Paint protection film, answered

A layer of self-healing urethane applied over your paint. HAUT films run 6.3 to 8.3 mil — 160 to 210 microns — and take the rock chips, gravel, bug acid, road salt and wash grit that would otherwise reach your clear coat. Every property we have measured is on the product page with the ASTM method it was measured against.

No published film is immune to UV, and no film maker warrants a shade. The film takes the sun instead of your paint: over years it changes, and that is ultraviolet absorbed by something you can peel off and replace rather than by the paint underneath. When it has taken enough, it comes off and a new one goes on — that is what a sacrificial layer is for. Yellowing that arrives far too early is a different matter and it is covered: a film changing within months is a defect rather than age. On clarity when new we publish a figure rather than an adjective — 91.9% to 92.4% light transmittance to ASTM D1003 on production lots — and the film spent six years on customer cars in a closed network of partner shops before a roll went on open sale. We do not publish a yellowness-index figure for these two films, because the lab result we hold sits far outside category norms and was probably read through the release liner — it is listed as unconfirmed on the technology page rather than printed as though it were good news.

Eight mil has been the premium standard for a decade. HAUT Master is 7.7 mil for everyday coverage and Master Plus is 8.3 mil, above that standard, for cars that see highway miles, gravel or track use. Thickness only helps if it sits in the impact layer — added to the topcoat it costs clarity and conformability without adding protection.

It depends on the vehicle, how many panels you cover and the shop doing the work — a partial front on a compact car and a full body wrap on a supercar differ by an order of magnitude. Nobody can quote you honestly from a web page, and a brand that does is quoting an average rather than your car. What we can do is show you exactly what moves the number, what belongs on a real quote line by line, and the ten questions to ask before you leave a deposit — that is the What It Costs page. Every certified HAUT shop prices from the same pattern library, so the number you are given is against the actual cut.

Yes, and on a leased or resale vehicle that is most of the point. Film applied to factory paint by a trained installer comes off with heat and a steady pull, leaving the paint in the condition it went on in — unfaded, unchipped and shielded the whole time it was covered.

No — it locks it in. Film is optically clear, so a swirl, an etch or a chip underneath stays visible and cannot be polished out until the film comes off. A good shop washes, decontaminates and, where it matters, corrects the paint before a single panel is wrapped, and will tell you if your car needs it.

It needs heat, not time. The topcoat is an elastomeric, lightly crosslinked surface: warm it with sun, warm water or a heat gun kept moving and well back, and the polymer network's own elasticity pulls a light mark back out. A deep gouge that reaches the adhesive layer will not close — that is what the panel replacement is for.

Today, yes — automotive film is what we sell. Ceramic coating, marine film, surface film for marble and furniture, and window tint are all in development for 2027, each with its own page and waiting list. None of them carries a published specification, because none has a finished data sheet.

Yes. Black Gloss, Black Matte, Carbon and the tinted Specter range are available now — a color change and a protection film in the same layer, with the factory paint coming out unfaded underneath. Window tint for side and rear glass is a separate product, launching 2027.

Every HAUT film carries a 10-year limited warranty against cracking, delamination and blistering, on film installed by a certified HAUT shop. The vehicle owner registers it online — about two minutes, no account, no cost — and coverage runs from the installation date on the invoice rather than the day the form was filled in. The warranty page states what is not covered as plainly as what is.

Through a certified shop. Certification is the condition on the warranty: a certified bay cuts from our own pattern library and logs the job, so a claim years later is a record lookup rather than an argument. The network opened in New Jersey in January 2026 and is expanding shop by shop — if the locator has nothing near you yet, tell us where you are and we will say what is coming.

Two doors, one queue. If you run a plotter, download CUT CORE for Mac or Windows — free, and it installs without an account — and apply on its first screen. If you do not, apply on the become-a-dealer page; there is no reason to install cutting software to reach a form. No fee, no card and no credit check either way. A person reads every application, usually within two business days, and if you are approved an invitation code arrives by email. That is the point at which you set a password and enter payment details. Pricing sits on your account once it exists, not on a public page.

The film line, HAUT CUT CORE pattern software (2,500+ vehicles across 115+ makes, 2 seats per license, Mac and Windows), certification for your installers, and the 10-year warranty attaching to your work. Marketing assets and co-branding are available to shops that want them. There is no exclusivity requirement — you do not have to drop the brand you run today — and territory is a published rule rather than a promise on a call: one certified shop per 250,000 residents inside your drive time, never two within 8 miles, and 60 days' written notice before we appoint another in your area.