Inv4drZm's Build Thread
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Flash Runner
New member
Drooling over the LED upgrade! Damn I forgot all about getting it done when I had the PS fixed...... Great job [MENTION=59048]S p a r k y[/MENTION] .
good for you! its a great feeling. i paid off an 05 wrx that started in 2012, sold it pretty cheap, and then bought and paid for my 04 sr5 with 130k cash. no car payments is a great feeling...especially with 28 more years of a mortgage to pay off.
NinjaOne
New member
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Best mod.
Lockers obviouslyThrow in a larger rearend while you're at it
If I'm going to do it might as well do it right. I don't like babying my rear end.
YetiX
New member
That's what she said. :spit:
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Wow I kinda walked into that one. :rip:
NinjaOne
New member
Same. That's why I threw on 35s after blowing it on 33s :bump2:
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
I've been trying to get this XPel Ultimate PPF to lay over my gauge cluster lens, the stock one scratches very easily and wanted the new lens I bought to last. The install is a little tricky but after a few tries think I have it looking presentable for you guys. Not as clear as brand-new, when installing you squeegee out the water and air bubbles so there were some small marks left, but not bad.
How-to and my tips for install:
You spend almost the same money protecting it as what a new lens actually costs so it may not be worth doing. I just wanted to see if it was possible.
After an hour:
After almost a week there is still one bubble left, but in a spot where I think it will be covered:
How-to and my tips for install:
- Buy enough material for at least 3 tries. It took me more but now that I know the bubbles dissipate after a while it doesn't seem so difficult.
- Cut the PPF to rough size and clean the lens w/ 50/50 alcohol & water on a microfiber.
- Use a spray bottle for the water, it helps spread it over the lens and adhesive side of the PPF. Mist the lens with water then peel apart the PPF and mist the adhesive side with water too. It might help to use distilled water for this.
- Lay the PPF over the lens into position then squeegee out the water/bubbles. Don't press too hard to get out the difficult bubbles as it will leave a small trail in the film. Let them evaporate out later or peel up the film over the bubble, spray with water, and lay the film back down/ re-squeegee.
- Let dry/cure until all the bubbles are gone. I used a heat gun occasionally to help speed up the process though I have no idea if it really helped. It took a day or two for the majority of the bubbles to disappear from mine, YMMV. If you want to start over just peel it off.
- Make sure, during the drying/curing process you don't scratch the backside of the lens with dirt or potentially even fingernails when handling it.
- Once it is to your liking I used a retractable snap-off blade knife to trim the excess film around the lens. You can buy the knife along with a small squeegee and cut-to-size PPF from some places online like windowfilmsupplies.com or tintzoom.com.
You spend almost the same money protecting it as what a new lens actually costs so it may not be worth doing. I just wanted to see if it was possible.
After an hour:
After almost a week there is still one bubble left, but in a spot where I think it will be covered:
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
I've read that before, I don't have any, but I think the bubbles that are left will be covered up by the cluster divider or maybe disappear with a little more time. But yeah that's a good tip.
Dirtrider216
New member
You should be able to go to your local Walgreens/cvs and buy a bag of insulin syringes at the pharmacy for ~$5. There’s no issues with you doing that as long as your not embarrassed that the staff in the pharmacy will assume you’re buying them for heroin
*This knowledge comes from my having worked in a pharmacy
When it comes to PPF like Xpel you want to use some soap and water, not just water. The reason you have bubbles is because water dries out very quickly and leaves quite a few dry spots and/or bubbles.
Also, I'd recommend against the needle because you will definitely see the needle mark. Better to re-do the whole piece with soapy water.
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Well the first time, I tried with soap but for some reason I think it nuked the adhesive, the XPEL didn't stick at all. Maybe I used too much soap/water ratio but I figured it's not a gigantic piece I'm laying over a hood, I should be able to position it and squeegee fairly quickly.
If I do it again I'll try with soap though.
Yeah you probably used way too much soap. For reference, you want to use roughly 1oz in a 32oz bottle I'd say. You should spray the film with soap pretty well, then spray the lens surface as well. Pick one side and on that end spray some more water to flush out a lot (not all) of the soap. This will help it start to stick on that side and you can go across to the other end. At the other end you can also spray a bit of water to help adhere.
If you don't mind me asking where did you buy the film and how much was it? I do this for a living and have done quite a few custom pieces for my 4runner, LS 400, BMW etc. I'm thinking if there's enough demand I can create and plot custom pieces specific to the 4runner then sell here for a lot cheaper. That won't be for a few months at least but your post here reminded me of doing it
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Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Yeah you probably used way too much soap. For reference, you want to use roughly 1oz in a 32oz bottle I'd say. You should spray the film with soap pretty well, then spray the lens surface as well. Pick one side and on that end spray some more water to flush out a lot (not all) of the soap. This will help it start to stick on that side and you can go across to the other end. At the other end you can also spray a bit of water to help adhere.
If you don't mind me asking where did you buy the film and how much was it? I do this for a living and have done quite a few custom pieces for my 4runner, LS 400, BMW etc. I'm thinking if there's enough demand I can create and plot custom pieces specific to the 4runner then sell here for a lot cheaper. That won't be for a few months at least but your post here reminded me of doing it
It was $28 shipped for a 30" x 1ft piece enough to do the gauge cluster 4 times, IIRC, from Tintzoom.com.
XPEL Ultimate Paint Protection Film Custom Length (30" width x 1' Length) | XPEL Ultimate Paint Protection Film sold by the Foot | TintZoom.com
These guys also sell it by the foot:
30" Xpel Ultimate Plus Paint Protection Film | Window Film Supplies
Warm soapy water should help in the proper ratio that was mentioned above. Thats how my installer does it. Insulin needles are real small gauge so you wouldnt see the mark after you use some heat to let the ppf heal itself. Maybe it only works on the painted surfaces. Who knows, installers always know better than us DIYers. You can get them from the pharmacy if you know anyone that works at one.
Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Hasn't been much if any leaking out since I tightened the clamps last weekend, so I'm not sure if the clamps fixed it or if it was just some excess flinging out over time.
I also installed the new Xpel covered gauge lens last weekend too. I redid-it with a little bit of soap mixed in this time and it came out good enough for me.
