S_W222

W222 folks,

Any experience here with Durashield Titan PPF?? Got a very good quote for a clear gloss PPF on one of my cars but need feedback on this PPF. Other PPF options are not something am willing to look into.

Update: ended up installing full Llumar Valor PPF wrap (same film also branded as SunTek Reaction) by EASTMAN.

SW20S

Never heard of it...

S_W222

they’ve been in business for 28 years now. They don’t invest in marketing. Post if for those who tried it or know it which am pretty sure not that many. Ppf itself isn’t that popular anyway

SW20S

I PPF the full front end of all my cars. Have you seen it installed on a car? If it looks good and smooth and the installer is good I would go for it. Is it self healing?

S_W222

he showed me a car and claimed its been on it for 13 years. Film does look old but still glossy… His tech has been doing this for 30 years so no worries about expertise, and they switched from 3M to Durashield about 15 years ago. (I think he said 3M). I never done PPF and don’t see the investment… I went there to do ceramic tint only but we kept negotiating PPF to a point i felt it is worth trying. I am doing the entire car except rear hatch and roof. I half one week to cancel. I have no interest whatsoever to do XPEL as they charge 5-7K for same coverage. Not worth it for me. So, given the quote and what am reading online, am not seeing too much risk but still hopping to chat with someone who has reallife experience with Durashield Titan. Looks to me that about 8 years ago, both XPEL and Durashield were made and manufactured by the same exact factory and shipped to the chinese market, same film, just a different label. I know all these film companies make their films overseas anyway. As of right now, i found that Durashield make their film here in the US through a known company in the polyurethane field named SharpLine. Am not seeing any redflags accept that they do 0 marketing and not as well known or used as Xpel or 3M…. … Yes it does self heal but not much videos around about that like xpel.

SW20S

I would not do the entire car unless it was a very special car I was going to keep a long time, I don't see you doing that. Like, a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. The front end is ~$2,000, and I hate rock chips so for me thats worth it.

S_W222

Well that’s exactly the point.. u said 2000 for front… am getting all the major panels minus hatch for $3500…. Which why am motivated… makes my life easier with no scratches on the sides and front and bumpers…

SW20S

What would he do just the front for though? Should be way less...thats a really good price for the whole car though, why are they skipping the hatch?

as.thompson

I have not heard of Durashield Titan. I use 3M.

S_W222

The front (track pack) is 2000….. That’s the trick, the side doors are so easy to do that they do not add that much to do. The quarter panel is not that huge and is also a single cut piece easy to do. Rear bumper is a flat one piece too. The reason that the front cost a lot is because the front bumper takes forever to do and there is a lot of waste. So, in summary, 2000 for front (bumper+hood+fender) versus paying 3500 or so for all car panels minus hatch kinda makes sense to do the later.

NbyNW

Never heard of it either. I’ve used Llumar on a couple cars and went with Xpel on the S. Front bumper and headlights.

S_W222

The only brand I'd be happy to pay extra for "for the brand name" is 3M. I would not pay more for XPEL personally. XPEL make their films overseas at a factory that makes films and brand it for 10 other manufacturer. Same film, same quality. With Xpel, am only paying for the brand name being a publicly traded company with millions of dollars invested in marketing. They have their own software for pre-cut pieces to reduce waste (which his not necessarily an advantage for the installer or end-user). 3M is the only only one in the industry that true make their own film using their own resources (though am almost certain it is the same technology anyway). The PPF industry has matured already based on my research. I never ever envisioned paying that much for a PPF, but for a brand new car and fresh paint on one of my new cars now, I thought I'd give it a shot.

SW20S

For an extra $1,500 I would consider doing the rest of the car, the other option though is to spend that $1,500 on a professionally applied and prepped ceramic coating.

3M films aren't that great though. How much research have you done? I've used PPF since 2013 and have used a variety of films and done a lot of research, there are a LOT of good film manufacturers out there now and films are not at all the same. To me the biggest issues are how does the film look, some of them can have a peel effect that makes them look different than the bare paint, and how well do they self heal? Outside of that, really it comes down to how good the installer is.

If you put 5 different films right next to each other, they do look different.

Currently on my car is Suntek, but Xpel is an excellent film that is very flat. if I was doing a whole car or I had a dark color, Xpel woild probably be my choice. The bulk of what you pay for is the skill of the installer.

S_W222

As for ceramic coating, I have all the tools and I have been ceramic coating my vehicles myself for the past 10-15 years. Did mistakes in preps and polishing the first couple of years and cars, but got used to it over the users that am super comfortable with it. Ceramic coating does great, but for a Tesla paint (really soft), ceramic coating will do nothing for what I need. I think the PPF for the additional 1500 as u mentioned is the best value for the money right there for me (again, minus the hatch, which I will ceramic coat). I did ceramic coating on my W222, and that worked really great, even reduced swirl marks from casual car washing stations, but maaan... that W222 paint and clear coat is solid rock anyway. Even prepping the car and removing existing swirl marks was sooo tough!

