Finally Xpel competed!! Extremely Happy with results

[key01]

My guy has been an installer with Xpel from the start or 17 years. He does amazing work and I trust him explicitly. The kit comes with or without stripe protection. To simply run the sheet over the entire stripe wild like that is not how I would approach the installation. It is a lazy way, but good luck if you go that route. It will certainly create an air gap and impossible to lay flat. You need to protect the stripes. They are very susceptible to the smallest of rock damage.

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[rjm-1]

My guy has been an installer with Xpel from the start or 17 years. He does amazing work and I trust him explicitly. The kit comes with or without stripe protection. To simply run the sheet over the entire stripe wild like that is not how I would approach the installation. It is a lazy way, but good luck if you go that route. It will certainly create an air gap and impossible to lay flat. You need to protect the stripes. They are very susceptible to the smallest of rock damage.

I agree but he is the only Expel installer within a 2hr drive. I could insist on covering the stripes and gap separately, but who would want a job done by a guy you just pissed off! Oh well, may have to look 3 or 4 hours away to find the right installer. :(

 

[key01]

Once again the kits are cut for a stripe or no stripe coverage. Tell him you want the stripe coverage kit that covers the stripes as Xpel has designed it. If he can’t deal with the way Xpel designed the kit then move on, I guess. Lookup the kits on their website to see what they should be installing. Parts of this Xpel kit contain large wrap around pieces that are very tedious to install with precision. I don’t understand why he just wants to fly over your stripes.

 

[rjm-1]

Once again the kits are cut for a stripe or no stripe coverage. Tell him you want the stripe coverage kit that covers the stripes as Xpel has designed it. If he can’t deal with the way Xpel designed the kit then move on, I guess. Lookup the kits on their website to see what they should be installing. Parts of this Xpel kit contain large wrap around pieces that are very tedious to install with precision. I don’t understand why he just wants to fly over your stripes.

I've seen the kits and I also can't understand why he insists on doing it without using the Xpel kits. I do remember him saying is that they cut their own material in house. So it's probably a $$$ thing. I'm looking for another installer!

 

[torque124]

Do not cover the stripes, is my advice.

If for whatever reason, in the *warm* climate you're living, it starts peeling off at a corner, and you need to take it off, bye bye stripes.

Area between stripes, yes, but leave stripes alone.

 

[key01]

I had 2 pinhead size nicks in the stripes within the first week of picking up the car before I could get it into the Xpel shop. I track the car and have to do the stripes or it would look like crap within 6 months.

 

[rjm-1]

Well the installer agreed to cover the whole hood with separate pieces for the stripes. That was the good news

Now for the bad news. Just as I was about to leave my car there, another GT350 pulled in. One that they had installed Xpel on. When I started looking the car over, I cancelled my appointment! Luckily I saw this car first or I would have been in for a shock when I picked it up!

The smaller irritating details were seeing the film trimmed around the hood vent, badges and leaving a 1/4" gaps. I thought removing the hood vent was a two minute job and would certainly make a clean no gap job. Also the same thing when coming to an edge of door or fender, stopping the film 1/4" away. I guess this could make sense to stop edges from lifting, but not visually appealing.

BUT, this was the one that drove me away. When wrapping the film around the front end, they would cut the vinyl and create a splice or seam because it was too difficult to work the material around the curves in the front end. Two of these splice cuts ran from the top edge of the headlights across the nose of the front end. Two very obvious 4 or 5" long splice lines right on top of the nose! They also used other splice cuts in other areas of the front end where it was difficult to stretch the film. Their reason was that you can only work the film so much and they have to do it that way.

I've seen quite a few videos of Xpel being installed on GT350's and have never seen this before!

Now I'm not sure if I will do anything at all after that experience! (except those anchor room pieces that I can install myself)

Thank god that other GT350 happen to drive in just as I was about to drop the car off!!

 

[rjm-1]

Xpel help!

Okay, I may have jumped the gun. It appears that the Xpel kit for our cars comes with a split seam in that area. (from the headlight corner to the front of the car. I watched a YouTube video closely and saw that this area was made from two pieces. It's impossible to see the completed seam on the video once it's all cleaned off. I'm sure in person you could see it.

For those with Xpel can you confirm that there is a seam in that area? And are you okay with results?

 

[key01]

Yes, that butted seam is there as part of the kit design from Xpel. It is invisible.

 

[rjm-1]

Yes, that butted seam is there as part of the kit design from Xpel. It is invisible.

Thanks, appreciate the response. I will mull it over and may decide to have it done.

 

[rick81721]

Thanks, appreciate the response. I will mull it over and may decide to have it done.

Your choice - see some seams/edges of the Xpel or see chips in your paint. I chose the former.

 

[kskpsu]

There really isn’t a perfect solution if your car has stripes, unfortunately. The strip/seam method can result in dirt eventually getting trapped at the edges of your multiple pieces making them more pronounced, and also just more risk an edge will lift/peel away. The full cover approach mitigates these but introduces the air pocket at the edge of the stripes. I still might opt for the full cover, and then apply Xpel Stealth over the stripe area to return the matte finish...potentially the lesser of two evils.

Here is a pic that might help...to the left is ppf on paint. For the stripe area, it shows Xpel stealth over ppf which would otherwise make the stripe glossy, Xpel stealth directly over the stripe if you go seam method, and then the raw stripe itself.....I was concerned the oem matte finish would get altered materially, so this was a useful test for me:

 

[96cobra]

Has anyone put PPF on the rear tail light panel? The black on this on my GT350 seemed to get marked up pretty easy, so wondering if I should put film on it?

 

[rjm-1]

Has anyone put PPF on the rear tail light panel? The black on this on my GT350 seemed to get marked up pretty easy, so wondering if I should put film on it?

The Xpel installer actually suggested that area for those very reasons. Haven't had my car done yet, but contemplating.

 

[aham23]

Many people have done this above.

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