If you want to protect your car’s paintwork, it’s hard to do better than a good protective film. Here are some of the best car paint protection film brands around.
As I’m sure you know, the world of car modification has many branches. Some mods help extract more performance. Others help you to express your own personality and stylistic choices. However, what people don’t often talk about are the mods that help with your car’s maintenance and preservation.
The cold hard truth is that, while these mods might not be as exciting, they’re vital to ensuring that your car remains in good health. A great example of this is car paint protection film. There’s nothing enthralling about a transparent layer of polyurethane, but if you’ve got a smart paint job or funky vinyl wrap that you want to guard from the elements, paint protection film (PPF) is a brilliant mod to invest in. I’ve been immersed in the modified car scene for years, so I’m in a good place to advise you on which brands of PPF are worth your time.
In case you need to get brought up to speed, let’s begin with a look at what exactly paint protection film is. We’ll get into the best suppliers afterwards…
What Is Car Paint Protection Film?
Generally, car paint protection film is constructed from four layers of material. At the base, there’s the polyester release liner, which you remove to expose the acrylic adhesive that sticks the film to the car’s surface. The actual film itself is a sheet of polyurethane (about 0.1-0.2mm thick) which then has a clearcoat on top.
Not all car paint protection films are born equal though. Some give you the option of either a glossy or matte finish. Plus, in fancier applications, the clearcoat may even be accompanied by something called an ‘elastomeric polymer’ which gives the film a sort of self-healing quality. I kid you not!
Whatever quality of film you opt for though, the application process isn’t the sort of job a novice could do on their driveway. So, unless you really back yourself not to mess it up, we’d suggest visiting a specialist to do all the leg work.
Speaking of specialists, the following shortlist of the best paint protection film brands will touch upon suppliers only, not installers: i.e. the people who construct the film, not the people who put it on your car. That said, most reputable suppliers will have their own trusted bank of installers for you to use, so I wouldn’t worry too much about being caught out by a cowboy trader.
Anyway, with that slight caveat out of the way, let’s get into it…
Best Car Paint Protection Film Brands
3M
The de facto authority on anything to do with adhesive materials, 3M is often most people’s first choice of supplier when it comes to either vinyl wraps or protective films.
A trusted brand beyond merely the automotive world, we’re pretty confident that you’ll have some sort of 3M product in your household tools drawer. Naturally, people are drawn to brands that they recognize, which undoubtedly helps 3M’s prowess in the protective film genre, but the resulting success is hardly unwarranted.
Just like their wraps, 3M’s protective films are very high quality. There are two variations you can choose from: Scotchgard Pro Series 200 Gloss and regular 3M Pro Series 100 Gloss.
As it says on the tin, both offer a transparent gloss finish to add more life to the colors beneath, and naturally both aim to protect your car from light scratches and chips. If you do pick up any damage of that sort, the film will absorb it, which in turn will bounce back to its original shape after some sun/heat exposure.
The Scotchgard option is positioned above regular 3M 100 because of its hydrophobic traits, which should help make it easier to keep your car clean. In addition, it’s also more resilient to the dreaded orange peel effect, and has a longer warranty too: 10 years compared to 7 for the 100 Series.
Xpel
The go-to brand of choice for renowned supercar detailer, GVE London, Xpel is arguably 3M’s closest match. And depending who you ask, perhaps even 3M’s superior.
Xpel certainly has a wider range of high quality products on offer, that’s for sure. The premium option amongst the ‘regular’ films is Ultimate Fusion. A direct rival to 3M Scotchgard’s Pro 200, Ultimate Fusion offers a blend of self-healing durability and hydrophobic finish. If you’re not too fussed about all the hydrophobic stuff, Ultimate Plus will simply give you all the paint protection you could wish for. Ultimate Plus 10 is the most durable sub-variant, but regular Ultimate Plus will still do a good job without hurting your bank balance too much.
Beyond those choices, there’s also Stealth (which is intended for cars with flat, satin, matte paintwork), and Ultimate Plus Black which – as you might be able to guess – was specifically developed for gloss black panels.
Tracwrap, meanwhile, is a great D.I.Y. temporary choice for the budding track day enthusiast amongst you. Simply whack some of this good stuff on the front of your car before hitting the circuit to protect it against any pesky gravel trap debris or tire marbles. Then, tear it off to leave your car looking fresh for the trip home.
Oh, and as a testament to just how much thought Xpel has put into this whole paint protection thing, you can even source films from them which are light enough for you to use on your car’s interior furnishings. No more fine scratches or fingerprint swirls!
Llumar / SunTek
A third high quality option that we’d recommend is either Llumar or SunTek. Now to avoid any confusion, Llumar and SunTek are indeed two different brands, but the actual product under the name is identical. A bit like how the NSX supercar wears an Acura badge in North America, versus a Honda badge in Japan and Europe – it’s the same vehicle, just with a different name.
Llunar Platinum, also known as SunTek Ultra, is the benchmark of the range. Once again, you’re looking at a lovely blend of debris protection and hydrophobic properties if you opt for this film, but incase you’re working with a slightly tighter budget, there are non-hydrophobic variants too. If you visit a Llumar dealer, these will simply be referred to as either gloss or matte PPF, whereas the SunTek version is called PPF C or PPF M.
Unlike the other two brands mentioned, everything else besides the bargain basement option under the Llumar / SunTek banner has hydrophobic properties. A nice bonus. These alternate options include LLumar Platinum Extra / SunTek Ultra Defense (which provides extra durability in harsh off-road environments), Llumar Select Black / SunTek Altered Black (a rival to Xpel Ultimate Plus Black), and finally Llumar Valor / SunTek Reaction PPF – a super-premium option which adds Tetrashield topcoat for a claimed 25% better performance against scratches etc. All clear? Good.
How to buy the best PPF
First things first, you want the paint protection film to be undetectable – this is a mod which is meant to protect your car’s paintwork/wrap, not obscure it. Happily, if you pick any of the brands listed above and choose a reputable installer, that won’t be an issue.
Next, consider what sort of superpowers you want your PPF to have. Do you want it to have a hydrophobic coating to aid the detailing process, or maybe do you want it infused with that self-healing polymer. The more protection you want, the higher the price tag. So, choose a film that gets the balance right between your desires and your budget.
How we picked the brands
While we haven’t extensively tested all the brands above (though we have worked with 3M before), these are recommendations based on Fast Car’s experience and expertise.
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