CLEAR BRA (paint protection film) - Full hood or 24" ???

[Alysashley79]

This is one time (and the only time I'll ever say this) you just spent $100k on this beautiful car. Go full body Xpel ultimate. Even recommend Clearplex on the windshield. It's anywhere from $5k-$8k for full body bit SO worth it. My car is 15 months old. I drive down a 4 mile (one way) gravel road and with its self healing properties it shines like she just cme off the showroom floor.

I originally only only did the full front and noticed that my rear quarter panels were taking a beating. The paint IS extremely soft. So in January of 14 I had the rest of the car done. And there is no orange peel look to mine at all. In fact they wrapped it so good unless you're within 12" of the car you'd never know its there.

 

[Fezzik]

Let me put it this way. I had suntek on my G37. It yellowed and also got a rock chip that went to the paint. I've got xpel on there now and got a huge chip in the xpel but the paint is fine. Getting it replaced under warranty. I also can not see any orange peel in the xpel ultimate.

 

[docrice]

Here's my car with XPEL Ultimate installed a few months ago (all-front done in October, then the rest in November):

http://www.detailingbliss.com/topic/29570-2015-tesla-p-85-new-car-detail-clearfilm-wrap-entire-car/

The last few shots show the final results. Up close I think there's a slight orange peel, but overall I'm happy since there's the mental comfort of minimizing the effects of road debris. I was originally skeptical of the whole self-healing claim as it sounded more marketing than reality, but it seems that my fears were misplaced.

 

[tomas]

Both XPEL Ultimate and Suntek are great... clearly the two leaders. If you look at data sheets, you'll see thickness is same (8.1 mil XPEL, 8.0 mil Suntek), both self healing, etc.
I did not mean to disparage XPEL in my prior post, either is a great choice. Just to indicate that after looking at side-by-side on dark cars like mine (brown), and asking installers what they put on their own car, I came away Suntek. Would not have been disappointed either way... probably more important point is that the low VOC (ergo SOFT) paint on MS desperately wants film on it.

 

[iridium]

My MS has upwards of 30k miles and some nasty dings in the hood. I'd like to get paint protection now to prevent further damage, but is it too late? How do they handle situations where the paint already has damage?

 

[jerry33]

My MS has upwards of 30k miles and some nasty dings in the hood. I'd like to get paint protection now to prevent further damage, but is it too late? How do they handle situations where the paint already has damage?

Best way is to take it to someone that specializes in paint restoration. Once that's done, put on the paint armour.

 

[astrotoy]

I have the factory 24". Would skip it and do a whole hood. No dings so far, but the half hood is just gambling.

 

[tomas]

My MS has upwards of 30k miles and some nasty dings in the hood. I'd like to get paint protection now to prevent further damage, but is it too late? How do they handle situations where the paint already has damage?

If it is deep dings you will need touch up, then paint correction, then film. Some nicks and scratches disappear under film and some are magnified. You should get as perfect as possible before film.

 

[Rockster]

I visited a local Dallas (Addison) area applicator yesterday. He does XPEL and SunTek for the same price. He said that he's recommending SunTek over XPEL now because he believes that SunTek is a visually more attractive product than XPEL. I asked about the warranty and he said that SunTek is 5 years versus XPEL's 7 years, "but don't get hung up on the warranty," he said, "instead buy the better product. I've never had to do a warranty replacement for any of my jobs."

I left there with a written estimate, but i have some points of confusion:

I said that I thought XPEL's warranty was 10 years and he said that it's 7 years. I just double checked and XPEL's site says 10 years. Am I missing something?

Posts in this thread say that SunTek is thinner, but their specs say 8.0 mils for their PPF C product, which I think is the same as XPEL.

 

[eco5280]

Installers like SunTek because it's easier to install. Note that Xpel's warranty is ten years and includes labor.

 

[Jean-Claude]

eco, it's not as straight forward as Suntek is easier to install. There are nuances that benefit the owner when a film is "easier" to install. I'll try to illustrate.

Suntek's adhesive is not as aggressive as Xpel Ultimate's. Is that a good or bad thing? That depends on the installer. Some installers like an adhesive that is straight forward aggressive because the adhesive can grab despite technique. Some guys HATE the less aggressive nature of Suntek's film because they feel the need to fight it to get the film to "bite" and hold in place. They are different animals.

When paint protection film is "easier to install" it translates to less stress/stretching marks. There are also less issues with adhesive releasing from the film resulting in either a cut corner of leaving film on the car that should otherwise be replaced or extensive trimming.

They do have different appearances but I won't go there right now.

I'm not attempting to sway anyone to one film or the other here. But the installer's comfort level has a direct impact on the caliber of the installation. Some guys are capable with both films and some like one more than the other. Either way, if you find a capable installer for either film, you will end up satisfied with it in most cases.

The number one factor in being satisfied with an installation will be the skill level of the installer and their ethics in how they care for their clients.

- - - Updated - - -

XPEL will self heal up to 5mil deep where as that would nearly go through the suntek film entirely so thickness does matter.

