I was wondering if any of you could help with choosing a PPF for my new Model 3? I've narrowed my options down to Xpel Ultimate Plus and STEK DynoShield. Does anyone have experience with both and can speak to the pros and cons of each? My main concern with the DynoShield is how long the hydrophobicity and UV protection will last, has anyone had DynoShield for a while with good results? If I go the Xpel route I would get it ceramic coated for the hydrophobic, self-cleaning, and UV protectant properties but if STEK's coating is durable then that would save me the trouble.
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PPF help
- Thread starter Nealp97
- Start date
STEK is better looking than the XPEL and it comes with the hydrophobic top-coat. I don't honestly know how long it will last, my installer is XPEL and he's tried the STEK and recommends XPEL more as unbiased as he can be
XLR82XS
D M C
Having cars with Xpel Ultimate and STEK I'll give you my feedback. Both are great films with high durability and optically clear. I'm lucky to have had FANTASTIC OCD installers with crazy great application skills both using bulk film - not pre-cut kits.
Xpel Ultimate
Had this on a 911 Turbo that saw lots of extreme MPH driving including road rallies. Held up VERY well and even took flying debris impacts like a champ. Scratches did self-heal in sunlight. Never had issues washing, waxing, edges lifting. No UV fade but sold the car after ~3 years of application. Still, a great product with 10-year warranty and peace of mind that it can handle the "heat".
STEK
Model 3. 10-year warranty like Xpel Ultimate and fantastic clarity and honestly nobody can tell it's even there. Again, bulk film install and the only edges seen are on the mirror caps and the "hips" of where the rocker film extended up the 1/4 panel. VERY hidden edge and that most likely due to the car being white. The Teslas get lots of mileage as they are daily driven and so far the STEK is holding up great. No issues washing, waxing, film lifting. Hydrophobic quality is nice and beads water very well. I'll have to report back after 3-5 years or longer and see how that is doing. I did get an impact on the hood and the film has a VERY TINY tear. Whatever hit it was enough to penetrate so no self-heal. (It's really minor though)
I would have gone Xpel Ultimate again with Tesla cars but no reputable local installer near me. Once I met my local guy and saw his work with STEK (Lambo, Porsche, RR, Aston Martin, etc...) and attention to deal it was a done deal. Warranty protection is important and if ever any issues arise he'll be there.
OP: Nealp97 I see you're in Florida. If you want my installers info - PM me.
Xpel Ultimate
Had this on a 911 Turbo that saw lots of extreme MPH driving including road rallies. Held up VERY well and even took flying debris impacts like a champ. Scratches did self-heal in sunlight. Never had issues washing, waxing, edges lifting. No UV fade but sold the car after ~3 years of application. Still, a great product with 10-year warranty and peace of mind that it can handle the "heat".
STEK
Model 3. 10-year warranty like Xpel Ultimate and fantastic clarity and honestly nobody can tell it's even there. Again, bulk film install and the only edges seen are on the mirror caps and the "hips" of where the rocker film extended up the 1/4 panel. VERY hidden edge and that most likely due to the car being white. The Teslas get lots of mileage as they are daily driven and so far the STEK is holding up great. No issues washing, waxing, film lifting. Hydrophobic quality is nice and beads water very well. I'll have to report back after 3-5 years or longer and see how that is doing. I did get an impact on the hood and the film has a VERY TINY tear. Whatever hit it was enough to penetrate so no self-heal. (It's really minor though)
I would have gone Xpel Ultimate again with Tesla cars but no reputable local installer near me. Once I met my local guy and saw his work with STEK (Lambo, Porsche, RR, Aston Martin, etc...) and attention to deal it was a done deal. Warranty protection is important and if ever any issues arise he'll be there.
OP: Nealp97 I see you're in Florida. If you want my installers info - PM me.
Fred
I'd make my choice based on the installer more than the film.
I checked out 3-4 different installers, and the quality of the work vastly differs. In the end I went with the person that did the best work + was easiest to deal with. We talked for a while about his experiences with different film. He usually does XPEL but wanted to try out PremiumShield Elite SH, which actually turned out to be really nice, glossier than XPEL.
No regrets.
I checked out 3-4 different installers, and the quality of the work vastly differs. In the end I went with the person that did the best work + was easiest to deal with. We talked for a while about his experiences with different film. He usually does XPEL but wanted to try out PremiumShield Elite SH, which actually turned out to be really nice, glossier than XPEL.
No regrets.
lowtek
Active Member
Any issues or concerns with seams getting dirty and showing on a white car? The installer I'm talking to does their rocker job up to the lower crease on the doors. I'm little worried about those those seams causing trouble on a white car over time.
Didn’t Xpel recently come out with a thicker 10 mil film? That might be something to consider. It’s pretty easy to add a hydrophobic layer on top. Even basic spray stuff like Chemical Guys HydroCharge leave a great coating and probably only takes about half an hour to do the whole car... I have it on mine and it was easy to apply and added some gloss. Even if it only holds up four or five washes it’s so quick and easy to apply that I don’t mind... it claims it’ll hold up for about a year though and some independent review/testing on YouTube shows it should hold up well to basic washing (just a car shampoo, no strip chemicals etc) it should hold up for at least 8 to 10 washes. I would imagine that would be able 2 to 4 months for the average obsessive owner 
I am in Florida as well, a couple hours North of Miami. About 15 months ago, I did a full PPF wrap with xpel ultimate, and ceramic on top of that. And it still looks fantastic. About to take it infor a "rejuvenation" coat of ceramic, although it doesn't look like it needs it.
Critical thing: The installer needs to do extensive "paint correction" before installing the PPF, not justa clay bar treatment. I can't stress enough how important this step is, and not all installers will do it. If you want to use mine PM me and I will tell you who it is. I need to ping them to see if I can give it out publicly...
Critical thing: The installer needs to do extensive "paint correction" before installing the PPF, not justa clay bar treatment. I can't stress enough how important this step is, and not all installers will do it. If you want to use mine PM me and I will tell you who it is. I need to ping them to see if I can give it out publicly...
XLR82XS
D M C
XLR82XS
D M C
THIS. Super critical step to paint correct before application - even on a new car people.
Are there best practices to keeping them clean? I'm sure ceramic coating would be high on the list...
Hmm. I've been told that in many cases PPF hides some of the flaws that correction addresses. I'm aware of some very reputable, high end shops that don't do correction before PPF.
XLR82XS
D M C
Ceramic coating certainly helps. On all my cars I have never had a dirt-in-edge problem. I don't go mud bogging and I found that hand washing with quality sponge works well. My applications have always been bulk film wrapped over edges but for mirrors, headlights or other surfaces I just never had dirt build-up.
Yeah, I'm mostly concerned with the edge on the door since they do the rocker package up to the lower crease on the door. All other coverage is total panel so no edges to really worry about.
XLR82XS
D M C
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