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-   -   Paint Protective Film? Ceramic Coating? Both? Costs? (https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=520808)

Can'tHave2MuchHP 02-13-2018 09:44 AM

Paint Protective Film? Ceramic Coating? Both? Costs?
 
My ZL1 will be showing up in the next couple months and I want to have it protected before driving her around. I know both products pretty well but I'm wondering about which is the best way to do it.

Having the whole car done with Xpel can be extremely expensive from what I've heard, somewhere around $5000 or sometimes more for an entire vehicle job.

I've been wanting to get one of my vehicles ceramic coated and this might be the one. I was quoted about $550 for a full polish and 2 year CQuartz application. I have a buddy who we share business with that does Xpel application and I haven't asked him yet what it would run to do a front end or whole car.

At this point I'm thinking:
Xpel on the Front End, Splitter, and Hood, possibly on the rear fenders as well.
CQuartz over the entire thing.

I may just get the Xpel done on the above areas and then just apply a 6 month sealant that I use on my other vehicles which has always done a great job for me in the past. Also would be interested in hearing the cost of having the wheels ceramic coated.

What's your experience and what has it costed you?

k20attack 02-13-2018 10:16 AM

I XPELd the entire car except for the doors and the rear bumper and it was like $4500. Haven't had time to see how it works since I did it before the winter and the car is garaged now. If you do XPEL just make sure you find someone who is good

Glen e 02-13-2018 10:28 AM

I personally think doing the whole car with XPEL is overkill. Just do the areas where the rocks hit and ceramic on the rest of it. Whatever you do don’t let them charge you a tremendous amount of money for putting ceramic over the paint film. Because there’s no prep needed to put ceramic on film, like there is paint.

TeleZL1 02-13-2018 10:36 AM

Paint on these new cars is so thin and soft. My wife had a 2015GT and in the first 200 miles, something hit it in the nose and gouged the paint good. I took it next week to get film put on the front end, headlights and the whole hood as well as door cups, mirrors and most front facing surfaces. I had a 2015GT as well but did not do any film. In 7k miles, my car had a dozen plus rock chips and paint mars.

When we got the ZL1, it went first thing to the shop and got the entire front end filmed along with the entire hood, mirrors etc.. I would have done more but didnt want to drop the extra 2k at the time (saving for mods). Coatings and sealants wont protect you from real paint damage.

The film on the Camaro has already saved me several times with the most recent being a giant plastic cup blowing across the road that I hit going 80mph. It just mar'ed the film but I wiped it right off with my finger. Bugs come off easier too and you dont have to worry about it if you cant clean them off right away.
Just my .02 but....If you don't do a film/clear wrap, go ahead and order Dr. Colorchip. Your gonna need it.

beckham388 02-13-2018 10:37 AM

I did XPEL on the bumpers, rockers, hood, mirrors and A-pillars. I will be getting ceramic on all four wheels as soon as the weather breaks. Mine is not a daily driver, so that's one reason why I didn't do the entire vehicle.

TeleZL1 02-13-2018 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beckham388 (Post 10075658)
I did XPEL on the bumpers, rockers, hood, mirrors and A-pillars. I will be getting ceramic on all four wheels as soon as the weather breaks. Mine is not a daily driver, so that's one reason why I didn't do the entire vehicle.



This exactly, I dont DD mine but you want to at least do the front facing surfaces and high debris areas with a good film. Coatings on the rest. You will be glad you did especially if its your DD.

Can'tHave2MuchHP 02-13-2018 10:45 AM

That's what I'm thinking...Mine is a weekend toy and garage queen. If I drive the 1500 break-in miles that it needs in this summer it will be a record for me. But still, my previous cars have had fine rock chips and even staining/marring from bugs. Plus when they get really stuck on and you have to clay/scrub them off, that does damage to your paint, but if the paint is covered in PPF, then you can scrub until the cows come home.

So front facing areas, and then Ceramic or Seal the rest for ease of washing and protection against mild things like bird droppings. How much are you guys paying for a front facing area job?

RedHot18 02-13-2018 11:18 AM

I did a bikini Expel which did the front including headlights, rocker panels, and rear view mirrors. I then had a 5 coat ceramic pro applied to whole car, wheels and brake calipers. I track the car hard once a month and the only track wear I've seen is to the windshield which I will replace sometime this summer.

