Bit by the XPEL bug! How far did you go?

[HX_Guy]

I had XPEL done on the full front (bumper, full hood, fenders, headlights, mirror back) about a week ago and did't think much of it...can't tell it's there, figured it would come in handy at some point down the road but that point came in much quick than I thought. This stuff is like magic and now I can't help but think I need to do more of the car!

I paid $1,750.00 to do the full front and got a quote for an additional $250.00 per each door plus $$425 for the full rear bumper. $1,425.00 doesn't seem too bad and I'm thinking that should be enough - I can't see why I would do the entire roof (solid roof, no pano) and the hatch not sure about ($575.00).

How much did you guys do, and did anyone else add on after doing an initial install?



BTW this is the incident that turned me into a believer...

 

[wattsup]

Uh, exactly what "incident" do your photos show?

A scratch, a smear... what is it?

And, exactly how did XPEL help?

 

[HX_Guy]

Uh, exactly what "incident" do your photos show?

A scratch, a smear... what is it?

And, exactly how did XPEL help?

Sorry, thought it was more clear - it was a scratch on the hood. Pretty bad scratch too where you could "catch" it with your fingernail running across the hood. No idea how I got it but XPEL (the Ultimate version) has "self healing" technology, which basically repairs itself when heat is applied to the scratch (heat from the sun is apparently good enough, but you can also pour warm water on it).

 

[Magomboman]

HX_Guy, well I went with the xpel full stealth wrap. I just took delivery on my MS Friday at my installer's shop. I was sold on this feature for some time. I have it on parts of my other cars and it works wonderfully for me. So when it is complete I will post some pics...

 

[HX_Guy]

Magomboman - you did the roof as well then I assume?

 

[Terra117]

I did the entire car, bumper to bumper.

For a nano-second I considered doing just the facia, hood, bumpers and doors. To not do the roof, and rear seemed silly.

The last car I put paint protection on taught me a lesson. I had just from the middle of the front forward wrapped. 9 years later, I could see the film had discolored where it was lifting a bit at a corner. I decided to peel it off. BIG mistake. The paint that was covered was pristine. The surrounding areas which had looked nice before now looked terrible. All that time over the years with the clay bars and detailing seemed like a waste.

 

[Magomboman]

I have to verify because I have the sunroof. I believe he's going to put a protective coat like cquartz on it.

 

[Magomboman]

Terra117 so did you have your xpel on your all glass top?

 

[Dukeybootie]

I had entire car done. Installer had a painted gloss black XPEL option as well so I had that put on the solid white roof to make it all black.

Have hit shrapnel from exploded tires multiple times with no damage to XPEL or underlying bumper. The resultant scuffs buffed right out.

Someone left me a souvenir scrape on the corner of the bumper which damaged the XPEL but nothing underneath. I had the XPEL replaced and everything looks brand new.

XPEL on the mirror caps is not ideal since the inside facing portion cannot be covered (due to the curvature). I don't like being able to see the line indicating where the film ends.

If I had to choose again, I would probably just do the entire front (and roof, mainly for the black contrast) and save some cash. But if cost no object, absolutely do the whole car.

 

[SBerg]

The thing I don't like is the white lines left at the edge of the Xpel after waxing. I don't want to scrub it with a toothbrush because that could abrade the actual paint and I don't want to use any sort of solvent to get rid of the white because that could release the Xpel. How do others deal with this?

 

[ibracem]

I had all painted surfaces done on my car two days after I took delivery. You need custom wrap to really get the material to end at the edges rather than a few mm short of the edges and panel borders. It's more expensive, but really covers all the paint and hides the edges. I even had the headlights covered even though it's technically illegal. It was not much more for me to do the entire car at my detail shop.

 

[James Anders]

The thing I don't like is the white lines left at the edge of the Xpel after waxing. I don't want to scrub it with a toothbrush because that could abrade the actual paint and I don't want to use any sort of solvent to get rid of the white because that could release the Xpel. How do others deal with this?

Use a different wax/polish. I use Zaino products and it doesn't leave any residue.

 

[Joe F]

Use a different wax/polish. I use Zaino products and it doesn't leave any residue.

