Xpel wrap
- Thread starter Taxdr1965
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Welcome to the forum and congratulations on receipt of your car
Pics are always appreciated
Where are you located?
Pics are always appreciated
Where are you located?
I believe the lease terms allow for a max of $750 in paint damage. That's not a lot. Both Ferraris I have owned required a bumper re-spray within a couple of years. It was a lot more than $750! I had my current Ferrari protected after the paint had cured.
I leased my NSX and had Xpel applied to the front end, hood, fenders, mirrors last weekend.
I leased my NSX and had Xpel applied to the front end, hood, fenders, mirrors last weekend.
I did the entire front end and all exterior cf in clear PPF. I already have to replace two panels of film that otherwise would have required a repaint. I also have a spot where something hit the rear spoiler and made a mark in the film. All of this happened on my first road trip to the Daytona 24hr race.
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What does this mean? Sorry I have never leased a car before this is my first.
Does it mean at the time of turning the car in there car be up t o$750 in paint damage that hasn't been repaired?
That is standard on Acura leases and has been the case with both Acuras I’ve leased. This turns into $1500 if you lease another Acura at lease end.
Getting an iLift and ppf is a must for my NSX.
That said, I would stay away from Xpel and choose Suntek Ultra. My tint guy said he used to do Xpel all the time but switched entirely to Suntek, as Xpel was sued by 3M for patent infringement and had to change their formula. As a result the Xpel film started yellowing on many cars done by my tint guy. He didn't want to deal with the headache and switched to Suntek and has not had a single warranty claim.
Suntek Ultra is also clearer and smoother than Xpel as well, I've read online.
That said, I would stay away from Xpel and choose Suntek Ultra. My tint guy said he used to do Xpel all the time but switched entirely to Suntek, as Xpel was sued by 3M for patent infringement and had to change their formula. As a result the Xpel film started yellowing on many cars done by my tint guy. He didn't want to deal with the headache and switched to Suntek and has not had a single warranty claim.
Suntek Ultra is also clearer and smoother than Xpel as well, I've read online.
Xpel did not have to change their formula due to the lawsuit. It was settled and Xpel acquired a license to use the patent.
http://www.xpel.com/news/xpel-3m-settlement/
http://www.xpel.com/news/xpel-3m-settlement/
I wound automatically discredit your “tint guy”, spreading fud.
Not sure he is... There does seem to be some issues with Xpel, noted here , and here (common theme - shops across the country switching from Xpel to SunTek). I called PPF shops around town for quotes, and several agreed they no longer use Xpel due to similar issues. Sure there are a few that still use it, but many I spoke with seemed to prefer Suntek or other brands over Xpel.
FWIW I really don't care what brand it is, as long as it does the job. I've had the same installer wrap my previous cars with Suntek and I never had an issue. It seems Xpel might be a tad thicker, but not as smooth. With the possible worry about yellowing or warranty issues, I just choose SunTek for peace of mind.
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This tread reminds me; back in the late 90's I started installing clear bras out of my auto shop. At some point along the way I decided I didn't like the liability I was setting myself up for when the product would eventually harden and yellow, I knew it would happen even though the manufacture claimed it wouldn't. At that point I decided to get out of the Clear Protection Film business. Sure enough years later I've seen some of those same cars with hard cracked yellow film. I am a believer that any clear vinyl will eventually yellow and harden if exposed to the sun long enough.
Sorry I don't recall the manufacture of that film, although I imagine the newer films last longer they will still eventually fail.
The only place I will install clear film now is my headlights and only because that is cheap and easy to replace.
Sorry I don't recall the manufacture of that film, although I imagine the newer films last longer they will still eventually fail.
The only place I will install clear film now is my headlights and only because that is cheap and easy to replace.
Hmm, I had clear bra put on my '09 Fit when I first got it. 8 1/2 years later it was still perfectly clear, with no yellowing or cracking. Can't remember the brand, but it wasn't a high-end film. One thing that may have helped was that the car was mostly garage kept.
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I'm sure your film from 09 was better than the original I was installing plus being in the garage makes a huge difference. Also if it's a white car the yellowing is much more noticeable, as matter of fact I used to tell customers with white cars not have it done.
Even the factory film on my new NSX ( the pieces they put on in high rock chip areas) has a slight color to it being that it is on my 130R paint.
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Well, if a piece starts to yellow, why not replace it? I've never been under the impression that the film lasts forever. It's basically a sacrificial layer that takes the brunt of small impacts. Eventually it gets dinged and needs to be replaced. I think as long as the customer understands this, it shouldn't be a problem, no? I guess it boils down to whether a potential customer would rather pay for a respray or pay to re-do the film every once in a while.
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Steam. Steam is the answer to everything.
J/K, but really, steam really helps in removing the film. What I've read seems to indicate that paint pulling off is an issue with repainted cars, not original factory paint. Even then, I think steam would help immensely in not pulling off the paint on repainted cars.
I applied Xpel Trac Wrap on my NSX for the drive home, and using steam to remove it afterward made it so much easier. I even removed the factory-applied bits before I brought my car to get wrapped, and it was pretty easy.
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I'm actually considering putting some protective film on the nsx only because I don't want to cry when she gets her first rock chip.
Was at a local body shop the other day and he had a car in there with some sort of spray on protective layer; sort of thick clear coat. I'm not convinced that is the way to go either.
Was at a local body shop the other day and he had a car in there with some sort of spray on protective layer; sort of thick clear coat. I'm not convinced that is the way to go either.
I have never done PPF to my vehicles but that's because I don't keep them longer than 1 year. If you do private sale or trade to a specific exotic-only/bespoke dealership, protective film may help with the trade-in value. Honestly, I have never seen a dealer ask if I had PPF and say, "Ok you have PPF I'm going to give you X dollars more." However if you have tons of damage on the front end, you will probably be upside down from NOT doing the PPF, but this depends on how long you plan to keep the car and how often you drive it. Just avoid tailgating drivers and you can reduce a lot of damage / rock chips.
With exotics, you're paying a huge "tax" for PPF so be sure to shop around.
With exotics, you're paying a huge "tax" for PPF so be sure to shop around.
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