Clear bra, ceramic coat & window tint

[762Cat]

Where do people usually put XPEL on their car? I have a 2020 and I’ve never done this before on a vehicle. What parts of the car do you do this to?

Up to you. Black Hellcat I did the entire car but mainly to keep the black paint scratch and swirl free. It allows me to spray detail and wipe it without ruining the paint and black can be SO PAINFUL. Other cars like the GT350 which is in FP blue...a very forgiving color I do the "Track Pack". That is full hood, bumper, the front quarter panels, mirrors, rockers and some add to that the a pillars and first few inches of the roof. Basically the impact zones. A MUST if you track your car. I added to that all the black parts of the car for reasons stated above. So track pack plus the swing and the part between the tail lights. Most will do paint correction first then add ceramic coating. It's crazy easy to maintain.

Yesterday I took the 350 out to the gym. Rained a lil....came home hit it with the air dryer in the garage. Water sheets right off in seconds so no water spots or need to rewash the car just for a lil rain. Since the front is filmed a lil spray detailer an micro fiber to remove the bugs of the front from the drive. 5 mins saves you an entire wash and keeps the car looking perfect. Well worth the investment.

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[762Cat]

Does it look weird at all like you can tell some areas are covered and some aren’t?

QUALITY INSTALLER is what matters and will help you the most here. In the FP blue car I cant see it at all. On the black car at a couple inches away you can see a seem in the very few places the film is cut to fit but you have to be looking for it. Nobody has ever known the car was filmed unless I tell them. You may get small bubbles and imperfections but nothing you will see with out very close examination. Well worth it for the protection. I'd rather have a tiny bubble or imperfection in the film than damage to the paint. I did not film my daily. Just ceramic coated. After two years I regret that decision.

 

[Goose17]

If you watch my video, I explain where the film was placed. With the Suntek Ultra, I cannot see a difference between the areas covered with film and the areas that aren’t.

 

[WesS]

Up to you. Black Hellcat I did the entire car but mainly to keep the black paint scratch and swirl free. It allows me to spray detail and wipe it without ruining the paint and black can be SO PAINFUL. Other cars like the GT350 which is in FP blue...a very forgiving color I do the "Track Pack". That is full hood, bumper, the front quarter panels, mirrors, rockers and some add to that the a pillars and first few inches of the roof. Basically the impact zones. A MUST if you track your car. I added to that all the black parts of the car for reasons stated above. So track pack plus the swing and the part between the tail lights. Most will do paint correction first then add ceramic coating. It's crazy easy to maintain.

Yesterday I took the 350 out to the gym. Rained a lil....came home hit it with the air dryer in the garage. Water sheets right off in seconds so no water spots or need to rewash the car just for a lil rain. Since the front is filmed a lil spray detailer an micro fiber to remove the bugs of the front from the drive. 5 mins saves you an entire wash and keeps the car looking perfect. Well worth the investment.

What’s the price difference between the whole car and partial? I have a 2020 GT350R and debating between the 2.

 

[dsz blade]

What’s the price difference between the whole car and partial? I have a 2020 GT350R and debating between the 2.

It cost me $2800 for full front end, impact areas, door cups, ceramic coat and window tint. Full car with film would have been a little over $5k IIRC.

 

[Goose17]

What’s the price difference between the whole car and partial? I have a 2020 GT350R and debating between the 2.

This would depend on your shop. The place I went to was almost double the cost of other quotes, but you definitely get what you pay for. My shop mostly deals with high-end/exotic cars and their work is second to none. My bill was $5355 for bra/ceramic/tint. It would have been a ton more to do the whole car.

 

[762Cat]

What’s the price difference between the whole car and partial? I have a 2020 GT350R and debating between the 2.

Pricing will vary by region and installer, and level of paint correction needed if you go that route. My Black Hellcat originally with PPF, paint correction and ceramic was about 7 grand. The second time....yes it was in an accident and I re-filmed the whole car in the updated XPEL ultimate it cost right at 6k. Different installer and better film. Paint correction above track pack plus extra bits and full Cquartz cost me just under 4k I believe on the GT350.

FWIW I did not ceramic over the film on the black Hellcat as supposedly the new XPEL ultimate is very hydrophobic to begin with. So far that seems to be true and it's been on there over a year. I did Suntek on the Shelby with Ceramic. Reason being is I used a different installer who also does detailing. It can be difficult to find a shop that does both film and paint correction/ceramic. I found one who is awesome and will be going that route hence forward. Personally I would only do the full car for black. Full car involves a lot of custom cut pieces and large pieces. The beauty of the track pack is if film gets damaged you can just replace the section that is damaged easily. Non impact areas are easily proteced with the ceramic and proper care.

