Paint Protection Film Recommendations and Prices

[HyperViper]

That is nothing more than a wax job. A clear bra will protect against rock chips.

 

[PeerBlock]

That is nothing more than a wax job. A clear bra will protect against rock chips.

If you buy the glass coat treatment at the dealer it's a 5 to 7-year paint warranty - that makes it worth considering.

Clear bra isn't really protecting anything if it discolors after being applied and dulls the appearance of the underlying finish. It's also not "invisible" and you will have visible seams on the viper since the width of the hood is more than can be covered in a single piece of wrap.

 

[HyperViper]

That 5-7 year paint warranty won't cover chips.

I'm not happy with the yellowing but it does protect the paint. I will try the new xpel ultimate if I can get xpel to cover the cost of the material, otherwise, I am just pulling it off.

Another thing to remember, if you go, or are planning on going on cruises with a group of vipers or ever going to the track is, these big fat tires can pick up a lot of rocks and throw them at the person behind.

 

[HyperViper]

Xpel is going to step up and replace my clear bra..........drumroll please...........................no charge with the Xpel Ultimate.

 

[VENOM V]

Xpel is going to step up and replace my clear bra..........drumroll please...........................no charge with the Xpel Ultimate.

Keep us posted on how it turns out!

 

[texas_venom]

The new films do not yellow (at least quality films)... and if they did they would be replaced under warranty. And the clear bra does protect the paint. Period. It doesn't dull the paint... and in fact the underlying paint will be as pristine as the day the film is applied. The glass treatment at the dealer is a scam. I work for a lot of dealerships and they flat out tell me that you are paying for a high priced sealant and basically to get your paint fixed WHEN issues do arise. So basically your prepaying for paint work. But you are right in that the widest film out is 60" and it is not wide enough to do the entire hood in one shot.

 

[PeerBlock]

The new films do not yellow (at least quality films)... and if they did they would be replaced under warranty. And the clear bra does protect the paint. Period. It doesn't dull the paint... and in fact the underlying paint will be as pristine as the day the film is applied. The glass treatment at the dealer is a scam. I work for a lot of dealerships and they flat out tell me that you are paying for a high priced sealant and basically to get your paint fixed WHEN issues do arise. So basically your prepaying for paint work. But you are right in that the widest film out is 60" and it is not wide enough to do the entire hood in one shot.

I wouldn't say that glass coat is a "scam" because it does provide some degree of protection against chemical contaminants if applied directly to the paint (not on top of a coat of wax). I do think that their marketing efforts over-hype its benefits but it's not like the product does not do anything at all. I see it more as a paint warranty with a free wax/polish application.

As for the plastic film, I initially liked the idea until I found out the prices for getting it installed as well as the seam issue.

Can you or anyone else who has had xpel ultimate installed on their vehicle for a year or longer post some pics? I'd like to see what it looks like after it has been on the car and also a close up of the seams.

 

[brifri11]

I'm actually getting a clear bra put on , on the 26th. I'm getting front bumber, side panels, mirrors and I'm still debating if I want to do the whole hood and fenders or just partial. Whole hood and everything else I mentioned, 1,100 bucks. Partial hood and everything else is 600. Going to Umbra in Schaumburg, IL. Ill post before and after pics when I get it done

 

[Killer33]

I'm actually getting a clear bra put on , on the 26th. I'm getting front bumber, side panels, mirrors and I'm still debating if I want to do the whole hood and fenders or just partial. Whole hood and everything else I mentioned, 1,100 bucks. Partial hood and everything else is 600. Going to Umbra in Schaumburg, IL. Ill post before and after pics when I get it done

I had the 3M clear braw installed about two months ago and I've had no problems. I elected to do the entire front, entire hood, head lights, fenders, mirrors, side sills and top half of the roof for <$2K. There are two seams running the length of the hood but it doesn't really bother me or take away from the color or shine at all. I also bought cleaning products and wax from the Premier guys in SoCal and they work perfect. It's a peace of mind thing and I'm pleased with the appearance and professional installation.

 

[HyperViper]

If you don't like the idea of seams on the hood/fender at least get the front bumper, headlights, rockers and behind the rear wheels.

