Expel Paint Protection Entire Truck

[3corner]

I know I am going to get some hate, but to each their own. I did not find any information on paint protection, so hopefully this information can be useful for someone curious about it.

Purchased my truck a month ago. After a few days, I noticed scratches on the truck (one scratch was from a cat laying on my hood at night). I researched online and several Ram owners mentioned the paint on the Ram was not durable. I made the decision to clear bra my entire truck with EXPEL paint protection. Total price of getting my entire truck wrapped, ceramic wax and tinted was $7000.00. The guys at Auto Envy did an amazing job. Expel told me it would be very hard to find someone to wrap my entire sport hood since it has so many curvature, it would be a tough custom job. The guys at Auto Envy always liked a challenge. Hood came out amazing, couldn't see where the clear bra end on the edge. $7000 is a lot of money, but considering the MSRP was $63k and how this truck is going to last me for at least 8 years. I wanted this truck to look pristine 8 years from now just like the 1st day I drove off the lot. To some, they said its not worth it and I'm dumb, but like I said before, to each their own. Every morning walking out to my truck, just seeing how it glisten underneath the California sun makes it worth it for me. I love my truck. A sense of pride in knowing how hard I worked to buy a truck like that.

I purchased a vehicle the same time my brother did in 2017. I chose to wrapped my entire SUV and my brother did not. After 3 years, my SUV look like it rolled off the factory assembly line nice and shinny whereas my brother car has scratches, swirl marks and dings. The Expel paint protection help hides imperfection on your car, self heal minor scratches that occur and protect you from dings. Been times where I have not washed my SUV for an entire month (lazy), take it to the car wash and it comes out looking new, never had to worry about dirt scratching it or watermarks. I live in Los Angles, parking lots are nightmare, like they were made for Prius only (dings galore).

 

[diamondmi]

Wow, looks awesome. Is the ceramic wax something they do before putting the wrap on? Is it the wax that gives it that glistening look or both the wax and wrap? Didn’t know it cost that much. I’d love to do it to my truck when it comes in. And the car wash has no impact on the wrap at all?

Thanks for sharing.


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Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. So far I’ve been given a VIN #.

 

[SpeedyV]

Wow, looks awesome. Is the ceramic wax something they do before putting the wrap on? Is it the wax that gives it that glistening look or both the wax and wrap? Didn’t know it cost that much. I’d love to do it to my truck when it comes in. And the car wash has no impact on the wrap at all?

Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. So far I’ve been given a VIN #.

They can’t do ceramic coat under wrap; the film wouldn’t stick. So basically the plastic wrap has been ceramic coated.

My XPEL Ultimate Plus installer told me that it would cost roughly $5K to wrap the whole truck, but he was half-joking (I wasn’t looking to do that). So the OP’s pricing for full wrap, ceramic coat, and tint doesn’t surprise me.

 

[thabiiighomie]

Man, where do you guys live. I paid 6k for the best shop in Cincinnati and didn’t even get the doors (beyond the rocker panels), roof or bed covered. I know those RamBoxes of mine are going to accumulate scratches.

 

[SpeedyV]

Man, where do you guys live. I paid 6k for the best shop in Cincinnati and didn’t even get the doors (beyond the rocker panels), roof or bed covered. I know those RamBoxes of mine are going to accumulate scratches.

Texas. My installer was working on a full wrap of a new 911 GT3 on a lift when I picked mine up. The buyer hadn’t even seen it yet; it was shipped directly from the Porsche dealership. That’s his typical clientele for a full wrap. Once he pointed out the complexity of the surfaces on that car, he explained that the Ram was relatively simple (albeit a lot of surface area) by comparison. I think it cost $10K to wrap the car.

 

[thabiiighomie]

Texas. My installer was working on a full wrap of a new 911 GT3 on a lift when I picked mine up. The buyer hadn’t even seen it yet; it was shipped directly from the Porsche dealership. That’s his typical clientele for a full wrap. Once he pointed out the complexity of the surfaces on that car, he explained that the Ram was relatively simple (albeit a lot of surface area) by comparison. I think it cost $10K to wrap the car.

