DETAILING 101
by Eric Jackel
BROUGHT TO FSR BY
YOU' VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY! Som e Hist or y ack in 1961, 3 German engineers walked into a trim and upholstery shop in Burbank, California seeking to find a way to create a protective front-end cover for their prized Porsche. As it turns out the engineers, who worked for Lockheed Aircraft had Bill Colgan create 12 trim vinyl covers to fit the 356 Porsche. Their second order was for 150 covers, and the front end car 'bra' was off and
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into the discussion; it turns out that the development of 'helicopter tape' played a role in the development of the paint protection film (PPF) for cars. The military found that as copters gained proximity to the ground in take-off and landing, the rotor blades were being damaged by debris, affecting the critical leading edges of the blades and compromising performance. 3M developed a thermoplastic urethane
film. (Editor 's Note: leave removal of Porsche film to the pros. It is time consuming, tedious and potentially destructive process to your finish).
photo by Reflections Detailing
Eric Jackel of Reflections removing film from the Editors '05 Carrera S over a 2-day period.
photo by Reflections Detailing
running, finding its way into the auto aftermarket lexicon. In the '80's and '90's, the ubiquitous black vinyl bras were seemingly everywhere... especially on our beloved 911. And Colgan Custom Manufacturing emerged as THE player in the market. As much as a vinyl mask offered rock chip protection, most thought they were unattractive, and despite a plush inner lining to the mask, it would actually hurt the car 's finish as the mask vibrated under speed. It was a matter of 'pick your poison': rock chips or micro-scratches. Here is where helicopters (?) enter
tape that provided protection inconspicuously and with low weight, however it was both thicker and not workable to conform to more complex surfaces. But the protection it afforded was not lost on the racing community and the film was widely used on race cars to prevent the 'rash' that always appears. Porsche has used a version of this product in factory applications to prevent damage to rear fender flares and rocker panels. However, as many discover, the product had a limited life, would yellow, harden and become a bear to remove, often removing the underlying paint with
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Not surprisingly, PPF products have blossomed with numerous manufacturers offering films for this expanding industry. Why? With the advent of integrated bumper systems on cars, those systems feature urethane covers that are painted and susceptible to rock/stone chips affecting the appearance and value of the vehicle. Given the price of paint preparation/application, a quality PPF application is a relatively inexpensive barrier to ward-off this type of damage. Recognize that there are DIY kits available on the market that have digitized vehicles and cut application panels to fit your car. But if you've ever been aside/behind someone who elected to do their own window tint, you'll understand that a DIY install is a fast path to a regrettable install. As you can see from the accompanying Taycan photo , this is best left to the pros .
