[akkando]

Originally Posted by Dmarcen

I'm taking delivery next Wednesday in Greenville, and talking w/ Extreme Colors to install. They have City Package and Highway package which has a $500 difference but if I'm correct only difference is the addition of door edges w/ the highway package. Both options are partial hood/fenders and full bumper. But I'm curious how noticeable is the line across the hood and fenders since it is only partially installed? I've seen one pic on a Porsche that look quite noticeable, but others I can't tell at all. I'm just not sure I can justify the increment up from $899 to $2K to do full just based on this "partial" factor.

any pics or experience would be appreciated!

I would not do partial hood, if you're going to do it wrap the entire hood otherwise you are paying money for an ugly line.

[6734202]

It's noticeable, but not horrible. The difference for me was $1100 between partial and full. I went with partial.

[M2GT4]

Does anyone have experience with LLumar platinum. The Greenville installer switched from XPEL to LLumar?

[Twt]

I did Xpel Ultimate full hood, front bumper, fenders and partial roof. I track the car and I have black streaks over the entire hood after every event....easy to remove and clean. The car looks like new after days of serious abuse. So the product works, half of my hood would be beaten with a partial cover, and on AW you can see the dirty edges ( partial roof). By the way, I am having the shop remove that nasty factory stuff in front of the rear wheels....it's hard to clean, turns yellow quickly and the edges are dark....will redo with Xpel .

[3Si]

Originally Posted by Dmarcen

Thanks for the feedback so far. The pics posted really don't show much of a line and to have the protection on the interstate I will be driving daily I think protection is necessary. But that $1200 difference to go full full hood and fenders could be used to get a ceramic coating instead... think that's where my head is at currently.

I've had some sort of a wrap for my past 3 out of 4 cars. Yes you can see the line, when you look closely, but it honestly doesn't bother me even with my OCD. A stone chip on the other end will. I decided to go with a glass coating on that 1 without a wrap, and it was chip city. It was an Elise, so even the hood had a few that annoyed me for the longest time.

With my current 3M, I've already had 3 incidents of some minor scratches with paint left over on the film. I was able to rub off all of them and the self-heal left it without a scar.

If you care about your paint, do it.

[hshot_rooke]

Originally Posted by swilliams

Keep in mind what the car will look like in 3-5 years when the PPF has aged and taken a lot of abuse. That demarcation line may be even more noticeable. Yellowing probably won't be a problem but difference in wearability might. I'm a detail fanatic so I don't think I could live with the line because I would know it's there and see it immediately.

On my car, it's full hood or no hood. Front bumper-only is another option I've considered but my car will be a DD, so full front clip seems worth the extra up-front cost - but it's a very bitter pill to swallow @ $2k.

Agreed, very very bitter...

[TMR013]

Resurrecting this thread. Has anybody done a cover that stops at the hood and front fender gaps? I know this will leave the hood and fenders open, but honestly I can't deal with the line no matter how invisible. Plus the front fascia is what will take the worst beating.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by TMR013

Resurrecting this thread. Has anybody done a cover that stops at the hood and front fender gaps? I know this will leave the hood and fenders open, but honestly I can't deal with the line no matter how invisible. Plus the front fascia is what will take the worst beating.

Jesus just get bumper, full hood, full fender.

thank me later.

[F87_LCI]

Originally Posted by akkando

Jesus just get bumper, full hood, full fender.

thank me later.

+1. It may (or may not) hurt your wallet up front, but it is well worth it. I only did partial hood on my F30 and that line bugged me until the day I sold it. I swear it became more noticeable over time as well. Not to mention that I was behind some jackwang with a roofing truck and I got little spots of roofing tar all over the hood. The spots one the film came off with only a little effort...the spots on the paint...different story. This time around I went full frontal, plus rockers and partial rear quarters. I will also do the roof once I swap it out.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by F87_LCI

+1. It may (or may not) hurt your wallet up front, but it is well worth it. I only did partial hood on my F30 and that line bugged me until the day I sold it. I swear it became more noticeable over time as well. Not to mention that I was behind some jackwang with a roofing truck and I got little spots of roofing tar all over the hood. The spots one the film came off with only a little effort...the spots on the paint...different story. This time around I went full frontal, plus rockers and partial rear quarters. I will also do the roof once I swap it out.

yeah it hurts to write the check now but five years from now when you're looking at your perfect bumper, fenders, and hood with no swirls and no rock chips you're not going to think back to today and wish you had saved the money.

[ShelJW]

Originally Posted by F87_LCI

This time around I went full frontal, plus rockers and partial rear quarters. I will also do the roof once I swap it out.

I'm getting this exact service done to my new M2 this tuesday.