I wouldn't say that glass coat is a "scam" because it does provide some degree of protection against chemical contaminants if applied directly to the paint (not on top of a coat of wax). I do think that their marketing efforts over-hype its benefits but it's not like the product does not do anything at all. I see it more as a paint warranty with a free wax/polish application.

As for the plastic film, I initially liked the idea until I found out the prices for getting it installed as well as the seam issue.

Can you or anyone else who has had xpel ultimate installed on their vehicle for a year or longer post some pics? I'd like to see what it looks like after it has been on the car and also a close up of the seams.

 

[VENOM V]

Yesterday I was invited to Maurice's house to watch his '08 get a full body clear wrap. I learned a lot, and am sold on paint protection. A few of the highlights:

• Installer is wrapping every single surface on Maurice's car. He uses a variety of film materials, depending upon the surface he's wrapping.
• His doors have the latest 3M film that appearantly has a clear coat on it similar to painted clear coat (sorry he didn't tell me the name). Adjacent to this was the front fender, that was wrapped in 2008. The older technology film on the fender has a slight orange-peel look, but the new film on the door is very flat, and smooth- pretty much invisible. So the look of the new films has improved dramatically, so much so that Maurice decided to wrap his entire car with it. This is a very important point, the appearance of the new film is gorgeous.
• His front end had not a single rock chip, the clear film clearly did it's job. The hood had several rock chips, it had not been wrapped. So it really does protect.
• This is meticulous work, this installer is a craftsman. He doesn't use kits, he cuts everything from scratch because you get a better fit.
• He is removing all emblems but the hood badge, and clear filming. Then he will install new badging on top of the film. This looks cleaner than cutting around the badging, which I don't like because you really see the edges.
• Despite this installer being top notch, you will still see edges here and there, such as at vents where you can't stretch the film into every nook and cranny. I see this as a good trade-off, I'd rather have the protection.
• He quoted me about $3K to wrap the nose, headlights, hood, rockers and front fender, doors, mirrors, door handles, and lower rear bumper that wraps around to the tires. He said a full wrap is $5K including the roof, rear quarter panels, every single surface.
• It takes him 3 or 4 days to do this, he does it slowly and carefully. After two weeks, he comes back to do "touch up," in case any surface or edge doesn't look right.
• He says black is the hardest color to do, because it will show any imperfection in the film. But he does black regularly.

I'll probably do the whole car for $5K. Yikes it's pricey, but it's very hard to repaint Stryker Red, so in my case it's worth it. I wish I pinned him down on the specific types and brands of film, but he was focused on doing a quality job on Maurice's car and I had to get back to work.

 

[ViperSmith]

Yesterday I was invited to Maurice's house to watch his '08 get a full body clear wrap. I learned a lot, and am sold on paint protection. A few of the highlights:

• Installer is wrapping every single surface on Maurice's car. He uses a variety of film materials, depending upon the surface he's wrapping.
• His doors have the latest 3M film that appearantly has a clear coat on it similar to painted clear coat (sorry he didn't tell me the name). Adjacent to this was the front fender, that was wrapped in 2008. The older technology film on the fender has a slight orange-peel look, but the new film on the door is very flat, and smooth- pretty much invisible. So the look of the new films has improved dramatically, so much so that Maurice decided to wrap his entire car with it. This is a very important point, the appearance of the new film is gorgeous.
• His front end had not a single rock chip, the clear film clearly did it's job. The hood had several rock chips, it had not been wrapped. So it really does protect.
• This is meticulous work, this installer is a craftsman. He doesn't use kits, he cuts everything from scratch because you get a better fit.
• He is removing all emblems but the hood badge, and clear filming. Then he will install new badging on top of the film. This looks cleaner than cutting around the badging, which I don't like because you really see the edges.
• Despite this installer being top notch, you will still see edges here and there, such as at vents where you can't stretch the film into every nook and cranny. I see this as a good trade-off, I'd rather have the protection.
• He quoted me about $3K to wrap the nose, headlights, hood, rockers and front fender, doors, mirrors, door handles, and lower rear bumper that wraps around to the tires. He said a full wrap is $5K including the roof, rear quarter panels, every single surface.
• It takes him 3 or 4 days to do this, he does it slowly and carefully. After two weeks, he comes back to do "touch up," in case any surface or edge doesn't look right.
• He says black is the hardest color to do, because it will show any imperfection in the film. But he does black regularly.

