shahrukh_bakar

I already have XPEL Ultimate, what preparation is required for ceramic coating? Who does this work in Toronto Ontario?

Shuga

Oh please tell, I'm on the fence if this is the right coating or not. Not much info on it. But i've been reading in the comment sections on youtube from people and they mostly say they're not happy with the shine and that they wasted their money compared to other coatings.

AnthonyGan

[QUOTE=Shuga;17731267]Oh please tell, I'm on the fence if this is the right coating or not. Not much info on it. But i've been reading in the comment sections on youtube from people and they mostly say they're not happy with the shine and that they wasted their money compared to other coatings.[/QUOTE

Xpel is very new to the ceramic game, but I haven’t personally tried them! I’ve had very good success with Gtechniq or Modesta coatings!

Prototyp1

I'm more curious on the Self-Healing ability that most PPFs advertise now. Since if it self heals, wouldn't apply a top coat especially as hard as ceramic coat would seal that layer of property that "self-heal?" I have never gotten a direct answer from any dealer, installer, detailer you name it. Sounds like bunch marketing that contradict itself?

Both PPF & ceramic coating work no doubt, but I'm with you. If I choose PPF for paint protection then will have zero interest to coat after. If I choose to coat it, would only for the ease of cleaning.

Shuga

I've read many concerns about the self healing aspect of it going way with the coating. IMO I have to say it would take away from that. I mean you're sealing the film that needs to be exposed to the sun to self heal.
If you're being sold both I think it's a scam. I think they just can't tell you.

3-Pedals

Its not worth it. I have had multiple coatings before and this has been the weakest. It doesnt do what it says it does. I wash my cars once every week most of the time, every other week some times. I use the best carpro stuff, deionized water, two bucket method, etc. After each drive, I go over the car with a washless spray and clean off any major bug/poop marks before they can etch.

So you would agree that I probably stay on top of this ALOT even for this protection. But even then, lots of bug residue or water spots that will not come off. I’m sure they could come off with a polisher/compound - which I dont do myself but then whats the point?

I have xpel ultimate pro in all of my cars, tip to toe, I have yet to see the self healing heal. They show these videos of taking a wire brush on the film, right? Well I have a few marring marks (dirt staying on the mitt during a wash), very very small, fine scratches that you cant feel with your hand. They are like the easiest/best candidates for self healing. Well, it doesnt self heal. I tried all the suggestions, spent probably 2 hours trying hot water, heat gun, even took it to a detailer who went over it with xpel’s own compound/polisher. Nope.

So…. the ceramic coating, pretty useless. The film itself, doesnt do the self healing.

My personal opinion as a someone who spent $25k+ over Xpel products and many years/thousands of miles/lots of car washing and observation across many cars done by different installers:

- The only positive is the peace of mind.
- Lots of lifting edges and dirt on seams and misaligned panel templates. XPEL has no enforcement of quality. They’ll say “we sell the product, cant control the installer” yet they have the installers listed on their site and will direct you to their shop. I have been through multiple (4) installers and unless you go with people like Mo here who will charge 2-3x (we are now into 12-14k range lol), every install had the same issues.
- I have yet to see any of my films demonstrate self healing.
- If you leave any water marks/bug/poop on the plastic, it will permanently etch there
- If you drive your cars like I do (600-800 miles/month per toy car), you will see lots and lots of tiny needle tip size bubbles that form. I dont know if these are issues with film or install. But every car I had eventually developed them after 6-8 months

So in summary, you spend a lot of money and you still have to worry about it. You either look at scratches and road rash on paint or on xpel.

Oh one other note. Far far far FAR TOO MANY incidents I have heard of paint peeling off of panels, especially carbon fiber panels in Porsche. Heard from different people, all been in the business many years, using the best steamers, etc. go ask any one of them they will say there is always a risk. So all this talk of “oh but you installed the film so you can always replace the film but not hurt paint” is a bit moot point because I am fearful of the paint peeling off during this process. XPEL’s glue is the strongest of the glues among all other films and I think it does not work well with the CF panels.

CF panels have a different paint curing process. They are not painted in the paint shop like the body of the car and instead painted by hand. They also cure at different temps. So imagine this happening to you where XPEL will take no responsibility of your $24,000 CF hood getting destroyed, installer will say “I used a steamer and followed instructions”, Porsche will of course say this is not out problem.

And lastly, you go to XPEL for any issue, they take this very hard stance of “installer problem” and will not get involved. But their website directs you to an installer. You are expected to inspect their work (which you wouldnt know what to even look for unless you are either trained or have had multiple installations before).

It is absolutely not what it appears. It is good for these very strong rock chips or your car getting blasted. I think its good to do the front of the car and not mess with any ceramic coating. The full car is overkill due to reasons I stated, it doesnt stay in good condition. Also when a ceramic coating is applied, its a bitch to remove it and do it again. Some of it will stay on and if you are not careful in every small cm square of the car, during the polish process you will go into your clear coat.

