PPF on Widebody Challengers

[xXx Octane xXx]

I’m looking for advice from fellow Widebody challenger owners that have experience on where these cars need PPF.

I have reached out to a number of local vendors and I’ve received a number of different recommendations but none of the vendors had much experience with the widebody challengers.

Here is a breakdown of the recommendations I received from three different vendors (Minneapolis, MN area).

Vendor 1

• Application area: Front bumper, 16" of Hood & Fenders, Mirrors & Fender Flares
• Product: XPEL Ultimate
• Cost: $1400.00

Vendor 2

• Application area: Front Bumper, Entire hood, Front Fenders, Mirrors, & Fender Flares. (Badges removed for fender application).
• Product: XPEL Ultimate
• Cost: $1500.00
• Optional Ceramic Coating with paint correction: $850.00

Vendor 3

• Application area: Front Bumper, Entire Hood, Front Fenders, Mirrors & Fender Flares. (Badges removed for fender application).
• Product: STEK
• Cost: $2200.00
• Optional Ceramic Coating with paint correction: $1300.00 - $1800.00

I took delivery of my WBSP this afternoon and I had the dealer leave the plastic film on the fender flares until it goes in for PPF.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric.

 

[Deano]

I had SunTek PPF applied to the front header panel, mirrors, all flares and the upper area of the rear bumper.
IIRC the total was $1200. Then I had CS II Titanium applied over the entire car for $1550. Even though this was a new car, the paint was in horrible condition from shipping and required a lot of correction.
I installed rock guards at all 4 wheels.
I did not have PPF on the hood and so far no regrets.
However, I have had 2 rock chips on the top and side of the right front fender. You just can't win!

 

[Decay]

I did not install the rock guards(mud/melted rubber flaps) and have damage on the leading edge of the rear flares.
Sadly, I am STILL procrastinating.

 

[StingrayZ51]

I have Llumar on the whole front clip, hood, A pillars, mirrors, flares and the entire lower half of the car. I also have ZL1 mud flaps and the ZL1 side skirts. These wide body’s chew up everything with rocks.


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[Kedge]

Does anyone have experience with glass vs. ceramic coating? Two closest shops to me with good reps each offer one and not the other. Haven't gotten quotes yet so I'm not sure if one is more expensive.

 

[Mattg]

I have Expel on my Charger for 5 years now. There is a lot of protection for the product. There is so far no discoloration that i can find. I am happy with me choosing to use the protection. The average person will not know that it has any what so ever.
Now what i am not happy with:
When i shopped around to do this i read up on all posts i could find. Some people had troubles with the product staying put around the vents on the hood. It peeled off. so when i went to my installer i asked him to please remove the vents and wrap the covering around the edges, then install the vents again. When i picked up my car i was extremely happy on how it looked and went home. On future washes and cleaning i started noticing that he never took off the vents. And the installer did not use a huge sheet of it and cut to fit on the car. Expel sends out laser cut material for each body panel. So no badging comes off or the vents. As I and you give our cars some hands on loving, I notice that the material is cut short at the vent and badging. I can see it so there is spots that are not covered. Granted that it might only be 1/16th of an inch or less, but i know its there. (OCD?) Around the front facia on the lower bumper is the same around the air inlets. You spend extra time in those areas to clean up the excess wax when you apply it. It shows if you don't.
So when you do decide to have it done. Be informed on how it will be installed. Laser cut pieces or one sheet cut to fit. You'll be happy with the protection in what ever brand you choose.
Matt

 

[Tsubahog]

WBRE - Suntek on the flares. 3M 1080 wrapped hood and ZL/1 Mudflaps. No issues so far -2,000 miles.

 

[kccat]

Does anyone know if you have factory stripes do they cover them or do they cut around them when they ppf your hood 2019 redeye.

 

[Rcasa20]

I have quite a bit of coverage and ceramic coating. Still ended up with a few chips high on the sides. If I had to do it over I would have paid for full doors and full rear quarters and skipped the ceramic coating.

 

[ThaBeast]

Does anyone have experience with glass vs. ceramic coating? Two closest shops to me with good reps each offer one and not the other. Haven't gotten quotes yet so I'm not sure if one is more expensive.

Local Audi dealership did my wife's Q5 in simoniz? glass. Had my GT500 done in Cquartz finest reserve, there is no comparison. The CQuartz is miles better than the glass.

 

[Inrfire]

Does anyone know if you have factory stripes do they cover them or do they cut around them when they ppf your hood 2019 redeye.

Mine were covered! Some say never do them others say go over them. There are two schools of thought. If you go in between them, than you risk a rock chip on a stripe that might need replaced. If you go over them, than you get some protection, but if the film for some reason needs replaced, it may ruin the stripe.

Mine look good, but you will typically get a faint white line along the stripes where the film won't lye down, because of the thickness of the stripe over the paint. But than if you go between the stripes, you have more edges to worry about as well for dirt or lifting etc. So I guess you have to go with what you feel is the best for you. Maybe others will chime in and enlighten us!

 

[Inrfire]

I’m looking for advice from fellow Widebody challenger owners that have experience on where these cars need PPF.

