Interior Exterior
Q:
Your guys are funny. I have been installing for 5 years and Yes i only use pre-cut kits. I have seen guys use bulk film in the Tampa area and I always end up re-doing them after the front end has be repainted due to cuts. Some company in Tampa always uses bulk film.
If you are able to do a clean install using bulk film the more power to you. I just know that there is a greater risk of cutting.
Also nice write up. I hope you really didn't tell the guy that you were using 3M film as it stated in the article. The picture shows you using Venture film. Very Nice job though on the car.
To be honest, I HAVE NEVER INSTALLED a Kit on an M3 kit on a vehicle, so not sure where you are getting your information from??? Who is Bubberto? Love to know his name. Is he in Tampa or elsewhere? The BMW dealership in Tampa has someone install the kits in house so i can never get my hands on one here. I have done a lot of 3, 5, and 7 series though.
Yes I did make that comment only if the film is lifting slightly, but not to cut the whole kit.
Dave at Speed film is a great guy and an awesome installer. I have done over 1000 cars in the 5 years, so i'm unfort not a newbie.
Sorry Premier if I offended you in any way. I just had bad experience fixing peoples other mistakes in Tampa. Keep up the good work.
And JAS168, and please don't lie about things, its not healthy.
Thanks
Ryan
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Also nice write up. I hope you really didn't tell the guy that you were using 3M film as it stated in the article. The picture shows you using Venture film. Very Nice job though on the car.
I believe they just recently changed over to Venture
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The installs look good but why on earth would you bother wasting your time installing Venture film and not 3M? I've experimented with every type of film I could get my hands on including THREE different versions of Venture. All of them worthless in my opinion, including the latest stuff. It has no clearcoat and will soon be obsorbing road oils into the pores that cannot be cleaned out. Does the lifetime warranty cover discoloring, if so you guys will be up to your neck in be-backs in less than a year. I already know of one company here that was using Venture and closed its doors over a year ago. I'm getting calls of about two cars a month from their former customers wanting 3M now. I'm charging them up to $200 to remove that stuff plus my normal install rates on my install.
Not trying to flame you guys, just want you to think about how much work goes into the installs vs. the cost of the film. I know Venture is much cheaper and lots easier to install, but you guys are flying here and there doing group installs and its going to bite you big time.
Using precuts is harder than using bulk and cutting off what you don't need. A properly trained beginner using precuts may not nail the install the first time, but at least the paint won't be cut.
I'm not saying bulk installs are a bad idea, but they do take more time and you do need to be very careful with the knife. I use precuts for the majority of my work, but won't turn down custom installs. There are a lot more of those Gallardos out there with the whole hood wrapped than you think!
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Thanks SpeedFilm!!!!!
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I posted this in the Northern California forum, but I thought it would be appropriate to add here:
Premier Mobile Group installed the Venture film on my Elise today. They were punctual, professional, and even waited for me to go pick up touch up paint to cover up some small rock chips before the film was installed. Here are some pictures. I highly recommend them!
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Looks Good. I don't like the jagged edges from razor blades in the one picture. I personally like computer cut kits that are nice an straight and smooth. But again, it has great coverage.
Hope the Venture film doesn't go bad....
Good Luck
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"I believe they just recently changed over to Venture"
If you want to see what that film will look like in 6 months, send me an email.
Kudos on the job but you need to let them know that you put Venture film on there.
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There is absolutely no denying that the chance of paint cut is greater when installing custom, but this is where experience and expertise plays a major role in this. You, Autoclear gard just need to be careful when categorizing custom installers into one general group.....
As for the write up with discovery automotive, we were removing 3M film from the Gallardo because of installation issues that bugged the customer....film on the fenders, entire hood, and front bumper were removed so that we could replace it with Venture and Aero. Custom takes much longer on a vehicle with such sharp corners on the bumper.......especially when we are installing it in one piece.
Actually, installing clearer films like Aerospace or Venture is much more difficult to install then 3M. The orange peel hides many of the problems that is shown through a clearer film (stretch marks, dimples, silvering). It takes much more care when working w/ the clearer films to avoid these installation flaws while 3M and Clearshield's more forgiving. In addition, it is believed that Venture is "easier" to install due to its elasticity, which is true, but because of its optical clarity, adhesive distortion is much more visible and easier to create. With 3M Scotch, we could do a soft tack and eliminate the stretch marks, but this is not the case for the clearer films......many newer installers on this mkt prefer Venture due to its elasticity, but the end-result is not desirable because the film will show every install flaw....