By the way, as was previously mentioned, BMW does a partial on the rear quarters from the factory, so you can take a look at your car, and see how visible (or nearly invisible) the seam really is!

Chances are, if you're getting Xcel or Suntec, the seam will be even less visible, but you can take a look at your M2 if it hasn't gotten any clear bra done yet, and see the protection that BMW put behind the rear tires...

You honestly won't know it's there, unless you are looking for it!

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by akkando

Jesus just get bumper, full hood, full fender.

thank me later.

Absolutely do all three - plus the mirrors, rockers and the U (the A pillars and header over the windshield). That area seems to take more hits than anywhere else on the car. Also, as has been reported elsewhere in these threads, it's not just the bumper that takes a lot of hits from stones, cinders and hard-headed bugs - the hood beyond the leading edge takes a lot of hits too. I went so far as to check the splash patterns on the sides of dirty M2s and discovered that the rear quarter protector from BMW needed to be removed and replaced by a larger (taller) one too.

If you're anal enough to stare at the cut-off line on the Xpel, you'll really hate yourself when you start filling in chips that will never match - especially since you have a metallic finish. Polkadot LBB, anyone?

[akkando]

Originally Posted by Spa2k

Absolutely do all three - plus the mirrors, rockers and the U (the A pillars and header over the windshield). That area seems to take more hits than anywhere else on the car. Also, as has been reported elsewhere in these threads, it's not just the bumper that takes a lot of hits from stones, cinders and hard-headed bugs - the hood beyond the leading edge takes a lot of hits too. I went so far as to check the splash patterns on the sides of dirty M2s and discovered that the rear quarter protector from BMW needed to be removed and replaced by a larger (taller) one too.

If you're anal enough to stare at the cut-off line on the Xpel, you'll really hate yourself when you start filling in chips that will never match - especially since you have a metallic finish. Polkadot LBB, anyone?

I had my rear fender factory PPF removed and then Xpel Ultimate applied like this stopping at the body line so it hides the seam a lot better.



Didn't do rocker panels and those are taking a lot of hits. At least I generally can't see any damage unless I am crouched down looking for it so I don't ever notice it. PPF on rear fenders have taken A LOT of hits, and I do notice that. If you don't apply a big piece there you're going to have a lot of rock chips on the rear fenders.

[babym2]

PPF lol , waste of money

[kfscoll]

I wish I would’ve gotten PPF behind the rear wheels. I can’t believe how shredded those areas are after only 700 miles; the sticky tires pick up every little stone and chuck ‘em at the car. Oh well, I have to get my existing PPF touched up when I take the car in for break-in service, so I’ll probably get the rear wheel area done then. Better late than never I guess. Or I can just wait until someone inevitably rear-ends me.

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by babym2

PPF lol , waste of money

Only if you prefer the sandblasted and rusty metal look. The last two cars I traded in, the dealers gave me full book retail for my trades - plus the original value of the Xpel treatment. And they made money selling both of them.

[Rupes]

I have film on my alpine white car, and am noticing the "black lines" more and more. Thinking about removing it now. I'd like to DIY with a hairdryer, but have some concern of paint damage from the removal - is that a thing?

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by Rupes

I have film on my alpine white car, and am noticing the "black lines" more and more. Thinking about removing it now. I'd like to DIY with a hairdryer, but have some concern of paint damage from the removal - is that a thing?

Absolutely. The guy who bought my GTI tried to remove the Xpel and peeled off the paint with it. If you must have it removed, take it back to the installer.

And I agree that the PPF lines show up more on a pure white car than even a metallic white or pearl white (or darker) car. I'm not happy with the lines, either, because the dust and dirt sits up against them and they show. I've been told that waxing those areas helps, but with the temperatures still way below freezing, I haven't tried it yet. The only way to get around it during installation is to wrap the Xpel around all the edges of the panels (which obviously won't work around the windows), but then it becomes a very expensive custom job.

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by DetailersDomain

go for the full front its just the better option. here is the bsm we did

http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1253766

Is it possible to do the whole front of this car with all edges wrapped? Every time I talk to the "best" guy in town here he says there will always be lines and all edges cannot be wrapped as it won't stick. This always scares me away from PPF as I hate the lines around the edges it leaves.

[Detailers Domain]

Originally Posted by dmk08

Is it possible to do the whole front of this car with all edges wrapped? Every time I talk to the "best" guy in town here he says there will always be lines and all edges cannot be wrapped as it won't stick. This always scares me away from PPF as I hate the lines around the edges it leaves.

there are limitations. reach out to JC at

http://detaileddesignsautospa.com/

He's going to be probably the best guy around the Atlanta region.

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by DetailersDomain

there are limitations. reach out to JC at

http://detaileddesignsautospa.com/

He's going to be probably the best guy around the Atlanta region.

His prices are insane tho!