I have reached out to a number of local vendors and I’ve received a number of different recommendations but none of the vendors had much experience with the widebody challengers.

Here is a breakdown of the recommendations I received from three different vendors (Minneapolis, MN area).

Vendor 1

• Application area: Front bumper, 16" of Hood & Fenders, Mirrors & Fender Flares
• Product: XPEL Ultimate
• Cost: $1400.00

Vendor 2

• Application area: Front Bumper, Entire hood, Front Fenders, Mirrors, & Fender Flares. (Badges removed for fender application).
• Product: XPEL Ultimate
• Cost: $1500.00
• Optional Ceramic Coating with paint correction: $850.00

Vendor 3

• Application area: Front Bumper, Entire Hood, Front Fenders, Mirrors & Fender Flares. (Badges removed for fender application).
• Product: STEK
• Cost: $2200.00
• Optional Ceramic Coating with paint correction: $1300.00 - $1800.00

I took delivery of my WBSP this afternoon and I had the dealer leave the plastic film on the fender flares until it goes in for PPF.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric.

I have a love hate relationship with film and yes I did do my Redeye's front clip, and wheel skirts, door sill edges, and a piece behind each rear wheel.

I love the fact that if put on properly it does protect. I hate that I have seen very few jobs where it is perfect. White contamination sports under the film, finger prints in the adhesive that shows through, edges that lift and will not stay down.

I just had my car done and it appears they got hot with the heat gun and melted around my headlight bezel and front bumper trim piece. They are fixing it, as they should. But I hate paying good money and getting not so good of a job.

I sometimes wonder if it would be better to leave it alone, and paint fill in spots or chips for the money the film costs. lol

 

[kccat]

Thanks Inrfire for your input maybe we will hear some other thoughts on this.I

 

[Inrfire]

Thanks Inrfire for your input maybe we will hear some other thoughts on this.I

You got it! This is just my experience with the last few autos. And not all were from the same place. I think it can be done and done well. But I think honestly there is an art to it. Like being natural at something you love. Anyone can do it for the most part if trained. But some are just naturals and do it better and make it look easy! Kinda like me on my guitar thinking I will be EVH! lol

 

[xXx Octane xXx]

Update:

I ended up going with the first vendor on my list but for some reason the price ended up being $100 cheaper and they added a 6” strip above the rocker panels as well.

They did the entire front bumper, ~16” of the hood and front fenders, fender flares, 6” above the rocker panels, the mirrors, door handle cups and door edges.
The only downside I ran into, (which was no fault of the PPF installers), was that the OEM film on the front of the rear fender flares was removed prior to the XPEL going on because the passenger’s side OEM film had half a dozen white cloudy streaks between the film and the paint that they didn’t think would go away on their own and they didn’t want to put their film over the top of that. I told them to just take both sides off which they did.

To minimize the chances of covering any swirls or other paint defects, I had the car detailed with a two stage paint correction on the entire car the day before the PPF was installed.

After reading a lot of comments from fellow widebody owners, I installed a set of ZL1 rock guards on the car as well.

Eric.

 

[Inrfire]

Update:

I ended up going with the first vendor on my list but for some reason the price ended up being $100 cheaper and they added a 6” strip above the rocker panels as well.

They did the entire front bumper, ~16” of the hood and front fenders, fender flares, 6” above the rocker panels, the mirrors, door handle cups and door edges.
The only downside I ran into, (which was no fault of the PPF installers), was that the OEM film on the front of the rear fender flares was removed prior to the XPEL going on because the passenger’s side OEM film had half a dozen white cloudy streaks between the film and the paint that they didn’t think would go away on their own and they didn’t want to put their film over the top of that. I told them to just take both sides off which they did.

To minimize the chances of covering any swirls or other paint defects, I had the car detailed with a two stage paint correction on the entire car the day before the PPF was installed.

After reading a lot of comments from fellow widebody owners, I installed a set of ZL1 rock guards on the car as well.

Eric.

I did the Zl1s as well with the film and C Quartz. They look really nice! There was another maker and not knocking his. But they were to big for me. I have had quite a few comments on the Zl1s!

 

[Kedge]

So for people who have gotten their car wrapped and coated, are there any precautions you need to take during washing? I was looking at getting a foam cannon/pressure washer setup but wanted to make sure that it was still okay to use with the PPF.

 

[Inrfire]

So for people who have gotten their car wrapped and coated, are there any precautions you need to take during washing? I was looking at getting a foam cannon/pressure washer setup but wanted to make sure that it was still okay to use with the PPF.

No direct high pressure hot water on the edges. I always wash and wipe with the edges if I can and not across them.

 

[Udaloy]

Xpel bumper kit, rocker panel kit, mirrors, headlights, behind rear wheels, and full back flares, Ceramic coating (including wheels), NC legal tint all the way around, including a clear tint on the windshield that blocks 99% of heat transfer. It was $2100 for all of it. Sun Stoppers.

So far, so good. They even came to my driveway to fix a few ceramic high spots that no one saw in the shop lighting, including me.

 

[motorhead]

At this time I am not doing PPF on my white car - the long term risks of discoloration bother me. Rather I am using bright white vinyl (glossy and matte) wrap in the known trouble areas.