Paint Protection Dealer locators - what's the hype! Myths

Paint Protection Dealer locators - what's the hype! Myths

All paint protection manufacturers have a dealer locator to inform the customer who is installing their film.  All manufacturers want complete allegiance to their product, and they should, they invested time to train, certify the installers and want a return for that time spent.  Their requirements to be on the dealer locator is to purchase a certain dollar amount of their film per month, training with their product and certification is no longer a factor, it’s volume purchase driven!  Should the shop not meet the monthly purchase requirement they will be removed, if listed, or not be placed on the list.

Many customers have asked “I did not see you on the dealer locator, are you able to install this particular film on my vehicle? Can you still offer a warranty?”  The answer is YES!  The manufacturers want only high volume installers to be on their dealer locators, which mean smaller lower volume shops usually are not listed. We can debate this philosophy and see where the future leads in this competitive market. Shops placed on manufacturers’ dealer locator do not guarantee you will get a quality installation, it just means that the shop is a high volume purchaser (and most likely only install one film from that manufacturer).  Xpel has added a twist to their PPF dealer locator, they allow the shops that do both their window tint and their paint film to combine those purchases together to meet their monthly purchase minimums to stay listed. Other manufactures have separate window tint and paint protection dealer locators.  3M will only place you on their dealer locator after four months and an initial film purchase.

Clearshield Protection is a dedicated Paint Protection Film installation Shop which started its roots 20 years ago at the start of paint protection going main stream. We started with Xpel training/certification/advanced training using 3M paint protection films.  We use XPEL patterns, continual training and purchased 3M films during our first 12 years.  It was at that time that Xpel started to manufacture their own film, so starting at that point we carried both 3M and Xpel paint protection films. As more clients asked about Suntek films, we researched and tested, and determined their film would benefit our clients and stand up to Florida harsh conditions. Today we install 3M Pro, Xpel Ultimate and Suntek Ultra films exclusively. We have up to 60” wide film, to offer full coverage on larger hoods and other larger areas most shops aren’t able to offer.

Clearshield Protection has always offered our clients a paint protection film choice.  This choice allows the client to determine which film to use for their application based on information we provide and information they obtain from friends, family, internet blogs, Facebook and searching the internet.

The reason Clearshield Protection Services, Inc. sometimes is on the dealers’ locators and sometimes not?  As mentioned we are a small volume shop and to maintain all three manufacturers’ monthly purchase requirements is not possible. We pride ourselves in offering our clients the choice of the three (3) films, we do not recommend one film over the other, we assist the client to educate themselves, to protect their investment and to build relationships with them.

We have been trained / certified with 3M, Xpel, Avery Nanofusion; we continue our education in our industry on a regular basis through trade forums and networking.  As mentioned, we have determined for our clients in Florida 3M, Xpel and Suntek are the best products to offer.

Please rest assured, at Clearshield Protection you are getting top quality products, personalized patterns to fit your needs and a quality installation by a certified installer.