XPEL or any other Paint Protection Experiences

[HotRod104]

Hello, I was just curious if any has put on a Ceramic Coating, XPEL, or any other paint protection options out there. I am a little nervous about the black paint taking a beating here on the Northern VA/ DC area roads and seriously considering trying to mitigate the rock chips, etc. on my new "soon-to-be" in my driveway 1500 limited. If anyone has some insights or experience with this or even what a ballpark figure would be for doing a truck. I appreciate in advance for any helpful offering.

 

[STR]

I also have black, and have applied Xpel to some of the high impact areas and the door sills. I’ve also applied Xpel on other vehicles with good results. While ceramic coating is a good alternative, it will not offer anywhere near the protection that Xpel provides. As far as cost, it depends on what you want covered. If you’re planning to Xpel the entire truck, then it would be a couple grand. Just the hood and front bumper/grille, then a couple hundred.

 

[Venom700]

I also have black, and have applied Xpel to some of the high impact areas and the door sills. I’ve also applied Xpel on other vehicles with good results. While ceramic coating is a good alternative, it will not offer anywhere near the protection that Xpel provides. As far as cost, it depends on what you want covered. If you’re planning to Xpel the entire truck, then it would be a couple grand. Just the hood and front bumper/grille, then a couple hundred.

Gonna cost way more than a couple hundred for bumper/hood in the DC area.

 

[STR]

Gonna cost way more than a couple hundred for bumper/hood in the DC area.

... yeah, I was speaking in general. Care to provide a more helpful estimate for the OP?

 

[ktl5005]

YES.

My wife's 2018 Duranog R/T has Xpel on it. It saved the lower air dam when she ran over a concrete parking marker. The film took the brunt of it. They took the old film off and buffed out the rest and applied new film. Saves from rock chips etc. We did the entire front end, headlights, fogs and mirror caps, basically high impact areas

My 2019 Limited 1500 had LLumar Film. A grade lower than the premium Xpel, but still work just as well. As above, entire front end expect the chrome because it won't stick well to it, headlights and fog lights.

The LLumar is a bit cheaper than the Xpel. Llumar has 5 year warranty from sun fading or turning it yellow and I think the Xpel has a 7 year warranty for the same.

I never own a vehicle without it getting applied.

 

[392DCGC]

I also have black, and have applied Xpel to some of the high impact areas and the door sills. I’ve also applied Xpel on other vehicles with good results. While ceramic coating is a good alternative, it will not offer anywhere near the protection that Xpel provides. As far as cost, it depends on what you want covered. If you’re planning to Xpel the entire truck, then it would be a couple grand. Just the hood and front bumper/grille, then a couple hundred.

Did you have Xpel applied to the lower front bumper? I tried having my guy do it and his generic plotter/cutter software (not Xpel's expensive software) didn't fit, even though he claims it typically works fine 90% of the time. He had to throw away the entire portion of film and not charge me which I'm sure cost him at least $100 in material. He offered to order the piece directly from Xpel, but before one of us throws away that much money on film again, I wanted to see if anyone else had success with this getting this piece installed and where it came from (cut in shop or ordered from Xpel).

He did install Xpel along the top rocker area in front of the rear wheels just fine - this spot gets sandblasted by debris from the front tires.

 

[thrillracing]

... yeah, I was speaking in general. Care to provide a more helpful estimate for the OP?

FWIW..In Tulsa full front Xpel estimates are 1750-2000. I’m having a company do the xpel and ceramic tint at the same time.


Ordered while the sh*t was hitting the fan..Hydro-Blue Laramie Group 2, Air-suspension, Off-road, Sport, Uconnect 12, power running boards, dual panel moonroof.

 

[STR]

Did you have Xpel applied to the lower front bumper? I tried having my guy do it and his generic plotter/cutter software (not Xpel's expensive software) didn't fit, even though he claims it typically works fine 90% of the time. He had to throw away the entire portion of film and not charge me which I'm sure cost him at least $100 in material. He offered to order the piece directly from Xpel, but before one of us throws away that much money on film again, I wanted to see if anyone else had success with this getting this piece installed and where it came from (cut in shop or ordered from Xpel).

He did install Xpel along the top rocker area in front of the rear wheels just fine - this spot gets sandblasted by debris from the front tires.

I didn’t Xpel the bumper area. I have a Rebel w/the black appearanve pkg, and it has the textured paint. I had some concern about it adhering to the surface, and I didn’t want the glossy finish...

FWIW..In Tulsa full front Xpel estimates are 1750-2000. I’m having a company do the xpel and ceramic tint at the same time.


Ordered while the sh*t was hitting the fan..Hydro-Blue Laramie Group 2, Air-suspension, Off-road, Sport, Uconnect 12, power running boards, dual panel moonroof.

Yeah, no doubt it’s expensive. I apply it myself, so I saved a lot in labor.

 

[J-Cooz]

I have put full front end PPF on my last few cars including my 2020 Ram and my previous 2019. Before that I was very skeptical about the product and didn't think it was worth it. I do about 95% highway driving and I was sick of my cars getting pounded to crap with rock chips.

