[GFK007]

Anyone wrapped their front bumper with xpel to prevent paint damage?

Better yet - has anyone not wrapped their bumper and noticed a lot of paint damage on their front bumper from road debris etc?

Car sits higher than a sedan - which should help, but unsure of what to expect.

Thanks!

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by GFK007

Anyone wrapped their front bumper with xpel to prevent paint damage?

Better yet - has anyone not wrapped their bumper and noticed a lot of paint damage on their front bumper from road debris etc?

Car sits higher than a sedan - which should help, but unsure of what to expect.

Thanks!

I had mine done including the entire hood and mirrors and the roof leading up to the moonroof. I'm glad I did it. Even helps getting the bugs off much more easily.

EDIT: and then Ceramic Pro entire vehicle including over the xpel

[FrankieNuo]

Originally Posted by GFK007

Anyone wrapped their front bumper with xpel to prevent paint damage?

Better yet - has anyone not wrapped their bumper and noticed a lot of paint damage on their front bumper from road debris etc?

Car sits higher than a sedan - which should help, but unsure of what to expect.

Thanks!

Yes! Highly recommended if your anal about your car. Do the bottom half of all doors. I already have 2 rock chips above the drivers door and passenger door. These tires love to grab everything on the road including all types of pebbles/rocks and shoot at random.

[redcrxsi]

Had the full bumper, hood, mirrors, rockers, door edges etc done. Ran about 2k. Honestly the road I live on winter time gets so much lava rock the car would be destroyed without it. I added mud flaps as well to keep the rear under bumper good since I didn’t wrap that.

Did half hood on my wife’s x5 glad I did the full hood on the x3m, wouldn’t do half hood again!

[Mtxzptlk]

I had the following areas PPF'd

- Entire front clip (Front bumper, hood, front fenders)
- Side mirrors
- Roof
- lower portion of all doors (rocker panel area?)

- Clearplex on front windshield

So far the PPF has already paid for itself, - 3rd week of ownership some idiot backed into the X3M while parked in a garage and ran off. The PPF protected the leading edge of the hood (no PPF would've def resulted in a respray at a minimum) as well as the piano black bumper panel just below the grill. The damage was down to the just a cracked driver side kidney grill.

I think you should def PPF the front clip at a minimum as well as the rocker panels all around the lower portion of the doors.

[kzg1969]

i've only done front fender and 1/3rd of bonnet/hood. So far, no chips outside those areas......except the windscreen!!!! I would be tempted to try film on that next time.

[suby01]

Absolutely recommended. My entire X3 is Xpel wrapped and then Ceramic Pro on top.
To tell you first hand this thing works. I had a deep scratch on the hood I noticed while sun glare driving. I died inside the day was ruined. I did leave it outside in the sun parked for half the day instead right into the garage. And a few hours later I could not find the scratch at all. Recommend both for sure!

[EvilEmpirE]

I had my buddy Phil at Detailer Domain wrap the whole car in X-Pel.....LOVE IT and totally Worth it!!

[spta97]

I got PPF on the front and mirrors and the. Ceramic over the entire car.

If I were to do it again I would PPF the entire thing.

[pluckydks]

Originally Posted by spta97

I got PPF on the front and mirrors and the. Ceramic over the entire car.

If I were to do it again I would PPF the entire thing.

I only have ceramic over the whole car. I love the how easy it is to clean with the ceramic coating, but If I were to do it again, I would PPF the whole car. Not sure I'd ceramic over that though. If I had known about Xpel Stealth, I might not have gone ceramic.

[smithf80]

I did SunTek PPF (I highly recommend over Xpel) on the front bumper, fenders, headlights, mirrors, hood, b pillars, and a rear strip by the trunk ledge.

Then I did ceramic over that and on the rest of the car.

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by smithf80

I did SunTek PPF (I highly recommend over Xpel) on the front bumper, fenders, headlights, mirrors, hood, b pillars, and a rear strip by the trunk ledge.

Then I did ceramic over that and on the rest of the car.

I had my M2 done with SunTek Ultra. IMO it's probably the best for clarity but the adhesive is not as strong as I had to be very careful with at car washes as it wouldn't take much to lift the film. For that reason alone I went back to Xpel for the X3M.

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

I had my M2 done with SunTek Ultra. IMO it's probably the best for clarity but the adhesive is not as strong as I had to be very careful with at car washes as it wouldn't take much to lift the film. For that reason alone I went back to Xpel for the X3M.

I have had SunTek on 4 cars now and I have never once had that issue. I always wash with a pressure washer too. It honestly sounds more like an install issue. Some installers heat seal edges, some don't.

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by smithf80

I have had SunTek on 4 cars now and I have never once had that issue. I always wash with a pressure washer too. It honestly sounds more like an install issue. Some installers heat seal edges, some don't.

Nope it's common knowledge and I got it done by a reputable company that does high end cars. Google it if you want as it's the stronger adhesive of Xpel that makes it more difficult to install which is why some installers prefer Suntek. A simple search and here's a nice comparison;

https://ftadetailing.com/blog/xpel-v...otection-film/

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Suntek but being in Canada where you need to do a lot of pressure washing in the winter to remove salt and road debris I prefer the stronger adhesive of Xpel as it's never lifted on several vehicles.

