paint protection film - possible Mk IV precut option

[TMartinLVNV]

I would like to keep my front end looking decent for as long as possible while at the same time putting miles on my car. I like the idea of the paint protection film. This company makes a pre-cut option that looks pretty decent. However, they list it for a Mk II and III. How different are the front ends of the Mk III and IV?

https://www.autotrimdesign.net/Factory_Five_InvisiGARD_Paint_Protection_MkII.asp

For those of you who have had a shop do it, what type of prices should I be looking at? On the advice of Miller, I'm waiting at least 2 months before applying anything.

I'm open to any opinions on this stuff as this is a first for me.

[boat737]

I used a place in ElCajon, CA, called Total Tint. It was $1700. That was for the front of the car (forward edge of the hood line forward), top of doors, and forward facing section of the rear fenders. There were a couple spots around the grill and headlights that didn't come out quite pristine, but overall very nice job. He drove up to my house in South Bay to do it. I had it put on about 10 months after paint, so there were a few little nicks already in the paint. For the most part, the film covered them OK, although if you know where they are you can see them. The stuff he uses is darn near bullet proof. It's called Xpel Ultimate Plus.

[tonywy]

X2 on the Xpel paint protection film, awesome product. They will cut any size you want. I applied it my self.

[Jeff Kleiner]

...This company makes a pre-cut option that looks pretty decent. However, they list it for a Mk II and III. How different are the front ends of the Mk III and IV?





They are different. If the film pieces are cut with the intention of not needing any trimming I wouldn't expect them to be an exact fit.

Jeff

[ej95Cobra]

Ditto on Xpel Ultimate. I had a local company (Capital Autobahnd) apply it 3 months after I got the car on the road. There is no template for our cars. Initially I covered the front end from the 11 o'clock position of the front wheel openings forward, the entire hood and scoop, and rear fender spats for $1600. This has been on the car for about 12,000 miles and still looks new. This last year I had them do the rear from the spats back. I did the whole rear since I went through a construction zone and a rock hit my trunk lid but the primary reason was to protect the paint from the APE hardtop. To justify the added expense of doing this I think about what I have invested in the car including the overall dollars, the hours put in on the build, and the time wet sanding and buffing. This is just added investment protecting my retirement gift to myself.

[JWolfe]

This seems to be the best way to go to protect your paint. A local guy estimated mine at $2600 with the ceramic coating. It would probably be best for me to get it done now as the body is off but I just put a small fortune in other upgrades and didn't even want to ask the wife lol. For me it's silly to not protect my investment and she really won't mind - I just get that look. The $2600 option was for the Xpel product. Another place I went to wanted $5000 for (I think) a 3M product. Good luck and let us know what you choose and your experience.

[TMartinLVNV]

I talked to Auto Trim Design this morning. They want to update their pre cut kit for the Mk IV. But, they need a car for three days. If there is someone in the area with a Mk IV that will do this, you will get their kit at 50% off and they will install for free.

The kicker is.......They are in Neenah Wisconsin. This is between Oshkosh and Green Bay.

Is there anyone in that area that wants to do this?

[magicmarto]

I have a MKIV body available. Please PM me and I will give you a call to discuss. Thanks Martin
Lake Mills WI

[TMartinLVNV]

Thanks guys for the prices. I figured that it would be around $1000 to have a local shop do it. But it seems that $1600 is a good starting point depending on where you are.

I've sent the info to magicmarto and hopefully, things will work out to get Auto Trim Design a car to make a template for the Mk IV cars. When talking to ATD, they said that the difficulty level of our cars when installing the paint protection film is a 9 out of 10 because of all of the curves and body openings. ATD highly recommend having someone who is at least familiar with installing window tint to this. It is more preferable to have a shop that does body wraps or paint protection film do the install. So, for people like me that have limited skills in this area, that means an additional cost over the product price.

I have a friend that has been doing window tint for a while and will ask him if he thinks it is an option for him do do it. Or, if he has a connection to someone else.

I'll keep this post updated to provide a more cost conscious option for those of us wanting to protect the front of our cars.

[kobra01]

I got 2 quotes $1500 and $2000. Autotrim has a mk3 kit but not a Mk4. I called f5r and they said a mk3 kit would not fit a Mk4. So I think I will just do the front of rear fenders and tape the front when I track it.

[Peeker]

I see that autotrimdesign.net now has a kit for the MKIV. Has anyone done it themselves? Just wondering which piece you’d start with? I’m thinking the upper center piece but wanted to see what anyone else has done.

[kobra01]

I'm in southern Commiefornia and I had xpel PPF applied by Premier Armor In Corona CA to the entire front up to the hood opening and over the fenders, door sills, spat area, and behind rear tires. They did a fantastic job and did it for $825. Because of the shape of the front fenders the Xpel kit requires seams attaching the over fender pieces to the piece between the fenders. I don’t think I would try it myself.