At my shop, a truck is more expensive due to surface area and height. My Alfa Romeo was $4,400 for the same kit as my truck, which cost me $5,900. Only difference ended up being that they took my tires off the truck to ceramic coat the barrels of the wheels (chrome loves brake dust). There are 8 pieces of film that go on each our rocker panels, and the sport grille is very segmented as well. Happy I got it done, but so jealous of your pricing. I would have done a full wrap on both vehicles for that price.

 

[dsn112]

You have to spend your money how you see fit. I personally don't believe that spending that much makes sense. That film probably will need replaced before you hit the 8 year mark too so be prepared. You could have had a 2 step correction plus coating re-application done every 3-4 years or so and saved 4-5k. If you were getting it coated and keeping up with cleaning it it would always look good.

 

[thabiiighomie]

You have to spend your money how you see fit. I personally don't believe that spending that much makes sense. That film probably will need replaced before you hit the 8 year mark too so be prepared. You could have had a 2 step correction plus coating re-application done every 3-4 years or so and saved 4-5k. If you were getting it coated and keeping up with cleaning it it would always look good.

200 miles in, I had 6 deep chips on the front end of the truck. This paint is so cheap. I had to protect at least some of it lol
On my Alfa, I could have gotten away with ceramic coating and reapplication years later. This truck is a different story.

My film is warranted for ten years against peeling and yellowing. Shop also gave me the ahead to use a touch car wash and defects caused by it will be replaced free of charge. I NEVER use car washes to begin with, but this winter I may just cave, as this is my first year with a truck.
They have replaced a few pieces on my Alfa at no cost. I suppose you pay for good service.

 

[3corner]

Wow, looks awesome. Is the ceramic wax something they do before putting the wrap on? Is it the wax that gives it that glistening look or both the wax and wrap? Didn’t know it cost that much. I’d love to do it to my truck when it comes in. And the car wash has no impact on the wrap at all?

Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. So far I’ve been given a VIN #.

The Ceramic coat is on top of the Paint Protection. The Expel paint protection give the truck a natural shine, the ceramic coating give the truck an extra shine, added protection and a diamond smooth surface. On most paint protection film, when you run you hand along the paint you can feel the film, but with the ceramic coat, your hand glides through it like its a fresh paint from the Porsche factory.

 

[3corner]

200 miles in, I had 6 deep chips on the front end of the truck. This paint is so cheap. I had to protect at least some of it lol
On my Alfa, I could have gotten away with ceramic coating and reapplication years later. This truck is a different story.

My film is warranted for ten years against peeling and yellowing. Shop also gave me the ahead to use a touch car wash and defects caused by it will be replaced free of charge. I NEVER use car washes to begin with, but this winter I may just cave, as this is my first year with a truck.
They have replaced a few pieces on my Alfa at no cost. I suppose you pay for good service.

Exactly, I have similar experience with chips on my past cars. After I wrapped my SUV and saw the benefits of PPF, I will always wrapped all my new purchases. Like the saying in Los Angeles, its cheaper to wrap it.

On my SUV, I had it flat bed tow it to an installer 100 miles away, because I couldn't find an experienced certified Expel installer in the area i was living at the time. I put on 30000 miles on it so far, been to the coast, the mountain, the lakes and so far no scratches on dings. I can send you pictures of my SUV to show how it held up if you guys want.

 

[dsn112]

After driving a subaru STI, with the worst paint on the planet, a rock chip or two doesn't bother me. I can see a case for PPF on the bumper and up the hood. Anywhere else for me is just a waste of money. I can hit my truck with my Rupes polisher and handle just about anything that comes along.

 

[Patsy1099]

The markup on ppf (Xpel) and ceramic coating is HUGE. You can have a thousand post thread on the discussion. Some for it, some say it’s a waste. Some think it will stop a rock on a highway at 70mph (which it will not). I personally like xpel the best and also like ceramic coating. Having both makes the paint last longer and easier to clean. I cannot emphasize enough to have an installer who knows what they are doing. Otherwise it will look like garbage.

All that said I have a very close friend who is an installer for many years. If you find the right guy you can probably get the majority of the car done with xpel (why waste time with ppf on the ramboxes?) for about $1500-$2000 and a top notch ceramic for between $800-$1200, that’s with a decent profit margin after dealer cost. The other numbers above are lots of profit$ for the dealer/installer. So shop around. Find a good installer but shop the price as well.

