Xpel PPF Stained after driving on snowy roads

[manitou202]

I've lived in Colorado since 2007 and have had PPF on numerous vehicles with no problems of staining. On Thursday we had a couple of inches of snow and I drove to work. The front and sides of my R1T were covered in streaks of road grime. I just cleaned my truck this morning and the Xpel PPF has stains in the location of the road grime. The bare paint on the sides of the truck looks flawless.

So far I've tried isopropyl alcohol, clay bar, vinegar, Xpel detailing spray, and wax. No luck removing the stains. I'm going to reach out to Xpel and my installer tomorrow, but according to the Xpel website their warranty doesn't cover stains and water spots. If they don't cover a replacement, and I don't find a way to remove them, it will definitely be my last time getting PPF. What's the point if I can't drive through snow and let my truck sit for a few days without a wash.

Anyone have similar issues?

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[COdogman]

Never seen anything like that before. WTF is in that road grime that would do that?

 

[manitou202]

Never seen anything like that before. WTF is in that road grime that would do that?

No clue. Maybe mag chloride? But the road were mostly wet so I don't know if they even sprayed the roads here in Colorado Springs. I've been driving our R1T all winter through Summit county getting covered in road grim with no issues. No idea why this one time suddenly it stained the PPF.

 

[madgrey]

I corrected some minor PPF stains using a rubbing compound like Mequiar's, but I have a few types and I can't remember which "cut level" I used, likely the gentle stuff. This was on 3M film but my other vehicles have XPEL Ultimate and I have not seen any issues.

EDIT: quick search and I'm seeing polishing compounds specifically for renewing PPF. Seems like a thing detailers should be able to do.

 

[BrianNakata]

Did you try to remove it mechanically, i.e., with polish?

 

[manitou202]

Did you try to remove it mechanically, i.e., with polish?

I haven't tried polish. But I've read that polish can damage the PPF and leave micro scratches all over essentially giving it a foggy look. Before trying a polish I'll let my installing see if he recommends anything else. Otherwise I'll try a polish as a last resort before removing.

 

[COdogman]

Just a random search landed me on the Tesla forums where this was the recommendation from XPEL:

We replied to the email but wanted to share our response here too. The first thing to try when getting stains off of XPEL PPF (STEALTH or ULTIMATE PLUS) is to use isopropyl alcohol. That will do the trick 90% of the time. If that doesn't work, you can use acetone or even lacquer thinner on the film to clean the stain off.

Also found a couple products claiming to “renew” PPF and remove stains:

https://autoenvy.com/product/offset-paint-protection-film-renew/

https://gyeon.co/product/ppf-renew/

I’ve had some luck with Goo Gone removing odd stains that nothing else could get out. Never tried it on PPF though.

 

[manitou202]

Just a random search landed me on the Tesla forums where this was the recommendation from XPEL:



Also found a couple products claiming to “renew” PPF and remove stains:

https://autoenvy.com/product/offset-paint-protection-film-renew/

https://gyeon.co/product/ppf-renew/

I’ve had some luck with Goo Gone removing odd stains that nothing else could get out. Never tried it on PPF though.

Thanks for the link. I also found that Xpel has a hard water stain remover. I'm hoping my local Xpel shop has some of this to test out this week and see if it works. Otherwise I might try the product from AutoEnvy.

 

[connoisseurr]

Just a random search landed me on the Tesla forums where this was the recommendation from XPEL:



Also found a couple products claiming to “renew” PPF and remove stains:

https://autoenvy.com/product/offset-paint-protection-film-renew/

https://gyeon.co/product/ppf-renew/

I’ve had some luck with Goo Gone removing odd stains that nothing else could get out. Never tried it on PPF though.

I can vouch for Gyeon PPF renew. It’s a great product to use for revitalizing PPF.

Ultimately, OP should have the installer assess the film to see if this could be a potential warranty replacement from XPEL.

 

[strykerwsu]

Once you get it cleaned off, recommend using some ceramic coating as that will take care of most similar type issues. Just clean the ppf and ceramic coating is super easy, just follow the mfg instructions.

 

[Rugbym8t]

This is the not talked about weakness of PPF, it does stain and don't get anything like oil or grease on it for sure. I had a drop of oil from a train drop on my PPF and it embedded right in it. Had to change fhe entire panel. Also, saw similar stains from driving with winter chemicals on another car. You must seal the PPF with.a ceramic coating ideally. That will help, and also carry some quick detailer with you. Get stains off asap if you want your ppf to last.

You am try a little rubbing alcohol and see if it removes your stains. That was recommended to me by Xpel on my hard stains.

 

[COdogman]

This is insane. We get PPF to protect our paint and if you’re like me, avoid having to repeatedly apply coatings. Now we have to apply coatings to the PPF? I’m not saying that’s wrong - just that we have come full circle and it all sounds crazy

 

[manitou202]

This is the not talked about weakness of PPF, it does stain and don't get anything like oil or grease on it for sure. I had a drop of oil from a train drop on my PPF and it embedded right in it. Had to change fhe entire panel. Also, saw similar stains from driving with winter chemicals on another car. You must seal the PPF with.a ceramic coating ideally. That will help, and also carry some quick detailer with you. Get stains off asap if you want your ppf to last.

You am try a little rubbing alcohol and see if it removes your stains. That was recommended to me by Xpel on my hard stains.

I tried isopropyl alcohol with no success. Last night I also tried Griots Complete Polish and Complete Compound (I had those laying around) with no success. Planning to still reach out to my PPF installer today.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I've used PPF on multiple cars since 2007 in Colorado with no issues. I wash my cars fairly regularly (couple times a month) and typically wax them twice a year. I waxed my R1T in November and even applied the spray on ceramic coating that was provided by my PPF installer. But if I need to pay a bunch of money to now ceramic coat my PPF, that is getting ridiculous.

I buy the PPF to prevent rock chips. Colorado uses a lot of gravel on the roads during the winter and rock chips can get pretty bad. I've never had to worry about hard water spots or staining the PPF or paint in the past. But if this is now a big issue with PPF, I might be going back to living with rock chips.

6 month old PPF getting stained after road grime sitting on it for 2 days isn't acceptable.

 

[Rugbym8t]

6 month old PPF getting stained after road grime sitting on it for 2 days isn't acceptable

I agree with you 100%! I now only PPF my truly high end cars, and I do my own ceramic coating. After a little oil cost me $650 to replace a panel, I woke up.

 

[DTown3011]

This is insane. We get PPF to protect our paint and if you’re like me, avoid having to repeatedly apply coatings. Now we have to apply coatings to the PPF? I’m not saying that’s wrong - just that we have come full circle and it all sounds crazy

Exactly why I passed on PPF. It’s just another thing to worry about. It’s a truck, there will be some bumps and bruises. It builds character!

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