Jnosol

+1. Xpel make very good stuff, the installer needs to be banded by XPel as an authorized installer.

Newbie Porsche question, are Porsche paints easier to chip compared to BMW/Merc/Audi?

I've had 11 BMWs, never had clear bra and never had major chips (even on the track). My GTS came with a full front 3M clear wrap and almost every other Porsche owners have a clear bra. Some guys pay up to $2,500 to protect half of their car which sounds insane to me.

fastdiablo

You have a horrible installer. My 16GTS is wrapped with Xpel, and all corners, mirrors, bumper and door edges are fully wrapped and perfect. You can't tell its on. This installer would have made Suntek look like poop too, so it's not the brand of film.

STG

Porsche paint chips just by looking at it. Really soft and not good overall. All this water based paint and clear coat junk. Where is good old solvent based stuff??

Others use water based too, but I think the other German brands have better paint.

GiuseppeM

Thank you all for the support and the feedback, I know there are excellent installers out there BUT as long as XPEL tells me this job "it's normal"AND my expectations are "absurd" they'll just end up hurting their reputation too.

Rest assured, it took Xpel 10 days to get back to me telling me to take it back to the same shop for removal...

XPEL told me the doors have to be removed to wrap the fender's edges!!! I got it on video...

Detail Authority had the audacity of posting the pictures of my car to advertise their business AFTER complaining about the job! Here's the owner's comment:

STG

Always good to inspect the installers previous work before doing your own. Stop by the shop and inspect other cars.

I've learned my lesson the hard way in the past. PPF can be a huge pain. More hacks out there than legitimate great installers. I'd say, 10% are good and the other 90% of guys doing it suck. Not good odds.

The cream of the crop?? Like 5-10 guys nationwide.

GiuseppeM

You're absolutely right, in fact I would even advice to wait that your installer can show the job he has done on the same model car as yours.

My problem is that XPEL instructed me to go there (this installer did 3 of his cars), as the other shop I found was not "authorized" and couldn't possible provide the proper level of care...

Jnosol

Wow, that shop owner was a *****. No one likes their baby being called ugly I guess. Passionate people that truly respect the art of their work are very hard to find.

LexVan

Why doesn't Porsche offer wrapping at the factory? Prior to final assembly. Sounds like a good profit center. Do any marques brands do this (MB, BMW, Ferrari, Lambo, etc)?

vjd3

Ferrari offers it but by accounts I've read it does not look great when they do it. Actually, Ferrari is notorious for delivering cars that needs some serious paint correction right off the boat, so putting film on top of that before correcting it is a bad idea.

I'm sorry to say that I had a subpar experience with a full XPel wrap done by a detailer relatively close to me that has a sterling reputation. As in, national reputation. Apparently, that's for details not for wraps, because my car has visible edges on almost every panel, unnecessary seams, etc. I also took a lot of photos and tried to get an opinion from XPel, finally they had someone get in touch with me and he turned out to be the sales rep for the area who told me it was done correctly, the installer was the best in the area, impeccable work, etc. ... eventually he told me that he only sells the product and knows nothing about installation, but he was sure they did a great job.

Gave up at that point. It's risky to remove the film because it can and will lift the clearcoat if it's not done properly, so good decision for you not to bring it back there.

Unfortunately, my car was a full wrap and cost a damn mint to do, but I went with this particular shop because of their reputation. It looks fine from 5 feet away so I'm leaving it alone rather than pay another fortune to have it removed and reapplied. But it's aggravating.

Caveat emptor, choose your installer carefully.

spiderv6

Wow. Glad I hesitated (and continue to hesitate) on getting mine done.

Credit card chargeback. No question. Would be the first call I would make.

R_Rated

xPel warranty means nothing... Xpel confirmed that my car was originally done with bad film and the refund is still at the sole discretion of the installer.

They just don't stand behind their products.

Premier

GiuseppeM - Sorry to hear about this and based on the photos, these are valid concerns. To give some additional feedback, the doors do not need to be removed for the fender edges to be wrapped. Since you have a black car, these defects in the installation are much more noticeable compared to other colors such as white or silver. Most importantly in paint protection film installation, the installer makes or breaks the result.

From our perspective, the kit fitment is off and the stretch marks are excessive. There is also one other concern here and that is of razor cuts in the paint on the front bumper. Based on some of the photos, this is possible. When you remove the film, be sure to inspect where the film joins. Hope I am wrong about the razor cuts and good luck in finding a positive resolution to this ordeal. Feel free to pm us if you have any questions.

R_Rated

The website propaganda stars the film is invisible and undetectable but if you TALK to the, they state those defects as normal and go back the the thickness and meaningless warranty.

I have a great guy in Greensboro that did a 50th anniversary in DC if you want to drive to have it redone right.

Dewinator

My installer did a good job on the installation itself, but I feel like there are more edge seems vs wrap around on the pattern that he used. It is so hard to get rid of the wax line at the edge of the film with an ABM car. Are there multiple patterns to choose from when they do these things?

Porsche_nuts

I hate to hear these horror stories and alarmed at the poor work. You pay hard earned money and expect great results. Seems few people take pride in their work anymore. I guess the only positive is that this guy won't be in business much longer given the poor work (and he shouldn't be either).