I'll probably do the whole car for $5K. Yikes it's pricey, but it's very hard to repaint Stryker Red, so in my case it's worth it. I wish I pinned him down on the specific types and brands of film, but he was focused on doing a quality job on Maurice's car and I had to get back to work.

How does he do the hood? AFAIK the sheets are only 5' wide at most and the hood is more than 5' in both directions.

 

[VENOM V]

How does he do the hood? AFAIK the sheets are only 5' wide at most and the hood is more than 5' in both directions.

That's a good question, he said he needs to see the car to know whether he can do it one-piece or not. I do have the contact info for another installer that says one of the companies has a 1 piece pre-cut hood. I plan to investigate this soon. The issue, according to my installer, is that the pre-cut pieces are sometimes not cut very accurately, so not sure if that's the best choice.

 

[texas_venom]

I have ben installing film for 12 years and I can tell you without a doubt film does NOT dull the covered areas. Period. In fact the covered areas will be as perfect as the day it was applied. Also the new Viper hoods cant be done with a single sheet of film... 60" is as wide as it comes. But a seem line is MUCH better than rock chips and other environmental damage and it WILL increase the resale value of the car when you go to trade it in.

 

[Killer33]

a seem line is MUCH better than rock chips.

Roger that! I really don't even notice the two seams anymore. I would also mention I had rock chips in the middle of the hoods on all 5 Vipers I've owned in the past. I also have Stryker Red paint and couldn't imagine trying to touch up a rock chip dead in the middle of the hood. I promise you cant even see the seams when you're a foot away. Worth it in the long run and I don't even think twice about rolling through a sand or gravel area. I've done this a couple of times, due to all the rain we've had and so far so good. Believe me I check top to bottom afterwards and the clear bra is doing its job. Crazy thing is they recommend you wax the clear bra. Never heard of that before but I've done it twice now and that sucker sparkles. I'd recommend using Premier's products, their cleaners and waxes are designed for clear bra's and they're top shelf.

 

[PeerBlock]

I've been thinking about getting some coverage on the front bumper, mirrors and some portion of the hood. Is Xpel Ultimate the way to go or is there a better film? My main concern is that the film does not yellow over time or have any kind of "orange peel" surface.

 

[3whitevipers]

I tried the 3M Paint defender that is sprayed on. Can cost $24.99 at Auto Zone. Did the whole front end of my 2013 Explorer with material left. It came out beautiful. Took about 2 hours to do including masking off areas of the car. I did this to try it for a year. It's supposed to peal off easily when you want to re-coat. For the price and the ease of doing complex areas, I thought I'd try it and see if it does the job. I'll keep you guys informed--Dave

 

[HyperViper]

XPel replaced my film free of charge with XPEL Ultimate and gave me a 10 year warranty. Now I know you would rather not have any issues and not need a warranty, but hey, I'll take it at this point.

My paint was perfect after the old film came off which came off easily and without a lot of adhesive left behind. The new film is super smooth and the only orange peel you may see will be from your existing paint. It adheres that good. My paint is super smooth so cmae out like glass. I do love how our Viper's paint jobs, blow other cars away for lack of orange peel.

I think you would be extremely happy with Xpel Ultimate if you get a excellent installer, so ask around for references. I would specifically ask at high end dealerships for a referral.

I've been thinking about getting some coverage on the front bumper, mirrors and some portion of the hood. Is Xpel Ultimate the way to go or is there a better film? My main concern is that the film does not yellow over time or have any kind of "orange peel" surface.

 

[Voice of Reason]

Quick note for those considering this, do it ASAP before you get too many miles on your car. I'm at 850 miles and getting the front, partial hood, and behind the tires professionally installed tomorrow so tonight I just went over those areas to make sure they were very clean. What I found was interesting. I expected the area behind the rear tires to be a bit messy but it was pretty clean, a few chips. But when I closely inspected the area directly behind the FRONT tires (below my SRT badges) they were already showing signs of extreme wear. There are significant paint chips from things being tossed rearward by the front tires. It must be the shape of that area combined with the sticky Corsa tires because I've never had a car get chewed up like this before. I hate to think what this would look like with 5k or 10k miles on the car.

