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      12-11-2019, 06:59 AM   #23
JRod1980
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Originally Posted by BwatM5 View Post
For you guys with PPF. Did your installers hand-cut the film or was it pre-cut? Hand-cut seems to provide the best outcome, with the edges rolled under the panels whenever possible, but pre-cut installers seem to be much less expensive. If you have pre-cut film. How noticeable is it?

Most professional PPF installers I have seen will have a machine in their shop that cuts the rolls using CAD designs from the film manufacturer. It's not "pre-cut" but they are using a template.

Some of them will then add a half inch to all sides in order to have extra material for wrapping the edges.

There is a huge variance in quality among film installers. When I got my first car wrapped, I was very price sensitive about the work. The top shop in my town wanted $1800 to do the front end of the car with pre-cut film and no wrapped edges. For wrapped edges he wanted even more. All of the car forums like this were telling me that most shops did it for $1400 at the time. So I found a different shop in town that would do it for the lower price. Well, I got what I paid for.

I told him I wanted the edges wrapped and he said OK. He only wrapped the edges on the hood and nowhere else. So I have dirty film edges showing all over the car. 6 years later I am still bummed about my decision to cheap-out on my film install on that car.


When I got my Mercedes I searched and found Detailed Designs. They do a much higher-quality install process. They want to do the job right, or not do it at all. You don't have to ask them for wrapped edges, that's just how they do it. Sometimes that means they have to do things like remove headlights, bumpers and door handles. Obviously this makes the job more time consuming, and ultimately a more expensive install, but the results are superior.

Also, a shop like Detailed Designs can do everything in house. When I lived in Orlando, the film installers there did not do paint corrections or paint coatings. I had to take my car to a detailer first to do the paint correction, then get the car wrapped, and then get back to the detailer for the coating. Major pain. Detailed Designs does it all. They even have a covered trailer and will come pick up your car and trailer it to and from their shop.
Great insight. I agree with all you've said. It's not cheap but you want the installer to do it right. Great investment and it helps keep the car cleaned too.
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      12-11-2019, 07:22 AM   #24
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Full car PPF (Xpel Ultimate Plus) since new (August 2018). Before the M5 I had a 2015 BMW M3 F80 purchased new in July of 2014 and I had the PPF installed only on the front end (Full hood, bumper, fenders, mirrors, rear quarter in front of wheel wells, and top of rear bumper).

Very happy with the protection it provides. When I sold my F80 the front end looked new with no rock chips after 4 years. No discoloration in the film.
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      12-11-2019, 11:04 AM   #25
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gonna have to get these fixed before I PPF it
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      12-12-2019, 07:09 PM   #26
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I did both actually. It's expensive but it's worth it if you plan to keep the car for 3 or more years. Full PPF and then ceramic on top of that.

PPF is more for protection and ceramic is for depth, shine, staying clean, water wicking etc. Came out looking great and it definitely stays clean much much longer than a car without ceramic.

If I wash my car before it gets too dirty I can literally foam cannon it, rinse and blow it it off. I don't even have to use a rag/towel for anything other than door jams. You can do that in between regular washes to buy time. It's not perfect but hard to tell it's not.
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      12-12-2019, 07:44 PM   #27
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I've got nothing to add with regard to PPF, as I don't use the stuff, but I thought I'd pass along some experience I recently had with another product, as I think some others on here might like it. Note, I have no affiliation at all with this product, this company, sellers, etc.

I am a huge fan of OptiCoat Pro Plus, use it on all my cars and it's always been great. When my detail guy was doing the application on my M5, he turned me on to a product that he uses after every wash/detail on coated cars, called P&S Bead Maker. It's a spray that just adds an extra layer of shine and protection after each wash. I was skeptical at first, but not anymore. I've started using it and it's just magic. The shine is unreal and the car is left unbelievably slick; nothing dry sticks to it at all.

Just thought I'd pass along the thumbs up about this stuff in case others might be interested.
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      12-15-2019, 07:28 AM   #28
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gonna have to get these fixed before I PPF it
Ouch. Those are bad. You'll have to repaint and not drive the car for a month or two before you can wrap it.
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      12-27-2019, 12:56 AM   #29
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So when you have the Xpel film on your car and you get a little fender bender, how does that work with the repair?
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      12-27-2019, 08:01 AM   #30
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So when you have the Xpel film on your car and you get a little fender bender, how does that work with the repair?
Fix it and get any area that was painted re-filmed in PPF. They may have to blend paint in multiple areas.
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      12-27-2019, 09:31 AM   #31
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If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
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      12-27-2019, 12:14 PM   #32
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If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
I don’t know how true it is, but I have heard that PPF is insurable.
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      12-28-2019, 09:22 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BwatM5 View Post
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Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
I don’t know how true it is, but I have heard that PPF is insurable.
It sure is. I've had insurance cover it in 2 different claims.
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      12-28-2019, 10:29 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roller84 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BwatM5 View Post
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Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
I don't know how true it is, but I have heard that PPF is insurable.
It sure is. I've had insurance cover it in 2 different claims.
Interesting ... I was not aware of this.
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      12-29-2019, 08:15 AM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by josec70 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roller84 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BwatM5 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
I don't know how true it is, but I have heard that PPF is insurable.
It sure is. I've had insurance cover it in 2 different claims.
Interesting ... I was not aware of this.
This is the case with my insurance provider, Statefarm, in NY. When I purchased my M5 I also mentioned that I did an XPEL protection package with ceramic coat on the whole car and my agent said I should submit my receipt for their records, which reminds me that I still need to do.

Statefarm for me has always covered my mods in the event of a repair but is not covered in the event of a total loss. For example I had a Vorsteiner hood on one of my cars that suffered severe damage from a hail storm and they covered the cost of the replacement hood.
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      12-29-2019, 12:08 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roller84 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by josec70 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roller84 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BwatM5 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
If the car gets painted you must wait a few weeks before getting wrapped. New paint has to finish out gassing.
I don't know how true it is, but I have heard that PPF is insurable.
It sure is. I've had insurance cover it in 2 different claims.
Interesting ... I was not aware of this.
This is the case with my insurance provider, Statefarm, in NY. When I purchased my M5 I also mentioned that I did an XPEL protection package with ceramic coat on the whole car and my agent said I should submit my receipt for their records, which reminds me that I still need to do.

Statefarm for me has always covered my mods in the event of a repair but is not covered in the event of a total loss. For example I had a Vorsteiner hood on one of my cars that suffered severe damage from a hail storm and they covered the cost of the replacement hood.
Good to know.
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