darth62

After reading the thread below on "cracked foglights" I've decided to go ahead and order the Xpel protectors for my TSX.

What I wanted to know is:

1) Hard hard will this be to do for somebody who has never done it before?

2) Are there any tips that some of you might have (i.e., use the position spray or not...etc).

And, yes, I did do a search on XPEL and didn't come up with the information I need.

moda_way

I used the product from Griot's garage and the spray. DON'T USE THE SPRAY!!! My fogs turned that spray under the plastic brown. If you cut them the way MrChad suggested (which is the way I did and if you got the sheet and not the pre-cut) installation is SIMPLE. Just line it up from the center and adhere from the center out. The stuff is VERY adhesive... VERY VERY STICKY!!!

dabuda

i just called my clear bra installer that did my hood and bumper kit and he want's $90 for the headlight/foglight install...this is for the xpel stuff...i think i'll try the griots route

darth62

You can get the kit for $53.00 from Xpel.com, if you're willing to do it yourself. That is without the positioning spray (which I am worried about, given moda_way's experience).

darth62

btw, did you have that done in LA? Who did you use?

moda_way

If anyone needs proof, I have pics!! I bought the smaller sheet from griot's and took the fog light trim ring off and marked on the back of the sheet the oval. Then I used a very sharp/new exacto knife to cut the shapes. The smaller of the 2 sheet sizes yielded 10 or 12 ovals. They should be just barely smaller than the fog light lens which is good unless you like the idea of removing the fog lights each time you replace the plastic.

darth62

You don't need to do the cutting now, because the XPEL kit comes with the pre-cuts for the foglights.

Y2K4 TSX

ACK!! I just ordered the headlight kit from Xpel and I have some bad news. They *do* have the foglights, but they are cut too small. As you know, the foglights have that plastic bezel around them that comes off - well, the material is cut to be EXACTLY what is exposes when the bezel is on.

To install the material properly, you need to squeegee out air, so you need to remove the bezel to access all the edges. Well, I'm sure if you are a robot, you could align the material *precisely* in the center, but because of the oval shape and the unevenness of the foglight shape, it's near next to impossible to get it to cover all the glass. Also, they don't tell you which side is which, or where "up" is. Eyeballing it - I *thought* I had the right ones, but after installing, the material didn't cover the entire surface. Read on..

After I got them installed with the bezel on, there are little edges that are exposed. It's not a good fit and furthermore, I'm disappointed since the kit cost me $55. I would have expected tighter tolerances and more specific instructions/markings.

I'm almost reserved about putting on the headlight kit, but those are such a specific shape and has straight edges, so alignment isn't such a big issue.

I'm going to call them on Monday to let them know that they either need to make them bigger to allow for alignment or make some sort of marking about which side is which and which part is "up".

chumley

Do you have a picture(s) of the protective material on the fogs?

Y2K4 TSX

No, but I can try to take some this week.

I have to say (again) that I'm disappointed. The instructions that came with the pre-cut material from Xpel said to use alcohol/water from a spray bottle to get the surface slick and then use a hair dryer to get the light itself and the material hot, so you can work with it.

But, on their website (I saw this after the fact) - it says when applying it to foglights you should apply it dry and without anything extra. There is a slight amount of distortion/haziness on the film in a small area, but from a distance and with the lights on, it's unnoticable, so it's not the end of the world. But, for $50+, I would have expected a world-class act.

darth62

Somewhat OT, but I e-mailed XPEL this weekend to see if I could order the covers for the fogs, without the headlight covers (I'm less worried about the headlights than the fogs, which are low and in obvious danger). Here is what they had to say:




In order to have the pieces for the foglights only, we would have to disassemble the dye which not only takes time, but also is not good for the dye itself. I would strongly recommend protecting the headlamp itself as replacement costs can average up to $1000 per headlight. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Michael Mayall
Reflex Enterprises Technical Support
Toll Free - (800) 447-9928, Ext. 201
International - (210) 342-7114
Fax - (210) 342-8114
mmayall@xpel.com

Y2K4 TSX

Sounds like a load of horse shit.

I'm starting to think that company is run by racketeers. If you saw how small and simple the foglight protectors were you'd scratch your head in disbelief. It's kind of interesting how their "die" was made for both - but they didn't think to make them separate for just your case. Sounds more like they want you to buy BOTH or NOTHING. Also, they *didn't* have the foglights a few weeks ago, so what's up with that? They threw out the old die just to add the foglights? I doubt it - it sounds like a lie to me.

All I gotta say is that for $60, they better have some world class customer service for addressing my problem or I am going to spread the (negative) word.

This is no way to do business.

Y2K4 TSX

Even sadder is that die is spelled DIE, not DYE. Builds even more of a case that they don't know what they're talking about.

darth62

Also, the PR guy talked about the HIDs costing $1,000 to replace. However, the XPEL product does not protect the expensive parts of the light. It only keeps the headlight cover from getting chiped or cracked.

I think I'll pass.

dabuda

actually my TSX is in FL...used PhantomShield

dabuda

The XPEL email sounds like BS. The griots way sounds cheaper and better according to moda_way

Y2K4 TSX

I called Xpel a little while ago and told them about my problems. The person who answered the phone was somewhat helpful - told me she would send me 2 new foglight protectors and take back the headlight protectors.

She said because of my problems she would make an exception to send out just the foglights because they normally don't do that.

BUT GET THIS - I'd have to pay $9.95 for the replacement foglight protectors and take 20% off the kit for a restocking fee.

That's an exception!?!?! I'm supposed to hear back from the same guy that wrote darth since she couldn't give me what I wanted (to return the headlight pieces and get a full refund due to the trouble I had).

I'll keep ya posted once I hear back from them - but I'm not expecting them to do the right thing. They are apparantly a new business and don't understand what it means to do business on the Internet. I doubt they'll be around for a long time with this attitude.

darth62

Yuck.

Well, this may not make you feel better, but you are really helping the rest of us by posting this experience.

Anyway, I wish you luck and hope it gets resolved.

seex

We've been installing paint protection film/clear bra for over 4 years now up in the northeast. And we highly DO NOT recommend putting the film over the fog lamps. Because the lense is small, with the film over it, some fog lense will crack from the heat. YES! The lense will crack, and not just a line crack. But crack lines all over it. We've experienced it!

acuraaddict_RENAMED

Y2K4 TSX,
Not a flame, just an fyi....when you are talking about tool and die....die is the correct spelling. But if you are going to dye your hair, be sure to buy dye. :-)

matelot

I think he/she has moved on...that the post was 16 months old

Dan Martin