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29 July 2018

What is Self Healing Paint Protection Film?

Imagine if your brand new car could "heal" itself? That rock chip or door ding just vanishes several minutes after it happens. With self-healing paint protection film, that could actually happen.

what is self healing ppf

Self-Healing Paint Protection Film

There are many variations of protective films that can be applied to vehicles. The films are designed to provide a protective layer between the vehicle's fragile paint and the outside world.

The most popular film manufacturers are well-known companies like 3M or XPEL. These companies have a built a reputation for providing the best and most durable paint protection films on the market.

READ MORE: Paint Protection Film Comparison & Differences

But what is "self-healing" paint protection film?

Self-healing protection film has a variety of layers to it, made up of polyurethane, adhesives, polyester, and a clear coat. This is done through an advanced process called microreplication. Aside from protecting against fading and stains, these layers work together to both protect the car's paint and react to heat in order to "heal" any surface damage inflicted on the film.

chris installing ppf to tesla model 3 xpel

How Does it Work?

Although deceiving, self-healing paint protection film is not actually removing the scratches or other surface damage from the paint.

The multiple layers work in a variety of ways:

  • The adhesive allows the film to stick to the car (while also allowing it to be removable without damaging the car's paint underneath)
  • The polyurethane coating protects the paint from damage by providing a (relatively) thick coating that is scratch and impact resistant
  • The clear coat protects the film from stains, fading, and yellowing (a common problem with lower quality films)

When the film is scratched, the surface shows visible damage to the film. However, once heat is applied (by the sun or heat gun), the underlying layers "rearrange" themselves on a particle-level in order to dissipate the scratch.

This dissipation creates the illusion that the scratches are healing themselves right before your eyes.

This process doesn't affect the integrity of the film and the same area can be scratched many times before the scratches become permanent. Unless you're purposefully scuffing the same area over and over again, the likelihood of scratches remaining permanent is very low.

For normal daily-driving, maintenance, and storage circumstances, your paint will be virtually invincible.

Check out a live demo below:

Our Recommendation

As mentioned earlier in this post, there are a variety of films from a variety of manufacturers. Here at Renoson, we have experience with all of them.

The clear winner is XPEL Ultimate Plus film. It has a durability of over 10 years, is widely supported and warrantied by XPEL, and does not require any special maintenance outside of what you would expect when looking after your own vehicle.

For more recommendations and to inquire about getting your car protected with self-healing paint protection film, contact us today and subscribe to our newsletter!

Read: 4 Reasons Why Paint Protector Films are More Affordable Than You Think

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Renoson Industries Ltd.
6588 Bryn Rd
Saanichton, BC
V8M 1X6

Tel: 250-888-8424

3M, EXOSHIELD & XPEL AUTHORIZED

All of our products are professionally installed and supported.

View our protective auto solutions

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