I have Xpel on 4 of my cars now and love it. The only experience I've had with LLumar is their tint--and it's a fantastic product as well. Likely not helpful outside of providing feedback on the Xpel PPF. Coupled with a ceramic coat and you won't wash your QV for months.

 

Thanks. They are telling me that in their experience, LLumar has improved clarity and the one that they are using has some additional hydrophobic properties. I’m here with them now trying to make a decision. It installing this product means that I don’t need to add a ceramic coat, then it is a no-brainer and I’ll go with a full wrap. I’n sure at some point ceramic coating will be applied. If nothing else, I am ised to washing the cars with Maguiars’s Sio. It really extends the time between washes.

 

Xpel is good enough but I surrender the idea of using ppf at all.

 

Llumar tends to have some orange peel effect to it at least the film I used 6+months ago. Expel, Suntek, & Stek would be all in the same quality with different preferences from installer to installer.

 

I have xpel on mine, for almost 80k miles now. Totally worth it, the film has taken some punishment and there are some small tears/chips out of it but overall the bumper, hood, fenders, and mirrors look way better than anything ive seen before and if I were to have the film redone or just taken off the paintwork would still look 95% as good as when new. Usually after 80k miles the bumper and mirrors are starting to look about like the surface of the moon so thats a huge improvement to me

 

Update: The folks that are installing my window tint also install Xpel. They’ve done a great job with tinting my previous cars and they have cars on the lot as evidence of their PPF install. They may have convenced me to go with Xpel after all. Also, your input has me gravitating towards Xpel as well.

I’ll do a bit more research, sleep on it and make a decision this week. I would love to have that installed asap. Driving on the highway and not having the car protected, gives me the heebie jeebies. Thanks for the comments.

 

BTW… they tint folks are quoting me $5.5k full PPF plus cermic coating. Based on what I’ve read on the forum and heard from others, that is a pretty decent deal. It is very labor intensive over several days. They don’t work for charity, after all. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

 

BTW… they tint folks are quoting me $5.5k full PPF plus cermic coating. Based on what I’ve read on the forum and heard on the from others, that is a pretty decent deal. It is very labor intensive over several days. They don’t work for charity, after all. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

A full PPF + CC for $5.5K is a very good deal. Ask if they will throw LLumar tint on it too for an extra $100.

I’d be hard pressed to find that kind of deal with my discounted rate through the company I use for all my cars.

To put things into perspective, I had a quote last year for three cars, full PPF, tint and CC—and the multi-car discounted price was over $20K (not the same company I use now).

 

I really want to also get xpel..or even try the stealth one on Misano blue I bet it would look great but I need my rock chips fixed first.

 

Today they showed me a Land Rover Defender with that Steath wrap and it looked amazing. The original paint is very similar to the Vesuvio Black. The Stealth obscures the metalic flake but they mentioned that once the ceramic coating is applied, the flakes become visible once again. On a Misano Blue I’m sure it will be a sight to behold.

 

Have suntek on both of my cars, one is trofeo white for 5 years. Nothing but great things. People still can't tell and I have to show them the edges ☺ I've heard suntek is a bit easier to install.

 

PPF has come a long way over the past couple years.

$5,500 for both seems like a good deal. Coatings will add depth to a gloss film but on "stealth" or matte film it doesn't really do much other than give you a hydrophobic layer. I would ask them what is the life of the coating they plan to install. For reference we charge over $5,500 for a full vehicle install on the film alone, but we are more labor intense to really make sure the film will wrap edges.

 

A couple of thoughts on PPF and ceramic coatings:

I have had at least 8 cars partially wrapped or PPF applied, and do my own paint correction and ceramic coating. Whether you go partial PPF or full car really boils down to your need for perfection, and how you use and maintain your car. Whether you ceramic coat or not is again based on your need for perfection vs protection from normal use. A friend of mine always reminds me...are you trying to protect the car as a collectable (museum quality - think 911 GT2) ) or to ensure you have a great looking car during your ownership? The QV will most likely never be a true high end collectable, but it is a stunning car that deserves great care.


PPF
When and where:
The QV has a flat (vertical) front end and a significantly sloping hood, so the front 20% is more exposed to normal roads (stone) imperfections. Additionally the combination of tires and exposed lower rockers and protruding rear wheel arch facia makes these areas very prone to stone chips. IMO the rest of the body should not need PPF....depending on your need for absolute perfection.

