Xpel Wrap and Xpel Plus Ceramic Coating

cdnSpinalTap · February 18, 2020

Hello,

Has anyone done a full Xpel wrap and ceramic coating on their truck (or similar)? If so, are you happy with the products and does it give you the protection you were hoping for?

I know some of you out there think doing these types of things to your trucks is too much, so the questions are not directed at you - this is for people that have actually done it and their options on it.

Thanks.

Dave335 · February 19, 2020

I used a product from Gtechniq, the base coat was their CSL and two additional coats of their EXOv4. Their customer service was great, very helpful. The product was easy to put on. It has only been on for two weeks, it is supposed to last for 5 years. I just posted pictures of my truck in the photo thread

cdnSpinalTap · February 19, 2020

6 hours ago, Dave335 said:

I used a product from Gtechniq, the base coat was their CSL and two additional coats of their EXOv4. Their customer service was great, very helpful. The product was easy to put on. It has only been on for two weeks, it is supposed to last for 5 years. I just posted pictures of my truck in the photo thread

Thanks - yes, I saw that. Love the red.

cdh7917 · February 19, 2020

I have quite of a bit of XPEL PPF on my truck. Here's a list:

Full front bumper
Headlights
Fog lights
Turn signal lights
Grill Surround
Full Hood
Scoop
Full Fenders
Door cups
Door Edges
A pillars
B pillarts
Front of roof
Inside tailgate of the Multi-Pro Tailgate

I also have the XPEL ceramic window tint that blocks 98% heat/UV on all windows, along with the sunroof. It makes a big difference.

I can't speak to the ceramic coatings they offer. But the PPF and tint has been great. The PPF is self-healing to some extent. I haven't noticed any cases that it got marred/surface scratched, but apparently it will heal itself to reduce the visibility of any blemishes.

And a testimonial - I happened to leave my drop hitch installed in my receiver. I lowered both tailgates, and actually climbed in. I have two very small marks on the plastic cap on the tailgate rail. The hitch managed to tear a dime sized hole in the PPF I had on the tailgate. But there was not a lick of any damage on the paint. Not a single spec. It was a relief for such a bone-headed move on my behalf, and I promptly had that piece redone.

In Colorado, they treat our roads with sand and grit/gravel mixture. Winters can be very hard on painted and chrome front ends here. It's nealry impossible to keep large gaps between cars on the interstates here, and all that sand gets kicked up from the tires of the vehicles. The XPEL PPF is a must have, IMHO, at least in this location.

It's expensive, but these trucks aren't cheap either and I plan to keep this one looking great as long as I own it.

cdnSpinalTap · February 19, 2020

Thanks for the reply. I am up in Calgary, Alberta so nearly the exact same conditions as you.

When you say the "Grill Surround", is that the chrome portion? I was not planning on doing any of the chrome as I read that you can sometime see glue or glue-like imperfections.

Funny that you mentioned the tailgate - that was the exact reason I was thinking of getting the tailgate done.

cdh7917 · February 19, 2020

7 minutes ago, cdnSpinalTap said:

Thanks for the reply. I am up in Calgary, Alberta so nearly the exact same conditions as you.

When you say the "Grill Surround", is that the chrome portion? I was not planning on doing any of the chrome as I read that you can sometime see glue or glue-like imperfections.

Funny that you mentioned the tailgate - that was the exact reason I was thinking of getting the tailgate done.

My grill surround is gloss black since I have an AT4. But, on my 2018 2500 Denali, I had the chrome grill surround done as well as the lower chrome valance that was below the front license plate, and also the chrome mirror caps too. Chrome in Colorado looks so horribly terrible after just one winter because of the magnesium-chloride pre-treatment that is applied to roads as an anti-icing agent. The chrome gets tiny tiny pits, then spots, and then looks like it has leprosy! LOL. And that's on both the plastic 'chrome' and actual real chromed metal.

Anyway, it didn't look bad at all and I didn't notice any glue or such. If the PPF isn't properly applied you could see some imperfections, but when I noticed that (again on my 2018 painted front bumper), the shop redid their work and recovered the bumper for no charge.