I agree. 3M PPF film is not the "best" option one could chose from. they are decent, but agreed that they are not necessarily the best option especially that they are expensive too because of the brand name. I have done some research/work project with 3M, they have a great team especially on the crystalline film side, but the PPF tech is not a priority for them due to the market size. I do have good eyes for the orange peel, and most of these films keep the orange peel just at the same level of slightly reduce it. Tesla paint has much less orange peel by nature; but it's a soft paint again. The white Toyota with 13 years old Durashield PFF looked good without yellowing (and white is the best color to test for yellowing). the PPF looked beaten up from highways so I trust it is at least a really old application as they claimed (it is the owner's car). I talked to the installer, who has been doing PPF for exactly 30 years now as his lifetime job/career. I got some quotes from xpel manufacturers, and $5,500 is just not worth it for me. I'd rather not do it if I must invest that much. 2-3K is the max I have had considered, and the 3,500 for full wrap minus hatch using DuraShield Titan is almost a stretch for me. I typically invest in my cars, but only on things that makes sense. First time doing PPF so I hope I'll enjoy the gloss swirl-free paint and that's it's worth it at least spiritually. Note: Xpel overcharges their installers quite a bit... bulk of what you pay is truly the installer labor, unless u go with Xpel, they charge way more for their films than all other film manufacturers. I'd go xpel, but owuld not pay 2000 more for a film that I truly believe is not that much better than others. Another film I found that looked really good is Kavaca by ceramic pro, but I was not able to find an installer near by area.

SW20S

PPF and ceramic coating are entirely different things. I also coat my cars myself, the prep is just something I would rather leave to professionals if the car needs prep. Great thing about PPF? No prep, it hides any swirls already there lol. I don't think you will be unhappy with it.

Just FYI, you need to ceramic coat the film too, PPF is not a replacement for ceramic coating.

S_W222

Yeah I was shocked.. One of the installers was nice enough to let me into their shop, showed me a panel on a car he was wrapping, we saw the scratches... he applied the PPF on that panel. booom... could not see any of the paint imperfections. He did that as I asked him if he would polish the car in advance.

I am planning to apply Adam's Graphene Ceramic Coating™ Advanced myself same day I get the car back. I applied it myself on my last 4 cars and it worked well. Xpel and a few others would invalidate the warranty if you ceramic coat the film with anything but their products. Durashield supplier assured me that I can chose one of those that I mentioned to him just fine. I think it's some of the petroleum ingredients in some coating products that must be avoided. Kavaca PPF by ceramic pro, comes already with a pre-applied ceramic coating (they make the film in Malysia and ship it to their headquarters in the US), but I was not able to find an installer in my area.

SW20S

Those companies are never going to know what you used or didn’t use to coat the film, quality coating manufacturers will tell you with confidence if their coatings are PPF safe. Adams Graphene coating is great, I say go for it!

S_W222

Yeah I figured they'd never know too.... it's just one way for them to force you to buy their own product. Adams coating takes time to apply... not that this is a PPF, I might just go with the Adams coating spray application instead of the bottle, and re-do the spray application every 6-9 months.

wildta

So all that is needed before PPF is just a good wash?

SW20S

I would still do the coating as a baseline, personally.

Pretty much, yeah. I would clay it and chemically decontaminate it first too (with something like Iron x)

NbyNW

The only reason I went with xpel this time is that the shop is easier to get to vs the Llumar shop. Time was/is short. All things being equal I would have used Llumar again, plus it’s made in the US, in Virginia (with globally sourced materials).

I will say a full wrap gives a bunch of piece of mind for all around protection - one of my cars has a full wrap.

BenzV12

I have never heard of it at all ,but I have ppf covered in the front bumper as well as hood . It should protect the covered areas but every 3-5 years those must be replaced otherwise they would damage the paint which is not a good thing

SW20S

PPF doesn’t last forever but it lasts longer than that. Mine is 3 years old now and shows no sign of aging at all.

S_W222

3-5 years is way too short before a good applied PPF needs to be replaced under normal conditions. If you need yours replaced every 3-4 years, I bet you are driving under severe conditions, or live in an area that has a ton of sand and abrasives on highways.

SW20S

3 years and 42k miles mine definitely has some cosmetic marks in it, but that’s what it’s for. If I buy it out of the lease I will probably have it replaced and the whole car compounded and coated again just so it’s like new, but it’s nowhere near NEEDING to be replaced.