 

[thabiiighomie]

After driving a subaru STI, with the worst paint on the planet, a rock chip or two doesn't bother me. I can see a case for PPF on the bumper and up the hood. Anywhere else for me is just a waste of money. I can hit my truck with my Rupes polisher and handle just about anything that comes along.

What products and polisher do you use for things of that nature? Looking to get one as I would rather be the one to fix minor damage.

 

[agjr85]

Can't you just get it repainted for that much?

Honestly a nice ceramic coat with self heal and some expel up front would of been my goal.
Looks good.

 

[Caballonegro]

I Did my wife's Velar with the satin finish Expel, she wanted Satin so bad. Everything that is black is gloss and the silicon silver areas are Expel matte finish. I also wrapped her roof black since the Velar we ordered with the black roof was sold under us before we could get to San Francisco to pick it up. Full cost was $2100 but it is way smaller than my ram, I figured my ram would be $3000-$3500 to wrap myself.

 

[diamondmi]

I Did my wife's Velar with the satin finish Expel, she wanted Satin so bad. Everything that is black is gloss and the silicon silver areas are Expel matte finish. I also wrapped her roof black since the Velar we ordered with the black roof was sold under us before we could get to San Francisco to pick it up. Full cost was $2100 but it is way smaller than my ram, I figured my ram would be $3000-$3500 to wrap myself.

You wrapped your wife’s car yourself? Looks good. Was it difficult? Did it take some practice?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. So far I’ve been given a VIN #.

 

[Caballonegro]

You wrapped your wife’s car yourself? Looks good. Was it difficult? Did it take some practice?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. So far I’ve been given a VIN #.

Yes, all the silver is a Clear Matte Expel, all the black on top is 5 pieces of gloss black wrap, then painted the grill, bottom lip, and the top cargo Rails gloss black.

It wasn't super hard, thanks to YOUTUBE, I got better as the vehicle went along. Though I did order a couple of panels at a time, it was hard to gauge what sizes I needed so I would measure then order. It is alot less stressful when you only have a 1/4 of the car to do at a time. My wife was dying for it to be finished though since she felt people would of laughed if they noticed some panels were glossy.

 

[3corner]

I Did my wife's Velar with the satin finish Expel, she wanted Satin so bad. Everything that is black is gloss and the silicon silver areas are Expel matte finish. I also wrapped her roof black since the Velar we ordered with the black roof was sold under us before we could get to San Francisco to pick it up. Full cost was $2100 but it is way smaller than my ram, I figured my ram would be $3000-$3500 to wrap myself.
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Looks amazing! $3000 for material, I honestly thought the material would be cheaper than that.

 

[3corner]

Can't you just get it repainted for that much?

Honestly a nice ceramic coat with self heal and some expel up front would of been my goal.
Looks good.

Yes, you can repaint the car, but if you ask any detailer, they can tell what part of your car was repainted simply by running their hand over the paint. I also understand you don't need to wrap your entire vehicle, but I like the uniform look. Thats crazy I didn't know ceramic coat was now self healing, crazy the things company come up with to take our money lol.

 

[3corner]

The markup on ppf (Xpel) and ceramic coating is HUGE. You can have a thousand post thread on the discussion. Some for it, some say it’s a waste. Some think it will stop a rock on a highway at 70mph (which it will not). I personally like xpel the best and also like ceramic coating. Having both makes the paint last longer and easier to clean. I cannot emphasize enough to have an installer who knows what they are doing. Otherwise it will look like garbage.

All that said I have a very close friend who is an installer for many years. If you find the right guy you can probably get the majority of the car done with xpel (why waste time with ppf on the ramboxes?) for about $1500-$2000 and a top notch ceramic for between $800-$1200, that’s with a decent profit margin after dealer cost. The other numbers above are lots of profit$ for the dealer/installer. So shop around. Find a good installer but shop the price as well.

I wrapped the rambox in PPF because I was already wrapping the entire car, I also leave most of my tools in the rambox, opening and closing the rambox, Im pretty sure Im going to leave alot of scratches.