15+ years of X-Pel headlight film

[Aurora40]

Sometime in the 2001-2004 timeframe I applied X-Pel`s 3M clear film to the headlamps on my 2002 Olds Aurora. They have been on there ever since, until today. The car was garaged for about the first 10 years of its life, and then was parked outside for around the last 6-8 years.

IMG_20180818_143311.jpg

^--This is pretty representative of what both lights looked like. There is some hazing of the plastic as well as some checking/crazing. And the adhesive had pulled away around the edges, retaining dirt. On this light you might make out three horizontal lines/scratches in the projector beam area, they are arranged like a pyramid. I assume something impacted the lens here. After removal, there were lines in the polycarbonate housing of the headlamp. Presumably the 3M film reduced the damage to the headlamp, though.

I tried removing the film by pulling at an almost 180-degree angle with no heat, and also at a narrow angled (probably 30-45 degrees) with heat and stretching the plastic. It made no discernible difference in the amount of glue left on the headlamp. Here`s what it looked like after pulling the film off --v

IMG_20180818_143508.jpg

To clean the glue off, I first tried some Goo-Gone. This seemed to have no effect at all, other than to make the glue not grab things while actually coated in it. It`s possible it would have worked given enough time, but I decided to try something else. I had some Meguiar`s Body Solvent that I`ve never gotten around to using up. I sprayed this on. From past use, I recall it takes a while to start working, so I let the headlamp sit for about 5 minutes. Even when the glue got soft, it was much too thick to just wipe off. I ended up using a metal putty knife. This was probably a bit harsh, but a plastic putty knife was very slowly making a dent. Plastic razor blades might work better and be safer if I`d had any. Here are the headlamps side-by-side, the passenger one still wearing the film and the drivers one freshly cleaned. I removed the headlamps to clean them, FYI, so no risk to the bumper/etc. --v

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Hopefully no one went into shock from the state of the engine bay or paint work! Here is a closer shot of one of the headlamps after cleaning. You might see the horizontal scratches by the projector beam. I didn`t notice any cuts/scratches from the putty knife, but it may have left a few small marks.

IMG_20180818_160606.jpg

All in all the film seems to have protected the polycarbonate headlamp lenses wonderfully. They show no hazing or yellowing from UV, and really look almost as good as new. There is still film on the fog lights, but I will likely leave it. They are harder to remove from the car, they suck as lamps anyway, and they are not nearly as hazed and show no peeling away at the corners (likely because being under the bumper significantly reduces the sunlight they get). I don`t think I will replace it on the headlamps, only because the car is so old. But I dunno, if they are cheap I may change my mind...

I do not know how different this film is from the film they sell now for coating paintwork with. But I would not want to deal with removing that adhesive from a painted surface. Perhaps if one doesn`t wait so long it wouldn`t be as bad, though.

[Stokdgs]

Aurora40 --
Wow - congrats on all that work ! The headlights look about new again and its been 16 years ago, the car was sold !
This again shows how well this material that must have some UV prevention properties in it and the thickness of it, saved your plastic headlights not only from hits, but from UV damage..
You did a great job !
Dan F

[rlmccarty2000]

From what I hear you should remove PPF from paintwork after 5 years. This may be old information based on old technology, but I would like to know if this is accurate.

[Stokdgs]

From what I hear you should remove PPF from paintwork after 5 years. This may be old information based on old technology, but I would like to know if this is accurate.

Hey, Friend !
I have never heard that PPF had a "remove date"...
If so, I am probably in trouble with the PPF Police??? I removed this huge PPF Shop signage off the sides of my Grand Cherokee front doors, 7 years after it was installed...
The only reason I took it off ( it was still beautiful, the picture of the yellow Ford GT40 was still stunning), was that I wanted to re-apply the Optimum Coating to the car and thought it might be nice to get behind the PPF again..

It actually came off really nicely with a carefully managed heat gun, and the left over glue was pretty manageable..
The guys that put it on in Seattle way back when were Pro`s that put this material on big sea-bound boats, etc., and they must have had the absolute best quality product..
Turned out fabulous, and I had forgotten how dang nice a Metallic Black Grand Cherokee really looks all done up again..

I think that if it looks good, has not dried out and started changing color, it will be fine..
Perhaps that info was for the very first PPF products that came out what 2+ decades ago???
Dan F

[JSFM35X]

I took off my PPf 3m scotch guard after 6 years only because it was starting to yellow. Paint underneath was perfect. So it did it’s job. If the car was not white it would still be on the car today.

I replaced it with xpel ultimate and I’m very happy with the look. Less orange peel but I have been back to the installer 2x due to edge lifting. Not sure if that’s an xpel or installer issue. It’s not the biggest deal but it is a pain in the butt to keep going back.

[rlmccarty2000]

Hey, Friend !
I have never heard that PPF had a "remove date"...
If so, I am probably in trouble with the PPF Police??? I removed this huge PPF Shop signage off the sides of my Grand Cherokee front doors, 7 years after it was installed...
The only reason I took it off ( it was still beautiful, the picture of the yellow Ford GT40 was still stunning), was that I wanted to re-apply the Optimum Coating to the car and thought it might be nice to get behind the PPF again..

It actually came off really nicely with a carefully managed heat gun, and the left over glue was pretty manageable..
The guys that put it on in Seattle way back when were Pro`s that put this material on big sea-bound boats, etc., and they must have had the absolute best quality product..
Turned out fabulous, and I had forgotten how dang nice a Metallic Black Grand Cherokee really looks all done up again..

I think that if it looks good, has not dried out and started changing color, it will be fine..
Perhaps that info was for the very first PPF products that came out what 2+ decades ago???
Dan F

Ha, ha. I’m sure the PPF Poice will just write you a ticket and let you go. Again I’ve just heard that if you wait longer than 5 years PPF kinda bonds to the paint and will not remove without problems. I’ve even heard of the paint coming up when trying to remove some very old PPF. As JSFM35X says his turned yellow after 6 years and this is/was a common problem with older PPF. Just as their have been technological advances in window tint (ceramic) I’m sure PPF is better now than it was 5 years ago. Also I’m sure the environment that the PPF lives in makes a difference in how long the PPF lasts before the adhesive bonds to the paint. I am no where near an expert in the PPF area so it would be best to discuss longetivity with your installer. I’ve also heard wraps have the same problems. All purely anecdotal.

[Setec Astronomy]

Aurora40! Been a long time.