Grumpy1 02-13-2018 11:23 AM

I was going to Xpel the frt cap, rockers, mirrors, rr bumper, pillars and the very top of the roof along with coating the rest. After multiple post about thin paint issues, the coating wasn't going to prevent that. Since I was getting quite a bit done with Xpel already I decided to get the whole car done.
Was the whole car needed? Probably not, I don't plan on selling this car anytime soon in fact I'm the type thats holds on to something for quite a while. So why not try to protect my high dollar investment as much as I can.
Can't give you any experience yet as it's only been a week since applied or than I can't even tell its on the car.
As mentioned above find a good installer.

Chevyman2 02-13-2018 12:10 PM

Had entire car done well 99% coverage with LLumar its a great product. I have used Xpel in past it’s also great product but Xpel is priced bout 10-20% higher. You are still looking at ~4K entire car.

The main thing with PPFyou choose is DOES THE INSTALLER HAVE ACCESS TO MULTIPLE PLOTTER PROGRAMS. The cost of using other programs vs the film used can increase total cost give or take 5%.

After ppf is cured then comes nano coat application ( optic-coat my choice) of the entire car besides glass. When time comes to wash the dirt comes right off. More care must be taken If panel removal is not done with the film tucked. But washing directional of film edges and relief joints is alternative to film panel removal.


If you can afford do the entire car I have learned my lesson in the past you will be happier in future.

TeleZL1 02-13-2018 12:25 PM

Good installer is key and can save you a few dollars by eliminating wasted space when cutting the patterns in the film (edited: which I believe is what ChevyMan is referring to). Most people cant even tell I have a wrap at all. The kicker on these cars is the front end is quite tricky with all of the openings, angles and sharp edges. A good installer will film the chin splitter and even the black areas around the cooler and radiator openings; the ENTIRE front nose, headlights and all.

I did that, the entire hood, 1/4 fenders in the front, door cups and mirrors.
The only part that you can even see a line is the 1/4 fenders and you have to be at the right angle and the car be dirty to really even see that.

My installer used Suntek if my memory serves me. I am very happy with it. I wish I would have done the Apillars and maybe more on the fenders but...Ill roll the dice a little with what I have. My job was right at 1k.

Glen e 02-13-2018 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeleZL1 (Post 10075802)
Good installer is key and can save you a few dollars by eliminating wasted space when cutting the patterns in the film (edited: which I believe is what ChevyMan is referring to). Most people cant even tell I have a wrap at all. The kicker on these cars is the front end is quite tricky with all of the openings, angles and sharp edges. A good installer will film the chin splitter and even the black areas around the cooler and radiator openings; the ENTIRE front nose, headlights and all.

I did that, the entire hood, 1/4 fenders in the front, door cups and mirrors.
The only part that you can even see a line is the 1/4 fenders and you have to be at the right angle and the car be dirty to really even see that.

My installer used Suntek if my memory serves me. I am very happy with it. I wish I would have done the Apillars and maybe more on the fenders but...Ill roll the dice a little with what I have. My job was right at 1k.

Yes that is a very good price for that job. installers call it “using a PATTERN” … Expel uses as a pattern from the factory, it’s absolutely necessary you find an installer that uses one, because many installers will tell you the Camaro is one of the hardest cars to do on the front and due to the complex angles.

It’s best to shop around also, shady installers know that you are absolutely giddy when getting a new car and many will pay huge amounts to protect it to the best, so they will charge you an arm and a leg if they can get away with it. I was referred to An installer that was a friend of a friend, and we started comparing notes from me being also in the industry, and he was so proud of a job he did for a heart surgeon with a new Z06 , he was able to get $4500 for a just a front end job. he was absolutely tickled about it, needless to say, that was the last conversation we ever had.

Can'tHave2MuchHP 02-13-2018 12:56 PM

The guy I know that does it has all of those machines. He primarily does exotics because he also does consignment for high end cars. I'll talk with him of course to make sure he's going to do a good job. I'm guessing I could get the job pretty cheap if we work a deal. We already share work and usually call it even...My shops take care of any issues the cars have, and paint work at our body shop for his McLaren's, Ferraris, etc. and he refers all customers he gets to our dealerships/shops for their needs if he can't fulfill them. I'll call him tomorrow.

Victoryred1le 02-13-2018 01:00 PM

i just did xpel on the whole nose and mirrors. everything else is cqaurtz professional coated. its awesome. expensive but worth it if you're a car guy. it makes maintaining the new car look so easy


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