I've never noticed this giving the car a quick detail, I noticed it when using a light up close. So don't think that if you haven't noticed it when doing a quick detail you're ok, take a closer look.

I'll report back on the professional wrap tomorrow. He comes highly recommended, is using Xpel Ultimate, and runs $1200. He's even driving down here from Chicago and doing it in my garage. Sometimes living in the Midwest had its advantages!

 

[VENOM V]

Quick note for those considering this, do it ASAP before you get too many miles on your car. I'm at 850 miles and getting the front, partial hood, and behind the tires professionally installed tomorrow so tonight I just went over those areas to make sure they were very clean. What I found was interesting. I expected the area behind the rear tires to be a bit messy but it was pretty clean, a few chips. But when I closely inspected the area directly behind the FRONT tires (below my SRT badges) they were already showing signs of extreme wear. There are significant paint chips from things being tossed rearward by the front tires. It must be the shape of that area combined with the sticky Corsa tires because I've never had a car get chewed up like this before. I hate to think what this would look like with 5k or 10k miles on the car.

I've never noticed this giving the car a quick detail, I noticed it when using a light up close. So don't think that if you haven't noticed it when doing a quick detail you're ok, take a closer look.

I'll report back on the professional wrap tomorrow. He comes highly recommended, is using Xpel Ultimate, and runs $1200. He's even driving down here from Chicago and doing it in my garage. Sometimes living in the Midwest had its advantages!

Good advice. I was looking at a friend's 2008 the other day. The nose had clear bra on it, absolutely flawless after all these years. This stuff really works.

 

[Newport Viper]

Quick note for those considering this, do it ASAP before you get too many miles on your car. But when I closely inspected the area directly behind the FRONT tires (below my SRT badges) they were already showing signs of extreme wear. There are significant paint chips from things being tossed rearward by the front tires. It must be the shape of that area combined with the sticky Corsa tires because I've never had a car get chewed up like this before. I hate to think what this would look like with 5k or 10k miles on the car.

This was a HUGE problem with the Gen 3&4 cars were sand blasted in just a couple thousand miles....Wonder if it is the same weak paint formula?

 

[adwordandi]

I would rather recommend Surface protective tape. It's different, cheap and far better than wax protection.

 

[DPViper]

I've had lots of cars covered and they never look as good as they do clean. The film gets old and has to be replaced. The Gen 5 has great paint....show it off. Keep the car waxed and touched up any nicks. If you go to the track you can tape everything up.

 

[bluesrt]

I did my whole car with expel, 2014 black t/a. you will never know its on there- never again will I have swirl marks! paint is slick as a button

 

[habeb]

I did my whole car with expel, 2014 black t/a. you will never know its on there- never again will I have swirl marks! paint is slick as a button

Does the hood contain a seam or were they able to use a single sheet?

 

[05Commemorative]

Do you guys have installed on the rocker panels? Does the heat from the exhaust not impact it?

 

[apeas2]

Expel on my 08 Vert. It's unbelievable. Of anyone needs a recommendation in Virginia/MD, let me know. Got an awesome guy. He comes to you.

 

[goldcup]

I have a 2014 TA the quote to cover nose, hood, roof and rocker panels with xpel was $2600.00 Films can yellow but many times that is do to dirt and the film can be cleaned. Also xpel is much easier to remove if needed If I had a Stryker red car I would cover the entire car, cant imagine matching that paint! I've had bra's on all my cars and it does a great job of keeping the paint pristine. None of my bras yellowed and they looked as good in 5 years as they did when it was applied.

 

[Brian E]

Tim Kirlin out of Chicago installed the Expel on my Orange TA. Not one person who looked at it knew Expel was applied until I showed them. By far the best film and installation I have ever had. I had the front bumper cover, the first 1/3 of the hood, the entire side sills, partial rear bumper, mirrors and door handles done.