[Psychodo]

We women are smart. I know nothing about cars. Xpel is a little bit more expensive than Suntek. Honestly I would have wrapped the whole car too but we are just not that hard on a car. Tell the wife she will find the partial hideous. And the ding you get will be just a hair above the line. The Suntek film is a little more forgiving in the application. If you plan on racing the Xpel could probably take the hits a little better but a dent is a dent. The adhesive layer is thicker on Xpel but they have are both good. Remember I paid to have the front bra put on before she was shipped. The dealer did a crap job on the Bumper slats and then the line on the top was OMG. So it cost us first to remove the one the dealer put on and then to pay for the redo of the full front end. You do not know it is there. It is wrapped around the corners. First car I ever felt the need to film at all but the rosso comp is not an easy touch up as much as a clear coated flat paint.

You can find a decent nano coat and do it yourself. We had windows wheels and paint with cQuartz Finest Reserve $3000 because they will always include prep. I will do my own reload and then when I see it wearing off I will reapply a different product after removing the residual. I will of course use my Mini as the guinea pig but that car looks like a gem and no film and just well taken care of with clay and wax. I think we did an overkill. Also did a lot more film then the front end but I think the rockers also depending on the trip.

yup.. she's got me figured out - told me that she doesn't want to hear me complain when I get a rock chip above the 1/2 bra if I get that. LOL.

Interesting.. I hadn't thought about doing the nano myself. Will look into that. Thanks!

 

[alfa55]

I had a "Track Package done. hood, fenders, front bumper, door edges, mirros and the door handle cups. I then had 3M carbon fiber wrap on the lower front going to the rockers and the rear bumper. It was also ceramic coated.

 

[EricVonHa]

Xpel on mine over 1.5 years. Worth every penny! The ease of which the front end the car is cleaned is worth it alone!

 

[MINIME]

There are a number of folks that have done the nano coat themselves. A lot of what they are charging for is the “paint correction” even out of the factory it isn’t perfect. Well I think you can “correct the paint” with a orbital or hand very light compound. People have had good luck with Gyeon which is not super expensive. Check out the Ceramic Coat thread. I think personally we wasted money and he is a good detailer but $3000 really. Windows and wheels didn’t need it since the CCMs don’t get dust on them anyway.

I got full front everything, mirrors, a pillar b pillar rockers and fender flares rears. Roof I would like to get but I want the full roof which is another 675 and I honestly may try that with SunTek myself. They are all kits. The front bumper is very hard to do on your own but you can do the film for a 1/3 of the cost with SunTek or 3M but Xpel has a quick setting adhesive layer and you don’t have a lot of time to correct and stretch for your mistakes.

I know i am a very lucky wife. My husband will get me a paint correction kit from Autogeek for Christmas including a mini orbital and all the pads. Actually I enjoy detailing the cars i like. It is therapeutic and I don’t think he does a thorough job (he sort of knows me so I think he purposely leaves a big spot knowing I will say forget it I will do it)

 

[robertmee]

As for Ceramic coating, costs seem to be all over the map. It might be due to the amount of paint correction necessary before application. I had full paint correction and Opticoat Plus on my car and it was $750. Nowhere near the $3K some are reporting. My applicator tech did say that the paint condition of my QV was one of the best he'd had, and required minimum correction. For those considering ceramic's it pays for itself. If you have your car detailed 3 times a year at $200 a pop, in 2 years you've more than paid for the up front costs. And washing is a breeze. I don't even use a bucket anymore. Hose down the car to remove any heavy stuff, mist and wipe with optimum no rinse wash, dry with opti seal and a micro fiber. I can do the entire car in about 30 minutes and it looks like it was professionally detailed.

Now I'll look into Xpel or 3M, but having the ceramic coat already, might prove problematic. I've read that some Xpel vendors refuse to apply it to ceramic, due to adhesion issues, while others have said no problems. I've already found a couple of rock chips on the front, so need to do something soon.

 

[MINIME]

Don't do the half-hood.

I really won't recommend it. I had my front, mirror, lights and half-hood done.

Two days later I was back - to ask them to remove the half-hood. The Xpel line is very visible across the middle of your hood. And in sunlight, the line catches the light and reflects it - making it look like a huge scratch across your front hood. And during rains it looks unsightly as well.

I believe @MINIME had the same experience?

Either go for the full hood or skip the hood altogether.

-krish

Sure was. You know it is that bad when you pay to have a half hood then pay to have it removed then reapplied with a full kit. The detailer that said you don’t need the bumper done probably doesn’t want to deal with filming all those flats and design on the front bumper. It does take a little more skill and they don’t want to bother.

I am not sure how long the film lasts, I live in AZ so we will keep the film protected. But at some point it will degrade and at that point I will have it removed but that is not likely until many years down the line and only if I see it yellow. I likely will not reapply at that point if I still have the car.

 

[He's Deaf]

I do it simply because the threshold to get a pockmark in the clear is higher than what it takes getting a chip- the way I drive it will happen- it's just a really hard hit is what's required to damage the film. It will never stay nice in the long term, especially on a dark car. It's just a way to keep the car out of the paint shop a little longer.

 

[MINIME]

I do it simply because the threshold to get a pockmark in the clear is higher than what it takes getting a chip- the way I drive it will happen- it's just a really hard hit is what's required to damage the film. It will never stay nice in the long term, especially on a dark car. It's just a way to keep the car out of the paint shop a little longer.

The film will get marked up but most of the better films are all self correcting and will fill in the dings. Maybe not when it is freezing in the cold states but but a hot blow dryer and you can rub any imperfections out.

 

[He's Deaf]

The film will get marked up but most of the better films are all self correcting and will fill in the dings. Maybe not when it is freezing in the cold states but but a hot blow dryer and you can rub any imperfections out.

