Anyone do DIY frame protection for their new bike using bulk film (3M or Expel)? This seems to be the most reasonably priced option compared to precut cuts. I understand there will be work involved but cant be too bad given how small the bike frame really is. Now for a car, I'd definitely have a pro do it but DIY seems doable for bikes. What do you guys think?
Expel vs 3M for frame protection film?
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- 3m ppf expel frame paint protection ppf
RocinanteX
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Anyone do DIY frame protection for their new bike using bulk film (3M or Expel)? This seems to be the most reasonably priced option compared to precut cuts. I understand there will be work involved but cant be too bad given how small the bike frame really is. Now for a car, I'd definitely have a pro do it but DIY seems doable for bikes. What do you guys think?
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I used 3m for mine. I made templates by laying down green painters tape, marked my lines with a sharpie, carefully peeled them up and cut them out. I then transferred this to the sheet of 3m.
Make sure you account for a bit of stretch in the PPF. And mix a bottle of IPA and water to help activate the adhesive if you find it's lifting.
I’ve done a couple with uncut 3m. No idea about expel. It’s cheap until you factor in time. I tend to get ocd and end up re-cutting stuff sometimes. Not a super fun process for me.
I still do it for small straight patches around headtubes, stays, etc, but wouldn’t tackle a full swoopy frame anymore.
I still do it for small straight patches around headtubes, stays, etc, but wouldn’t tackle a full swoopy frame anymore.
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Thanks guys!
Yes I imagine the time commitment will likely be a few hours to a couple of days. Let me noodle on it - I may try to do a part of the frame and see how it goes and then decide if I want to do the full frame.
On a separate note, while the ppf is for my new bike, I also bought a 20 year old bike (same bike model, 5 generations older!) and trying to decide if I want to wrap it for a color change and make the color pop. Or should I spend time restoring the paint using polish and wax? Any experience with color changing vinyl wrap?
Yes I imagine the time commitment will likely be a few hours to a couple of days. Let me noodle on it - I may try to do a part of the frame and see how it goes and then decide if I want to do the full frame.
On a separate note, while the ppf is for my new bike, I also bought a 20 year old bike (same bike model, 5 generations older!) and trying to decide if I want to wrap it for a color change and make the color pop. Or should I spend time restoring the paint using polish and wax? Any experience with color changing vinyl wrap?
If anything, the small size of bikes makes it more difficult! More and tighter bends and creases. Figuring out where to make seperate pieces. I went with a precut for my carbon dually, would have been a pain to do it myself, and i consider myself pretty good with hands.
I used a 10’ roll of 2” wide Expel, and it works great. I just did the down tube, back side of seat tube, and under any cable rub spots. I have a funky shaped carbon hardtail. Cut strip to desired length, soak the length in a mixing bowl of soapy water, work the tape into place and use plastic scraper to squeeze out the water. Was actually much easier to apply than I thought. Been solid protection going on 4 seasons.
Bob
Bob
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What kind of cutter did you use? How different do the wrapped vs bare sections of the frame look?
Also do you put ceramic coating/wax on the rest of the frame? How about shocks, handlebars and the rest of the bike?
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I recently did my new bike with the 3m tape. I looked for the precut option but it was not available for my frame. I kind of winged my installation. I did the bottom of my downtube first. The only issue was near the bottom bracket. The curve has a slight fold that I didn't account for. Last week I did the back frame sections. Again not perfect but it offers protection especially the upper portion of the rear triangle. It seems I ride with my heels slightly inward. My 510's were rubbing and leaving rubber residue and slight scratches. The protection offered was slightly more important than the perfect installation.
I cut straight strips because I just wanted to protect the most vulnerable parts of the frame from stone chips and cable rubbing. I did not cover the Fox 32 SC fork, and I'm pretty impressed with how much abuse that thing can take. I also put the film on before ever riding it so the frame was perfectly clean. You can't really see the film edges unless you look very close (probably because the paint transitions from black to white right were the film ends which helps).
No, I do wash/wax the bike once a year prior to winter storage, but I never did the ceramic thing. I really don't mind a dirty/slightly banged up frame, that just means it's used as intended. I'm slowly building up a Stanton Slackline steel frame. Not sure if I'm even going to bother with the film this time. Steel still works if it's dented (unlike carbon), and I'll probably buy a new one before it rusts.
One last point. Considering how bonkers expensive mid/upper end carbon bikes are these days, it does make sense to preserve them for as long as possible with some kind of protective film. You can go the inexpensive route like I did and just cover the spots you know are going to get banged up, and if you don't like it, peel it off and get a proper pre-cut kit. Take a tape measure and order 2x the length you think you need to give yourself some trial and error options.
ULTIMATE PLUS Custom Length
XPEL ULTIMATE PLUS Paint Protection Film offers width options from 2-72 inches and length options from 1-20 feet for tailored protection
www.xpel.com
Bob
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I used XPEL- heres the outcome from my experiment- Installed on a used bike with tonnes of scratches
The worst part was the lower BB area- you can see that I didnt get it right there and the other area that it didnt work well was the internal cable entry ports- was doing alot of shuttling and the Northshore rack we were using wore it out
![Image]()
The worst part was the lower BB area- you can see that I didnt get it right there and the other area that it didnt work well was the internal cable entry ports- was doing alot of shuttling and the Northshore rack we were using wore it out
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Thanks for sharing the picture. I am planning ppf for my new bike and also considering for a used bike I got with faded paint and scratches. The idea would be to make the older bike look better by dulling scratches etc. Does the film somewhat hide the existing scratches as well or more for future protection? Hard for me to tell from the pics but maybe you can offer your insights.I used XPEL- heres the outcome from my experiment- Installed on a used bike with tonnes of scratches
The worst part was the lower BB area- you can see that I didnt get it right there and the other area that it didnt work well was the internal cable entry ports- was doing alot of shuttling and the Northshore rack we were using wore it out
![Image]()
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Scratches are not as pronounced, but they are still there..the main purpose is stopping the scratches from growing
I dont have any better close up shots, but these may help you out more
This one probably shows it best- without XPEL on upper seat stay and lower chain stay
with XPEL on upper seat stay
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Frame "protection" tapes are a waste of time and money. If you are using them as intended, mountain bike frames and every component on them are consumables. Even if you buy a titanium frame, in five years or less trends will have moved on and you will want something new.
Also, carbon fiber is stupid.
Also, carbon fiber is stupid.
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You let trends define you?.. Screw all that.
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I just bought a vintage chameleon to go with my 2022 chalemeleon. The trends would say it's old school geometry, tires are too narrow etc but I really like the way it rides and couldn't care less. It looks good for it's age but wish someone had put frame protection on it 20 years ago so it would look even nicer!
Anyway I got a roll of expel, should have time to put it on the bike in a couple of weeks.
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Where did you get the 10' x 2" Expel?
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I got this from Amazon and will apply it soon:
XPEL R4003-P Clear Paint Protection Film Roll 6" x 84"
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I used the same one from Amazon and finally found the time to apply it. First time doing PPF myself and not too bad. Not blemish free but i can tell the bubbles from 6 feet away. I can tell them from 3 feet away but I think the protection is well worth it.
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Thanks for replying, hopefully it is not too thick to go around tubes/curves, and did you use a scissor to cut it?
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It's fine around tubes. I did have to stretch a bit around where the tubes join but it was good 99% of the places.
I used sharp scissors. I also used lots of soap water while applying the film, do small sections at a time and remove and reapply as many times as needed.
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