PPF Affordable DIY from TWRAPS

[shamoo]

Correct, if you leave the car outside on a hot day, it makes it much easier. If you help it with a steamer it is even easier.

Just don't leave PPF on the car for 10 years and then try. I'd hire someone for that.

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[Iatros786]

Anyone have any real world experience on the diy difficulty level of this? Seems like smaller pieces which are pretty flat?

 

[scooter]

Have this on order from Amazon and can let you know this weekend!

Anyone have any real world experience on the diy difficulty level of this? Seems like smaller pieces which are pretty flat?

 

[Iatros786]

Have this on order from Amazon and can let you know this weekend!

Wonderful!

What steps do you have planned out?

I was thinking of doing the steps for a new car prep for ceramic coat and put these films on before the actual coating goes on.

 

[DavidSPumpkins]

Anyone have any real world experience on the diy difficulty level of this? Seems like smaller pieces which are pretty flat?

I just picked up my R1T this past weekend and prior to delivery I ordered the XPEL precut kits for the front bumper and headlights.

I am no ppf officianato, nor am I an auto purest who is going to get out the car hand washing supplies every weekend. I have however noticed the bug graveyard with rock chip headstones that is the front bumper of every Model 3 and X driving around town and wanted a little help managing that.

All in all, applying the front bumper piece wasn't too bad, just tedious. I do recommend having an extra set of hands while peeling it off the backing it is delivered on. It is fairly easy to get a portion of it to fold up on itself and then you are spending a half hour picking contaminants out of the film.

The headlights were more of a pain. I'm still in the process of sealing the edges and likely will trim a few problematic corners away as they don't seem to want to stay tucked. I'm not 100% sold on the way the headlight piece was cut, but all in all it was fairly easy to get it to sit flat without bubbling on the flatter portions of the lights.

I do also have the door jam ppf and matte screen protectors on order from TWRAPS, and that will likely be the end of my modifications (other than camp gear). My only remaining question would be whether or not to worry about the leading edge of the hood and the side mirrors as those have also been bug collectors so far..

 

[swazi]

I bought a bulk cut piece of XPEL ultimate or whatever it's called off eBay for $65 and covered the front grill piece.
Having never done it before, it was a learning experience and took a really long time. There are a handful of places that are noticable that it's a diy job but they are small and blend in with all the bugs i collect. As a bonus there was enough leftover of the ppf to cover the top portion of the tailgate above the light bar (the piece of the paint you touch when closing the tailgate), and the charge port door. IMO the Twraps piece is not sufficient, but I like what they are doing otherwise.

 

[Iatros786]

I just picked up my R1T this past weekend and prior to delivery I ordered the XPEL precut kits for the front bumper and headlights.

I am no ppf officianato, nor am I an auto purest who is going to get out the car hand washing supplies every weekend. I have however noticed the bug graveyard with rock chip headstones that is the front bumper of every Model 3 and X driving around town and wanted a little help managing that.

All in all, applying the front bumper piece wasn't too bad, just tedious. I do recommend having an extra set of hands while peeling it off the backing it is delivered on. It is fairly easy to get a portion of it to fold up on itself and then you are spending a half hour picking contaminants out of the film.

The headlights were more of a pain. I'm still in the process of sealing the edges and likely will trim a few problematic corners away as they don't seem to want to stay tucked. I'm not 100% sold on the way the headlight piece was cut, but all in all it was fairly easy to get it to sit flat without bubbling on the flatter portions of the lights.

I do also have the door jam ppf and matte screen protectors on order from TWRAPS, and that will likely be the end of my modifications (other than camp gear). My only remaining question would be whether or not to worry about the leading edge of the hood and the side mirrors as those have also been bug collectors so far..

Sounds like you got to spend a lot of quality time with your Rivian already!

The allure of the TWraps pieces is that you don't seem to have to deal with wrapping edges. That appears to be the most challenging and time consuming bit.

It's obviously not complete coverage, but the time/value/protection proposition works for my situation.