I have traditionally done the "front area kit" which is the front bumper, partial frt fenders and hood (straight cut), mirrors, and headlights (fog lights if available). If the hood is low and has a fairly steep upward angle (think 911), then I would do a full hood instead of a partial hood. I have never had any issues with normal paint damage to any part of the car that didn't have PPF. Some people don't like the break line on a panel, so for the hood, and possible front fenders I can understand those people may want full hood and/or front fenders.

* Warning: QV has special coating on the headlights and there are risks that if the PPF has been applied, it may not be able to be removed without damaging the headlights...requiring replacement of the entire light assembly....some Porsche have this same problem, and my installer will NOT do this without a waiver from the owner on those cars.

Which brand:
Frankly each of the films named are fine, and one may have a "claimed" benefit over the others, but once applied and used for a month I'd say 99% of the owners will never see the difference...I couldn't. Buy the one that works for you.....the quality of the job is 95% installer skill, patience and care.....as they say "its all about the installer".


CERAMIC COATING

As you are probably aware, the cost and labor for a ceramic coat is 90% in the labor put into the paint correction done before the ceramic ( or PPF) is applied. The better the paint correction the better the look. New cars and preowned cars both need paint correction, but usually preowned has other issues to be addressed (existing defects, stone chips, abrasions, scratches, etc. New cars still have defects, but it is usually limited to "orange peel", ripples and light swirls from the manufacturing and delivery process.....generally much much less time consuming.

Does ceramic "protect the finish"? In a word yes, but PPF is the more effective barrier and can actually "self-heal" from minor impacts, and but ceramic is even better than PPF in protection from surface swirls and light scratches....bc the PPF itself can be scratched or abrated, but can't be repaired, only replaced.

Note: a way to add an additional layer of protection to a car with PPF is to also have the PPF ceramic coated, depositing a durable over coating on a relatively "soft" PPF film.


WHAT IS ENOUGH:

IMO, any car worth owning should have either or both PPF and Ceramic coating, the question is to what extent and at what cost? For the perfectionist (of which I'm borderline OCD)...perfect is acceptable, and anything less is flawed. Although, there is a point where the effort and cost simply overcomes my desire for every car to be the perfect car.

I have at least the "front area kit" done on any of my new, late model or special cars cars, more coverage depending on the car and its purpose. Depending on the car this usually is a sub-$1000 cost. If more areas or full vs partial coverage is needed its usually $1200 - $1800 range. Note: I've never done a full car, but prices starting at $4000+ and up are common.

Ceramic coating itself is inexpensive and easy (material costs under $150), and can be applied within 2 hours. It is the paint correction that determines the cost and quality of the coating, I would venture to say that an excellent condition new QV would need under 8 hours to paint correct ($1000- 1200). A pre-owned is impossible to provide a figure but if paint chip touchup and correction are needed I would put the starting point at $1500 and it could be double depending on the condition.

WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

On my used 2021 QV, a good PPF (XPEL) front area kit with rocker panels and added rear wheel arch protection, plus a good self-detailing, paint correction and ceramic coating will run $1200. At retail probably worth $3500.

A complete turn-key total car PPF, paint correction and ceramic coating....my guess starts at around $6-7k retail. Remember its all about the installer when it comes to a perfect car.

 

A couple of thoughts on PPF and ceramic coatings:

I have had at least 8 cars partially wrapped or PPF applied, and do my own paint correction and ceramic coating. Whether you go partial PPF or full car really boils down to your need for perfection, and how you use and maintain your car. Whether you ceramic coat or not is again based on your need for perfection vs protection from normal use. A friend of mine always reminds me...are you trying to protect the car as a collectable (museum quality - think 911 GT2) ) or to ensure you have a great looking car during your ownership? The QV will most likely never be a true high end collectable, but it is a stunning car that deserves great care.


PPF
When and where:
The QV has a flat (vertical) front end and a significantly sloping hood, so the front 20% is more exposed to normal roads (stone) imperfections. Additionally the combination of tires and exposed lower rockers and protruding rear wheel arch facia makes these areas very prone to stone chips. IMO the rest of the body should not need PPF....depending on your need for absolute perfection.

I have traditionally done the "front area kit" which is the front bumper, partial frt fenders and hood (straight cut), mirrors, and headlights (fog lights if available). If the hood is low and has a fairly steep upward angle (think 911), then I would do a full hood instead of a partial hood. I have never had any issues with normal paint damage to any part of the car that didn't have PPF. Some people don't like the break line on a panel, so for the hood, and possible front fenders I can understand those people may want full hood and/or front fenders.

* Warning: QV has special coating on the headlights and there are risks that if the PPF has been applied, it may not be able to be removed without damaging the headlights...requiring replacement of the entire light assembly....some Porsche have this same problem, and my installer will NOT do this without a waiver from the owner on those cars.

