drober30

My detailer who is an Opti-Coat Pro authorized installer said for me to take my car straight to the Xpel installer (who does nothing but Xpel installations) and get the Xpel installed. Then he will prep the rest of the exposed paint and coat the whole car with Opti-Coat Pro.

The Xpel installer will wash, clay bar and alcohol prep the sections for Xpel.

My question is - Was your brand new car polished before the Xpel was applied or was it installed over the factory paint as is?

Syrome

I got XPEL done first, then my detailer clayed and sealed the rest.

drober30

I am concerned that the paint under the Xpel won't look as good/shiny as the paint that gets detailed then Opti Coated.

Everything looks even?

deadboltpoison

I personally got my car opti-coated then had the xpel done. What if you want to remove the Xpel wrap? then that part of the car will be exposed. The way it was explained to me is that having the opti-coat done then the expl is just added another layer of protection which to me makes more sense then having the wrap done then having it sealed.

drober30

I agree but both Xpel and my installer says to have Xpel done first so the adhesion works better.

For warranty purposes, I will stick to having the Xpel done first.

I went to the Xpel installer today to check it out and he had just finished a Red R8 Spider. It look unbelievably amazing! The Xpel has a 10 year warranty so the only reason I would take it off is to replace a damaged piece. I see no reason to go without it.

The installer showed me a Porche he had completed. Window sticker on the Porche was $198,000. He said it was the entry level turbo of that model. I don't know much about the Porche model line.

This guy has enclosed car carriers dropping of exotics constantly. He only does Xpel installes for a living and his shop was amazing!

Fixeroh

drober30: how much are you paying for the Opti-Coat in addition to the Xpel install? Now you have me thinking about it.

drober30

$800 for Opti-Coat.

Fixeroh

drober30; Thanks! Will have to get details for a treatment at my chosen location in Columbus. Biggest concern is chips, etc. I'm pretty good about waxing and general paint care and my car is always garaged.

Did some research on difference between Xpel, Avery Dennison, 3M and a variety of other protectant products. Hard to make a call based on what I read. Much of what I read came from installers. From my reading, the installer seems to be a bigger factor than the product in most cases. Precut appears to be better unless you want the material tucked or rolled around edges. And despite length of warranties, seems about 5 years is real max usefulness of the protectant. Assumption being that most people sell or trade before that time anyway. Kept my last car for 8 years and expect the same if not longer for my S3. More confused than ever now. LOL

drober30

Just dropped my car off at the Xpel installer. I will let you know how it goes. I have huge confidence in the installer. He had an R8 Spider he just finished when I went to his shop last weekend and it looked fantastic!

I have not googled the other films you mentioned, I know 3M is a good name but it really seems Xpel Ultimate is the preferred go to film. Only your own research and comfort level in the end will be best.

salvadorik

I recently had my car wrapped with high end clear bra. I had a long discussion with my installer (both certified to do Xpel Ultimate and 3M) and he said that there a new product launched by 3M called "Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Pro Series". It is widely known that Xpel is currently the best film. The new 3M film however is very promising and I decided to go with it instead of Xpel. It does seem to be clearer and shinier than Xpel. He gave me same 10 year warranty (although the manufacturer gives 7 years) to match Xpel and he assured me that it is now really good film but few know about its qualities. Well time will tell but I will sure have him redo it if something goes wrong.