Xpel saves the day

[turbozig]

I have had XPel Ultimate of my car since Jun 15. It is completely covered. On my trip around the US in 2015, we watched a rock spit up off of an 18 wheeler tire and heard it hit the roof. Pulled over and sure enough there was a white spot under the XPel the size of a small button. In speaking to a number of people during that trip, all conceded that the rock caused the paint underneath the XPel to crystallize and there was a ding in the paint that appeared to have white primer of crystals in that spot.

Let's add to that with another incident where I pulled the roof off at the hotel underground parking on Vancouver Island, not realizing that there was a low hanging pipe right where I swung the roof off. That left a 7" mark that was not coming off of the XPel.

Trip ended, I lifted one side of the Xpel on my roof, went around to the other side of the car and ripped the entire roof panel protection film off.... not a mark whatsoever and the roof was like new.... Happy Day.

Last but not least, if you ever go for a really good run with someone who has XPel on the front, check out the front end at the end of the run as you will see marks and dings that won't just wipe off. As XPel is self healing, you won't see them next time you meet up because both sun and water help make that XPel like new again... mark free.

That front end is 49000 km of hard driving in every condition.

View attachment 11334

Awesome! It is not a cheap investment, but the paint is only original once, and with tri coat paint which my color is, it is very difficult to match panels. So far, I have had many rock hits on the front end, and only a very slight dent in the urethane nose, no paint damage at all and the film has survived amazingly well. I highly suggest Xpel ultimate if you live in Alberta.

 

[MikeysZ06]

I have had XPel Ultimate of my car since Jun 15. It is completely covered. On my trip around the US in 2015, we watched a rock spit up off of an 18 wheeler tire and heard it hit the roof. Pulled over and sure enough there was a white spot under the XPel the size of a small button. In speaking to a number of people during that trip, all conceded that the rock caused the paint underneath the XPel to crystallize and there was a ding in the paint that appeared to have white primer of crystals in that spot.

Let's add to that with another incident where I pulled the roof off at the hotel underground parking on Vancouver Island, not realizing that there was a low hanging pipe right where I swung the roof off. That left a 7" mark that was not coming off of the XPel.

Trip ended, I lifted one side of the Xpel on my roof, went around to the other side of the car and ripped the entire roof panel protection film off.... not a mark whatsoever and the roof was like new.... Happy Day.

Last but not least, if you ever go for a really good run with someone who has XPel on the front, check out the front end at the end of the run as you will see marks and dings that won't just wipe off. As XPel is self healing, you won't see them next time you meet up because both sun and water help make that XPel like new again... mark free.

That front end is 49000 km of hard driving in every condition.

View attachment 11334

49,000 kms !! Good !! You're driving yours.

 

[JCWP]

Yesterday after taking a nice leisurely drive out in the country for about 4 hours with my mom, I came home, washed and detailed my 15 before putting it away for the day. Upon going to pull it into the garage, I was tired and totally forgot to tuck in the passenger side mirror, dumb ass!

This is what happened.

View attachment 11280

Ziggy me boy, sorry to see this. I have often wondered why the C7 did not have the function whereby the mirrors folded in automatically when parking like some other expensive cars? I am waiting to hit mine on a pillar in a parking garage or something?

 

[Cruzin]

All Flash is right. The C7 Z06 looks Great. It's obvious to me the XPel is worth the money applying.

 

[ddgermann]

All Flash is right. The C7 Z06 looks Great. It's obvious to me the XPel is worth the money applying.

It really is worth it I believe. Especially when you see all the dings on it from a good run on our pristine highways then cringe realizing what the paint would look like. The good stuff self heals and soon it looks like brand new again.
I do find it more difficult to clean than the painted surface. But I might be "doing it wrong"

 

[turbozig]

It really is worth it I believe. Especially when you see all the dings on it from a good run on our pristine highways then cringe realizing what the paint would look like. The good stuff self heals and soon it looks like brand new again.
I do find it more difficult to clean than the painted surface. But I might be "doing it wrong"

I wax mine regularly with a high quality carnuba wax. It makes cleaning a breeze and shines as well as paint.

 

[Pep]

I wax mine regularly with a high quality carnuba wax. It makes cleaning a breeze and shines as well as paint.

I was going to ask you what you did... and when you are going to do mine

 

[turbozig]

I was going to ask you what you did... and when you are going to do mine

No problem Randy, bring it by one night and we can do yours. I still owe you for the brake bleed bud.

 

[XPEL]

Yesterday after taking a nice leisurely drive out in the country for about 4 hours with my mom, I came home, washed and detailed my 15 before putting it away for the day. Upon going to pull it into the garage, I was tired and totally forgot to tuck in the passenger side mirror, dumb ass!

This is what happened.

View attachment 11280

I went the extra mile with the Xpel on my new Z. Beyond the standard highway package ... the mirrors, rockers / boards and full coverage of the entire back sides past the doors including the full back quarter panels.
And a few other places on the horizontal that are at risk of scratching.
Actually I am still finding the stuff in places I didn't expect. The extra cost was quite reasonable and the guy who put it on was really confident as to where it should go. So I told him to go at at it.
So far really happy with the results. The edges are virtually invisible.

