The cars are looking fantastic.
The touch-ups, the compounding, the polishing, the careful cleaning and prep, and the job done by the fellows at The Wrap Factory have all paid off and the Carmine Red is a eye-catcher in the springtime sun. A couple more weeks of curing before a proper all-round wash and protective coating can be done, so in the interim, it's time to try doing a little PPF ourselves.
Just aft of the massive rear tires, the bumper cover curves under and is quite exposed to road rash coming off the rear rubber. It's not a very visually obvious spot, so a good place to try our hand at putting some film on and see just how tricky it is. Grabbing a relatively cheap pre-cut kit avoids the hassle of trying to custom-cut the right shape, so with squeegees in hand and a goodly amount of soapy water, we tackled the job on the Cayman first.
Finicky.
That would be the word to describe it, as we learn how to pull, tug and shape the film to fit into place without any air bubbles underneath. Some parts of the surface are covered smoothly and easily, but the edges wrapping around the bumper cover into the wheel well, particularly lower down, are tricky indeed. A pull in one direction elicits an air bubble in another, so patience and clothespins are the order of the day. Slowly but surely though, the film goes on and becomes practically invisible. An 8 mil (.0008 in) thick layer of protection on the most vulnerable spots on the car.
We sit back in satisfaction, looking carefully at the result. We check for last niggling spots that need a touch up - a bit of extra pressure while the adhesive on the back of the film dries. With the job done, we feel a comfort in knowing the Cayman is well-protected and one can now let the concerns about road rash slip away. We've proven we can do this small area, so when it needs redoing in a few years, no problem.
So with the Cayman done, it's time to take care of the Boxster. Ask us to do the front bumper though? No way!!!!
~ Luke