Which brand:
Frankly each of the films named are fine, and one may have a "claimed" benefit over the others, but once applied and used for a month I'd say 99% of the owners will never see the difference...I couldn't. Buy the one that works for you.....the quality of the job is 95% installer skill, patience and care.....as they say "its all about the installer".


CERAMIC COATING

As you are probably aware, the cost and labor for a ceramic coat is 90% in the labor put into the paint correction done before the ceramic ( or PPF) is applied. The better the paint correction the better the look. New cars and preowned cars both need paint correction, but usually preowned has other issues to be addressed (existing defects, stone chips, abrasions, scratches, etc. New cars still have defects, but it is usually limited to "orange peel", ripples and light swirls from the manufacturing and delivery process.....generally much much less time consuming.

Does ceramic "protect the finish"? In a word yes, but PPF is the more effective barrier and can actually "self-heal" from minor impacts, and but ceramic is even better than PPF in protection from surface swirls and light scratches....bc the PPF itself can be scratched or abrated, but can't be repaired, only replaced.

Note: a way to add an additional layer of protection to a car with PPF is to also have the PPF ceramic coated, depositing a durable over coating on a relatively "soft" PPF film.


WHAT IS ENOUGH:

IMO, any car with owning is worth either or both PPF and Ceramic coating, the question is to what extent and at what cost? For the perfectionist (of which I'm borderline OCD)...perfect is acceptable, and anything less is flawed. Although, there is a point where the effort and cost simply overcomes my desire for every car to be the perfect car.

I have at least the "front area kit" done on any of my new, late model or special cars cars, more coverage depending on the car and its purpose. Depending on the car this usually is a sub-$1000 cost. If more areas or full vs partial coverage is needed its usually $1200 - $1800 range. Note: I've never done a full car, but prices starting at $4000+ and up are common.

Ceramic coating itself is inexpensive and easy (material costs under $150), and can be applied within 2 hours. It is the paint correction that determines the cost and quality of the coating, I would venture to say that an excellent condition new QV would need under 8 hours to paint correct ($1000- 1200). A pre-owned is impossible to provide a figure but if paint chip touchup and correction are needed I would put the starting point at $1500 and it could be double depending on the condition.

WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

On my used 2021 QV, a good PPF (XPEL) front area kit with rocker panels and added rear wheel arch protection, plus a good self-detailing, paint correction and ceramic coating will run $1200. At retail probably worth $3500.

A complete turn-key total car PPF, paint correction and ceramic coating....my guess starts at around $6-7k retail. Remember its all about the installer when comes to a perfect car.

Thanks! This was very insightful.

 

Thanks a lot for the comprehensive info you give. I have several questions. Is this special coating on the headlights only on QV models/Giulia,Stelvio/ ? I have Veloce Stelvio with PPF on the lights - Xpel and I never heard of that "special" coating on the QV headlights.??? That sounds very scary, man. Installing PPF only partially at the front bumper and hood, I think when you remove it after like 5 years there will be difference in the paint compared to the non PPF parts ,Is that true?

 

I wouldn't call it a coating, it's the clear they (Audi, Porsche, I guess AR as well) use to finish headlights. Once the PPF cures and sits on the surface for a couple years the potential to remove that clear becomes greater when pulling PPF. Experience comes into play here when we talk about removal.

If you coat the remaining painted surfaces and then removed film say 5 years later there shouldn't be any difference in shade of color. Film also has UV protection besides debris protection that most purchase it for. If you don't coat the rest of the vehicle the chances for a shade difference between panels becomes greater. Depending on how many years we are talking about, care, and maintenance of the vehicle overall.

 

I asked about the headlights coating because I really don't think there is difference in the headlights between Veloce and QV and what you said about the ppf renoving scared me.The ppf was installed two years ago by very experienced installer, do you think I should try to remove it now ??? Maybe the risk will be smaller than after 5 years or so ???

 

I'd hesitate to give you guidance...but ask your installer or another installer for their opinion.

 

Just to share with you guys: Today successfuly removed the xpel ppf from the headlights and taillights . No problem at all. No glue left and the lights look like new. It was done from professional and with steam. I highly doubt the headlights of the Stelvio Veloce or Giulia are any different than the QV . There is no logic at all to be different and no specs to confirm it.So, removing is not a problem, after 2 years . Maybe if it stays like 6-7 years it will be different but I really doubt on this also.

 

Xpel is the best to be honest. I had that on 2 of cars and had no problem whatsoever.

 

Except for the orange peel/texture in the film and the warranty isn't the longest in the industry.