Anyone with a 4x4 do a full PPF install?

I want to do full satin PPF on my gloss black 4x4 or satin black color PPF but the quotes I'm getting are insane.

One shop quoted me $20K (WTF!), another $15K, and the lowest quote I have got is $10K.

These are high end shops in SD/OC area.

$10K is still too much but that's reasonable compared to $15-20K

 

$20k is super high but the $15k is in the ballpark for a shop that does a proper job wrapping the panels to ensure no seams or lines are visible. If you have not done the Stealth/Satin PPF before I have found that it costs 50%-75% more than normal clear PPF to do. My standard G63 had the full matte PPF installed for $13k about 3 years ago. I had a Cayenne quoted for normal full PPF and it was $6k then asked to quote Stealth PPF and it was $9k so that uncharge for the matte look is on all vehicles.

 

I was on the fence about coatings until I read this thread. The car washes and rock chips be damned, I'm going to find out just how this magno mercedes paint stands up!

 

I just got a magno olive and was wondering if a full ppf would keep me from having to worry about the fading you read about/see on some of the magno finishes? And whether doing it in stealth would be cool or cause some sort of decibel stealth matte mess…? Opinions welcome.

 

So you think it’s good for the magno colors? Any thoughts on whether doing a stealth ppf would be overkill?

 

We had our 26 Magno Hyper Blue stealth PPF’d and we are super happy so far. It is just a piece of mind having it all protected.

 

We had full PPF applied to the entire vehicle and then had it ceramic coated on top of that. We also had windshield protection film applied to the front windshield, once XPEL came out with that product as well.

It is a clear PPF, so it just looks like the factory paint; you can't tell that there is PPF applied to the vehicle unless you get right up on the paint by looking for the edges of the PPF. They are applied in giant sheets, so there are not many edges.

The vehicle has taken hits from rock chips to the driver's blinker, which I have replaced. The driver's mirror housing that I think I might be able to buff out, 10+ divots on the grill guard, where rock chips have taken off the paint, exposing the metal. XPEL doesn't PPF the grill guard.

So I'm assuming from the amount of rock chips the vehicle has taken to the unprotected areas of the vehicle, that the PPF has saved me numerous times. The paint is pristine.

 

My PPF guy suggests with stealth PPF and ceramic coating on top of that. Even the rims.

 

I can also confirm on the stealth ppf + ceramic coating quote of 10K+ on a G63, there are just too many panels and nooks and crannies that the labor will take at least 3 days. On my Cayenne it was only around 5-6K as well for a clear coat PPF.

 

Did they say that it will be reflected on Carfax? Potentially adding 10K + value to your car when traded.

 

I was quoted $10k for a full wrap on my G63.

 

How long did it take for the shop? Mine is telling me around 3-4 days PPF + ceramic coating.

 

My detailer took three days for ceramic coating and partial wrap on my G63. He wrapped the brush guard which gave me piece of mind.

 

Nice! Thanks!

 

PPF has become more of a fashion it seems. 15k for doing it to save it from chips, that too not guaranteed , is insane. I just can’t find myself admiring the satin layer covering the beautiful magno paint , for which I already paid premium.
I hand wash my car and park it carefully . If a dig is going to happen, so be it.

 

PPF isn’t about perfection or trends. On matte paint like Magno, it’s basically an insurance layer. You can’t polish scratches/scrapes on magno paint , so without PPF you’re committing to repainting panels. I don’t think full-body PPF is always worth $15k, but doing high-impact areas is just risk management, not fashion but a peace of mind, IMHO.

 

I did the Full PPF on my re-fresh 2025 G63 here in Miami. Done at Garage Customs for 8k. Every painted panel was covered and im VERY happy with the result. I have a deep gloss limo Black 040 paint and between every car wash the clearcoat would get scratched no matter what I did or how careful I was. The clear is so soft even towels and you own finger prints scuff the clear, even after a delicate hand car wash the paint gets micro scratches everywhere. I had the car paint corrected 3 times in 8 months out of ocd and I finally gave in. I have always loved the bare painted panels with a good ceramic coating, but I accepted as my detailer said if we keep doing corrections there wont be clear left.

I did it on 2 of my cars, one with XPEL and one with STEK. I found the Stek to be significantly better. The XPEL premium stuff has lots of orange peel, wheras the Stek had a perfect mirror finish. It also has built in ceramic, but I put an additional coat over that. The water beads off like nothing ive seen before, hand car washes are less than 45min with impeccable results, dirt does not stick, its nearly impossible to scratch or haze and is self healing in the sun. My black car always looks mint after a wash like it just drove off showroom even at 12k miles. It also protects against debris and chips. I couldnt be more happy and will now do this on all my future cars and never have to worry about haze, scratches, touching it, towels, ring fingers, nails, heels etc.. Just have them add in the door sills and your good to go. PPF from Stek gets an A+ from me.

**Also, I tried 4 companies for Windshield protection film, Exo, Xpel, Ultrafit and Windhshield skin. I didnt try Clearplex as its a hard film, like the Exo, and difficult to install which caused a lot of defects like film glue rub/smears from moving it around. I found Windshield Skin is by far the BEST ppf film for rocks chips and had the best clarity, no yellowing, hydrophobic and easist to install of all of them. It has no rainbow affect, UV protection, 3 different thickness options (I went for thickest on my G and Ferrari as I do a lot of highway driving without it having much noticable clarity loss due to the extra thickness). Its very durable. They all get micro scratches from wiper blades and they all make the blades very noisy (this will go away over time when the blades wear in, no coating will keep this from happening). Ive already taken 2 massive rocks to the film and it left no damage. Its rated, and vids on youtube show, it can take a .22 bullet without breaking the glass. They also offer a pre-cut option which I found is much quicker and easier for an installer (or do it yourself) to put in and therefore theres no cutting or razor blades needed along your delicate rubber trim. Best of all you can replace it every year or 2 easily as it gets beat up over time if you do a lot of driving, saving your windshield.***

 

This is great info. I'll need to ask my PPF guy what windshield film they are using.

 

What's the best option for stuttering wipers?

I tried both Windshield Skin and XPEL. Honestly. The same in protection and bug splatter decay. Both still have wiper stuttering. So annoying.

 

Have you tried the Windy City wipers? I know last year there was a thread about it and I worked with them to make sure they were available in the appropriate size. Some people have had great luck with them not stutttering. I have a set, but haven't changed them out yet as I do not have any windshield film right now. I did order the Windshield Skin and going to try it, so I may switch to the Windy City wipers at that time.

 

Windshield wiper stuttering:
I have Xpel, I started getting wiper stuttering a few months ago. a search through forums said perhaps the wiper arms needed to be correctly aligned/calibrated.
I took it into the dealer and they said that I just needed new wipers. It has fixed the stuttering issue. Maybe the film just means we need to replace wipers more frequently?

Full PPF
Also went for full XPEL PPF around the truck. Haven't had any issues with the PPF. I think pricing varies a good amount depending on geography and installer reputation.
If you live in a big enough metro area though, you should be able to find good data on what a decent price is and who is reputable.

 

I have the mango and decided to wrap the hood, front bumper and front fenders. Can’t see the difference visually.

The Turbo S is fully wrapped…

I live in rural ND surrounded by gravel roads. Additionally, I don’t keep vehicles long enough to worry about out removing the wrap and what it might do to the paint.