Was thrilled at the outcome, sorry for the grainy pictures, were taken by the guy there who's camera is suspect. The application went great, not visible at all and I love how close it gets to the edges. Looks very clean and will hopefully protect against chips. Also had them darken the tint on the windows just a shade darker and a slight tint on the windshield to avoid high beams at night and sun glare.

 

Gorgeous, you did the whole car or just the front end? How much did it cost you?

 

$1825 but that included tinting the windows and windshield, $1400 for just the film. I did complete front bumper, complete hood, complete front fenders and side mirrors, did the rocker panels and the back lip near the trunk

 

Looks great! Did they wrap the edges of the film? What percent tint?

 

40% on the windows, 80% on the windshield, edges were wrapped

 

Are you also going to apply a coating like OptiCoat to protect the rest of the car?

 

I was planning on using this company for the rest of the car to get it finished

Charlotte, NC Premier Automotive Detailing and Paint Correction Specialist/Authorized Opti-Coat Pro and CQuartz Finest Installer Charlotte NC

 

That's a great price. I am being quoted $1700 to $1900 for just the film covering the same parts. Plus I have to go somewhere else to have the window tint completed as I want the 3M Crystalline.

 

I planned on using this product instead of opt-coat
FAQ | CQuartz Nanotech Ceramic Automotive Paint Coating

 

It's a good product, more shiny than Opticoat but not as long lasting. Also to get the full shine you need multiple coats which makes it more expensive than Opticoat which involves just a single coat.

 

thanks for that info

 

So many choices! I don't keep my cars very long so is it worth it to get the XPEL? Opticoat Pro or CQuartz? What about Ceramic Pro? I need to decide by the time I pick up my car.

 

XPEL or some kind of film on the nose at least, absolutely yes cause you will get rock chips. However, if you don't keep cars very long, and if you keep them garaged, routinely wash every couple of weeks at least, and wax every 6-12 months, I really don't think the coating makes much difference. Like you, I don't think I've ever kept a car more than 3 years.

 

I also got xpel.. what they call xpel ultimate, as you can wax right over it. Covered front and basically all the bits subject to stones.. so far, really like it. Had a large stone hit the front and it did damage the xpel, but the paint was not touched.
Lawrence.

 

Ouch!
just got my 1st quote to Xpel Ultimate
Full hood
Bumper, splitter, grill headlights
Fenders
Rocker panels
A pillar
Spoiler.


$3,300!!


Also want to do Modesta Ark Barrier over the film, but not under it - $1,064


Obviously need more quotes!

 

Attached is a pic of my invoice, maybe you can get them to match it?
I should be in this business, it is like a 5000% markup

 

I understand it needs to be either stretched or pieced. Which did you do?

 

I believe they said they stretched it as I did not want any piece style to it, they have a whole roll of film their and they cut on site

 

The cost is driven by the labor. It's pretty labor intensive. My guy literally takes the entire day to film my car. I once used a shop which did the job in a half day and the difference in the quality of the work is night and day.


The other element of the cost is the warranty. You have peeling or any other issues they replace it and that is film and labor. So they have to prorate the warranty cost into the price.

 

I agree. The guy we use is a perfectionist and an artist at applying XPEL film. He took about 4 hrs just to do the front bumper, headlamps and side view mirrors on the Jag. My M6 took him close to 9 hrs. but he was worth every penny.