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Melland, I never said you were wrong, just that it shouldn't have happened if you had the Ultimate properly installed with no defects. My experience has been no rock chips in 30K miles at all speeds, on long interstate trips, with plenty of junk hitting the car) as evidenced by my pitted and chipped windshield) so I suggested something must have been amiss if you had all those problems. And no, I don't work for them or receive any "kickbacks" (let's refrain from the personal comments please). I was just expressing my opinion on a product I've owned who's experience has been different than yours.
We do seem to agree on the Opti-Coat however. I'm sure you will love the stuff as I do. Just be aware it may not appear to be as glossy as the ceramic coatings like CQuartz but it will not have to be reapplied every couple of years either. Nor will wax noticeably improve the Opti-Coat gloss, at least on my car. Waxing will only make the surface feel more slippery, at least until the wax slips off after only a couple of weeks since the Opti-Coat properties are designed to have a low tensile surface so that water and dirt along with it rolls right off. Still, after three years, it looks great to my eye and stays clean for longer periods.
In any case, and as always, to each their own. Enjoy your selection and as I wrote previously, I'm sure the Nano is a fine product also.
Just thought I'd update my experience with the Nano Fusion vs the Xpel for those who are interested...
As I mention in previous posts, we have Audis with both the Xpel and Nano Fusion; all Opti-Coated. The A7 has had the Nano Fusion + Opti-Coat for a little over 3 months, nearly 4,000 miles and roughly 75% interstate driving.
Hands down, I will choose the Nano Fusion over the Xpel in the future - I couldn't be more thrilled with its performance. The only thing I knew going in was the Nano Fusion would have a slicker, shinier appearance. I didn't know how the Nano Fusion would hold up against debris, rocks as well as self-healing itself. It was a complete gamble.
The Nano Fusion is much, much shinier than the Xpel and actually looks better than the paint alone in the sun. I will definitely do a full wrap next time around.
Additionally -and this is just my opinion- but it seems that it holds up to rocks and debris on the interstate much better than the Xpel. The Nano Fusion seems to be a harder material than the Xpel... possibly it has something to do with the 'self-healing' abilities of the Xpel causing that material to be softer? I literally have one tiny spot in the film where a rock sheared off the hood and the spot is microscopic at best. It does seem that it's gotten a tad smaller which leads me to believe the Nano Fusion has SOME self-healing abilities. It's not advertised as such but there are testimonials from others claiming so... I'm willing to, at the very least, vouch that it can self-heal to some extent. On the Xpel -especially in the lower grill area around all the sharp angles- I definitely had more tiny tears in the Xpel that could only self-heal themselves so much. Nothing scientific, but my guess is that a harder, shinier material helps prevent abrasions in the film.
No issues Opti-Coating either film.
All in all, it was a total gamble but I'm glad I took the risk with the Nano Fusion. I have no issues with the Xpel and it's done a great job on the other cars but overall, the Nano Fusion just edges out the Xpel in terms of appearance and performance. Hope those others who have chosen the Nano Fusion love it as much as I do.
Before purchasing my A6 spent considerable time researching not only which car to buy, but also how to protect once I bought (as this would be the first car I would buy new. Based on reviews, including by those like Snagit and others on the this forum, and other well informed contributors on the Telsa, BMW, etc forums I ended up with the Expel Ultimate on front end and doors, areas chosen based on locations of ‘dings’ on previous owned cars. Opticoat Pro was then applied on the entire care.
I have driven the car for about a year and 12,000 miles, maybe about 50% highway including multiple trips across the state to see my college kids. The only damage to my car has been a dinged windshield, which I had to replace. The film and shine have remained intact so I have been quite pleased with protection so far. There is also a certain sense of satisfaction watching the water bead off the car, especially parked next to other cars not similarly protected. Again, these are simply my observations and hardly a test of durability. (So, thanks Snagit for positing your advice!)
Not sure if you have seen the following, where someone shot 4.5mm gauge lead bullets using a spring powered shotgun against 19 different products that were applied to a metal sheet. I apologize in advance if this has been previously posted, but thought it worthy of posting—particularly because only the Xpel Ultimate and Avery Nano Fusion were among the only three films to protect in all 3 categories (if I am reading this correctly, no is good). The chart is reproduced below and the link is included. (I have no idea how well controlled this 'experiment' was.)
I wonder if the results were measured after a period of time after the shots were fired. In the case of Xpel Ultimate, depressions caused by objects striking the film will completely recover after a period of time due to its self-healing properties. Probably wouldn't change the results but it might have been impossible to note any markings at all on the Ultimate photos.
Yep - I saw that research too! Their website even has pictures of each of the films after the shots as well as examples from several other tests - marker test and chemical if I'm not mistaken. Usually I could only find comparisons of 2 or 3 films together so it was great to find such comprehensive research all in one place!
06-05-2015, 07:52 PM
