Paint protection
06-13-2016, 11:16 PM
#1
Paint protection
Anyone using anything for hood of car in terms of paint protection that you can apply easily yourself? I'm getting quotes for Xpel at 500+ For hood and not really willing to spend more money that I'll never back ....in the past two weeks I flashed ECU, bought some spacers, fabspeed intake, new tires tomorrow ....pocket is a getting lighter quickly ....
06-13-2016, 11:28 PM
#2
I popped for the 3M film in all the right places. Like you, I did some other stuff too at about the same time so I was thinking about skipping it (or skimping on it) to save $. In the end, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger for it. Hurt a bit then - not as much now - but I sleep better. Rationalized it as not a lot of $ to protect the appearance that I spent a lot on. (Penny-wise/pound-foolish.) And it's already protected me a couple of times.
And I do think you get it back, at least to some extent. Either on price when you sell w great looking paint, or savings down the road not having to touch-up paint. No?
i know that doesn't answer your question, but, another way to look at it.
And I do think you get it back, at least to some extent. Either on price when you sell w great looking paint, or savings down the road not having to touch-up paint. No?
i know that doesn't answer your question, but, another way to look at it.
06-14-2016, 12:13 AM
#3
Racer
I had the original 3M 1/3 hood bra removed a couple years ago. I had XPel Ultimate put on the full hood, bumper, front fenders, mirrors, and front lights. I'm very glad I did so for the following reasons:
1. As careful as I am, I spaced out and lifted the front lid to wipe down the black plastic interior while washing my car. Only I forgot to put my wipers back down on the windshield first. There was a horrible scraping sound, and as I quickly put the lid back down again, I noticed the XPel had been shredded where the wipers hit the back edge of the lid. It also looked like I had totally scraped off the paint as well. I was pretty sick about it.
I pointed out my bonehead mistake the next time I took my car to my detailer (who also installed the XPel). He said, "let me take a closer look at that." As he pushed the tattered XPel out of the way, he announced, "The paint is perfectly fine!" The white color I had thought was bare metal was merely the color the XPel turns when it has been damaged. The XPel had taken all the abuse. He then offered to recover *just* the hood for a very, very reasonable price.
2. There are now several places on my front bumper with what looks like little white specks from rocks, and one actual place where the XPel has a little tear or puncture. These would all be significant paint chips -- only they're not.
3. The realization (from #1 above) that XPel can easily be applied to just one section at a time gave me the idea that when the front bumper starts looking ugly with white marks and tears in the XPel, I just have that one section replaced and leave all the rest alone.
4. Further thinking led me to realize that if I save my leftover weekly lunch money, stashed in its secret hiding place (which my wife knows about, but pretends not to -- wonderful woman), and I don't need it to replace anything every so often, I can continue to cover the rest of the car starting with the doors, the back fenders, bumper, etc., one or two pieces every six month detailing. Sort of XPel by subscription.
5. We took my wife's new Macan directly from the dealer to the detailer and had the front end covered with XPel right away. It's already doing its job for her, too.
6. One last thought: My parking spot at work is often near bird activity. All bird droppings contain some sand or gravel, which can scratch the paint if wiped up improperly, and the various unmentionable chemicals contained therein are harmful to the paint if left in place. I don't worry about either issue very much as long as the droppings land on the XPel, because (a) minor abrasions and scratches tend to self-heal (i.e., flow out) in the heat of the sun, and (b) there is that plastic barrier coat between the poop and the paint.
1. As careful as I am, I spaced out and lifted the front lid to wipe down the black plastic interior while washing my car. Only I forgot to put my wipers back down on the windshield first. There was a horrible scraping sound, and as I quickly put the lid back down again, I noticed the XPel had been shredded where the wipers hit the back edge of the lid. It also looked like I had totally scraped off the paint as well. I was pretty sick about it.
I pointed out my bonehead mistake the next time I took my car to my detailer (who also installed the XPel). He said, "let me take a closer look at that." As he pushed the tattered XPel out of the way, he announced, "The paint is perfectly fine!" The white color I had thought was bare metal was merely the color the XPel turns when it has been damaged. The XPel had taken all the abuse. He then offered to recover *just* the hood for a very, very reasonable price.
2. There are now several places on my front bumper with what looks like little white specks from rocks, and one actual place where the XPel has a little tear or puncture. These would all be significant paint chips -- only they're not.
3. The realization (from #1 above) that XPel can easily be applied to just one section at a time gave me the idea that when the front bumper starts looking ugly with white marks and tears in the XPel, I just have that one section replaced and leave all the rest alone.
4. Further thinking led me to realize that if I save my leftover weekly lunch money, stashed in its secret hiding place (which my wife knows about, but pretends not to -- wonderful woman), and I don't need it to replace anything every so often, I can continue to cover the rest of the car starting with the doors, the back fenders, bumper, etc., one or two pieces every six month detailing. Sort of XPel by subscription.
5. We took my wife's new Macan directly from the dealer to the detailer and had the front end covered with XPel right away. It's already doing its job for her, too.
6. One last thought: My parking spot at work is often near bird activity. All bird droppings contain some sand or gravel, which can scratch the paint if wiped up improperly, and the various unmentionable chemicals contained therein are harmful to the paint if left in place. I don't worry about either issue very much as long as the droppings land on the XPel, because (a) minor abrasions and scratches tend to self-heal (i.e., flow out) in the heat of the sun, and (b) there is that plastic barrier coat between the poop and the paint.
06-14-2016, 02:39 AM
#4
Like JustinCase I also had XPel Ultimate installed on the front end of my car before a long road trip. It saved the hood from some pretty nasty rock hits that I'm sure would have gouged the paint. So when my wife got a new car, we had the same installation done. On the west coast of Vancouver Island we got hit by a rock, it dented the aluminum hood, looked like it had gone through to the metal. Took the car to the XPel installer, and had a paintless dent removal guy take the dent out and the hood film replaced. What do you know, the paint survived! Looks like new. Certainly beat repainting the hood of a new car.
Having said this, I'm not convinced you actually need to cover the entire front end of a 997. The hood and bumper for sure, but maybe not the fenders. So I like the protection by installment idea. This stuff gets pretty expensive to cover everything, and the thing to remember is that it's a sacrificial film - if it gets ripped, it'll really bother you, because you can't just touch it up with paint.
Having said this, I'm not convinced you actually need to cover the entire front end of a 997. The hood and bumper for sure, but maybe not the fenders. So I like the protection by installment idea. This stuff gets pretty expensive to cover everything, and the thing to remember is that it's a sacrificial film - if it gets ripped, it'll really bother you, because you can't just touch it up with paint.
