Test of yellowing (blooming) of urethane paint protection film made by the world’s top manufacturer (3M, Avery, KPMF, ORAFOL, DuraShield+)

[admin 519]

Greetings;

 

Our paint protection film business activity began in 2007 and since then we have used various suppliers. As installers, we are very often asked by other installers – “What type of film do you prefer in your work and what kind of film can you recommend to us?”.

 

To determine what type of film is best suited for our work we decided to create a few topics, each of them accompanied by a small test. The reason why we posted these topics is because Internet has no reliable and independent information regarding these topics. We say the information is independent, because we didn’t give any preference to one or another manufacturer, and we are not an official representative, distributor or dealer of any manufacturer. We are installers, similar to many others. We have no specialized or precision laboratory-scale equipment and in our tests we are using locally available material. That’s why, please, do not pass judgment on us.

 

In the first test, from the array of manufacturers we picked the paint protection film market leaders and made a few measurements: the thickness of the in-situ urethane paint protection film; thickness of the urethane paint protection film with glue lay and thickness of the whole product with underlay. In the second test we measured film durability and after that – film chemical resistance.

 

The current test is related to film yellowing (blooming) in a natural environment. Virtually all manufacturers warrant that this will not happen for at least one year. We tested products of 5 manufacturers, unfortunately, without XPEL this time.

1. 3М VentureShield
   
2. Avery Dennison Nano Fusion
   
3. KPMF PPF 82205-UV
   
4. Orafol Oraguard 280
   
5. Sharpline DuraShield+
   

So we decided to do a pilot test of the film in the harsh climate of St. Petersburg. The test was conducted during winter, complete with dirt and chemical reagents...

 

As test cars we chose 2 white cars – an Opel Astra and a Mazda 6.

 

The films were applied to them the previous autumn, to be more accurate – in October and November respectively:

 

1. VentureShield – Opel Astra (fenders)

2. NanoFusion – Opel Astra (hood)

3. KPMF 82205UV - Mazda 6 (hood)

4. Oraguard 280 - Mazda 6 (fenders)

5. DuraShield+ - Mazda 6 (mirrors)

[admin 519]

After application no protective wax etc. was applied to the film. After degreasing and washing with active foam, a half-year later for the Opel Astra and nine months later for the Mazda 6 the cars stood in judgment before us. Here are the results we received so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[admin 519]

In order to determine the intensity of yellowing (blooming), we decided to determine the yellowing ratio of the film. For that purpose we used the Eyedropper tool of Adobe Photoshop. When you move the cursor bar on the image, this tool will show in the info bar the color samples in numerical rating. In other words we measured the color in both places – where it was covered with film and where it was not.

[admin 519]

1. 3M Venture Shield

In the photos you can see 2 samples of the color – one is covered with film, and the other is not. The photo was taken at a right angle. In order to avoid inaccuracy, we took our samples in relative proximity to each other.

 

 

 

 

2. Avery Dennison Nano Fusion

In the photos you can see 2 samples of the color – one is covered with film, and the other is not. The photo was taken at a right angle. In order to avoid inaccuracy, we took our samples in relative proximity to each other.

 

 

 

3. KPMF PPF 82205-UV

In the photos you can see 2 samples of the color – one is covered with film, and the other is not. The photo was taken at a right angle. In order to avoid inaccuracy, we took our samples in relative proximity to each other.

 

 

 

4. Orafol Oraguard 280

In the photos you can see 2 samples of the color – one is covered with film, and the other is not. The photo was taken at a right angle. In order to avoid inaccuracy, we took our samples in relative proximity to each other.

 

 

 

5. Sharpline DuraShield+

In the photos you can see 2 samples of the color – one is covered with film, and the other is not. The photo was taken at a right angle. In order to avoid inaccuracy, we took our samples in relative proximity to each other.

 

 

[admin 519]

The ratio is calculated as the difference between the numerical values of the color samples divided by the number of months of application:

 

3M Venture Shield = 12 (difference between color samples) divided by 6 (months) = ratio equals 2

Avery Nano Fusion = 3 (difference between color samples) divided by 6 (months) = ratio is equals 0,5

KPMF PPF 82205-UV = 5 (difference between color samples) divided by 9 (months) = ratio is equals 0.55

Orafol Oraguard 280 = 10 (difference between color samples) divided by 9 (months) = ratio is equals 1.11

Sharpline DuraShield+ = 25 (difference between color samples) divided by 9 (months) = ratio is equals 2.77

 

As shown by this test, not all films are resistant to yellowing (blooming). Of course, by using a protective car polish once every 1.5-2 months, you can considerably slow the blooming process. According to this test we can conclude that films with higher ratios are more capricious and need special care. You can see the final results in the table below.