As for my tailgate - I plan to replace the plastic trim on the top inner tailgate once I finally remember to order that part (I think it's about $45 USD). As soon as I do that, there would be no indication I ever had my little mishap!

Edited February 19, 2020 by cdh7917

L87Powered · February 20, 2020

I did Xpel ppf on my '16 Sierra front end. I was impressed with the protection and performance. It held up remarkably well, I had to do a maintenance wax every 3 months. Still looked good when I traded it in last month.

cdnSpinalTap · February 20, 2020

Thanks. I’m pretty sure I’m going for the full wrap and the ceramic coating. I got a great price and living in Calgary, I’m hoping it will be easier to clean.

bsprtsgrp · February 26, 2020

I have XPel Ultimate Self-Healing on my entire Denali Front End including the lights (except the grill) and added it to my Morimoto Fogs I just added that replaced the OEM Fogs. Considering adding to the A Pillars and Roof over the Onstar antenna as I had this on my 15' Sierra.

jpgcrna · February 27, 2020

Maybe I'm asking a dumb question here. But what's the point of doing the ceramic coating if you do the PPF on the entire truck?

Maybe I just don't know enough about the product. I was under the impression if you did the PPF you were basically washes only? Is there a maintenance coating you have to put on it?

I've been considering doing my whole truck but if I still had to wax it or ceramic coat it then I'll probably only do the bumpers, mirror caps, etc...

Also, how long is the XPEL product supposed to last and has anyone had any yellowing issues? My truck is white.

Thanks.

cdnSpinalTap · February 27, 2020

40 minutes ago, jpgcrna said:

Maybe I'm asking a dumb question here. But what's the point of doing the ceramic coating if you do the PPF on the entire truck?

Maybe I just don't know enough about the product. I was under the impression if you did the PPF you were basically washes only? Is there a maintenance coating you have to put on it?

I've been considering doing my whole truck but if I still had to wax it or ceramic coat it then I'll probably only do the bumpers, mirror caps, etc...

Also, how long is the XPEL product supposed to last and has anyone had any yellowing issues? My truck is white.

Thanks.

I don't pretend to know all the reasons and I am a bit of a fanatic, hence the reason for me to get both. However, I have been told the following:

PPF:

Can stop rock chips to some degree
Can prevent swirl marks
Can have self healing properties

The ceramic coating adds the following:

Enhances the hydrophobic qualities of the surface
deeper gloss
Makes the car overall easier to clean
Can cover all surfaces - chrome, glass, wheels

For PPF, I do not believe there is any maintenance with it unless you have some damage to it. The XPEL ceramic coating does require some yearly maintenance in order to validate the warranty.

I cannot comment on the yellowing, as I have not actually used the product yet.

FirstAscent · February 29, 2020

I don’t have any xpel products on my vehicles yet but when I get my new 3500 I want to do a full xpel stealth wrap, I love the look of the matte finish.

On my F-Pace I got it ceramic coated with Ceramic Pro. I’ve had it about 18 months and pretty happy with it. I think it helps clean it a little easier? But it’ll definitely still get dirty enough to where you’re not gonna clean it with straight water and spraying it down.
But when it’s all clean... damn it looks good! Would I do it again? Yes, but only if I wasn’t going to wrap it.

Would I ceramic coat over a wrap? Not sure, maybe. Probably not over stealth solely due to cost, that darn stealth product is ridiculously expensive.

shiro · April 28, 2020

On 2/28/2020 at 11:42 PM, FirstAscent said:

I don’t have any xpel products on my vehicles yet but when I get my new 3500 I want to do a full xpel stealth wrap, I love the look of the matte finish.

On my F-Pace I got it ceramic coated with Ceramic Pro. I’ve had it about 18 months and pretty happy with it. I think it helps clean it a little easier? But it’ll definitely still get dirty enough to where you’re not gonna clean it with straight water and spraying it down.
But when it’s all clean... damn it looks good! Would I do it again? Yes, but only if I wasn’t going to wrap it.

