For those of you who wrapped your cars

[bobbyg123]

Tell me your thoughts on it. I'm not familiar with the process or what the material is like. Does the wrap provide any protection, similar to PPF? If not, does it chip, tear, or peel easily? How much life do you expect to get out of it?

I absolutely love the stealth wrap, but I'd like to know more.

 

[joebruin77]

Tell me your thoughts on it. I'm not familiar with the process or what the material is like. Does the wrap provide any protection, similar to PPF? If not, does it chip, tear, or peel easily? How much life do you expect to get out of it?

I absolutely love the stealth wrap, but I'd like to know more.

The main purpose of PPF is to provide protection from scratches, rock chips, etc . Most PPF's have self healing properties. Scratches or swirls will magically disappear with the heat of the sun. PPF comes either in glossy or matte finishes, but they are almost always clear. When applied, you will see the original color of the car's paint. PPF is 4 to 6 times as thick as your original clearcoat.

Vinyl wraps are much more customizable. You can change the color of the car as well as the type of finish. So they offer the most flexibility for cosmetic changes. However, vinyl wraps do not have self healing properties and they are not nearly as thick as PPF. So no, they do not offer the same protection as PPF. Vinyl wraps are not as durable as PPF. Many PPF's on the market will come with a 10-year warranty. Most vinyl wraps may last 5 years before they need to be removed or replaced.

 

[Silver Ghost]

XPell now has a “thicker” film it is 10 microns thick vs the older 8 microns.
I have put about 100,000 miles on my model 3, with the PPF.
it is absolutely worth it. on the front get 2 layers of the ppf if you do a lot of highway driving.

 

[bobbyg123]

XPell now has a “thicker” film it is 10 microns thick vs the older 8 microns.
I have put about 100,000 miles on my model 3, with the PPF.
it is absolutely worth it. on the front get 2 layers of the ppf if you do a lot of highway driving.

I don't think I'm going to spring for a color wrap, but I will absolutely get PPF on the front.

 

[NXN-P3D]

I don't think I'm going to spring for a color wrap, but I will absolutely get PPF on the front.

If you want xpel stealth, you should probably do the whole car. That’s where it gets double the price of vinyl, so you really have to think what you want your car to look like. Otherwise, you can just do clear ppf on front only for protection from rocks and chips.

 

[sroy]

My understanding is that you roughy can choose among 4 categories of options:

- Partial PPF
- Full PPF
- Vinyl wrap
- "liquid wrap"

The partial PPF uses a 10-13mils thick transparent film sometimes called "clear bra". The partial is designed to save installation cost by only protecting the parts of the car that most frequently gets damages i.e. front bumper, mirrors, hood and in the case of the model 3 side skirts. Depending on how partial and where you live and skill of the installer costs can range between 1500-4000$. You are limited to gloss colors for the model 3 because the un-filmed parts will be the base color of the car

The full PPF is the extension on option 1 where the clear bra covers all exposed parts of the car. Cost can range between 5000-10000$ You can only use the base color of the car but being full you can get the car matte/satin finish as well. Cost of materials are a bit higher but most of the costs are labor so the price difference shouldn't be that significant.

The vinyl wrap is a 2-3mils thick film used to change the color of the car it does not protect the original car color - unlike a ppf. It is usually cheaper to install than PPF but not that much.

The liquid wrap comes in two main product options: plastidip and autoflex. The newest autoflex express is as thick as the ppf and functionally equivalent in terms of protecting the original color. It is "spray painted" liquid rather than a solid film. (I do not know for plastidip as I haven't dive into that technology as much as the other). Compared to PPF price is about half and you can choose any color. Although some color choices will be more expensive because it requires more work i.e. candy colors or custom fancy designs such as racing stripes etc. Compared to PPF, the drawback is that the technology is young so it's unsure how long it lasts. PPF can last a good 10 years. Autoflex express is suggesting a lifetime of 5 years. But at half the price, you can 10 years of autoflex for the same price as PPF and change the color halfway through. Another disadvantage is that there aren't as many installers available as PPF since is a newer technology.

=> For matte finish of the base color of your car, vinyl is probably the worst choice in terms of protecting the car. You can choose between a full PPF or an autoflex express protective film to get a matte/satin version of the base color of you car. If you want to change the color, you have to choose between vinyl and autoflex express but the former does not protect the car and they are about the same price. I believe vinyl would be a little cheaper and costs won't vary based on color choice because labor is the same unlike autoflex/plastidip.

Most members of the forum who covered their cars used either partial or full PPF in either suntek or xpel. Some used autoflex and autoflex express. You can find a LOT of info on either options by searching the forum.