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Rating: A little pricey and difficult to work with, but worth the effort.

Car: 1997 GTI VR6

Colors Available: Carbon fiber red, yellow, blue, and grey, as well as various wood colors and aluminum.

Cost: Approximately $50 from Strictly Foreign.

Required Tools: Design film, razor, rubber squeegee, heat-gun, soapy water, lint-free rags.

Time: A lot! It is very similar to applying window tint w/o water.

Installation:

I chose to do my outside and inside mirrors with the film. There was more than enough in the kit to covers these areas, however, it took me several tries to get satisfactory results.

1. After battling with my mirror covers to try and pry them off of the mirrors, I decided to leave them on the car which actually worked just fine. Just push your outside mirrors towards the car and cut a piece of film that is somewhat larger than the mirror.
2. I didn't use any soapy-water solution to apply this film since I didn't want it sliding all over while I was trying to stretch it around the many curves of the mirror. Clean the mirrors with the soapy water, and dry with a lint-free rag.
3. I began applying the film on the part of the mirror closest to where it attaches to the car. Don't lay the entire film on the mirror to start. Begin with just a small area touching the mirror, and begin to slowly 'squeegee' the film onto the mirror while applying some heat with the heat gun. The flat part of the mirror is relatively easy to do... if an air-bubble gets trapped under the film, lift the film and remove the bubble.
4. Now the tricky part: as you get near the sharp curves on the edges of the mirror, the film will 'bunch-up' on you. The only way I was able to prevent that was to heat the film and stretch it a lit bit at a time. My finger tips were quite soar for days after doing this because I had to use quite a bit if heat! This step takes quite a bit of patients to perfect. You may have to start-over once you get the feel for working with the film.
5. If you actually made it to this step with-out wanting to sue Folia Tec for making such a difficult to install product, than you are doing fine! When I got to the small 'lip' on the mirror (the crack that separates the painted cover from the rest of the mirror), I used the heat gun and my finger-nail to force the film to contour to the lip. I then used the razor blade to cut off any extra by following the crack in the mirror.
6. I wasted the whole sheet of film just doing the three mirrors on my car, but I must say that they do look pretty good. Use the same technique to do your interior mirror. CAUTION: You can crack your windshield if you use too much force when removing or re-installing your mirror! I was lucky enough not to.

Impressions:

Although I feel as though the film was way too expensive and relatively difficult to install, I am happy with the results. It is made of a really tough vinyl that should easily withstand most road debris, which means that my mirrors should look good for much longer than they would have if I just left them alone. They still look good after a year of having the film applied, and there are no stone chips. However, the edges have started to bubble slightly.

Long Term Update:

After having the film on my mirrors for 4 years, it still looks good! The edges are a little rough, but that film is really tough. I finally removed the film, however, because I purchased a carbon fiber hood and I thought the real carbon of the hood would make the mirrors look bad!

Todd Taylor
'97 GTI VR6