[Hot454]

I talked to a local guy that does paint correction, Ceramic Pro and XPEL today. I saw several cars that he has done and have a few questions for you all.

1. I saw several cars and took pics of a Hellcat Challenger (sorry) as a reverence. There is a viable gap with the film on the body lines (as well as all other cars I saw), see pics. Is this normal?

2. He said there is no need for paint correction on the parts that will be covered with XPEL. He says the film will fill in any marks that would have been removed with paint correction. Is this true?

3. He recommended waiting a week and doing a Ceramic Pro cover on the entire car, including the wheels, calipers and the parts covered by XPEL. Is this normal?

Thanks for any help. I need to get this black beast covered up and protected, but I have no experience here and want to get it done right!

[full*throttle*therapy]

Stay. Away.

[ZL1 1LE]

Originally Posted by full*throttle*therapy

Stay. Away.

I have to agree.

[hawk02]

1. Normal

2. False. Any flaws in the paint will show through the film.

3. Normal except for waiting a week before application. Not sure what the rationale is for waiting a week.

My car had stage one paint correction done to the entire car before application of paint protection film. Two coats of a ceramic coating was then applied over the whole car including the areas covered by film. All this took about a week to complete.

[Sakudog]

1. In most cases yes, full wraps can avoid this but costs more and must be done by a top flight company. (however, what you saw was likely normal)

2. Large in part he is correct, but I still correct where film goes.

3. A week from what? After it is Xpel PPF'd? Ehh, no, you almost always put Cermic/Wax down immediately after paint correction.

[Can'tHave2MuchHP]

Go somewhere else.

[datboi448]

1. depends on the installer, better guys will take their time and not have big gaps

2. depends on the severity of the flaws, I had paint correction on areas not covered by xpel and no correction on areas covered, the xpel areas are noticeably better

3. red flag run away

[SDMARO4482]

With the xpel you shouldn't have big gaps but very small notches that allow the film to bend in certain areas.

The xpel will not hide scratches. If it's just deep enough the xpel may actually highlight it. They have good info on their site.

Like others, recommend checking elsewhere.

[v8noise]

Yea, I don't like that he's trying to sell you hard on this.

I usually apply Xpel on all my vehicles. I always paint correct prior to having Xpel touch my paint.

And that top picture. I have had film not cover an entire panel, and the cut lines were much much cleaner than what you've shown.

I would interview/visit with several installers prior to making a decision. Check out other forums to see where those members take their vehicles in your region. Rennlist is where I always check, those Porsche guys are on a different planet when it comes to car maintenance and paint care. Remember, not all installers are created equal.

[indyz]

Lots of scams on scams out there

[traylorc]

Originally Posted by Can'tHave2MuchHP

Go somewhere else.

Agreed...

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by hawk02

1. Normal

2. False. Any flaws in the paint will show through the film.

3. Normal except for waiting a week before application. Not sure what the rationale is for waiting a week.

My car had stage one paint correction done to the entire car before application of paint protection film. Two coats of a ceramic coating was then applied over the whole car including the areas covered by film. All this took about a week to complete.

Agreed on all 3 points. You'll want to wait a week after ceramic coating to let it fully cure before washing the car.

Adding to hawk02's comment #1. Good installers will cut the patterns larger to tuck the film around body edges to minimize the visible lines wherever possible (hood, doors, tops of fenders, etc.). They will remove the heat extractor emblems and heat extractor itself to tuck film so no seams will show on the hood anywhere. They'll minimize the number of matchline seams and/or hide them along body lines or under the mirror where they show the least. Can't tell if this installer does this based on the pictures.

However, for body panels like on our cars where the front and rear quarters mount flush to the bumpers, you will get a small gap or edge along the flush seam like you show in the two pictures unless you're going to pay the installer to take the car apart.

The gaps on these pics seem a little big to me.

Originally Posted by v8noise

Check out other forums to see where those members take their vehicles in your region. Rennlist is where I always check, those Porsche guys are on a different planet when it comes to car maintenance and paint care.

This is good advice!

Good luck with your

[brando317]

My Black ZL1 was the 3rd car I had 3M clearshield installed. Choose the installer carefully, as mine is getting taken back off. It had stress marks, air and water pockets and areas that were pulling back up - and this was after 3 weeks to let it "cure". The seams from the front fender/bumper and hood didn't line up. My other 2 vehicles that were done were perfect, but I tried a new place so I wouldn't have to drive 2 1/2 hours to the last place that did my other car. The installer claimed he used a new gel type solution instead of the normal water solution. He was at least cool and willing to redo it, but I didn't have a lot of faith to go through it all again. I'm sure now it'll be a rock magnet!!

[Hot454]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I will definitely check into other installers. This guy is the only one I found close by.