Zaino over the Xpel? I ask only because I'm waiting for warmer weather to detail and prep the paint after finding a failed attempt by someone at Tesla buffing out two scratches, one of which left pretty bad burn marks from a heavy handed (apparently) 3" or so dirty pad. I've tried Zaino, multiple times on my 11 year old Infinity, but even our local distributor couldn't get it to dry, and he even called Sal from my garage. To this day I've not been able to use Z2, however their Fusion and AIO worked well.

 

[Jaff]

I had Ceramic Pro coating done over my Expel a few weeks ago...a little pricey, but very pleased with the result!

www.ceramicpro.com

 

[Joe F]

Thanks, Jaff. Does Ceramic Pro negate the self healing advantage of Xpel in that scratches will now show on the surface of it?

Okay, just read through the Ceramic Pro test results they posted done by SGS. Given the hardness results, is this overkill over Xpel? I think I need to go do more research. One can repair scratches, the other can't be scratched.

My main concern is road rash and major stone hits since the car will be mostly for road trips. Might change though over time for local trips, but being retired my commute is to the home office

 

[Ohm it]

I just had self healing clear shield installed over entire front end, a-pillars and mirrors, along with EVO Quartz coating over entire car...
Photo in avatar in front of Gloss-it detail studio in Las Vegas. They also used a matte finish light smoke on the headlights..
Rich at Gloss-it has been detailing high-end exotics for years and really knows his trade. He did a full paint correction or my brother on an 07 Murci LP640 recently and looks like it just came off the production line...

Glossit Online | Gloss-it's Online Store - home

 

[Jean-Claude]

Here is a visual and more information on common coverage options for Tesla's: Vendor - Clear Bra Options for Teslas in Atlanta

 

[croman]

I got my entire front wrapped with XPEL ultimate and then the car coated with Crystal Light Serum. Results are excellent. I recommend Chicago Auto Pros to anyone in the area. They did a custom job and my car still shines despite Chicago winter. I'm thinking about taking the car there for car washes during winter as well because they do such a great job. Its unusually warm right now so I might save the cash and do it myself. The coating makes washing a breeze and you need to do it less often. Coatings do not protect from scratches or physical contact (its an urban myth that they do, they are only 4-6 nm thick). XPEL Ultimate is self healing even with a coating over it. The coating on top of XPEL ensures it shines to match the rest of the car. You cannot tell XPEL is on the front and not the rest of the car except for the mirror housing which does have a faint line as explained above.

If you get a custom wrap for the entire car, they will remove parts of the car's body to ensure the wrap goes beyond where you can see. For full front, they only removed my front bumper and popped the frunk hood. They did not remove the side panels because HW2 Tesla's are not easy to remove without damaging the camera or wiring harness.

 

[Sully's8]

I got my entire front wrapped with XPEL ultimate and then the car coated with Crystal Light Serum. Results are excellent. I recommend Chicago Auto Pros to anyone in the area. They did a custom job and my car still shines despite Chicago winter. I'm thinking about taking the car there for car washes during winter as well because they do such a great job. Its unusually warm right now so I might save the cash and do it myself. The coating makes washing a breeze and you need to do it less often. Coatings do not protect from scratches or physical contact (its an urban myth that they do, they are only 4-6 nm thick). XPEL Ultimate is self healing even with a coating over it. The coating on top of XPEL ensures it shines to match the rest of the car. You cannot tell XPEL is on the front and not the rest of the car except for the mirror housing which does have a faint line as explained above.

If you get a custom wrap for the entire car, they will remove parts of the car's body to ensure the wrap goes beyond where you can see. For full front, they only removed my front bumper and popped the frunk hood. They did not remove the side panels because HW2 Tesla's are not easy to remove without damaging the camera or wiring harness.

Thanks croman, My car's coming in a couple months and I'm planning ahead. I live about 10 min from chicago auto pros. . . Did you get prices from the other xpel outfits? I saw that there's one in Elgin, the city, and a couple other spots. . .just curious what the quotes were if you have them. . . Thanks. . . I'm considering xpel, 3m, and the different coatings...just looking for the menu of options and price ranges. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Magomboman]

Full Xpel Stealth Wrap Complete.