I went the professional installation route. The installer, who I used for PPF and window tinting on a previous vehicle, applied STEK DYNOflex. The first thing I noticed, which I thought was really cool, is how the water beads right off. I don't even need to use the wipers nearly as much. When I do, they are completely silent. Not a hint of squeaking or any wiping noise at all. Of course, my primary goal is to avoid rock chips. Time will tell how that goes.
Great job, the windshield won't heal when chipped or in this case has a tear. It's also not the same material as PPF like XPEL or SunTek. I have the same as you on my Mach-E, got a similar hit and it saved the windshield but have the same hole like you. My luck is that it's on the passenger side and not driver.Just came back from Oklahoma, 4 hours on the highway and gravel roads. Got peppered by a few 18-wheelers but the biggest hit I got was from my own tire??? I was turning off a gravel road onto the paved road. Absolutely nobody in front of me…at all. Straightened out on the main road then pow! Rock about the size of a marble hit right at my eye level. I’m thinking when I was turning and the front tire was sticking out it threw a rock up and came down on the windshield. Cant tell if the damage is just to the film or windshield too. It’s supposed to be self healing so we’ll see what happens when it warms up.
Ok cool cause I have one spot that didn’t seal 100% but that’s my fault for peeling it back up. Was wondering what I could use to stick it back down. What kind (brand) did you use?
And can you explain what all of this process made it better? I'm really amazed at all of the lotions, potions and coating that folks are applying to their Broncos.Ok so I’m finally done, well I finished last night at least. Took about 2 1/2 hours to do but I think thats because I took my time and didn’t wanna call it done till i was 100% happy with it. So here goes…
I ended up getting the pre-cut film from Targe Industries and watched their video a bunch of times till I felt like I really had a grasp on what I needed to do. In their video they say clean the window and surrounding area 3 times, well i lost count after 5 only because I wanted to make SURE there was no debris on this windshield. The squeegee, hard card, and scrub pad they give you in the kit is bad azz!!! Really nice stuff, the squeegee I got with my 3M film was small and cheap, definitely a throw-away piece but this kit, naw I’m keeping it.
Ok so I got it all cleaned up and moved on to the wet-check. Here you’re checking to see how its going to lay and whether your slip solution is slippery enough. They recommended 3-4 drops per 16oz but I feel like i used a lot more than that. Enough to where when I was scrubbing the windshield with the scouring pad it produced suds. We got the film on the windshield and noticed the overlap on the lower portion of the window is a LOT more than i expected. From the video they mentioned you’ll have to tuck the film on the Bronco so I’m thinking 1/8 to 1/4” but nope, this sucker had an overlap of like 3/4” to 1”. Which I guess is good because the cowl sits on top of the bottom of the film so with that big of an overlap you dont have to worry about it lifting. Ok so now I went to see how to tuck it but the cowling is too damn stiff, I could barely get the corner to lift so now I’m like sonofabish!!! What did i get myself into. Then remembered a video of someone installing ditch lights and how they had to lift up the cowl to tuck their wires. So I removed the two fasteners at the end of the cowl and lifted up and blamo! You dont have to remove it, but popping it up gives you enough clearance to get in there to tuck it. Problem solved!
So now we go to install the film…make sure you spray the sheit outta everything. My assumption is that the more you spray, the more the solution removes the debris that may float onto your film or windshield. I have one of those 32 ounce sprayers from Chemical Guys and I must have used about 3 of those for the process but I figured its better to be safe then sorry later.
Film went on super nice, no issues with my slip solution, started doing my passes with increased pressure as I learned from my 3M Film install, was going really well until I went to tuck the film. Now keep in mind the wipers are sill on so the cowl is still on the truck and it acts a bit of like a seesaw, you lift one side of the cowl, the other side goes down, you push it away from the windshield, the opposite side moves towards the windshield. We’ll wouldn’t you know i was tucking the passenger size, pulling the cowl away from the windshield and heard my son yell OH SHOOT! I look over and sure enough the cowl lifted up about a good 6 inch corner of the film, man it looked horrible, I figured I was done. I should have been paying attention. We’ll I lifted the entire corner, sprayed between the film and windshield again and was able to get it to lay down without issue. Crisis averted but note to self, PAY ATTENTION.
So I ended up making countless passes on the film, I think in the video they did like 3 but i kept going over and over to make sure I got all the bubbles out and all the fingers laid down. There were TWO SONSABISHES on the drivers side that kept popping up though, see pictures. I kept laying them down and they’d pop up, repeated that process like 10 times and it kept coming back up. I was going to bust out the hair dryer when I remembered another video (different product) where the guy mentioned just walking away for 20 minutes and letting the film dry out a little, plus i needed a break. So I took 20, ignored the temptation to go back early and check, and when it was done I went out, laid it down two more times and it stuck!!! Thank you Jesus! I waited another 20 minutes, and then ran around the edges with the hard card. Once I verified nothing else came up I called it done and put the cowl back in place.
Looking back at the film i found 2-3 little specks of dirt in the top passenger side corner that got trapped, but you can barely see it from 1 ft away so I figured I’d leave it. I think that happened when I ran a towel across the top of the film to collect the extra solution, sprayed again and some debris from the towel washed under the film. I didnt do it to the other side and it came out fine. So if yall do it, dont wipe with a towel.
I applied the ClearX wax to it and now its sitting overnight to cure. They suggested no hard driving for 24 hours, not sure what’s considered hard driving so just to be safe I’ll let it sit till tonight. We’ll the process wasn’t that HARD to do, just a lot of prep, a lot of repetition to get the bubbles out and everything tucked nicely. I’m going to wait a few days to let everything set up before I speak to how clear/not clear it is and how it holds up to the elements. Just thought I’d post my experience for those of you that are considering it.
Just trying to add another layer of protection to my windshield. Yea my insurance covers it... yea nowadays I can probably have the windshield replaced within hours...but I didnt wanna have to deal with all that. Is this snake oil? Maybe, was it my choice to "fall" for it, sho nuf! If spending $200 for the film gives me a warm fuzzy driving on the highway behind trucks and 18-wheelers then to me its worth it. May not be for everyone, may not protect against huge hits but I went into it knowing the pros and cons and decided to do it anyway.
Did you just have that installed? Because I heard that was pulled off the market about 6 months ago, because it was only lasting a few months.
Yes, just got it installed a couple of weeks ago. Have only had my Bronco less than a month.
Maybe they're planning to bring it back eventually? The shop that did my ppf sells stek. He said he checked recently and it was still off the market and they were buying it all back. I don't have direct knowledge, though, just repeating what I was told, I could be wrong.Yes, just got it installed a couple of weeks ago. Have only had my Bronco less than a month.
The installer is an STEK-certified installer, so I'd be surprised if it was pulled and they didn't know about it. If I have an issue, they'll cover it under warranty. I was advised not to run dry wipers on the film. So far, I've found I use the wipers less because the water beads off on its own a lot.
Your post got my curiosity, so I checked their website, and they are still marketing it:
https://www.stek-usa.com/windshield-film
How is yours doing there with these cold temps? And abnormal fogging up or anything when it gets cold out?
Nope, no problems at all. The only thing I've not tried is a new Rain-X for plastic films. The old one doesn't work!!! What a mess! Otherwise no problems.
I used Rigg Bros, several locations and I know some of their folks, family operation. Mine was in St. Charles. Also Naperville, Downers Grove. $500 installed. A little pricey maybe, but so glad I did. You should see all the pock marks a year and a half in.