We've used 3M in our initial 3 yrs out of 7.5 yrs in the ppf business and the film did it's job of protecting the front-end, but close to 1/3 of our clients had yellowing issues not to mention the orange peel of the 1st gen. 2nd gen 3M is much better, but the orange peel is still noticeable on darker colored vehicles that we really don't care for. This is not to say that Venture cannot yellow along with other brands..we have seen all film brands yellow from one degree to the other.
First of all, we would like to state that there's no perfect film. There are limitations to each brand. Many installers become convinced that their brand is better than others, which is actually the wrong way of conducting a svc business. In PPF, it is installation quality that is most important. With the "best" film in the wrong hands, it will only look like garbage.
2nd, there are quality issues with all films on the market....whether it is 3M, Avery, etc. It should not be seen as such that one film is superior to the rest. We should be stressing installation quality over debating "my film is better than yours". This is flat out immature and unprofessional.
Thank you for your input speedfilm, but the time we put into this Gallardo is time spent on care and precision. We do not rush our custom installs especially when it comes to trimming and tucking pieces. The precut fenders and multipieces for the bumper makes it much easier and faster to install.....this was a full custom kit on a black car with clearer film + removal of film from all of those areas.........our customers do not pay us $2000-$3000 for such work to have dimples, silvering, stretch marks, to show up. This Gallardo's bumper along with all other parts did not have ANY relief cuts or seams that could be seen. There are only a handful of companies in the industry that produce such results.......depending on application, we would be taking panels and parts off the vehicle to hide / tuck seams.
When we used 3M in the past, there were issues........tried Llumar, there were problems w/ the adhesive, Avery Topcoat's film stains quite easily, and Venture is no different. Films are going to have problems from time to time regardless of manufacturer. What's important is how we deal with these particular issues.
As for the issues you have pressed with Venture, we have been with them for over 3 yrs and have well surpassed your 1 yr life expectancy of the film. There are ways to care for non-coated films that will make it last as long as the life of the vehicle.......it's just not known what procedure this is. I'm assuming your friend is Dynashield speedfilm. It's unfortunate, that he is no longer in the industry, but we have yet to see th mass problems he was faced with. We are aware of issues with all manufacturers Speedfilm, but thank you for mentioning it.
Again, please do not categorize us with other bulk installers as we are fully aware of what most companies can do on this market. Our pricing as well as our reputation is up there for a reason. Thank you.
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I have to give you credit Premier, at least you are not whoring out the market. Thanks for that...
For the other people that want a good quality install using pre-cut kits just go to www.xpel.com. At the bottom right hand corner you will find a certifiied installer in your area that will not use bulk material.
Premier is located in CA.
Speedfilm is located in Georgia and is probably one of the best installers that i'm aware of.
Auto Paint Guard in located in FL.
Have a great day!
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Your guys are funny. I have been installing for 5 years and Yes i only use pre-cut kits. I have seen guys use bulk film in the Tampa area and I always end up re-doing them after the front end has be repainted due to cuts. Some company in Tampa always uses bulk film.
If you are able to do a clean install using bulk film the more power to you. I just know that there is a greater risk of cutting.
Also nice write up. I hope you really didn't tell the guy that you were using 3M film as it stated in the article. The picture shows you using Venture film. Very Nice job though on the car.
To be honest, I HAVE NEVER INSTALLED a Kit on an M3 kit on a vehicle, so not sure where you are getting your information from??? Who is Bubberto? Love to know his name. Is he in Tampa or elsewhere? The BMW dealership in Tampa has someone install the kits in house so i can never get my hands on one here. I have done a lot of 3, 5, and 7 series though.
Yes I did make that comment only if the film is lifting slightly, but not to cut the whole kit.
Dave at Speed film is a great guy and an awesome installer. I have done over 1000 cars in the 5 years, so i'm unfort not a newbie.
Sorry Premier if I offended you in any way. I just had bad experience fixing peoples other mistakes in Tampa. Keep up the good work.
