PPF/XPEL on a Dark Horse

[CT22]

Who can share photos of their Dark Horse hood with PPF installed?

I am considering an XPEL PPF but the decals on the DH hood poise a problem. Do you do one solid piece of XPEL gloss for a more seamless look and risk the matte finish of the decals look glossy? Or have the shop try and piecemeal their gloss and satin options on the hood.

would love to see a picture of someone that did gloss over the top of the decal and your opinion of the look.

Thanks!

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[bfets]

Who can share photos of their Dark Horse hood with PPF installed?

I am considering an XPEL PPF but the decals on the DH hood poise a problem. Do you do one solid piece of XPEL gloss for a more seamless look and risk the matte finish of the decals look glossy? Or have the shop try and piecemeal their gloss and satin options on the hood.

would love to see a picture of someone that did gloss over the top of the decal and your opinion of the look.

Thanks!

Have a look at this video where Schmee discussed what he did.

 

[GripTime]

Who can share photos of their Dark Horse hood with PPF installed?

I am considering an XPEL PPF but the decals on the DH hood poise a problem. Do you do one solid piece of XPEL gloss for a more seamless look and risk the matte finish of the decals look glossy? Or have the shop try and piecemeal their gloss and satin options on the hood.

would love to see a picture of someone that did gloss over the top of the decal and your opinion of the look.

Thanks!

Sorry I can't help with pics. This is one of the reasons I got painted stripes. My XPEL installer said that if I were to have decals that there would be an air gap. Therefore I assume they would have laid one sheet down over the hood. Again, just my 2 cents.

 

[onaccountof]

I just came across this conundrum also. I had my windows tinted today and asked about having PPF on the front clip, the guy said it would be difficult on the hood because of the vinyl. They could do the whole hood (risking a raised seam where the vinyl ends) but I don't want a gloss over the decal because the matt Vinyl stands out from the Shadow Black. I'm thinking maybe they can PPF around the decal.

 

[GhastlyTT]

I drove my Mach-E to work today and I don't have any pictures on me to share right now, but I had partial front STEK PPF done that extends to the trailing edge of the hood vent and my installer's PPF machine template included cutouts for the graphics that extend forward of the vent so that it doesn't overlap the hood vinyl.

 

[Skye]

I'm using XPEL. The installer is a franchisee, with access to the company database and templates. PPF is cut on a plotter and later installed in a clean area.

You have a few options:

1. Do nothing. Leave the vinyl decal as-is. The PPF will cover everything except the decal.

2. Item #1 above, plus, cover the decal with a specific matte or gloss section of PPF. Costly. Worthwhile? Depends on the Owner and what they're striving for.

3. Item #1 above, plus, ceramic coat the decal. While not providing impact protection, ceramic coating will protect the decal/s from the elements.

4. Not really an option: cover the entire panel. My installer said they'd do it if I asked, but would not warranty any of the work. The concern is the transition from paint-to-decal and back again. PPF doesn't like transitions like that; it tends to lift over time.

I went with option one. None of my decals have been covered. The car is garage-kept, so element wear is not too much of a concern. If the decal get wrecked, I'll buy a new set. The decal in-effect is protecting the paint, my primary concern.

Regarding PPF and visibility, you shouldn't notice, unless directly on top of it. You installer should be able to show some current examples. A walk or drive-by, you cannot tell. Up close, you will notice the lines on some areas, but if cut on a plotter and installed well, everything has a nice, clean appearance. It's not detracting at all.

YMMV.

Edit: something of a hood pick, while standing next to the car. I later found another, directly on top of the decal. Notice the clean edge of the PPF as it follows the decal.

Edit (again): up close, next to the rocker panel PPF. A good installer and good product, you have to be that close to notice.

 

[JoseG]

Who can share photos of their Dark Horse hood with PPF installed?

I am considering an XPEL PPF but the decals on the DH hood poise a problem. Do you do one solid piece of XPEL gloss for a more seamless look and risk the matte finish of the decals look glossy? Or have the shop try and piecemeal their gloss and satin options on the hood.

would love to see a picture of someone that did gloss over the top of the decal and your opinion of the look.

Thanks!

I had a shop use a single piece of PPF that went around the decal areas. The glossy parts of the hood are protected while the matte decals are exposed with only some ceramic on top. The whole thing looks rather seamless with the only seams visible near the top of the hood. But you’d have to be looking for them to even notice. Once I get her cleaned up I can show you what was done.

 

[Upacurb]

With the stripes on my car creating the same issue- I did PPF on everything but the stripes as well....

 

[roadpilot]

I had my windows tinted today and asked about having PPF on the front clip, the guy said it would be difficult on the hood because of the vinyl.

You shouldn't let that guy come with 100 feet of your car for PPF. You most certainly can do it, you just have to have the skills to do it. Clearly, he does NOT.

 

[ElCid08]

Here you go. Entire front of my DH has Kavaca PPF(Ceramic Pro)…hood, fenders, bumper. I had the option to leave off the hood decals, or try to use matte PPF, but chose to do the entire hood as one piece of gloss. Really happy how it turned out. Makes the graphics harder to see from certain angles, but from other angles it makes them stand out. We did matte PPF on the matte areas of the front bumper(under headlights) and the side mirrors. Hope these help.

 

[Tony Alonso]

My installer did gloss PPF but cut out the parts over the stripes, then coated the stripes with Revivify in matte finish. The entire hood, front fenders, front bumpers (matte finish used on matte colored "eyebrows"), lower rocker just behind the front and rear wheels, and side mirror cpas were all protected.

CarZMedics in the Cincinnati, OH, area - I strongly recommend them.

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