Windshield Protection Film on my rig

[QuintusMaximus]

Coming from a JK, I used to get a lot of broken windshields. A few guys in my club got windshield protection film onto their wranglers. I checked out what they were using and noticed it fits onto our JTs as well so I bought a kit. It went on easy, I've had it on for a few months now. So far so good, I can't even really tell it is on there from the inside. From the outside, if I look really closely in the right lighting, I can see the edge of the film around the edges of the windshield.

Before I bought this, I got quotes on lowering my deductible, but this was a lot cheaper. I know I saw some people on the forums say that they had cheap windshield insurance, but that didn't seem to be available where I live. Maybe that isn't surprising since people break so many windshields here, just too many people on the highways.

This is what I used: https://www.grab-gard.com/collectio...ep-wrangler-windshield?variant=39530579525714

It isn't just about cost, I do a mix of daily driving and offroading, so it is a pain if I get a broken windshield during the week before I plan to go off road on the weekend. That happened a few times on my JK.

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[RJinPV]

Have you seen any independent test data that shows the film will actually distribute the impact forces over a larger area and will actually prevent cracks? It is hard for me to believe a thin film of plastic actually works.

 

[QuintusMaximus]

Have you seen any independent test data that shows the film will actually distribute the impact forces over a larger area and will actually prevent cracks? It is hard for me to believe a thin film of plastic actually works.

I don't know. You'd have to ask the company selling it, I guess. A couple wrangler guys in my club swear by it, they say they've gone from about 2 windshields a year to no more broken windshields. But I've only had it a few months, so it's just anecdotes from a few people in my club, plus some forums posts that I'm going off of.

This is a video I watched about it, which seemed positive:

 

[RJinPV]

I don't know. You'd have to ask the company selling it, I guess. A couple wrangler guys in my club swear by it, they say they've gone from about 2 windshields a year to no more broken windshields. But I've only had it a few months, so it's just anecdotes from a few people in my club, plus some forums posts that I'm going off of.

This is a video I watched about it, which seemed positive:

I'm very skeptical of the company selling the film because of the $ incentive for them to be in a sales mode and stretch the truth. Anecdotal evidence is also unreliable because the experiences are not under controlled conditions.

However, I have been wondering about this for a while and decided to do a web search. I found this video that seems fairly compelling. A guy shot a pellet gun at his car's windshield with two different films and one area without film. The angle of incidence for his windshield is less that a Jeep's but the films did help. I am very surprised.

 

[RJinPV]

I found another video testing the films. Similar results. I guess I might add one to my upgrades list.

 

[Joe Gladiator]

theres a vendor here that carries a film for the windshield, @ExoShield i think

 

[QuintusMaximus]

theres a vendor here that carries a film for the windshield, @ExoShield i think

I looked into that, but since I could only get it through shops, it was more than twice the cost of the self installed kit I bought.

 

[QuintusMaximus]

I'm a few months in on my windshield film install. I've had a few hard rock hits on the freeway that I thought for sure were going to break the windshield, but the film did its job. I'm very happy so far.

 

[Casique]

How long does it last? Overtime the windshield wipers will probably scratch it? How is it holding up?

 

[QuintusMaximus]

How long does it last? Overtime the windshield wipers will probably scratch it? How is it holding up?

I've only had it on about 4 month so far, but it's good so far. A wrangler owner in my club has two years on his, which is why I decided to give it a try. So I'm hopeful it will last a while.

 

[MarkN]

I had my tint company apply the film to mine and it came out great. They told me to put on new wiper blades and possibly change them out before they start to get hard to keep from scratching the film. I was careless with the pressure washer and hit the windshield from the side allowing water to get under the film. Be aware of this if you have the film and use a pressure washer, watch your angle and stay away from the edges.

Mark

 

[QuintusMaximus]

I had my tint company apply the film to mine and it came out great. They told me to put on new wiper blades and possibly change them out before they start to get hard to keep from scratching the film. I was careless with the pressure washer and hit the windshield from the side allowing water to get under the film. Be aware of this if you have the film and use a pressure washer, watch your angle and stay away from the edges.

Mark

Thanks for the heads up. I don't pressure wash, because my paint guy told me it is bad on the paint, so I should be ok.

My windshield film is still working great, I've had a few hard hits that I thought for sure would have broken the windshield, but didn't, so I'm happy, I think its saved me at least twice now.

 

[QuintusMaximus]

Just as an update, I'm at about 8 months now and still really happy with this film. There are a few tiny dings in the film where I was hit hard by rocks that I thought were going to break the windshield, but the film did its job. Otherwise it looks like new still.

I'm convinced it saved my windshield at least twice since I've put it on, so its definitely cheaper than it would have been to lower my deductible.

 

[QuintusMaximus]

Its been about 7 months now. Still happy with this film. I have had a few rocks hit really hard that I thought were going to break the windshield. Two of them left little dings in the film that you can see from the outside, but I don't really notice from the inside unless I'm looking for them. Very happy with the film so far, I think its already paid off with how many broken windshields people normally get where I live.

 

[JTNARJ]

Thanks for the updates - I'm getting my one free Gorilla Glass replacement tomorrow, and I think I'll invest in one of these.

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