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

Nope it's common knowledge and I got it done by a reputable company that does high end cars. Google it if you want as it's the stronger adhesive of Xpel that makes it more difficult to install which is why some installers prefer Suntek. A simple search and here's a nice comparison;

https://ftadetailing.com/blog/xpel-v...otection-film/

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Suntek but being in Canada where you need to do a lot of pressure washing in the winter to remove salt and road debris I prefer the stronger adhesive of Xpel as it's never lifted on several vehicles.

I'm aware it has stronger adhesive, but it's not necessary in my opinion and it is what contributes in part to Xpel not looking nearly as good as SunTek. I'm in New York, we have harsh winters and I pressure wash my car year round. My installer is experienced with making sure edges don't become issues.

[CFM3]

Originally Posted by EvilEmpirE

I had my buddy Phil at Detailer Domain wrap the whole car in X-Pel.....LOVE IT and totally Worth it!!

I've heard great things about Phil and have suntek as well on the 911. to anyone looking to have this done I highly recommend "buying the installer" as someone who is very very experienced will be able to give you the pros and cons of each kind of film. I have used Atlanta protective films and they are fantastic. you can check their Facebook for examples of their work. they are super professional, extremely experienced, and very nice and easy to deal with.

[spta97]

Originally Posted by pluckydks

I only have ceramic over the whole car. I love the how easy it is to clean with the ceramic coating, but If I were to do it again, I would PPF the whole car. Not sure I'd ceramic over that though. If I had known about Xpel Stealth, I might not have gone ceramic.

I was told by the installer that PPF tends to attract dirt which is why ceramic over it is recommended (he could have been upselling me though).

To be honest, I don't find ceramic that much easier to clean than a good coat of wax. I was hoping dust would not stick to it but it does so the car gets dirty at the same rate. I also have to work to get tire dressing sling off of it (and it is hard to see on my dark X3).

I rarely drive it in the rain which they say is supposed to wash dirt off.

Edit - I also had the front of the wheels done and it doesn't seem to do much for brake dust.

[sarasetp]

Mtxzptlk When you said you use Clearplex for your windshield protection, how clear does it remain on the windshield?

How long will it last before you need to replace it from scratches?

Do you get scratches from the wiper, making night visibility create star effect with headlights from cars in the other direction?

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

@sarasetp I've wondered about the ClearPlex stuff too.

[spta97]

Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1

@sarasetp I've wondered about the ClearPlex stuff too.

Older thread on another board but it seems most aren't fans.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1076...ld-or-not.html

Seems that although it does work, it gets dinged and scratched and doesn't stay clear for very long.

I saw a recent YouTube vid on it and they said there is no product that they would recommend for windshields at this time.

Here's one poster's opinion:

Originally Posted by minthral

Something else to point out is you may want to check with your insurance provider. Some will deny claims in the event you get into an accident and they discover you have windshield film that distorts your vision. It illegal because for similar reasons as a tint in that it doesn't let all light pass through after its all scratched up (smears from wipers). Some companies stopped installing it completely because they got sued by (lol) their customers.

Charge is 150 for Windshield Armor and a few other brands, but some charge as much as 450. That's a lot of money considering it only last 6 months for a daily driver (maybe 1-2 years if its a third car). It takes about 2-3 hours to remove old and install new. A real big hassle, also considering there aren't many installers and I had to drive nearly 2 hrs to a reputable shop.

Install is never perfect and you end up with 'stuff' behind the film or marks on top. No different than having a little normal dirt or chips on it. Difference is you can always clean/polish glass, but the imperfections stay on the film until its replaced. Seems so pointless...its supposed to prevent imperfections, but by installing it you get plenty of imperfections.

The main problem is how it ever so slightly distorts your vision, especially for very low slopped glass like on sports cars. You get used to it and it gets worse as time goes by. I would get into my golf TDI (old beat up windshield, but no film) and was thinking 'wow the windshield is so easy to see out of!' The visible edges of the film are plain ugly and collect dirt too.

Also as mentioned, it starts to flake as wear and this flaked off plastic stuff can clog the drain holes around below the glass. It was a real pain to 'unclog' them in a previous car.

It 100% works through. I had a huge stone hit the film and it left zero damage and also none after it was removed.

[sarasetp]

Originally Posted by spta97

Older thread on another board but it seems most aren't fans.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1076...ld-or-not.html

Seems that although it does work, it gets dinged and scratched and doesn't stay clear for very long.

I saw a recent YouTube vid on it and they said there is no product that they would recommend for windshields at this time.

Here's one poster's opinion:

Thanks for the response. Yes, I saw the YouTube video which is why I question the idea. You post is really helpful. I just wish there was a way to protect the windshield because these cars with the tech make replacing a windshield so expensive. I had to replace mine and it was around $1,500. Fixed for a month, and then another rock out of nowhere cracked the new windshield. So pissed!

[spta97]

I've had one rock chip but luckily did not have to replace. Still annoyed about it though.

There is really nothing you can do other than leave room in front of you. That doesn't always help though, the rock chip I got was from a car in another lane.