Concerns about paint protection film and a bunch of questions

[pkz0125]

I am waiting for my car to be delivered some time in the first week of October. I am exploring PPF options. In my research, I went to the XPEL dealer's website and found some pictures of what the dealer calls "full front end clear bra installs"
1. http://www.tvpauto.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/535462_10150782906633126_599356457_n.jpg
2. http://www.tvpauto.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/car-banner08-N.jpg

More images from another dealer:
1. http://tintedimage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/gllry_stngry_blck02.jpg
2. http://tintedimage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/gllry_stngry_blck03.jpg
3. http://tintedimage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/gllry_stngry_blu04.jpg

If you notice, in both sets of the pictures, the plastic on the front is clearly 'noticeable' (not visible). Even though there is less light in the back of the car (towards the back wheel and the doors), it is clear to see the difference between the front and the back. In both cases, the front appears to have some kind of a wrapper. I don't much care about the shine but I do care about the plastic like or unfinished raw wax like look in the front.

My questions are:
1. Is this normal?
2. Could this be the fault of the poor wrapping job, poor material (don't know if XPEL was used but I am leaning towards XPEL), my eyes or the camera that took the pictures?
3. Those who have wrapped their MS especially the front, do you see the difference in your cars? If so did you live with it or did you mitigate it?
4. Here is the quote I received from one of the dealers. Does it sound reasonable? He has done 3 Teslas (MS)

Front bumper: $420
Full hood, full fenders, mirror kit: $1070
Luggage loading area: Included if I do just the front, which includes first two items.
doors: $1020
Rear bumper: $309
Real quarter fenders: $709

I haven't yet decided whether I want to do the last 3 items but the difference in the looks between the front and back concerns me so I might bite the bullet if I do PPF at all.

 

[jerry33]

Any time there are two treatments, each area will appear different to the critical observer. I had every painted surface done and 2.5 years later no one at a car show has noticed that it's wrapped. (I used Suntek rather than Xpel due to the installer's reputation).

 

[CHG-ON]

Hard to totally tell in the pics. But the GT-R looks pinkish in the front, compared to the rest of the car. Is that what you mean?

 

[cassiri]

I don't really see anything in the pictures but I can tell my car is wrapped. It is full XPEL ultimate. It is a different look than the painted surface. I won't say it is as glossy and pretty as a great paint job, but it sure doesn't show scratches and swirl marks either. Having a black car it was a trade off I was willing to make because I know I would want to dust or wipe down my car every other day and doing that to the painted surface would generate fine scratches over time. If you have a discerning eye, you will see it is wrapped even though no one else will likely be able to tell.

 

[pkz0125]

Hard to totally tell in the pics. But the GT-R looks pinkish in the front, compared to the rest of the car. Is that what you mean?

Yes. And the front in the other pictures look like the screen of a new phone or a new TV with the packaging plastic on it (not that bad though).

 

[liuping]

Those are pretty bad pictures (low resolution, blown out image, over saturated, etc)

An Xpel Ultimate wrapped car has a slightly different surface texture, but it's barely noticeable. Even less so when detailed.

Ask if you can stop by when they are finishing up a car. You should really see it in person to see what it looks like.


I just sold my Pearl White Model S and the buyer could not stop commenting on how good the paint looked after two years. He said it looked brand new.

 

[Bonlaw]

I had Suntek installed in the front half including mirrors then had the entire car coated with Modesta. Cannot tell where wrapped from the non-wrapped. Maybe it's the Suntek or maybe the coating over the film and paint. It just works.

 

[stevem]

I got Xpel Ultimate front protection. Mirrors and base of the windshield forward, both full front fenders. I don't think anyone has ever noticed when they looked at my car. I think it looks great. I never notice the difference between the wrapped and unwrapped sections. You can feel the difference. If you were really picky, you could probably see the difference in different light and angles.

Here are some of my pics if you was something to compare.

 

[XPEL]

Those are pretty bad pictures (low resolution, blown out image, over saturated, etc)

An Xpel Ultimate wrapped car has a slightly different surface texture, but it's barely noticeable. Even less so when detailed.

Ask if you can stop by when they are finishing up a car. You should really see it in person to see what it looks like.


I just sold my Pearl White Model S and the buyer could not stop commenting on how good the paint looked after two years. He said it looked brand new.

This is usually the best way to see it, in person...Most shops will have no problem showing you some of the cars they've been working on, or finished product. Many times its hard to tell that the clear bra is on the vehicle...for a high resolution pics of installations, check out our Motoroso Page here: XPEL Pictures (it has many pictures of XPEL installs all in high resolution)

 

[brec]

I had everything in front wrapped, back to and not including the doors, plus 15 inches onto the roof -- including the windshield side pillars -- plus the rear bumper under the truck loading area (a freebie) done in XPEL Ultimate for $1,100. To have the full roof plus the doors done would have cost a total of $2,400; to have the whole car done, $3,000.

It was done last Thursday and I left town (by air) early Friday A.M., but on Thursday I couldn't detect a visual difference in the wrapped and unwrapped portions, although the line across the roof was visible if you were looking for it.

 

[Jean-Claude]

PKZ,

I believe your best option is to go to the shop and view a finished project. One of the things we like to do is ask someone that is at our shop for a consultation to take a look at a car or two in the shop and then ask if they can tell if there is any film on it and where. When you remove the potential placebo effect of knowing film is on a car and are allowed to critically inspect a project you will start to better understand either how or or how the installer as well as the film's true appearance. In my experience, about 1 out of 10+ can figure out film is on the car when they find an edge but no one has ever been able to say exactly where film is or is not.

My advice is to find the most qualified installer and go with them after you've inspected their work.

I think it's important to keep in mind that PPF is there to, first and foremost, protect the paint. It is a wear and tear layer that you will eventually want to replace once it gets beat up enough. For the vast majority of owners, that time comes well after the car is sold. But if you're truly OCD about edges, potentially thinking you see a texture difference or knowing a protective urethane film is installed over a portion of your car and rock chips don't bother you...maybe PPF isn't for you?

 

[pkz0125]

Thank you all for your responses. Thanks Stevem for the pictures... very helpful especially since my car will have the same color. I couldn't see the difference between the front and back in your car. Thanks to others who suggested I do check out the work done by the installer. Well, today I did just that. I couldn't tell where the film was installed and where it wasn't. I couldn't see the edges either. I had to touch the car at the end of the surfaces to recognize there was a film edge there.

Jean-Claude, I wasn't asking to determine whether the PPF was for me. You can't deny the difference would bother anyone. I was thinking if the difference is clearly visible then I would have to wrap the whole car for uniformity otherwise I could explore doing just the front. I haven't decided yet though. I might go with wrapping only some parts of the car and if I see the different (unlikely) I might cover the rest of the areas.

 

[jerry33]

Just bear in mind that new vs. several years of use is likely to increase the visible difference between paint and PPF protected surfaces. Also I've had several non-frontal areas where PPF has saved the day.

 

[Jean-Claude]

Jean-Claude, I wasn't asking to determine whether the PPF was for me. You can't deny the difference would bother anyone. I was thinking if the difference is clearly visible then I would have to wrap the whole car for uniformity otherwise I could explore doing just the front. I haven't decided yet though. I might go with wrapping only some parts of the car and if I see the different (unlikely) I might cover the rest of the areas.

The ability of the installer will dictate if you can notice a difference or not.