This is inaccurate.
According to Xpel's own data, their top coat is .5 mils thick. Once the top coat has been penetrated you will lose the self-healing capability as it's that layer that has the technology.

To better understand the layers of Xpel Ultimate, view this graphic:
xpel ultimate layers

 

[Rockster]

Installers like SunTek because it's easier to install. Note that Xpel's warranty is ten years and includes labor.

His error about the warranty period aside, is SunTek visually superior? He asserted that SunTek has no orange peel, better sheen, etc., unlike XPEL.

 

[jerry33]

His error about the warranty period aside, is SunTek visually superior? He asserted that SunTek has no orange peel, better sheen, etc., unlike XPEL.

They all have orange peel if you look at them critically. I'd shop around.

 

[eco5280]

If you're that much of a perfectionist you're not going to settle for a forum post anyway, you're going to need to see it with your own two eyes. Call your preferred installer and ask when he's got a nice car in that you can inspect.

 

[middly]

I'm torn on the Clear Bra dilemma too. For me to spend $4,000 to do the complete car, it's a hefty bill to foot. For the front end, it's still $1,800. The guys I'm looking at are REALLY good, so I get that I am paying for quality. Maybe I'm cheap--but I could save $4k, and if i huge rock scraped my hood, I would use some of that money to pay my insurance deductible and repaint the hood. Then we get into a discussion about aftermarket painting not being as good as factory, which I understand too. In any case, still debating. I'm heading down to the shop to look at different tints and will likely check out some of their clear bra work (they use Suntek over Xpel).

 

[skilly]

​Edit - I'm going with full hood. Thanks for the input!

I'm definitely getting Xpel Ultimate put on my car the day I get it. The big decision is to choose between the full hood and fenders ($1700) or 24" of film on them ($800). Has anyone done the less-expensive route?

(Note that either option includes the bumper, headlights, side mirrors, etc)

2 thoughts:

1. the crease on the 24" version will drive you crazy in the long run. More so on darker cars; however, it will (over time) become an obvious line across the front of your hood.
2. it will all be for nothing when you get a rock chip slightly above the crease line of your clear bra (remember the rake of these cars and how low they sit at speed).

 

[stickercity.com]

I visited a local Dallas (Addison) area applicator yesterday. He does XPEL and SunTek for the same price. He said that he's recommending SunTek over XPEL now because he believes that SunTek is a visually more attractive product than XPEL. I asked about the warranty and he said that SunTek is 5 years versus XPEL's 7 years, "but don't get hung up on the warranty," he said, "instead buy the better product. I've never had to do a warranty replacement for any of my jobs."

I left there with a written estimate, but i have some points of confusion:

I said that I thought XPEL's warranty was 10 years and he said that it's 7 years. I just double checked and XPEL's site says 10 years. Am I missing something?

Posts in this thread say that SunTek is thinner, but their specs say 8.0 mils for their PPF C product, which I think is the same as XPEL.

Please note that there are two different grades of Xpel Film

1st) XPEL Protection Film - XTREME, 7 year warranty, Xpel starting grade paint protection film
Unmatched Clarity in Paint Protection Film - XPEL XTREME Paint Protection Film

2nd) XPEL Ultimate Self Healing Film - 10 year warranty, Xpel top grade paint protection film
Self Healing Paint Protection Film - XPEL ULTIMATE Paint Protection Film


The shop in Dallas is offering you the Xpel Xtreme film for the same price as the Suntek which sounds about right.
I would be surprised if their offering you the top of the line Xpel Ultimate film for the same price as the Suntek since it costs quite a bit more. Regardless I'm sure they will be more then happy to clarify this for you. Just ask them.

I hope this helps

 

[Sigma4Life]

I'm torn on the Clear Bra dilemma too. For me to spend $4,000 to do the complete car, it's a hefty bill to foot. For the front end, it's still $1,800. The guys I'm looking at are REALLY good, so I get that I am paying for quality. Maybe I'm cheap--but I could save $4k, and if i huge rock scraped my hood, I would use some of that money to pay my insurance deductible and repaint the hood. Then we get into a discussion about aftermarket painting not being as good as factory, which I understand too. In any case, still debating. I'm heading down to the shop to look at different tints and will likely check out some of their clear bra work (they use Suntek over Xpel).

I originally intended to get my entire car wrapped but my installer recommended doing full front with a Quartz pro coating over the entire car. I went with full front plus door quarter panels and full rear bumper. It saved me about $3,000 in total costs.

 

[sorka]

I had the factory paint protection on my Sig S, which included the half-hood treatment and no edge wrap. I got a lot of hood dings up past the point where the film ended and along the exposed edges, so when my D arrived I paid the extra money to have Kirby at Colorado Clear Bra do the full front wrap. In addition, I had him do the lower half of all four doors, up to the break in the sheet metal.

Factory? There was no factory paint protection option when I ordered my MS.

 

[Fezzik]

There used to be an ultimate amour offered but not anymore.