The protection that PPF provides is second to none. I've had some seriously large rocks hit (saw and heard them) and there's zero damage. The new generation of films are self healing and completely invisible. The quality of install is very important, do your research on shops and make sure they have good reviews.

Expect to pay around $2k for a full front end and hood install. Good shops will correct the paint first to remove and swirls/marring so the paint is perfect under the film.

Here is my 2020 Limited that I just got full front end PPF and ceramic coating done.

 

[dreinert]

I did Xpel including the full front bumper, front ~12” of hood, and headlights. The guy added door handle protection (scratches from rings) and door edge protection as a bonus.

Overall I’m happy and will do it on the next vehicle; my biggest regret was not getting it done immediately, I waited 6mo and it took an additional month to get on the schedule so I had 20+ chips to fill in before I had paint protection added.

I want to say it was like $800 but was only paint film only & install and didn’t include ceramic coating.

 

[thrillracing]

I have put full front end PPF on my last few cars including my 2020 Ram and my previous 2019. Before that I was very skeptical about the product and didn't think it was worth it. I do about 95% highway driving and I was sick of my cars getting pounded to crap with rock chips.

The protection that PPF provides is second to none. I've had some seriously large rocks hit (saw and heard them) and there's zero damage. The new generation of films are self healing and completely invisible. The quality of install is very important, do your research on shops and make sure they have good reviews.

Expect to pay around $2k for a full front end and hood install. Good shops will correct the paint first to remove and swirls/marring so the paint is perfect under the film.

Here is my 2020 Limited that I just got full front end PPF and ceramic coating done.

Did you have your rims powder coated?


Ordered while the sh*t was hitting the fan..Hydro-Blue Laramie Group 2, Air-suspension, Off-road, Sport, Uconnect 12, power running boards, dual panel moonroof.

 

[J-Cooz]

Did you have your rims powder coated?


Ordered while the sh*t was hitting the fan..Hydro-Blue Laramie Group 2, Air-suspension, Off-road, Sport, Uconnect 12, power running boards, dual panel moonroof.

No. Those are standard on the limited blackout package.

 

[Biga]

I had xpel put on the bumper, the pieces under the headlights, and front of the hood. I think it was about $750. Can't tell it's their and front end still looks new after 22,000 miles through the construction zones every day to work. I took the plexiglass license plate cover off my truck to change my plate yesterday and I noticed it is completely pelted and sandblasted, glad the paint is protected.

 

[securityguy]

Highly recommend Xpel. Been having it installed on all of my cars for over 10 years. On my RAM, I had my hood, A-pillars, roof forward of the pano roof, mirror caps, front bumper, front quarter panels and door handle cups done. This stuff is great and far better than ceramic at protecting from rocks and hits by shopping carts, etc. To get the front done should not cost more than $800-$1000. There is no reason to paint correct before putting on PPF.

 

[Sonnie]

My wife had some of this trim on her Lexus. Wasn't long before we had to remove it because we live on a gravel/dirt road, and the edges were very difficult to keep clean... like a magnet for accumulation of dust/dirt.

I've found the ceramic coating treatments do pretty well to help keep the dirt off, and makes the car easier to clean.

 

[J-Cooz]

Highly recommend Xpel. Been having it installed on all of my cars for over 10 years. On my RAM, I had my hood, A-pillars, roof forward of the pano roof, mirror caps, front bumper, front quarter panels and door handle cups done. This stuff is great and far better than ceramic at protecting from rocks and hits by shopping carts, etc. To get the front done should not cost more than $800-$1000. There is no reason to paint correct before putting on PPF.

There is if you want perfect paint below it. Why would you want to lock in swirl marks, etc?

You'd be surprised how many defects are in factory paint, throw that in with a few bad dealer washes and you can have some pretty ugly paint.

 

[J-Cooz]

My wife had some of this trim on her Lexus. Wasn't long before we had to remove it because we live on a gravel/dirt road, and the edges were very difficult to keep clean... like a magnet for accumulation of dust/dirt.

I've found the ceramic coating treatments do pretty well to help keep the dirt off, and makes the car easier to clean.

The key is having a good install. A good installer will wrap almost all the edges and you won't have any visible edges at all. My detailer removes all badges and emblems and wraps every edge he can.

 

[securityguy]

There is if you want perfect paint below it. Why would you want to lock in swirl marks, etc?

You'd be surprised how many defects are in factory paint, throw that in with a few bad dealer washes and you can have some pretty ugly paint.

That’s why I have it done immediately following driving it off the dealers lot.

 

[HotRod104]

Wow, Thank all of you for sharing your experiences and wisdom. I greatly appreciate it and look forward to exchanging much more great dialogue as my new 5th Gen Ram adventure grows.

 

[J-Cooz]

That’s why I have it done immediately following driving it off the dealers lot.

Same. Sadly when I had my Jeep SRT done the dealer destroyed the paint and it was swirl mark city.

My ram I told them to not wash and my detailer said it was nearly perfect. He still does a mild polish to clean everything up and really make it pop.