How To: Install XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit
Preventative maintenance plays a huge role in why we polish, wax, seal, and coat our vehicles on a monthly (or weekly, depending on how long you've been on this forum) basis. Waxes, paint sealants and coatings ensure that our vehicle's paint looks great for years to come. Plus, it's fun, hence the reason why some of you apply a different carnauba paste wax
every other week. (Don't worry, I'm guilty of it too.)
Some parts of our vehicle are not so fun to maintain. How often do you find yourself on UPS.com tracking a package as you eagerly anticipate the arrival of your newest headlight sealant? I'll insert a brief pause for hands to go up.......nothing yet! Let's face it, headlight care is no fun. I'd be willing to bet the half-empty (or half-full
) jar of Fuzion tucked away inside my desk drawer that nobody here likes to experiment with different headlight protectants, much like we do with our beloved paste waxes and spray sealants. While the headlights on our vehicle play a huge role in function and appearance, they're just no fun to maintain.
The not so fun aspect of car care & deatiling
If you're as careless with your headlights as I am with my laundry room, you've been desperately searching for a solution so you don't have to polish or seal your headlights any longer. While I'll continue my search for a live-in maid that's willing to work for yesterday's pizza, a company named
Xpel has a headlight protection film kit that provides
years of headlight protection for your vehicle's costly headlights.
XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit - The Good Stuff
The XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit provides a durable, scratch-resistant film to cover and protect headlights and fog lights. The XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit provides such durable protection that it can resist rock chips, road salt, debris and sand, leaving headlights looking new and protected for years. Unprotected headlight lenses can receive microscopic cracks over time and this will allow moisture into the lens, potentially causing failure of expensive headlight components. The Xpel Headlight Protection Film Kit ensures this doesn't happen as rocks and road debri will be deflected by the durable film.
Getting Started
The XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit should only be applied to headlights that are free of oxidation and yellowing. There is no point in applying a protective film on headlights that are dull, faded and oxidized. Before applying the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit, use a headlight polishing kit to restore the clarity to the lens. The headlight polishing products of choice for this application are by Wolfgang.
The
Wolfgang Plastic Headlight Lens Cleaning System consists of two polishes and a sealant. Since the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit would be installed after polishing, the only two products in the system being used for this demonstration is the Plastik Lens Cleaner and the Plastik Lens Glaze.
The first step in the system is the Plastik Lens Cleaner. This medium-grade plastic polish removes scratches, oxidation and yellowing from headlight lenses. It is designed to be applied with a dual action or rotary polisher. The Wolfgang Plastic Headlight Lens Cleaning System Kit also includes a drill adapter so you can utilize a standard household drill. The tool of choice for this demonstration is the lean, mean, paint polishing machine known as the
FLEX PE14-2-150 High Speed Rotary Polisher.
The second step in the system is the Plastik Lens Glaze. This ultra fine plastic polish further refines the surface, restoring maximum clarity. Like the Plastik Lens Cleaner, the Plastik Lens Glaze is very user friendly and isn't hard to wipe off.
After a couple minutes of polishing, optical clarity is restored!
Installing the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit
Depending on your vehicle, the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit might be a one piece or two piece design. Most vehicles that have wrap around headlights, like Jason's Tundra, will be a two piece design. This requires a little more attention to detail to install properly, but it's still fairly easy.
Tip: Let the film sit outside in the sun for a couple hours so it becomes more pliable. This helps quite a bit during initial test fitting and even during installation.
Start out by testing fitting. This is to check and make sure everything lines up properly.
Take your time!
Don't rush installation of the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit. While fairly forgiving during installation, this is something you don't want to rush or skip steps in the instructions. Work smart, not hard, and do it right the first time.
Start off by spraying the headlight down with a mixture of IPA (diluted 3 parts water to 1 part IPA). The XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit needs to be applied to headlight lenses that are squeaky clean and free of any dust or fingerprints. The IPA solution also aids in installation.
What makes the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit stick so well? Each film is laminated with 3M high performance acrylic adhesive, which has the ability to stick to virtually anything. To ensure it doesn't stick to your hands, spray them down (while wearing gloves, preferably) with the IPA solution.
Partially peel back the paper backing, spray it with the IPA solution and make sure you line everything up properly and get started!
Tip: Line up a corner first, and then work your way out. Don't slap the entire film on and expect it to be perfectly lined up. The film is pretty forgiving for the most part, but if you keep pulling on it because you didn't get it to line up, you can stretch and deform the film.
Break out the guns!
With the paper backing still attached to some of the film, use a heat gun (or a high powered blow dryer) and the included squeegee to remove any excess IPA solution and to ensure no air pockets are formed. Slowly remove the paper backing as you work your way across the entire film.
Repeat
If applicable, repeat those steps with the second piece of film.
Wait, something doesn't look right
Immediately following installation, you might notice some haziness in the lens. This is perfectly normal and will go away within a couple days.
Let there be clarity!
Less than a week after being installed, the remaining solution that caused a slight haze evaporated, leaving a headlight that looks brand spankin' new. Look closely if you'd like, but I guarantee you won't see any visible traces that a high-tech protective film was installed.
Summary
The XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit provides years of unsurpassed protection that no coating or plastic sealant can match. The film is strong enough to withstand years of road salt and other contaminants. It will not yellow or discolor over time XPEL even goes as far as to back it with a 7 year warranty.
Make headlight care a thing of the past and protect your headlights for good with the XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit.
XPEL Headlight Protection Film Kit 
Linear Mode
