We have been very fortunate to earn the trust of much of the Focus RS community here in Denver, and have been exceedingly impressed with the car. Weighing in at just over 3400 lbs and producing 350 hp with a functional and comfortable interior sporting Recaro seats the car is a blast to drive. To make sure this car can be driven hard without the worry of damage to the paint we went with our Driver’s Package in XPEL ULTIMATE PLUS Clear Bra. Clear Bra is an 8.5 mm thick dual layer urethane that when applied over the painted surfaces will protect the finish from road debris impact that causes rock chips. The XPEL film looks fantastic when properly installed, with a great gloss and perfect color transfer. So how do we do it?
Each project starts with an intense decontamination of the entire car. We need to ensure that every surface is perfectly clean and that no loose contaminant will migrate in to the installation areas. We do this through several washes using GYEON quartz Q2M Foam, Q2M Bathe, Q2M Iron, and our Clay Bar process. The initial cleaning and prep is extremely important. Any contaminant remaining will show up in the final finish.
While the vehicle is being cleaned and prepped, we are also preparing the Clear Bra for installation. We utilize the XPEL DAP Design Software to custom design the perfectly fitting patterns within the software for each section of the vehicle. We can extend and wrap edges, delete areas, or add curves or lines to get the absolute most coverage possible while hiding every edge we can. This is all done safely within the software and printed on the Graphtec 60″ Plotter so that there are no large areas hand trimmed with a razor blade over your new paint. Aside from safety, this also creates a very uniform coverage with perfectly straight lines across panels and perfect circles cut around parking sensors. It is this uniformity that keeps the human eye from noticing the film is even in place.
Now on to the installation! Cleanliness is key throughout the entire process. Controlling the environment and keeping the area debris free plays a huge role in the final finish of the project. Our shop is kept organized and clean, paint suits are worn during install to control contaminant, dust collectors run constantly in the ceiling, and the temperature is kept constant.
The Driver’s Package protects the Front Bumper, Headlamps and Fog Lamps, Full Hood, Full Fenders, A Pillars and Roof Strip, Rocker Panels, Lower Door Strip, Rear Bumper Impact Area, Side Mirrors, and Door Cups. We have done many of the local RS cars and have the installation procedure well practiced. These cars look great when complete and can now be driven worry free of damage to the paint in the high impact areas. Check out the final shots!
