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XPEL full front question
- Thread starter insaneoctane
- Start date
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- Model S
I have partial Expel, white S. Hood, front fenders, bumper, mirrors, small areas prone to stone chips from tires, headlights.
It isn't at all obvious. You cannot tell it is there. You surface treat that just like your paint, so if you wax, you wax that. I use a non wax product, so I use that on the Expel.
People don't go up to my car looking for edges of Expel. I can find them because I know where to look. The edges don't bother me. They are not obvious.
When I drive at night the front bumper picks up bugs, lots of bugs. I can rinse the Expel, scrub off the stubborn ones with a microfiber cloth confident that any shallow scratches from my bug scrubbing will self heal next time the surface warms in the sun. When a bug gives up its all making an ugly hood smear, no worries, I can rub it with a wet finger, use a fingernail if necessary to chisel off a stubborn chunk of exoskeleton, a microfiber towel, even a wet paper towel. If I make little scratches doing it, it'll heal. It's great. It's almost magical.
You should do the front wrap. You should do it tomorrow. Today if they can fit you in.
Best,
David
It isn't at all obvious. You cannot tell it is there. You surface treat that just like your paint, so if you wax, you wax that. I use a non wax product, so I use that on the Expel.
People don't go up to my car looking for edges of Expel. I can find them because I know where to look. The edges don't bother me. They are not obvious.
When I drive at night the front bumper picks up bugs, lots of bugs. I can rinse the Expel, scrub off the stubborn ones with a microfiber cloth confident that any shallow scratches from my bug scrubbing will self heal next time the surface warms in the sun. When a bug gives up its all making an ugly hood smear, no worries, I can rub it with a wet finger, use a fingernail if necessary to chisel off a stubborn chunk of exoskeleton, a microfiber towel, even a wet paper towel. If I make little scratches doing it, it'll heal. It's great. It's almost magical.
You should do the front wrap. You should do it tomorrow. Today if they can fit you in.
Best,
David
futurem3owner
2017 90D
I think having the front wrapped is essential especially on the redesigned front fascia where chip marks will be more evident. I'm having more difficulty deciding whether or not to have ceramic coating applied on the car. It costs $1000 for it to last 5 years and then you have to apply it again. Not sure if it's better to just wrap the entire car instead.
have to agree with everyone. paid 1500 for the xpel ultimate wrap (full hood bumper fenders etc) on my week old S only spot you can see the wrap is on the tops of the side mirrors. I plan on ceramic coating the rest of the car in the next two weeks. the xpel wrap is totally worth every penny
SilkySmooth
Member
@futurem3owner You could probably do several ceramic wraps every 5 years before you would break even on the cost of a full wrap. But if money is no object, why not? Also, you can get a lifetime warranty with ceramic, at least with ceramic pro, if you stick with the annual inspection and the other terms.
gregtopf
Member
Just to be clear, there is no such thing as a ceramic wrap. Ceramic protection is a coating like wax and is mostly a cosmetic paint protection from dirt and stains, but generally won't offer much, if any protection, from rock chips or scrapes.
SilkySmooth
Member
Yes, it's a misstatement. PPF is much more expensive than a ceramic coating for the whole car.
kvandivo
Member
You're in my neck of the woods. Who did you have do it, would you recommend them, and who are you planning to have doing the ceramic?
I had clear guard for cars in Hoffman estates do it. they were recommended to me by tesla Westmont
Clear Guard for Cars | Home Andy was the gentleman that did the work. really nice and honest guy
have not found anyone to do the ceramic coating yet. though have been given a couple recommendations
I am having LLumar clear bra put on the front of my MS. I am going to ceramic coat the rest of the car myself. It's actually not difficult to ceramic coat. Wash the car, Buff and polish if you need to, in my case I may not since my car is a week old, Clay Bar and apply the ceramic coating.
kvandivo
Member
My wife and fellow pre-purchase researcher wife was telling me last night that she had watched a video somewhere that said that one shouldn't put a film on their car in the first 60-90 days after it has been painted, due to the paint continue to dry, give off gases of some sort.
Anyone heard that, or have similar thoughts? Our plan is to buy a custom built, so it likely will have been painted quite recently before delivery.
Anyone heard that, or have similar thoughts? Our plan is to buy a custom built, so it likely will have been painted quite recently before delivery.
jjh1234
Member
Yes, my paint shop told me to wait at least 60 days for paint to fully cure. I was just getting ready to have PPF installed when my hood was struck by a large rock. I had it fixed and now waiting.
boonedocks
MS LR Blk/Blk 19”
I was told that too but after NOT having it done right away on my S85D and already having several hood chips before PPF installation, I opted to have my S100D done the day I received it. 21,400 miles and 6 1/2 months later I am GLAD I DID. No signs of anything weird or out of the ordinary. If you are using it as a daily driver on the expressway I would err on the side of getting it done right away AND as always if it is in your budget get the entire car wrapped. You will be happy you did...
jjh1234
Member
Probably ok for a new car since it's probably been 30 days or so since is was painted at the factory and delivered.
A vote for the full wrap and using someone that does it 'on the fly'. My new X has a full Suntek Ultra wrap, and everything is wrapped around the edges. As was said, if you use the precut, it's not as good. See my sig for who did mine. The finish is like glass, and the only seams on the whole car are the mirror housings, since there's no way to do those in one piece.
Exotic used Suntek since it's a bit thinner and is easier to wrap over edges, they said. They are certified for both Xpel and Suntek.
Exotic used Suntek since it's a bit thinner and is easier to wrap over edges, they said. They are certified for both Xpel and Suntek.
For those with PPF experience, if your wrapped bumper takes a rock that would have chipped your paint, can't the film puncture? If so, do you have to repair or rewrap? How does it work when your PPF gets damaged? If it was expensive to install, I imagine replacing the bumper portion would not be cheap....
Mokuzai
Member
The point of paint protection film is foremost to protect the paint. If a rock hits the film hard enough to puncture then that is not self repairable. If the damage is enough for you to notice and you want to correct it then yes the whole bumper needs to be re-wrapped.
Something had dropped onto my passenger rear door and put two vertical gouges in the paint protection film, but the paint underneath was still perfect. Re-doing that one door cost $400 at the place I go to, but it's being re-reimbursed to me by who caused the damage. Glad I had opted to wrap more than just the full front as it saved me trying to get it repainted and color matched.
The thickness of the film tends to disperse the impact so what would have damaged the paint will not always damage the film.
This video from the engineering explained series has some good info with examples of what kind of damage will self correct.
Something had dropped onto my passenger rear door and put two vertical gouges in the paint protection film, but the paint underneath was still perfect. Re-doing that one door cost $400 at the place I go to, but it's being re-reimbursed to me by who caused the damage. Glad I had opted to wrap more than just the full front as it saved me trying to get it repainted and color matched.
The thickness of the film tends to disperse the impact so what would have damaged the paint will not always damage the film.
This video from the engineering explained series has some good info with examples of what kind of damage will self correct.
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I only got front coverage ppf on my 2 week old MS75 D. Found today a rock chip.on the rear passenger door. Ordered some touch up.paint. very frustrating
Mokuzai
Member
Ouch, I took a rock to the Arachnid rims which chipped the finish a little over 2 weeks after getting them installed. Nothing much to do about that though except get it repaired. Oh well...wanted to powder coat them gunmetal grey anyway.
I had XPEL Ultimate put on my model S a year ago. I had front bumper and full hood, but no fenders done to keep costs reasonable. A year later, hasn't been a problem, can't tell which panels are wrapped, which haven't. Have been very happy. I had someone scrape my front bumper a bit, and the film held up great.
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