Should I or should I not cover my car with XPel Clear Bra?

I have an 85D silver metallic that I did a full xpel + cQuartz Finest on. I think the answer depends upon where you live, the roads you drive on and if you plan on keeping the car post lease or know you will be turning it in.

In my case, I bought the car and plan on keeping it for a while. I wanted to drive it in the winter and winter around Montreal is like sandblasting the car. The roads are terrible and salt and rocks spray everywhere.

I can add that a wrap + coating makes the car incredibly easy to clean and it looks great with minimal work. Also, being a very aerodynamic car, I believe that the airflow may lead to more "focused" damage on some parts of the car.

If I lived in California, I might have just applied a good nano coating and called it a day.

IMHO, Do it. Recommend Joe at OCD in the Bay Area. My car is 100% swirl free and flawless....

jdw said:

I have an 85D silver metallic that I did a full xpel + cQuartz Finest on. I think the answer depends upon where you live, the roads you drive on and if you plan on keeping the car post lease or know you will be turning it in.

In my case, I bought the car and plan on keeping it for a while. I wanted to drive it in the winter and winter around Montreal is like sandblasting the car. The roads are terrible and salt and rocks spray everywhere.

I can add that a wrap + coating makes the car incredibly easy to clean and it looks great with minimal work. Also, being a very aerodynamic car, I believe that the airflow may lead to more "focused" damage on some parts of the car.

If I lived in California, I might have just applied a good nano coating and called it a day.

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I live in a semi rural part of southern IL. The first couple of weeks that I owned my MS it got a whole bunch of gravel dings on the paint. The first time I went to wash the car I was more than a little bit distressed. I called the Service Center and acquired MC Red touch up paint and then Clear Auto Bra, in St. Louis, MO. I got the front of the car, and the rear wrapped and it has protected the car beautifully. YMMV, but I am very glad I got the xpel.

Peace,
Father Bill

I covered every painted surface on mine, although I used Suntek not Xpel.

spykids777 said:

HI - I am a first time poster to this forum. I have just ordered my first Tesla 90D with the new Metallic Silver (Not the midnight silver metallic) for leasing. Any thoughts on whether I should cover it in Xpel Ultimate?. I am planning on leasing it for 3 yrs.

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Lots of people have silver MS, since that same color was offered for the first 3+ years, then discontinued for less than a year.

Silver paint does not contrast much with the gray primer, so any rock chips are less likely to show. Likewise, silver does not show dirt or scratches as much as darker colors. Now, coupled with the fact that you are leasing, why would you spend another $3k to give the leasing company a nicer paint job at end of lease?

I am in the same boat with the same concerns as spykids777. I am in DC with a pearl white Tesla delivery on Friday.

Another question I have is if I would like to wrap the entire car later in a matte finish, is it recommended or difficult to remove the xpel? or can it go over top? I know it may be doing too much in a 3 year lease period, but just want to have fun without worry. Thanks in advance.

spykids777 said:

Anybody has any experience with returning a leased Tesla? This is my first leased car ever - maybe that's why I am very apprehensive. I do not want to be told at the end of the lease that the little paint chipping off or scrapes are not the regular use and need to pay for the car to be repainted at the end of lease. Can people elaborate a bit on their experience upomn returning a leased Tesla.

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I doubt Tesla leasing hasn't been around long enough for anyone to turn one in. I'm sure it's like any other lease turn in, wear and tear is allowed and like every manufacturer, road rash is acceptable assuming there aren't scrapes and dents in the paint. If you are leasing and don't plan to purchase at lease end then, it's not worth spending your money imho.

One consideration for people leasing or maybe who bought your MS used and may not have absolute knowledge of everything that has been done to it: Be 100% sure your finish has only baked-on paint like is done by the factory or a good body shop with repairs, before applying any film like XPEL if you have an expectation you may want to remove the film say before you return the car at the end of your lease, or to replace it should part of it have given up it's life protecting your finish...

Issue is, good film can normally come off after it's applied and not damage your finish -- BUT -- if your ride had what I'll call a "quick and dirty" paint repair job done that wasn't baked on, chances are good that paint will come off with your film when it's removed. Long story short -- I had that happen to my new 335i years ago by a reputable installer when the film needed to be removed because of a flaw found after installation. While the paint looked fine to both of us ahead of time, I later found my dealer (or port of entry) had done a "quick & dirty" repair to my bumper that came off when the film was removed... I ended-up having to pay nearly $1K to a high-quality body shop to have my bumper removed, repainted and reinstalled before I sold it...

I would base the XPel decision on one factor: Does the highway department in your area use sand or salt on the roads in the winter? If they use sand, then the argument for XPel is a little stronger. There is a reason you won't often see XPel or similar protective film products on Ferraris, Porsches, etc. These films can actually reduce the value of a high-end car at resale.

I have a pearl white 2013 P85 with 45K miles and no protective film. I have virtually no road-rash, and I've been driving in New England! I do take a few precautions, such as not tailgating pickup trucks and SUVs that have no mud flaps.

I do recommend having a paint sealant put on your car, such as CQuartz.

I have a leased P85D (before that several 911's and BMWs, all leased). Don't bother with Xpel or any such product. I had a 911 that had a bumper scratch (I backed into a light post) and I was charged $300 for paint damage (was also given the option of fixing it myself before turning it in at no other cost). Other than that, leases are all straight forward and paint swirls are acceptable as general wear and tear. I've turned in BMWs with minor dings on my door (from other SUVs opening their doors in parking lots and dinging my car door), and as long as the ding was smaller than a golf ball, it was acceptable on turn in.

I should also point out that light colors hide paint swirls pretty well. Mine is metallic white and I have an unlimited car wash pass at a local car wash. I get my car washed at least twice weekly. So far, absolutely nothing. And I've stuck my nose on the hood to try to spot any swirls. I'm sure I have some swirls from the commercial car wash, but I certainly can't spot them if my life depended on it.

Spending thousands of dollars to turn in a leased vehicle in an impeccable condition is just plain silly. Spend the cash on winter wheels and snow tires if you're in a snow belt state. It will help save your life, your property and everyone around you.

I'd skip the Xpel on a lease, any minor paint chips can be filled and blended with touch-up paint. If you do your own washes, you may want to apply a coating (OptiCoat, cQuartz, 22lpe, Modesta, etc) as they'll make washing easier and reduce the chance of swirls. However, on silver it's hard to see the swirls and scratches due to the low reflectivity of the clear coat against the base silver. Most of the protective coatings wear off in 2-3 years anyways just in time for you to turn in your lease.