[wjones14]

My M2C is scheduled to land in the U.S. on May 26 and be ready for delivery at the dealership within a week after that. I made a June 15 appointment with the local XPEL installer to get the front bumper kit. He said it was the XPEL Ultimate kit made for the M2C bumper and the installed price is $600.

I went to him previously with my Camaro where he installed a couple pieces of XPEL Ultimate to replace the small factory pieces in front of the rear wheels (same idea as the factory pieces on the M2C). These larger pieces worked out great as that section of the body received lots of paint chips otherwise, due to the wide R-compound front tires on the 1LE.

But, it seemed to me there was little, if any, self-healing properties of that XPEL. The XPEL pieces did their job and took damage that would have been paint chips otherwise, but it resulted in a couple holes and marks in the XPEL that I could not get rid of. Additionally, the XPEL seemed to shine less than the uncovered paint. I wouldn't call it dull, but it was just not as shiny.

So is XPEL Ultimate actually self-healing if you get a small hole? Do you have to do anything like use a hair dryer? And does it shine less than bare clearcoat paint?

[marcw]

No film self heals holes. Scratches sure, but holes no. The healing feature is aided by warmth. Parking in the sun or pouring warm water over the area will make it heal faster.

[Foggins]

Im also thinking of PPF when my car gets here in July. I’m still on the fence. Didn’t have it in any of my previous cars and was just fine. I don’t track my cars, most roads I’m driving aren’t kicking up a bunch of debris, etc...but I get the peace of mind for doing it for sure.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Foggins

Im also thinking of PPF when my car gets here in July. I’m still on the fence. Didn’t have it in any of my previous cars and was just fine. I don’t track my cars, most roads I’m driving aren’t kicking up a bunch of debris, etc...but I get the peace of mind for doing it for sure.

Same here. I never used PPF on the front bumper of any car. Most of my driving is in a suburban setting on roads with 25-45 mph limits. Maybe 10% overall is highway driving. My most recent car was a Camaro and after 3 years and 6,800 miles, there were maybe 3 or 4 small pinhead-size chips on the nose. It was a white car with black underneath the paint, so the chips did show and I touched them up with Dr. Colorchip. After the touchup they were not noticeable unless you were up close and looking for them.

On my 2015 BMW M235i, in 3 years and 10,000 miles I ended up with more than a dozen small chips on the nose. Fixed them the same way with Dr. Colorchip, and not a huge deal after the fixes. But my conclusion was that the BMW paint chipped a lot easier than the Chevy paint.

Other than the nose, I didn't really get chips anywhere else on the BMW, so for my driving situation, I'm thinking the front bumper PPF will be good enough. And I'm still kind of on the fence as to whether or not I need it at all. I don't like PPF seams that show, even when they are minimal, but it seems like the front bumper kit doesn't really show any seams. Can anyone confirm?

[Foggins]

Take a look at a YouTube video from Trackday_Chuck where he talks about front end PPF kit for the M2C. Seems like for that job, lots of cuts and he references the kit lots of times. That would drive me crazy.

[contented]

I have Expel Ultimate on the front bumper of my M2C, the front 40% of the hood, side mirrors and the flat area of the rear bumper at the boot lid. $850 +/-. Had the exact same area covered save the boot area on our 2017 Mini Cooper S convertible. I like the stuff. Not certain I'd want it on the entire car though. Minor scratches are self healing. A bigger mark in the film that won't heal saved the car from a nasty chip. If you're a person who knows every square inch of your car's surface, little chips and marks will piss you off. Expel prevents that.

Contented

[ROASTM]

Originally Posted by wjones14

My M2C is scheduled to land in the U.S. on May 26 and be ready for delivery at the dealership within a week after that. I made a June 15 appointment with the local XPEL installer to get the front bumper kit. He said it was the XPEL Ultimate kit made for the M2C bumper and the installed price is $600.

I went to him previously with my Camaro where he installed a couple pieces of XPEL Ultimate to replace the small factory pieces in front of the rear wheels (same idea as the factory pieces on the M2C). These larger pieces worked out great as that section of the body received lots of paint chips otherwise, due to the wide R-compound front tires on the 1LE.

But, it seemed to me there was little, if any, self-healing properties of that XPEL. The XPEL pieces did their job and took damage that would have been paint chips otherwise, but it resulted in a couple holes and marks in the XPEL that I could not get rid of. Additionally, the XPEL seemed to shine less than the uncovered paint. I wouldn't call it dull, but it was just not as shiny.

So is XPEL Ultimate actually self-healing if you get a small hole? Do you have to do anything like use a hair dryer? And does it shine less than bare clearcoat paint?

In regards to the amount of shine... I personally don't think there's a difference to a car with no film (XPEL Ultimate). I have my m2C fully covered, so hard to truly compare a covered panel to a non-covered panel, but after a nice wash and wipe down with Nanolex SiSplash, the paint absolutely pops. Also, the self-healing properties absolutely work for most fine scratches, and chips that puncture the film in any way will not heal (but your paint will be saved, so it's a trade off) - I have 5+ small chips in my driver rear quarterpanel in the XPEL, and have no doubt that I'd have actual chips if it wasn't covered.

[P1]

I just had PPF installed on my wife's M2C. Don't expect miracles. There are two stone hits I got within a week of installing that still caused imperfections on and under the PPF.

[recycledAlva]

PPF is a sacrificial barrier. Most films do have a 'self-healing' layer but the entire film isn't self healing. So if a scratch goes deeper than that layer then it won't heal out. Impacts that tear or puncture the film are basically permanent but in most cases, the film is damaged and your paint is unscathed.

[Maynard]

I would advise looking at some cars with partial coverage before you go for that, ideally ones that are a year old. Most of what I have seen has the kind of noticeable lines at the edge of the xpel that would drive me nuts (but half of these owners describe it as invisible, so I'm probably more picky than some). Also need to consider that the money you spend will protect the paint from little dings/scratches, but if you have an actual impact/dent they will need to redo it all and your insurance may not cover that. For me, I am opting to save the $$ and if I get that many dings I'll go for a repaint in 4 or 5 years (in MGM like it should have been originally). If you are tracking and doing a partial, you really want to cover the lower sills and the area behind the front wheel well, and expand the rear factory thing to cover the whole lower fender up to top of wheel arch, both ahead and behind wheel well (this based upon my last track day).

[wjones14]

I took delivery of the car this past Saturday 12-Jun-2021 and had PPF applied to the front bumper yesterday. It's XPEL Ultimate Plus. The installer kept it overnight inside his shop to cure - he said that's normal practice. He did an incredible job. The top of the bumper and wheel wells are wrapped around the edges so no visible seams there. Exactly what I wanted. I was originally on the fence because the seams I have seen on other cars stick out noticeably (to me), but no such worries with the job this installer did.

No difference in color or shine either. The bumper paint matches the fender and hood paint perfectly.

As far as tips and tricks, the installer said the best practice for washing and wiping PPF is to always wipe from the PPF toward the paint, rather than from the paint toward the PPF. Otherwise, dirt can get trapped on/under the seam edges, and that would be visible.

When I picked it up this morning, I asked him how the install went, and he replied that he's going to charge more for the next M2 he does. He had previously done 3 and 5 Series as well as X1, X2, X3, etc., but the M2 bumper was a unique challenge with all its nooks and crannies. I got it for $600 installed, and am definitely pleased.

No sense in pics because you can't see it.