Yep, that's what it says it does...

https://www.giuliaforums.com/forum/images/GiuliaForums/smilies/tango_face_wink.png

 

[He's Deaf]

So far (about 4 months) I have been able to clean it all off although Giulia hasn't encountered all of the hazards yet. The only degradation I have noticed is about 2 tiny rock chips that seem to have gotten through the Xpel, and dark lines at the edge of the Xpel in a few places. Only the road tar has been hard to clean off.

This has always been my experience with clear bra-and this is just after 4 months- I forget which brands my installers used but they all claim 'self healing' and 10 year this and that.

It discolors and pocks- but better than permanent damage. I guess I put on clear bra for the same reasons I put taps and sole savers on my shoes, and coasters under my glass.

 

[Sensei]

I’m not sure i can offer any help here. This is my third car with PPF. Two white this one black. The first was 3M and i had it for 7 years. No real problems had a few places were i saw some lifting which allowed some dirt under but very small not worth replacing. Did not yellow and i take good care of my cars. Offered great protection.

Second was white used expel had on car about 2 years. Full front mirrors some other little pieces. Same, no yellowing no issues with coating. This time got expel pro self healing. Black car. I agree it is harder to work with but once on looks very good did have some dimples in the PPF thinking once in heat the sun will heal that if not the installer said if I wasn’t happy he’d replace for free. It’s very small most wouldn’t see it so ill give it a minute before deciding. The kit only covers the top half of the mirror so he custom made pieces to do whole mirror for better protection. It it was harder to stretch around the mirror with no bumps. So far I’m happy with it think it will last many years and it cut my cleaning time by 70 percent. Hope this helps.

 

[Psychodo]

On the Spyder it was way less than 3K for nano coating and it certainly made it easier to clean. I'm pretty compulsive about washing/waxing, so I'm going to use a sealant while thinking about nano again.

Wife is pushing towards the full frontal, have a few calls in and waiting to hear back on quotes. Seems like 2K for full front is going rate for 10 year warranty film.

Happy 4th everyone!

 

[MINIME]

On the Spyder it was way less than 3K for nano coating and it certainly made it easier to clean. I'm pretty compulsive about washing/waxing, so I'm going to use a sealant while thinking about nano again.

Wife is pushing towards the full frontal, have a few calls in and waiting to hear back on quotes. Seems like 2K for full front is going rate for 10 year warranty film.

Happy 4th everyone!

Wife is right and i am a wife. We know best. Suntek Ultra carries the same warranty as Xpel looks very nice (no one can tell) and it should be a little less than XPel. I think if you are going to be tracking Xpel may be the better choice but we hit some very high speeds accidentlally of course and have been very happy with the suntek ultra. I plan to so my own rear end trunk kit once it gets cool out and my own full roof. It isn’t rocket science and it is all pre-cut. I have a pretty good technique but that is suntek I would not attempt a front end install with any film but not any part of the car with Xpel. That I would leave to the pros because I need working time.

 

[lockem]

Here are today's carwash before and after pictures illustrating why you want a ceramic coating.

 

[John_K_348]

I have it on my full front - Xpel Ultimate- hood, bumper, fenders, front splitters, headlights plus the mirrors, rocker panels and the portion in front of and behind the rear wheel wells.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Me too! Add a small piece to the fender flares in front of the rears. The awesome stance will still catch rocks. Or go full coverage like the pros here do.

If yo want to do partial hood, do like 1/3 or 1/4 around the head light upper line. On our Giulias, would be ahead of where the vents are for the Quad. I had that done on my 348 and the line blended exactly with the flip up cover line. Worked great but on lower sharply angled hoods you probably want more. Rocks will curve ball up onto the rear of the hood into the high pressure zone.

 

[lockem]

I have it on my full front - Xpel Ultimate- hood, bumper, fenders, front splitters, headlights plus the mirrors, rocker panels and the portion in front of and behind the rear wheel wells.

Off topic, but how many more Giulias do you think Alfa would sell if they put the above picture in their advertisements?

It makes me want 2.

 

[alfa55]

Yep, that's what it says it does...

https://www.giuliaforums.com/forum/images/GiuliaForums/smilies/tango_face_wink.png

Mine is self correcting also. Maybe it does work as I never seen chips.

 

[lockem]

Mine is self correcting also. Maybe it does work as I never seen chips.

I also made a pass at washing my Protege today which I have driven my summer route for 5 years. I discovered that the hood wasn't so much dirty as it was covered in rock chips, looking like a moon scape. Literally thousands if not tens of thousands of chips.

So far I have only one noticeable mark on Giulia's Xpel wrapped hood, so I conclude the Xpel is working to deflect most of the rocks since the chip accumulation rate is much lower than on the Protege.

 

[He's Deaf]

Screwing around with 3M scotchgard pro film this AM. Put clear film on rear rockers. Turned out swell. Wrapped bumper behind wheel and under bumper where garbage collects.

The car now has front bumper,1/2 hood and fenders, mirrors, A-piilars side skirts (done by a Pro) and now, rear rockers done.

Those air bubbles will disappear in the AZ sun, in short order.

 

[MINIME]

Off topic, but how many more Giulias do you think Alfa would sell if they put the above picture in their advertisements?

It makes me want 2.

I can’t really think of too many colors that wouldn’t make me want two of them. We bought a Rosso Tri-Coat QV because of the pictures so if they post more trofeo white maybe they will sell more too. It is a beautiful pearl. We just wanted color this time around. We have had White or Grey cars. This is the first off Red. I like the Montecarlo blue or deeper blue if that is the right color a lot. So many colors to choose from now.