Lift Marks and How To Avoid Them

There's nothing more irritating than finishing an installation, then realizing that your film is marred by an obvious lift mark. Fortunately, these unsightly lines are completely fixable, and it's very easily done.

First, let's talk about how lift marks are formed in the first place. These lines are usually seen on paint protection films that have been squeegeed and adhered to car paint, then lifted and re-positioned due to various reasons. Once the film has had time to dry and bond with the car paint, any subsequent maneuvering is likely to cause these visible marks, not unlike those found on scotch tapes.

How much these lift marks show up on the film depends on the adhesive layers on the film in question; the more aggressive the adhesives, the more obvious theses marks will be. This is one of the reasons why a tackier film is not always the best option even though it might mean that the film will bond with the car paint faster.

For more experienced installers, it might be possible or even easy to avoid these lift marks all together. For those who are just starting to get into paint protection films however, it might be a different case. Good news is, lift marks are not entirely permanent. If you do notice mild lines on your film, simply direct your steamer to the mark for a few seconds at a time until the last traces of the lift marks are gone.

For more tips and tricks about paint protection film installations, send us an email today and subscribe to our weekly newsletter!