Would I ceramic coat over a wrap? Not sure, maybe. Probably not over stealth solely due to cost, that darn stealth product is ridiculously expensive.

@cdnSpinalTap, @FirstAscent and group,

I haven't done XPEL or a PPF on a truck yet, but once I purchase my next 2500HD this year I would like to do the XPEL Stealth with Ceramic Pro.

Edit: Yes, the ceramic coating gets applied after the PPF or wrap is on the vehicle.

XPEL Ultimate Plus, XPEL Ultimate Plus 10, XPEL Armor, XPEL Stealth:

XPEL makes quite the line of products. I like the Ultimate Plus 10, as it is the thickest clear PPF available. But the XPEL Armor (PPF that is black like a spray-on bed liner) may also look nice as a full vehicle wrap (if that has been done before. The Stealth isn't as thick as the rest of the product line, but it adds a unique look with protection features. Below I have wrote up my experience with XPEL Stealth.

Full-Vehicle XPEL Stealth w/ Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra:

What I do have experience with is XPEL Stealth (full-vehicle Paint Protection Film-PPF) with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra added on my 2018 Tesla Model S. I find both product very attractive and useful for protecting the vehicle. One thing to remember is if you go with a clear full-vehicle PPF you will want to do a paint correction / restoration prior to the PPF to get any defects out of your clearcoat (even on a brand new vehicle). Some places charge $1800 just for a paint correction alone. What I like about the XPEL Stealth (PPF with a matte / smooth satin finish) is that you don't need to do a paint correction since the matte finish hides the majority of the defects AND you still get to see the metallic flake underneath, if you have it in your paint.

I have attached pictures to show you the difference between the original color of the vehicle and the stealth film. The full vehicle picture shows the complete product. I think doing this to a would look awesome.

Edited April 28, 2020 by shiro
Added picture

cdnSpinalTap · April 28, 2020

On my 2020 3500 Denali HD I have had the full Xpel Ultimate plus and the full XPel Fusion Plus Ceramic coating for about a month now and can make the following comments:

The finish is definitely glossy and shiny (see picture below). I think it comes down to personal preference. I do like the matt coating on the car above, but I think my personal preference on the truck, given it is such a large palette, would be the gloss finish. But again, this is definitely personal preference.
I was surprised that I still get the dirt film on the vehicle when it gets wet and dirty. For some reason, I expected that to be less prominent. Even after a good pressure wash, the dirt film is still there and requires hand washing.
They were not able to complete the rocker panels. They said they tried all the tricks, but just could not make it stick.
I love hand washing the truck with both coatings on - it's nice to not have to worry about making swirl marks, and if I do, they should be easy to remove with the self healing properties.
They did the ceramic coating on all the external black plastic parts of the truck. I find that some of them still seem to dull, and some seem as shiny as new. I am reaching out to them to check to see if we can re-coat some of the parts that seem to be be faded.
I picked up my truck from the dealer and drove it right to the detailers. I told the dealer not to touch the outside of the truck at all, but there were still a couple of corrections to due. However, the detailer did not charge me extra for the corrections.
I bought a gallon of the XPel rinse free wash (https://www.xpel.com/Flawless-Finish-Rinse-Free-Car-Wash-16-oz) as up in Calgary here, it is a bylaw violation to bucket wash your vehicle outside. It is highly concentrated and should last me a long time. I give the truck a really good pressure wash with just water, and then use the XPel product - works very well.
This was an expensive endeavour ($5000+ here in Canada)...but I would definitely do it again. Cleaning is way easier and the "no swirl marks" relieves some of my OCD anxiety Plus, it looks amazing when it is clean.

FirstAscent · April 29, 2020

I was fully set on doing a full XPEL Stealth wrap before I picked up my truck. Now that I have the truck I actually really love the Pearl white tricoat color. I'm still considering doing the stealth wrap but now have some doubts haha.

I may try to do a test piece to help me decide, we'll see.