And JAS168, and please don't lie about things, its not healthy.
Thanks
Ryan
Ryan, perhaps you should learn to take your time to read and comprehend what I said earlier. I never said you did the install for Bubberto, but you were the one who was irresponsible enough to sell your kit to him, and then just randomly punch in a zip code and found him a a so called "xpel certified" installer who hacked up his car. He told me there were some pretty deep cuts on the paint when he had it replaced. BTW, "Buberto" is his user name on M3forum. Check your PMs or invoices, I'm sure you could find out his name.
And wow...if you are so concerned about having to redo other hack jobs in your area, why doesn't it bother you that you might have to redo the customers whom you recommended cutting themselves.
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Not sure why or how the installer that installed the pre-cut kit needed to use a blade near the paint. Don't remember the name of the customer but if I did sell him the kit, he made the decision to buy it and he made the decision to pick the installer he used. I tell every customer that buys a kit online from me that they should seek an installer and/or purchase the kits from them. 80% of the time, they do not listen.
Should be a lesson for everyone. Research before you buy.
Enough is enough. Everyone has their own opinions. Just move on to another subject. No hard feelings. We are all good installers. We should be helping each other instead of bashing each others businesses.
Have a good one.
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[offtopic]auto clear guard and speedfilm, if you guys have issues, product choice or installation techniques you want to discuss with Premier, please do so over the phone or via PM, please stop cluttering up this thread.[/offtopic]
Grats on the nice film install, and even more grats on the nice Elise, Keith!
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Zeede
I thought PPF was the topic. Sorry 'bout that.
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[offtopic]auto clear guard and speedfilm, if you guys have issues, product choice or installation techniques you want to discuss with Premier, please do so over the phone or via PM, please stop cluttering up this thread.[/offtopic]
Grats on the nice film install, and even more grats on the nice Elise, Keith!
I can't agree more with you Zeede. This thread started as a way for Keith to share his appreciation for the work that Premier did, and to share what seemed like a very pleasant experience for him and whoever was involved in the event. It does seem like a somewhat desperate attempt for the other two companies to butt in and self promote themselves. The good companies such as Premier let their results and customer satisfaction speak for themselves. There is no need to join a new forum and then start talking about how experience and good they are. And there is no need to go on someone elses thread and clutter up what was a nice clean thread. People on this forum know and understands how to search for info when they need it.
As another satisfied customer of Premier's, I have seen dozens of clear bras on Elises, and I have yet to see an installation as clean as the one provided by Premier. On my Elise, they did a custom job on the full upper clam and bottom clam. They even took their diligent time to remove the front grill so that all of the seams are hidden. Initially, I was nervous about them using a blade near the car, but they would always pull the film up when they did make a cut, and show me that the paint was never cut. It was absolutely amazing. Not ony is it amazing that they were able to cut the film without cutting the paint, but it looked as if it were laster cut by Starshield. In any case, what I am trying to say is that Premier's work speak for themselves. And I am proud to say that I am now a converted lifetime customer of theirs.
Again, thanks for the great post Keith. I hope that your thread can be kept clean and free of clutter from here on out.
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"It does seem like a somewhat desperate attempt for the other two companies to butt in and self promote themselves."
My name got mentioned in this before I ever even read a single word on this thread.
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I found Sam at premier on Elise talk and had him come by this Saturday to add some protection to my Elise in addition to the factory installed Starshield. They did a professional job and filled in the gaps nicely that Starshield missed. In the future I think I would order my car without the factory film and just have thes guys do it upon delivery, about the same price and more coverage. Of course I'm lucky and live nearby in the Bay Area. I plan to track the car a bit so we'll see which film holds up better.
Mike I
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Yep, these guys are probably the best in their line of work. Artists to say the least and great when it comes to custom bras.
On a side note, speedfilm, in the link you posted and deleted, it took you all day and night to do that S2000. Let's be serious now.
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As a certifed 3M Paint Protection Film Installer, I can appreciate the work that goes into a good custom cut. Most of our work is computer die cut with some custom cuts done on modifed cars, non OE bumpers, etc. Good custom cutters are hard to find. Keep up the good work. However, their are some out there who are just plain bad installers and give everybody a bad name. We do primarily high end sports cars with an occasional RV thrown in just to keep us on our toes.