Turbozig and ddgermann,


We appreciate the kind words about our product. Turbozig, we are glad your mirror is okay and nice and protected again. Thank you for choosing XPEL to protect your Corvettes.

 

[turbozig]

Turbozig and ddgermann,


We appreciate the kind words about our product. Turbozig, we are glad your mirror is okay and nice and protected again. Thank you for choosing XPEL to protect your Corvettes.

Welcome to the forum XPEL. I have sent you a private message with a few questions in regards to your product Xpel ultimate and it's warranty. Thank you in advance. Cheers!

 

[Van ClearBra]

Happy to see the positive clear bra paint protection film outcomes. I've been installing clear bra for 14 years now so if anyone has any questions they need answered, I'll try to do so.

 

[JCWP]

Awesome! It is not a cheap investment, but the paint is only original once, and with tri coat paint which my color is, it is very difficult to match panels. So far, I have had many rock hits on the front end, and only a very slight dent in the urethane nose, no paint damage at all and the film has survived amazingly well. I highly suggest Xpel ultimate if you live in Alberta.

Yeah, in AB you have good size rocks on the road not just sand. I could not believe the crap on the roads there after the winter season. Are we doing a cruise this summer Ziggy??

 

[turbozig]

Absolutely. I will be in contact with you soon to make plans.

 

[RdTrippin_Chris]

I have had XPel Ultimate of my car since Jun 15. It is completely covered. On my trip around the US in 2015, we watched a rock spit up off of an 18 wheeler tire and heard it hit the roof. Pulled over and sure enough there was a white spot under the XPel the size of a small button. In speaking to a number of people during that trip, all conceded that the rock caused the paint underneath the XPel to crystallize and there was a ding in the paint that appeared to have white primer of crystals in that spot.

Let's add to that with another incident where I pulled the roof off at the hotel underground parking on Vancouver Island, not realizing that there was a low hanging pipe right where I swung the roof off. That left a 7" mark that was not coming off of the XPel.

Trip ended, I lifted one side of the Xpel on my roof, went around to the other side of the car and ripped the entire roof panel protection film off.... not a mark whatsoever and the roof was like new.... Happy Day.

Last but not least, if you ever go for a really good run with someone who has XPel on the front, check out the front end at the end of the run as you will see marks and dings that won't just wipe off. As XPel is self healing, you won't see them next time you meet up because both sun and water help make that XPel like new again... mark free.

That front end is 49000 km of hard driving in every condition.

View attachment 11334

So with the Ultimate and or regular Xpel you will just see white marks on the front that will heal up?! What is the advantage of the Ultimate compared to the standard Xpel? I am going to get mine wrapped soon. Thanks

 

[ddgermann]

So with the Ultimate and or regular Xpel you will just see white marks on the front that will heal up?! What is the advantage of the Ultimate compared to the standard Xpel? I am going to get mine wrapped soon. Thanks

As Les states above the Xpel will self heal and at the very least prevent damage to your paint. The Ultimate is simply better at this.
There may be a few experts here that know the physical differences but I went with Ultimate as the car is worth it. It has done its job well.

 

[Pep]

It will NOT heal all the white marks trust me. No product does no matter the propaganda the makers hit us with. But it will fade them a little bit at a minimum even though you will still see them. But better the film than your paint. And yes it will help protect your paint for sure.

 

[RdTrippin_Chris]

It will NOT heal all the white marks trust me. No product does no matter the propaganda the makers hit us with. But it will fade them a little bit at a minimum even though you will still see them. But better the film than your paint. And yes it will help protect your paint for sure.

I figure there is a little salesmanship to most things but at the end of the day saving the paint is the point, self healing to a point. Now I am starting to wonder how to care for the wrap, wax, ceramic or what?! The adventure continues.

 

[Pep]

I figure there is a little salesmanship to most things but at the end of the day saving the paint is the point, self healing to a point. Now I am starting to wonder how to care for the wrap, wax, ceramic or what?! The adventure continues.

That is my thoughts as well. The film will protect the paint. To me it is a sacrificial layer where you will have to replace some of the pieces, maybe not yearly, but perhaps bi yearly if you want it look "newer" again. The nose gets hit a lot obviously but so do the flares in front of the rear wheels. On my car the flares are showing it the worst. Other parts will last a lot longer since they don't get hit as often.

 

[RdTrippin_Chris]

As Les states above the Xpel will self heal and at the very least prevent damage to your paint. The Ultimate is simply better at this.
There may be a few experts here that know the physical differences but I went with Ultimate as the car is worth it. It has done its job well.

What do you use on the Xpel to maintain it? I thought I heard you could use ceramic coating on it. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Pep]

Yeah, if you put on new Xpel you can put nano ceramic on top of it. When I bought the '16 and put Xpel on it Ceramic was a bit newer to the scene so I didn't and I don't want to put it on top of older film now. If I was putting Xpel on new I would chose to put nano ceramic on top of it.

You can buy cleaner, which I did, and it kind of helps on the spots but only so much.
Flawless Finish Paint Protection Film Cleaner (16 oz)

One thing with Xpel is bugs wash off really easy. Good pressure from a wand wash place after a short presoak and they come off without leaving a spot. And you don't have to worry about getting rid of the bugs immediately like you do with bare paint. I have gone as much as 6 days once when I had no choice and the bugs came off with ease with no marks.