant General 11572 Rep 11,136 Posts Drives: 2004 3/4 ton Duramax Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: United States iTrader: (1)	If you can see there's PPF, the PPF wasn't done right. Happy to take some pics of mine and show you what it should look like.
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10-13-2022, 07:47 PM	#6
Blueboxer Private First Class 33 Rep 112 Posts Drives: 2011 535 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: California iTrader: (0)	The bubbles are normal, provided they aren’t large, but a lot of the other issues are poor workmanship overall. There will inevitably be some lines where the pattern wasn’t exact, but the overlapping and loose edges would be unacceptable for most shops let alone the customers.
	Appreciate 1 MadRed5.00 Quote

10-13-2022, 07:55 PM	#7
espressoo Major 899 Rep 1,009 Posts Drives: '18 M3 Comp\|'23 X5 45e\|'24 X7 Join Date: May 2017 Location: DMV iTrader: (1)	The bubbles will slowly go away. The edges if not corrected soon after install probably won’t stick well after dirt gets on the adhesive. Sometimes it can be cleaned and adhesive promoter can help. If you bring it back, the installer will probably trim it off rather than redo a large portion of the bumper. A good installer would disassemble parts of your trim before install so they can tuck certain parts. The grill is easy to remove and those edges would be better tucked. I installed PPF myself as a DIY on the X5. My last new vehicle I paid someone to install it and it was a pretty good job but it was expensive. It’s extremely difficult to make all the seams perfect but if you’re paying someone thousands of dollars for an install you should expect a certain level of quality. Warranty is also important because some edges will always peel over the first year or so. My installer before offered 3 year warranty and replaced a few parts that peeled right before year 3.
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10-13-2022, 08:29 PM	#8
P1 Lieutenant General 11572 Rep 11,136 Posts Drives: 2004 3/4 ton Duramax Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: United States iTrader: (1)	Apart from the grills and the fender, everything you see has PPF on it (full bumper, including all the black trim, headlights and hood).
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10-15-2022, 05:02 PM	#12
Shllshck Lieutenant 217 Rep 436 Posts Drives: 2016 428i GC, 2023 X6 40i Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: California iTrader: (0)	P1 That is done right. Curious, what PPF did you go with? XPEL, Suntek, 3M, Stek, or something else? Did you throw on a ceramic coat as well?
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10-15-2022, 05:07 PM	#13
Shllshck Lieutenant 217 Rep 436 Posts Drives: 2016 428i GC, 2023 X6 40i Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: California iTrader: (0)	wiredgizmo@gmail.com Did you pay for a kit or a custom install? If they did a kit, could explain why some lines are visible. If they did a custom, they didn’t cut and tuck the edges properly. Either way, it doesn’t look right. Good luck getting this corrected.
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10-17-2022, 05:39 PM	#15
Blueboxer Private First Class 33 Rep 112 Posts Drives: 2011 535 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: California iTrader: (0)	Menzerna and Optimum is a great combo, I used to use their FMJ, but the AIO McKee's has been a time saver with a better overall gloss. I hope the OP posts an update that the shop takes care of him/her.
	Appreciate 1 P111572.00 Quote

10-17-2022, 06:59 PM	#16
Bavar-ian Private First Class 178 Rep 158 Posts Drives: X5 G05 Join Date: Apr 2022 Location: N/A iTrader: (0)	Ive done Xpel and you have to avoid rain for the 1st day or 2. 2nd day i had to tuck in some of the edges with a card. No bubbles on mine;down to workmanship issues and im sure your local store would touch them up for you. Attached Images
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10-21-2022, 08:07 AM	#17
dD_E90AW New Member 2 Rep 18 Posts Drives: E90 328i/X204 Bluetec/G05 45e Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0)	I had precut PPF Xpel applied to the whole hood, front bumper, and partial fenders/wheel arches where the seams aren't noticeable when the car is clean. There were a few minor bubbles and lifted edges after the install which the vendor resolved by trimming the edges or releasing the contents of the bubble. About 7 months later all is looking good and all of the issues have been resolved. I'd contact the installer immediately to have the issues mended. I wish you luck!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-26-2022, 04:44 PM	#18
SplendidCamel New Member 6 Rep 22 Posts Drives: BMW X5 Join Date: Jun 2022 Location: CT iTrader: (0)	The installer will be able to correct the PPF lift at the kidney grille and bumper by using some adhesive. The installer tries not to use adhesive to avoid peeling the paint when removing the PPF, but those few places may require a little extra adhesive. If the hood stretch marks don't go away, I would have them replace the hood PPF. One of the reasons that PPF application is expensive is that the installer knows they may have some re-work. The price should include some buffer for materials and labor for re-work. The fender looks questionable. It may need a new sheet of PPF. There shouldn't be any bubbles.
	Appreciate 0 Quote