XPEL full front question

[insaneoctane]

I'm considering doing a full FRONTAL wrap (full hood, fenders, bumper, A-pillar). I want to know from those of you who have had the non-whole car done how much you can tell that it's not the entire car? I am avoiding the partial hood, that would bother me. But when you compare the front fender (XPEL'd) to the front doors (not) do you notice the sheen difference? I'm really concerned that I'll be able to tell the wrapped panels from the non-wrapped panels and it will distract....

 

[Ghosty]

I just had Xpel Ultimate - full front done on my car last week. The company I used is an authorized XPEL Installer and uses a "computer cut." You cannot tell. So clear, the cynic in me begins to question whether they even really installed the bra. (joking)

I had a couple of issues with my installation. Some bubbling. Bit of research shows that bubbling can be common and should go away after "a while." However, my ride has a few bubbles that are relatively significant. Two other issues - gaps with precuts. I noticed an unusually large gap near the headlights. Seemed acceptable but when you compare both headlights - one has a larger gap than the other. Finally, some pealing with debris buildup. Not too bad, but a small amount.

The good thing about Xpel Ultimate - you have 10 year warranty. My installer seems reasonable and has asked me to bring the car back for a fix. I have confidence they will fix it.

With the Refresh Model exposed front - full front cover is essential - in my opinion. Gives you assurance your new ride won't be subject to all those dings from debris/small rocks. Well worth it.

 

[futurem3owner]

I just did full hood wrap with Xpel and it’s very hard to tell that just the front was wrapped. Chose this over just half the hood protection which I think would definitely stand out over time. Full frontal coverage is much more subtle and shouldn’t be concerning about it standing out since price gap to entire car coverage is just too much.

Xpel has partial plus option that I chose covering just partial fenders which I found to be comical since it’s just a small triangle piece covering the portion of the fenders. Didn’t understand the point of such tiny protection but the the price gap between that and full fender coverage was too high to justify it. Even when you compare that area to the rest of the fender without the PPF, you could barely see that the film is on unless you closely inspect it.

Here’s the view from the front and will post one from the side later today:

 

[croman]

I have a full front XPEL. I can't see any lines except on the side view mirrors. The wrap does not extend down the entire painted area (just the areas exposed to the exterior). You can see the fine line of wrap there but otherwise my installer was authorized and did a great job. The sheen is a bit more, the front stays cleaner than the back but its not really noticeable other than just after a rain. I wish I could've shelled out the cash to get the whole car done. Its really something and I've been shellacked by stones on the road this past year and my doors have streaks from rocks cutting into the clear coat and into the paint. If I had the whole car wrapped, I suspect I wouldn't have that issue.

 

[stan23]

I have Xpel on my hood, front bumper, mirrors, and headlights.

Xpel by default has a bit of orange peel look to it, but you cannot tell the difference when you look at my hood vs. my fender (which is not redone)

The paint clarity is exactly the same. The feel though - is very different. Xpel is not as slippery.

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

Confirming the same as folks here with one exception as a white car owner: Any little areas that pull up a tiny bit will get black with road dust/dirt/debris and be VERY obvious on a white car. I knew this going in and have tried to be diligent about keeping them clean, but what would be otherwise invisible on practically any other color, is a bit more obvious on white.

 

[HookBill]

I went through the same evaluation when I bought my X. My detailer used a basic rule of thumb to help with my decision: if you are leasing go with the front bra. If you plan on owning the car for a long time wrap the whole car.

Whole car it was.

 

[croman]

I will clarify that I also had a ceramic coating applied to the XPEL and the rest of the car.

 

[demundus]

I have bumper and side mirrors only, no hood. Black car.

1.) Stuff saved my @$$ several times from things like hose burn, and even a minor tap in a parking lot.

2.) With wear and tear (100K miles and 3 years) my Xpel is beginning to yellow/tarnish. You can see its wrapped a little more clearly now that say a couple years ago.

 

[insaneoctane]

I have bumper and side mirrors only, no hood. Black car.

1.) Stuff saved my @$$ several times from things like hose burn, and even a minor tap in a parking lot.

2.) With wear and tear (100K miles and 3 years) my Xpel is beginning to yellow/tarnish. You can see its wrapped a little more clearly now that say a couple years ago.

Doesn't XPEL warranty against yellowing?

 

[stan23]

xpel has a 10 year warranty if you buy/get it installed from an authorized dealer.