I would love to meet you guys in real life and take a 30 min walk around my cars and provide real world perspective. But the forum post is the best I can do.

catdog2

Thanks @3-Pedals that was a very helpful summary; having only 4k miles on my GT3RS which has full expel PPF and ceramic coating on top of it, and it having never spend a night outside air-conditioned/heated garage, i too have noticed the odd mini bubble showing up and the most annoying is the dirt on the edges of the film. And now you really got me worried about the trunk/CF panels...

What do you recommend though for paint on a new car? just wax and wash? Had 2 car just ceramic-treated one was absolutely outstanding and the other was middle of the road. And agree about eating into the clear coat as part of preparation, which is what happened on second car.

3-Pedals

If the car is kept indoors, you dont drive it in rain, that you go over the car periodically after each drive and clean up after bird droppings/bug kills/etc, I think I would go without ceramic coating. I would wrap the front of the car with PPF (bumper, hood/fenders) and leave everything else off. Its not worth the headache and the eyesore of looking at dirt filled edges of the film. I dont care what anyone says, if you drive your car, those edges will be literally black lines and they will not come off. You can take a gentle detailing brush to clean them, which will get rid of 50% of it (but it will never be transparent again). The more dirt gets in there, the more it will agitate the glue of PPF. The process continues until edges start getting filled with dirt even more.

I recommend you invest money in a deionized water if water spots bother you. Also buy something like master blaster (air dryer). You want as little touching to the paint as possible. When there are marks (tar, bird dropping, bug, etc), try to soak it rather than swirling it and if it doesnt come off, LEAVE IT ALONE. Any elbow grease will guaranteed to introduce further marks.

I have a car with PPF that has almost 75,000 miles and its a good showcase of what happens to PPF as miles keep getting accumulated.

Those little dots are most likely inherent defects of the film where the glue does not stay on for some reason. Initially it was explained to me as dirt and "no install is perfect" which at the time was satisfactory, but I guess not many people keep their cars as long as I do and pay attention to them. I have 6 years on one car, 2 in another, and 1 in another (other cars that had the XPEL, I sold them) and these little dots start going up in numbers with time. I much rather prefer looking at road rash in paint (adds to the character of the car).

Another thing that most people do no want to talk about is what happens if a panel needs to be painted? We never want to talk about it but sooner rather than later you can be in a minor accident or a mistake. I have had experience with one of vehicles (not the RS) and I can tell you its a pain in the ***. Why? Its simple. No paint job will match perfectly to the rest of the panels. It has to be blended. That means all those panels (say you want to paint the door, so in this case rear quarter, A pillar, front fender, side skirt/rocker) that are adjacent to the panel have to have their PPF removed (which the insurance does not cover), then paint blended, then have PPF re-applied (which the insurance again does not cover). Not to mention, when any body shop paints a body panel that already has paint, there is a substantial risk of paint lifting when the PPF is removed in the future.

These are all the practical challenges of the PPF stuff. Its a huge gimmick that works for limited cases but as soon as you drive your car (which to me is really the intended case for PPF) properly, you realize that money could have been better spent on things that matter (like a Dundon full exhaust or instructor time at a race track).

XLR82XS

Xpel user over 10 years here. Ultimate has self-healed for me. No dirt in edges since my installer does bulk film installs. I am lucky to have the BEST installer in the state and he has done full wraps on 2 vehicles recently and the workmanship is outstanding. Any issues he back up his work and will remedy as needed. Having a caring and OCD installer is key.

Christian Plyler

I decided not to do any film or ceramic coating on my 3RS. I'll just keep it a decade or whatever, and if it ever needs repainting I'll have it repainted. Full PPF, bulk installed without any visible edges, costs as much as a paint job anyway it seems.

XLR82XS

No way. .2 RS full wrap wasn't even close to a 10K+ paint job. Factory paint is great - keep it that way. Porsches not Camrys.

b0rderman

A little off topic, but I have XPEL PPF with Fusion on top. What's the preferred method of correcting water spots on this combo? I understand it won't be a 100% fix.

KA 991 GT3

The idea is to NOT have to make any corrections once you have proper ceramic coating on the car or film. I think the issue is that XPEL is trying to use the same coating for paint and the PPF... What's the point in adding ceramic coating if you still have to attend to the finish as much as you normally do without it?

KA 991 GT3

I can get my car fully painted at the top shop in central Texas for 12k.... but why? PPF is there to protect the finish.

Randy M

I bought my GT3 used. The entire car had Xpel ppf on it when I bought it. My car is dark blue metallic and felt that the ppf dulled the finish. I had some ppf warranty stuff to be done so I went to my local authorized Xpel shop. They took care of all the installer issues under warranty, then I decided to get the Fusion ceramic coating done. Now the car really pops in the sun, stays cleaner much longer and cleans much easier.