Is thicker film better? What mil ratings mean

What a mil is

A mil is a thousandth of an inch. It is not a millimetre, which is far thicker. Film thickness is quoted in mils across the trade.

A figure on its own does not say which layers it counts. Film is a stack: top coat, urethane base, adhesive, and a release liner the installer peels away. Ask whether a number includes the adhesive, and whether it includes the liner. The layers, explained.

Where extra thickness helps

Impact is about energy. A thicker film gives a stone more material to deform before the energy reaches the paint, which is why thickness matters most on cars that see gravel, winter sand and highway speeds.

Defender is printed on its roll label at 8 mil. That is the only thickness ARK states as fact, because it is the only one printed on a roll. See Defender.

What thickness costs in fit

Thicker film is stiffer. It takes longer to settle into compound curves, it is harder to wrap around a panel edge, and where it stops, the step at the edge is easier to see.

None of that is a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to want an installer who has fitted that film before, on a car shaped like yours.

The other ARK films

The other three films have not been measured yet, so their thickness shows as pending. We do not say one ARK film is thicker than another until each one is measured.

• –Fusion: ⟨ pending measurement ⟩.
• –Umbra (a working name): ⟨ pending measurement ⟩.
• –Spectrum: ⟨ pending measurement ⟩.

Reading a spec sheet sceptically

A thickness figure is only as good as what stands behind it. Ask these of any film, ours included. Compare the four ARK films.

• –Does the number say which layers it measures?
• –Is it printed on the roll, or only in the marketing?
• –Is it a measurement, or a claim with no source?
• –Are you comparing like with like, film to film, not film to film plus liner?