 

[SilkySmooth]

Just had the full frontal with Suntek Ultra and Ceramic Pro 9H 4 layers elsewhere. If there is a difference, it has not been noticeable to my eye, so I would not be concerned about recommending to anyone, except for perhaps the few people in the business with a highly trained eye who not could live with such minuscule anomalies.

Like the OP, I could not accept a partial fender/hood wrap because, while the lines are not really too noticeable at first glance, anyone can see them if close enough and look long enough. I had the door edges lined with film, and they extend about 1/4" over the door. Fortunately, with ceramic coatings, you don't ever need to use a paste wax that would get caught along the edge of the film. Hopefully, whatever visibility these edges have will be better than the alternative of chipping the door edge, but I'm still on the fence about this decision. With that said, you have to be right next to the car to see the film edge, and I am not sure it would be easy or possible to detect on a photo from a distance, like the one earlier in the thread.

I also had the rear cargo area entry along the bumper lined, and have no issue recommending that, as they bring the line down next to the horizontal crease in the bumper, and the vertical drop is only a couple of inches or so.

I just walked into the garage and used a tactical light and couldn't detect a difference in color, sheen, or even the "orange peel" between door and fender. The car is red, so I suspect any differences would be more obvious than with a lighter color like silver or white.

 

[demundus]

Doesn't XPEL warranty against yellowing?

Maybe, I bought it second hand, so I'd have to track down the seller and ask who did it for him

 

[Mokuzai]

I'm really concerned that I'll be able to tell the wrapped panels from the non-wrapped panels and it will distract....

Here are two panels side by side one wrapped with XPEL and other unwrapped...the only way I can really tell the difference is the texture. This is a custom wrap that goes around the panel edges so you don't have a visible seam.

 

[gregtopf]

I went to a top notch xpel installer by me. I've had them do two of my Audis, and the bulk of their cars are 6 figure+ cars, so they know their stuff.
I will tell you a few noteworthy things.
First, they never use the precut film. They do it on the fly and it's flawless.
Second, xpel has specific vehicle packages. So they did the Model S package plus full rear bumper for me. They also did the door edges. it's the full front bumper, hood, and about half of the A-pillar (it stops a bit past the windshield. You can see the line where it stops there, but that's about it, and that's only if you look long and hard.

I've had it done on one red audi, and my last audi was white. It looks awesome on white. This time around they also did the ceramic coating. You can see the finished results.

Is it worth it? Definitely. Never had any paint damage. The worst thing that happened was a dog jumping up on part of my last car. Super nasty scratches. Warm water, went right away. Bird droppings come right off. Not cheap, but worth every penny to get done. Just get it done right.

 

[Ghosty]

I went to a top notch xpel installer by me. I've had them do two of my Audis, and the bulk of their cars are 6 figure+ cars, so they know their stuff.
I will tell you a few noteworthy things.
First, they never use the precut film. They do it on the fly and it's flawless.
Second, xpel has specific vehicle packages. So they did the Model S package plus full rear bumper for me. They also did the door edges. it's the full front bumper, hood, and about half of the A-pillar (it stops a bit past the windshield. You can see the line where it stops there, but that's about it, and that's only if you look long and hard.

I've had it done on one red audi, and my last audi was white. It looks awesome on white. This time around they also did the ceramic coating. You can see the finished results.

Is it worth it? Definitely. Never had any paint damage. The worst thing that happened was a dog jumping up on part of my last car. Super nasty scratches. Warm water, went right away. Bird droppings come right off. Not cheap, but worth every penny to get done. Just get it done right.

Very nice. I'm going to post some pictures of the work performed on mine. I want to get an opinion from those who have the full front.

 

[jelloslug]

I had the front end, the A pillars and roof rails (pano roof) and they "threw in" door edge guards, headlights, and a trunk opening apron. There were a few bubbles that I took back after about a year and they fixed it no questions asked (authorized xpel installer). I have been very happy with it so far and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[boonedocks]

You will hardly noice at all. One suggestion though, if you can work in to your budget getting the whole car being covered you will be much much happier in the long run. Over the course of 8 months I had the entire car (S85D) covered and saw such benefits that we had our S100D full body wrapped the day after delivery

 

[kvandivo]

You will hardly noice at all. One suggestion though, if you can work in to your budget getting the whole car being covered you will be much much happier in the long run. Over the course of 8 months I had the entire car (S85D) covered and saw such benefits that we had our S100D full body wrapped the day after delivery

What dos something like this cost?

 

[croman]

5k