jdmmbz

Has anyone had their new GL coated with Xpel or does MB have a decent clear bra that covers hood/fenders/bumper. Hope they don't have the ugly partial bra?

fabbrisd1

I use 3M Venture Shield which is a more durable material, and thicker, so it gives maximum protection. The experience of the installer is the real critical element here:

CLICK HERE LOCATE VENTURESHIELD INSTALLER

xxGenericSNxx

It depends on dealer to dealer. Some dealers use pre cut garbage (either outsourced or in house) that is only a partial kit and you can really see all the edges. Some dealers such as my local one, outsources their work to a local tint shop that will then do a custom cut installation with Xpel and the seems are much more neat.

There is no OEM clear bra.

JimBarnhart

I had 3M installed on mine. My dealership outsources it to a local shop, who comes in and does it in the dealership's service bay.

jdmmbz

I was hoping to find a MB dealer to do the same. Did the same thing for my GTR and it worked out perfect. A must have people forget about until they have tons of rock chips.

blittle

Jim.... how does that look? Do they do just the hood or the entire front area? ( which would be pretty complicated I would think )

JimBarnhart

I think it looks fine. You can see the lip on the hood of the vehicle if you look close enough, but it doesn't bother me in exchange for the protection. To be honest I haven't given it a close enough look yet to say what they call covered, but I know they did the hood, headlights, mirrors, door edges. I know the did cover the bumper, but I haven't looked closely enough to see.

xxGenericSNxx

It just depends the type of install they do. There's the cheaper and IMO crappier install that's precut and you can see all the seams and really looks terrible from up close and in a few years when the edges really show dirt. Or you can spend a little more and do an install where they cut and tuck all of the corners so it's really hidden. If you go this route, I'd recommend having them cover the whole hood so you don't get that ugly line that runs across. You can probably skip doing the fender at all since they don't really chip. It looks ridiculous with the small triangle they put on the front of the fender (vs. wrapping the whole thing)- not really necessary to wrap any part of the fender.

sbkim

Great info thanks. My local shop is pushing Xpel over 3m for some reason. I am leaning towards just doing full hood but not mirror or fender.

sraza

i too think fender and mirrors are not neccessary- though i wanna know what u guys think about it on a 550? i mean its really hood, lights and leds- the grill cant be covered, i dont know if the material is any different- on one of my cars the amg plastic grill cracked and broke in one of the honeycomb blocks- but that was plastic 09'-- i'm pretty sure its different now but not sure-
my dealer didnt push for either but told me they would do 3m- but man if not waxed and detailed that peice of plastic shows after a while!

xxGenericSNxx

Good call, I don't think the mirrors or fenders are that necessary. The hood and front bumper are the big components.

sraza

i too think fender and mirrors are not neccessary- though i wanna know what u guys think about it on a 550? i mean its really hood, lights and leds- the grill cant be covered, i dont know if the material is any different- on one of my cars the amg plastic grill cracked and broke in one of the honeycomb blocks- but that was plastic 09'-- i'm pretty sure its different now but not sure-
my dealer didnt push for either but told me they would do 3m- but man if not waxed and detailed that peice of plastic shows after a while!

sbkim

here's some template and pricing info from xpel:

https://www.xpel.com/products/paint_...=26&model=2096

the bumper piece, as expected, is the most expensive.

xxGenericSNxx

Definitely don't recommend a precut kit. Go with a custom cut kit for sure. The seems are very visible on precuts and look terrible especially after a few years.

sraza

absolutely- custom's the way to go- my dealer has a 3rd party professional come to the dealership and get it done there- but told me its like $1300.. but i think thats for entire protection, bumper, fender, hood lights etc etc
stick with custom- precut def shows really bad after a while

grane

I've had experience with these over several years on various cars.

3M has their own product that is now excellent - not like 10 years ago.. They bought VentureShield a couple of years ago and made some improvements to the product. Now they have a certified installer network. No more backyard shops. As a rule 3M is better for lighter color cars and VS for black and dark cars. The custom shops go from the computer pattern and then can wrap the entire car if you want.

I found the custom shop I use 1/2 the price of the dealer who subs out the job anyway and makes a profit on top of it.

In NE I use and recommend:
http://www.protectingyourpaint.com/Home.php

Don't try doing it yourself!