 

[Iatros786]

I bought a bulk cut piece of XPEL ultimate or whatever it's called off eBay for $65 and covered the front grill piece.
Having never done it before, it was a learning experience and took a really long time. There are a handful of places that are noticable that it's a diy job but they are small and blend in with all the bugs i collect. As a bonus there was enough leftover of the ppf to cover the top portion of the tailgate above the light bar (the piece of the paint you touch when closing the tailgate), and the charge port door. IMO the Twraps piece is not sufficient, but I like what they are doing otherwise.

What portion of the coverage from TWraps did you find insufficient?

 

[Canthoney]

Anyone have any real world experience on the diy difficulty level of this? Seems like smaller pieces which are pretty flat?

I’ve had it on my truck for 2 1/2 weeks, for the front end coverage, and it’s held up perfectly so far. Will make periodic updates about it though, but so far I am impressed.

 

[swazi]

What portion of the coverage from TWraps did you find insufficient?

The fact that it ends under the headlights. I would want it to extend to the left and right. And to a lesser extent I would want it to cover the non-vertical piece directly under the lightbar.

Edit: not trying to say that the product is bad. In fact I bought their screen protectors and the headlight ppf. Just in my opinion more of that front piece needs coverage. And a bulk piece of ppf is fairly cheap but a bit more difficult to install. (and you need a few tools that Twraps actually include when you buy the kit, to be fair)

 

[Lsthrz]

The first thing I did was the window tint as I found the amount of sun and heat in the cab to need that protection. I have gone back and forth on PPF and mostly over the years, against doing it but based on the flat front of the R1T ended up having just the nose and a few key areas that would be rock magnets, covered. Probably $2k between the two services.

 

[RivianBowerbird]

I agree on the left and right side piece for the front bumper. Wasn't the Twraps guy posting here or on reddit? Perhaps we could ask?

He plans on making more pieces but he had limited time with the R1T he used for the templates. Once he gets more time with one, more pieces will be coming. I told him a strip for the top of the tailgate would be awesome given how that's basically a grab handle if you aren't careful and it will be covered with mud/dirt all the time.

 

[LoneStar]

I have already bought and had installed the front piece and the side "rocker panels" portion of lower doors. Installer preserved the small factory PPF segment right behind the front wheels ahead of the door, and of course the PPF that covers both gear tunnel doors.

I got the more expensive 8mm because it's XPEL top-quality film. The pricing is very reasonable for being pre-cut and ready to install. My next move is to cover the front lights... clear, not dark-vader.

I also did the mat screen protectors for all the displays and that was super-easy DIY install and they work great in terms of reducing glare and fingerprint marks. Reducing... not eliminating.

 

[VHRivian]

I have posted this in another thread on PPF, but I have used Ken at InvisibleMask in the past with really good success. I am not great at the install but on my van I didn't really care. It looks really good from 5 feet away (as in there is no PPF visible), but up close it could be way better.

I will be paying for professional install on the Rivian because I want it to look perfect, but if you are willing to take the time and not have it be 100% then here is another option:

InvisibleMask.com Contact Us

I don't see Rivian on his site yet, but if there are pre-cut options then he will have them. Prices were really good and he sends out everything you need for the install.

 

[BHWhite]

If you can do it yourself, all the reason to save some money.

But it sort of is "rocket science". It is an art and it is clear from the results from someone who does a cheap job vs. someone who does a good job.

Granted, anything more than $2500ish for the front is too much (which is on the high end of reputable installers in Southern California). A more acceptable range is $1800-1900 (the person I use, but I've also done several cars with him).

A good installer will not use precut pieces, or if they are precut they are precut to the general shape and much larger so they still have to cut to size and wrap around the edges. You should never actually see PPF on the car once it is installed unless you are looking at a corner closely. Even then, a good installer will hide it very well.

Here's a random example of a good install.

Here's a bad one.

This is pre-cut where you see the lines and it doesn't wrap around. If this is okay to you, that's perfectly fine. It still protects the car, but some folks who are anal about their cars, will not accept something like this and are willing to pay a little more.

If the car isn't consistently clean, dirt/dust will gather along the edge and you'll see the edge. You have to spend more time cleaning it.

Hi, I'm in SoCal as well, are you able to share the contact info for the guy you've used a couple times? Thanks

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