 

[762Cat]

From what I've seen the OP was on the higher end of price but like he said you get what you pay for. His installer did a phenomenal job especially butting up against the stripes and side decals. That is very hard to do well. I filmed over the stripes on mine but you can get away with that on FP blue and white stripes. I cannot see an air gap at all. Upon microscopic examination there may be a very tiny air line. Red with black stripes it may be visible if you went over the top but I can't say for sure.

EDIT: Also the detail work they did on the vanes and the difficulty of the GT500 front probably impact the higher price. Thats hard to do

 

[ChuckScherr]

What’s the price difference between the whole car and partial? I have a 2020 GT350R and debating between the 2.

I’m in the same boat; trying to decide if doing the whole car is unnecessary or if I’m better off protecting the whole thing. I’m still on unscheduled material hold so I have some time but I’m leaning towards the whole car. This is some pricing I got from a local shop last fall

 

[Jmeo]

From what I've seen the OP was on the higher end of price but like he said you get what you pay for. His installer did a phenomenal job especially butting up against the stripes and side decals. That is very hard to do well. I filmed over the stripes on mine but you can get away with that on FP blue and white stripes. I cannot see an air gap at all. Upon microscopic examination there may be a very tiny air line. Red with black stripes it may be visible if you went over the top but I can't say for sure.

I concur, looks perfectly fine on FPB and white stripes. Black stripes would show the tiny gap no matter the color because the gap would be right next to the stipe and show. However, I don’t think it would cause me to have seams in the film. I like it bing one piece and not having seems to gather grit or lift.

I paid $4900 for complete coverage with Xpel self correcting film, plus $1,500 for Xpel ceramic. A shit ton of money, but I will keep this car for life. If I was going to flip it in a few years, I wouldn’t worry or get just the track pack coverage.

 

[Goose17]

I’m in the same boat; trying to decide if doing the whole car is unnecessary or if I’m better off protecting the whole thing. I’m still on unscheduled material hold so I have some time but I’m leaning towards the whole car. This is some pricing I got from a local shop last fall

Keep in mind that the front fascia on the GT500 is quite complex, which will add to the cost. Also, the hood vent requires quite a bit of labor. I was charged $200 for the hood vent alone. They did such a fantastic job though that you can’t see a single edge or line.

 

[Deviruchi]

I concur, looks perfectly fine on FPB and white stripes. Black stripes would show the tiny gap no matter the color because the gap would be right next to the stipe and show. However, I don’t think it would cause me to have seams in the film. I like it bing one piece and not having seems to gather grit or lift.

I paid $4900 for complete coverage with Xpel self correcting film, plus $1,500 for Xpel ceramic. A shit ton of money, but I will keep this car for life. If I was going to flip it in a few years, I wouldn’t worry or get just the track pack coverage.

Why did you go with xpel ceramic instead of ceramicpro or opticoat? Just what your guy had available?

 

[WesS]

I concur, looks perfectly fine on FPB and white stripes. Black stripes would show the tiny gap no matter the color because the gap would be right next to the stipe and show. However, I don’t think it would cause me to have seams in the film. I like it bing one piece and not having seems to gather grit or lift.

I paid $4900 for complete coverage with Xpel self correcting film, plus $1,500 for Xpel ceramic. A shit ton of money, but I will keep this car for life. If I was going to flip it in a few years, I wouldn’t worry or get just the track pack coverage.

What does the XPEL Ceramic do?

 

[Jmeo]

Why did you go with xpel ceramic instead of ceramicpro or opticoat? Just what your guy had available?

I had my Raptor Opticoated, and I like this product. It has a 7 year guarantee (10 year expectancy) so I like this on a vehicle without film. The reason, for me, is Opticoat is a much harder substance when dried, and I think it would have had an ill affect on the self healing ability of the Xpel. Xpel’s ceramic is designed to work with their film, and is guaranteed not to affect the self healing process. I saw this first hand by rubbing the film with my fingers, then watching the swirl marks disappear simply by the sunlight warmth. This was with the film, and ceramic applied.

 

[Jmeo]

What does the XPEL Ceramic do?

It gives you the ceramic benefits, like glossy shine, element protection, like acid rain or bird shit, anti fading, easy of washing, and everything to like about ceramic, but still let’s the film self heal.

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