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Xpel Stealth Wrap - Any regrets?
- Thread starter Carbonfiber
- Start date
Whiskeypapa
Member
Finally washed the car last week (which brought back another week of rain!) I did a careful inspection 
as I was drying, and didn’t find a single chip, and only a tiny surface chip on the frunk hood, which I haven’t hit with the hair dryer yet. Compare that to the windshield, which now has 7 little chips from freeway shrapnel after 10 months on the road. I only wish I could get PPF protection on the windshield! XPEL stealth wrap still looks great, protects the paint, and……. I can find my car in the parking lot!
as I was drying, and didn’t find a single chip, and only a tiny surface chip on the frunk hood, which I haven’t hit with the hair dryer yet. Compare that to the windshield, which now has 7 little chips from freeway shrapnel after 10 months on the road. I only wish I could get PPF protection on the windshield! XPEL stealth wrap still looks great, protects the paint, and……. I can find my car in the parking lot!
Whiskeypapa
Member
That’s more than 2x my insurance deductible, so I guess I’ll live with the chips. I would be concerned that a film might affect the front cameras. Anyone done this and verified no issues with FSD or TACC?
CleanDemon
Member
I’ll be a contrarian here. While I think the stealth looks great, I think putting PPF on a car is a waste of money. There is a lot of good info on YouTube debating the merits.
My PPF protected my rear passenger door paint after this idiot just about flung their door into it. Had to replace the PPF, but the paint underneath is pristine.
Everyone has their opinion I respect all of them. However I can pick my car out of a msm lineup now. And I get compliments about it all the time. I bet if I told them it cost me 5800.00 they would laugh and walk away. I like the look and protection. If I lived in an apartment it would be a paint saver for sure.. To each their own.
CleanDemon
Member
zoomer0056
Active Member
Yes some people think so, but also some of us like the extra security from vandals and rock chips too. To each to its own. I’m not going to get a $5k ppf on a Toyota Camry, but I’ll get it for my Tesla. I don’t lease cars so I have nothing to worry about giving the car back to someone else. I know euro sports car’s owners with wagons get ppf. So to if you like rock chips and keyed cars that your choice.
zoomer0056
Active Member
Can you elaborate why PPF is a waste of $? I won't debate, just wanna hear your reasoning.
CleanDemon
Member
First off, my comments are specifically around using PPF as paint protection. If you’re applying stealth, for example, to aesthetically change the look of the car, I totally get it and love the look.
From my research (as I was strongly considering PPF), while PPF does have some ‘self-healing’ capabilities, you can still get marks on it which can be unsightly. Additionally, the PPF can start to peel back, even if completely wrapped under, and then start to gather dirt, which also makes it look unsightly. But the biggest reason is that essentially you’re protecting the paint for the next owner, at a significant cost (again, in this scenario, just assuming it’s for protection).
Once the PPF gets dinged up after several years, you have to take it off and/or re-wrap it which is an additional significant cost. The cost of simply touching up the paint or even completely repainting a panel if the damage is significant, is considerably less. And I’m not even including a ceramic coating on top of your protective film, which is even more cost to make the film look like shiny paint clear coat.
The bottom line is that we all have to do what we’re most comfortable with. I’m sure PPF gives many people peace of mind that they’re protecting their paint, and that’s perfectly fine. For me, it‘s a financial decision where the benefits do not outweigh the costs.
Here’s a link to a YouTube video which helped me think through this:
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