[alienstudio]

With the new X5 home, I was debating with ceramic coat or the ppf. Im a picky guy and have always detailed my own cars (all black cars). This time around, no different as the X5 is black. However, my knees and lower back are no where near as before, I started to think if paying to do the film. Couple thoughts considered, cost me more money, can be a little careless with washing, even take it to car wash if I wanted to. I studied for what type of film, Xpel. 3m. Suntek and where to go and expect what sort of outcome. Called around the local shops and was left with a lot of info and quote. I went with the Suntek ultra, the shop I ended up choosing had a choice of Xpel ultimate plus and suntek ultra, they did a piece on the car to show me the difference. I can't say about the thickness but the suntek was the winner in gloss and clearness. Both have this magical self heal feature, meaning no swirl marks on black anymore.
Now this is where it got funny. Since we are currently in the pandemic of convid-19 virus. My timing wasn't exactly great. I asked to do the whole car and was given a 5 days turn around time. However, with 2 days in, I got a call from the shop and said they had to close down fearing the virus. I totally understood the situation ( me and my wife even thought about leaving the car there, fearing to go out). With the car half complete, I took the car back and will bring it in once we have some normalcy back in life.
Man I can tell you all it is a great decision to go with the film. The sapphire black metallic shined great and it's virtually invisible. I can clearly see a difference in gloss between the front door and rear door ( the entire front is done, the black trim pieces on bumpers were done as well, plus one driver door and I did all the pillars as well). It is very satisfying to watch a nice paint work and will not swirl anymore. The install job is top notch. They used a software to cut film, and was able to do a lot of the small trim pieces because of that. They also showed me the difference with a rolled edge and not rolled edge, I obviously went with the rolled edge. It is a bit weird to the touch, no more hard to the touch rather a soft plastic, rubbery feel. I also had the shop do the interior with leather coating, since I'm paying a big chunk for the film, a couple hundred more won't hurt. Overall, I can't wait to get the whole car done. For anyone that's looking to do this investment, I feel like it is great, especially on black paint. Now stuck a home, I'm gonna tackle the wheels and window with coating, just to kill some time.
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[PhilH930]

Wow that looks good. Nicely done!

Funny timing - I dropped my vehicle off today to have PPF installed on the front, full hood, A pillar and side panels. I did not do the whole car as it substantially increased the cost, but never know, may go back. Your research is interesting and results on your car are stunning. As it happened, I went with Xpel Ultimate Plus. Having been in the shop this pm and seen the product first hand on a McLaren, Merc and Tesla, I was very impressed. Like you, my install will wrap around the edges for seamless appearance. Will be interested to see how I perceive the appearance/gloss of Xpel, but luckily did not have a comparison! Following PPF, my car is also getting a ceramic coat of Xpel Fusion Plus.

Honestly, getting this done is necessary for me. Driving 50 miles a day in Atlanta hammers the car. The car was only 3 weeks old and had the below chips already. You can see my at home attempt to patch them, which is near impossible but will pass (excuse the different color; chips were snapped inside garage, repair in natural light). Getting them repaired professionally has been challenging, and BMW solution was to repaint the entire hood

[alienstudio]

Originally Posted by PhilH930

Wow that looks good. Nicely done!

Funny timing - I dropped my vehicle off today to have PPF installed on the front, full hood, A pillar and side panels. I did not do the whole car as it substantially increased the cost, but never know, may go back. Your research is interesting and results on your car are stunning. As it happened, I went with Xpel Ultimate Plus. Having been in the shop this pm and seen the product first hand on a McLaren, Merc and Tesla, I was very impressed. Like you, my install will wrap around the edges for seamless appearance. Will be interested to see how I perceive the appearance/gloss of Xpel, but luckily did not have a comparison! Following PPF, my car is also getting a ceramic coat of Xpel Fusion Plus.

Honestly, getting this done is necessary for me. Driving 50 miles a day in Atlanta hammers the car. The car was only 3 weeks old and had the below chips already. You can see my at home attempt to patch them, which is near impossible but will pass (excuse the different color; chips were snapped inside garage, repair in natural light). Getting them repaired professionally has been challenging, and BMW solution was to repaint the entire hood

This time around I did not want rock chips. Glad I went with ppf.

[dzuspann]

Can you get a way using these car washes if you have had PPF and/or ceramic applied? What can I do to mitigate the risk of paint damage if I wish to use an automatic wash? Will have a 2020 X540 Black Saphire Metalic

[Belugs]

Originally Posted by dzuspann

Can you get a way using these car washes if you have had PPF and/or ceramic applied? What can I do to mitigate the risk of paint damage if I wish to use an automatic wash? Will have a 2020 X540 Black Saphire Metalic

Yes you can. Find a touchless car wash. Same applies for frozen/matte paint cars. Also try to avoid selecting wax at the car wash as some that contain kerosene and Naphtha in high concentrations can dry out the film too soon

[alienstudio]

Originally Posted by dzuspann

Can you get a way using these car washes if you have had PPF and/or ceramic applied? What can I do to mitigate the risk of paint damage if I wish to use an automatic wash? Will have a 2020 X540 Black Saphire Metalic

I use this touchless auto wash in my local gas station. Does a fairly good job cleaning the car. I just have to touch up mainly the back trunk and dry off the car. I wash myself maybe once a months but goes thru auto every week. The ppf holds up fine.

[MarcusMcLaughlin]

I Chose the F-Performance film from the three-paint protection films, because it is cheaper than Steak, but the quality is not bad.

[Fred Adamson]

With the F-Performance film on the body of my Jaguar, I have driven it for almost a year. Without any serious damage to the film and if they are, I remove them with boiling water.