[AD17SS1LE]

Originally Posted by Zr8000

Do the front bumper for sure and the leading edge of the hood. My 2 year old truck looks like someone shot the front of it with bird shot.

Clear bra will protect the paint. My wife's 2017 2SS has expel on front clip, mirrors but as noted the quarter panel and first part of the hood are all going to get hit. Her hood has a bunch of small chips but can't help as it is her daily driver with 85K on it. Also splash guards will help with the door/quarter panel.

[Ghostdriver2]

Definitely clear bra the front , mirrors , rocker panels and the edge of your doors. It may cost you now but not seeing rock chips later will have put a smile on your face! Then after you have the paint correction ask them to keep the paint wax free and you put on a good ceramic coat on clear bra and paint.

[Smokin19]

I have PPF on the entire front end, fenders, rear quarters, rockers, mirrors and pillars. You get what you pay for and I paid good money for a car I plan to keep.

[Jonster]

So I got my local car spa to take a look at they recommended their $190 package for the minor scratches, swirls, etc over the entire car to make it looking good again (which is reasonable and expected).

When I asked about their PPF, they had two packages.
Package 1 - $900 using 3M film: Car is covered where "impact" areas are which are front bumper, about 1/4 way up the hood, and a couple feet along the sides traveling from the bumper.

Package 2 - $1900 using 3M film: Car is covered completely on front of bumper, entire hood, 3-4 feet along the sides traveling to the door, top where window meets the convertible top, and the sides where this forum recommended (where the wheel usually kicks dirt and debris into).

As a daily driver, I think I'm going to eventually get package 1 for sure (once covid finances stable), but is package 2 obviously protects way more.

My question is...are these prices reasonable or should I be shopping around? These guys have a clear reputation and track record with many cars (especially exotic) where I can see paying a premium if necessary for the talent.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by Jonster

So I got my local car spa to take a look at they recommended their $190 package for the minor scratches, swirls, etc over the entire car to make it looking good again (which is reasonable and expected).

When I asked about their PPF, they had two packages.
Package 1 - $900 using 3M film: Car is covered where "impact" areas are which are front bumper, about 1/4 way up the hood, and a couple feet along the sides traveling from the bumper.

Package 2 - $1900 using 3M film: Car is covered completely on front of bumper, entire hood, 3-4 feet along the sides traveling to the door, top where window meets the convertible top, and the sides where this forum recommended (where the wheel usually kicks dirt and debris into).

As a daily driver, I think I'm going to eventually get package 1 for sure (once covid finances stable), but is package 2 obviously protects way more.

My question is...are these prices reasonable or should I be shopping around? These guys have a clear reputation and track record with many cars (especially exotic) where I can see paying a premium if necessary for the talent.

On mine I had all the red areas (except the actual grill or the hood vent) covered in PPF (Xpel) (plus the truck luggage area) for about $1,600 is SoCal...

[Jonster]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

On mine I had all the red areas (except the actual grill or the hood vent) covered in PPF (Xpel) (plus the truck luggage area) for about $1,600 is SoCal...

That picture is very helpful to align with them on what to cover if I go full protection. Thanks!

[dpevans]

Highway driving is harder on rock chips than city. PPF the front end, rockers, leading edge of roof line. Ceramic will not stop rock chips.

[hotlap]

Originally Posted by Jonster

Hey community,

I plan on taking my camaro to a car spa soon to get a good paint correction for some swirls and light scratches on the car to get it looking fresh (bought it used and it needed it).

I plan on commuting in this car and putting a good amount of miles on it (~10-12k/year with 80% being highway).

Ultimately, I want to put a little extra protection on the car knowing it will see the highway a good bit. So i'm thinking protection against small rocks, bugs, etc will be something to prepare for. I've been debating between ceramic coatings or a clear bra on the front, but wanted some opinions.

My goal is to simply minimize the wear and tear, not completely eliminate it. I will drive this car so much I know it will need continuous love for touch ups.

Thanks in advance.

I daily drive my Hot Wheels too and this is the third Camaro I’ve had Xpel Ultimate put on.

Do the whole hood and have them split it around the stripes. Otherwise the matte stripes will be glossy. My brother did a partial hood on his Vette and you can see the line where it stops

I had the front fascia, hood, mirrors and in front of rear wheels done. You can’t tell it’s there and I have no chips. I did the front fenders too on my 13 ZL1 and decided it wasn’t necessary on the 16 and 18.

The rocker panels on the Hot Wheels help. My 16 had factory mud flares and this one stays much cleaner

I drive ~9,000 miles in winter snow and summer

[spireland]

Originally Posted by mikeman

Unless you have a flame thrower mounted to the front of the car, I don't see how that is possible especially on the freeways around here. Every time I tried to do that, I get people constantly cutting into the space that I allow in front. If you go slower to maintain that distance, you will get the road ragers riding your a$$ and people cutting you off in anger.

Nope, what works best for me is never taking the freeways. I usually take the city streets and my front end still looks like new. This of course, is to be expected because the velocities are lower for debris hitting the front end and you can actually maintain a following distance up ahead.

However, if you have to commute a long distance every day, taking city streets may not be practical. Luckily for me, my commute is short so I can do the city street driving thing.

You do it by not caring about road ragers or letting people in front of you. After I got a rock chip 3K into my daily driven C7 and losing the windshield I started doing the above. Put another 45k on the car doing the above and never had that problem again. I care about my windsheilds more than I care about pissing other people off.

[DC5]

Originally Posted by Jonster

That picture is very helpful to align with them on what to cover if I go full protection. Thanks!

I had the same coverage applied to my 2019 SS 1LE. The installer used XPel Ultimate, and I paid $2,500.

[mikeman]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

On mine I had all the red areas (except the actual grill or the hood vent) covered in PPF (Xpel) (plus the truck luggage area) for about $1,600 is SoCal...

All those areas in Xpel PPF for about $1600? Yeah right. Not in So. Cal. I was quoted $1200 for just the front bumper and headlights.

If I wanted the rockers, it was another $400-600. If I wanted the full hood and fenders done, that would be $2100 total.

These prices were quoted to me by an top rated authorized Xpel installer located in Murrieta using Xpel Ultimate PPF. I'm sure you can guess the rest. If you actually had all those sections done for $1600, it was either a bro deal or you know someone in the biz.

[camaroJD]

Originally Posted by mikeman

All those areas in Xpel PPF for about $1600? Yeah right. Not in So. Cal. I was quoted $1200 for just the front bumper and headlights.

If I wanted the rockers, it was another $400-600. If I wanted the full hood and fenders done, that would be $2100 total.

These prices were quoted to me by an top rated authorized Xpel installer located in Murrieta using Xpel Ultimate PPF. I'm sure you can guess the rest. If you actually had all those sections done for $1600, it was either a bro deal or you know someone in the biz.

100%. I did some intense bargaining, took advantage of the shop having a slower time in the winter and paid that for about half the amount of Xpel. And that's in MI. Your prices are about what I was quoted by a top shop before negotiating.

PPF on impact areas is a must as far as I'm concerned, I'm split on if I should have paid up to do the whole car.

[SoCal Dawg]

After getting my 2020 1LT Camaro tinted for $350 here is the posted quote from the same place for PPF in Lancaster, Ca.

[L8Apex]

Originally Posted by Azerlazer26

+1 I also recommend you install clear bra on the rear of the rocker panels going up to the quarter panel as this area gets blasted with rock chips.

Or get the factory color matched fender guards, they stop the rock damage and actually look like part of an effects kit.