Best protection from birds? Film or Ceramic

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Al D

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Any advice on Expel vs Ceramic for bird dripping protection? I have both on my car and have yet to have any bird dropping not cleaned off within an hour. I have a friend with a new car that just had droppings buffed out and doesn't want to worry about it again. They now keep QD in the car and keep a closer eye on it. They are getting the front clip Expel'd, but will the Expel etch like the paint will? Will Ceramic on top of Expel help? Will Ceramic on the paint help a little? a lot?

Edit, I should have stated, I realize the Expel will protect the paint, but will it etch from droppings like paint does? If so, will it heal itself? Wouldn't want to have to replace a sheet of Expel on a whole hood or roof, because the dropping wasn't cleaned in time.

Thanks.
 
Obviously a film will protect much better than a ceramic, as it’s much thicker. But a ceramic will work fine to protect the paint if the bird stuff is removed within a reasonable period of time and not left to bake on in the sun. XPEL will not etch.
 
•Go with the XPEL Ultimate.
-It’s a self-healing PPF.


•Note:
-I’ve never had any issues with XPEL
making good on their warranties.

-However, for peace of mind, be sure to
have the PPF installer answer (in writing)
any concerns about this particular PPF’s
warranty, if any “un-healable” bird bombs
should occur within the warranty period.

{After all, there are different ‘acidic levels’
of bird poop. Ooops! Sorry if you’ve yet to
have had breakfast.}


Bob
 
On this same topic, not to hijack the thread but it's been dormant for a while - I have some 3M paint protection film on my 2014 Benz, and Mike, you had mentioned maybe don't go too abrasive on it (use swirl remover but not a rubbing compound) when trying to remove paint swirls. I did just a polish and it didn't really make any improvement. As the film has significant pitting on the front bumper cover, lots of swirl on the hood, and is getting a little more cloudy with time, I'm debating simply having a body shop remove it, and re-applying new film (possibly to the entire hood so there's no visible break as there is now) and then re-do the fenders and mirrors the same way.

Thing is, I'm not sure if the pitting/chips in front are all the way through to the clearcoat, or just on the 3M film, and probably won't know for sure until and unless it's removed.

Benz detail July 2022 - clay, buffer, wax - Google Photos

Last 4 pics in above linked album shows the front end.
 
Wow you can really see a difference in clarity on those hood pics, that ppf looks terrible to be honest.

And not sure if you know or not but mike phillips is no longer with us on this forum, he has been with 3D for a while now. So any inquiries directly to him will be left unanswered

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
Al D said:
Any advice on Expel vs Ceramic for bird dripping protection? I have both on my car and have yet to have any bird dropping not cleaned off within an hour. I have a friend with a new car that just had droppings buffed out and doesn't want to worry about it again. They now keep QD in the car and keep a closer eye on it. They are getting the front clip Expel'd, but will the Expel etch like the paint will? Will Ceramic on top of Expel help? Will Ceramic on the paint help a little? a lot?

Edit, I should have stated, I realize the Expel will protect the paint, but will it etch from droppings like paint does? If so, will it heal itself? Wouldn't want to have to replace a sheet of Expel on a whole hood or roof, because the dropping wasn't cleaned in time.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

PPF has a clear coat layer on top. It won't etch or be damaged as easily but over time it will road rash and can show etchings as the self healing properties age. I wouldn't stress over little things. PPF has it's advantages but is it worth doing the entire car, no. YMMV.

I would definitely remove the old film and I'm biased....go look at Premium Shield Elite films. Their elite product is among the very clearest on the market and best I've used to-date and I've been working with PPF for going on 23 years.
 
TTQ B4U said:
PPF has a clear coat layer on top. It won't etch or be damaged as easily but over time it will road rash and can show etchings as the self healing properties age. I wouldn't stress over little things. PPF has it's advantages but is it worth doing the entire car, no. YMMV.

I would definitely remove the old film and I'm biased....go look at Premium Shield Elite films. Their elite product is among the very clearest on the market and best I've used to-date and I've been working with PPF for going on 23 years.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, I do plan on keeping my car for another 5 years or possibly more, so I think it's worth it. I know the films have gotten better over time. I figure, instead of that cutoff less than halfway up the hood, just do the entire hood once I buff out enough of the swirl that I'm satisfied I've done all I can, same with the fenders (it's just a cutoff at about the halfway point, following the mark on the hood). Won't do the whole car, but the whole front end.
 
opie said:
Wow you can really see a difference in clarity on those hood pics, that ppf looks terrible to be honest.

And not sure if you know or not but mike phillips is no longer with us on this forum, he has been with 3D for a while now. So any inquiries directly to him will be left unanswered

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Wow...no, I did not know that! Thanks for the update. Does he post on a forum sponsored by 3D? I'm at their site and don't see a link to a forum, but I do see plenty of social media stuff and videos out there with him.
 
fju2112 said:
Wow...no, I did not know that! Thanks for the update. Does he post on a forum sponsored by 3D? I'm at their site and don't see a link to a forum, but I do see plenty of social media stuff and videos out there with him.
Click to expand...
He does not do social media.

Yes 3d has a forum and he runs it, always posting content on it. On their website under the main menu click on the tab learn and under it will be forum Click on that and it will take you to it

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
I had a CQuartz(two coats of 9H topped with one Lite) coating and Lake Erie gull poop laughed at it. I volunteer at a museum ship on the lake so the bird bombs were common. I always had towels and ONR ready to go so when I noticed a bird bomb I could get it off ASAP. Didn't matter if it sat for a couple hours or a couple days, etched the hell out of the CQuartz. The coatings inability to withstand bird bombs better than any other LSP is the main reason I got away from them. Perhaps I expected too much from my two coated cars, but since both experiences were less than stellar, I would go film way before I installed another coating. The problem with that is cost, birds poop mostly on the horizontals which likely means wrapping the whole car and depending on the value/cost of the vehicle, it may not be worth it. To wrap my GLI would cost me about 1/5 the sticker price. So not worth it.
 
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