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1,000 miles in and absolutely loving my E63S Wagon, just seems to be getting better by the day!
I’ve been faffing/deliberating about paint protection and finally decided to bite the bullet and get Xpel Stealth for the whole car.
Becuase it’s leased I wanted to check with the dealer that it was ok and he confirmed it was fine but suggested I don’t get Xpel Stealth and that I get the following product instead:
I’ve got a brilliant quote from a local approved Xpel installer who will do the whole car plus a ceramic coat on top for £3.5k plus VAT.
But the dealers recommendation quote is £5k plus VAT.
His rationale was as follows:
”Xpel Stealth vinyl wrap ( the quote you have below ) is a cut template, this can be a milometer out from the edges which is then prone to chips/scratches and in time a visible dirty edge.
NGenco product is a spray on product rather than a wrap the benefits of the spray is that there will be no joins and no crease marks on the corners/edges, there are no cuts or tears, no stress marks, no glue residues and no UV yellowing and fading.- the reason it is more expensive is the time it can take”
Has anyone come across this product before? Is it any good? Any thoughts on which one I should go for?
I know many many have got Xpel on their cars, should I be worried about what he says above?
2024 AMG EQE SUV , 2021 E63S Wagon - gone, 2018 E63S Sedan - gone
Maybe it's just me, but I thought that the whole idea of the magno paint was to only have to use soap and rinse. Why is everyone wrapping the car to have the same finish? You could have saved yourself significant money by getting a metallic paint and doing a ceramic coating for ease of care. I would also think the the application of the ceramic coating involves some perfection of the finish which would not be compatible with a non-gloss paint I would think.
I have had a full XPel wrap on my 911 Turbo S and on my E 63S for four years. It keeps both cars looking new and will protect the car from parking lot incident at low speeds
Audi R8, Alfa Romeo Quad, 991tt,cls550, 997tt, 85 Carrera
This is the first car I got paint correction and ceramic coating. I think most of the claims are B.S. The greatest benefit is that the paint looks amazing, they removed all the swirl marks and the paint has a high gloss mirror like finish. My disappointment is that the claims that water just sheds off and their is very minimal maintenance involved is just not true. After a rain you still get water spots and the paint is still susceptible to swirl marks if you are not careful. If I had to do it again I would have gone for the Xpel wrap.
This is the first car I got paint correction and ceramic coating. I think most of the claims are B.S. The greatest benefit is that the paint looks amazing, they removed all the swirl marks and the paint has a high gloss mirror like finish. My disappointment is that the claims that water just sheds off and their is very minimal maintenance involved is just not true. After a rain you still get water spots and the paint is still susceptible to swirl marks if you are not careful. If I had to do it again I would have gone for the Xpel wrap.
Xpel wraps and other PPF’s will also pick up swirl marks if not careful, as well as with ceramic coatings like you mentioned. I know this from experience. It all comes down to how you maintain the cars surface.
There is a huge misconception that ceramic or other type of liquid or wax coating are actual paint protection. That is completely false and ridiculous that detail shops advertise that it does. It make the car look more glossy and easier to clean as the paint surface is hydrophobic, but that is it. Paint protection needs a film. Even if you put multiple layers of ceramic coating it will NOT protect your paint. If a shop tells you this, run away. If you want to protect your paint (especially magno finish that costs 3k per panel to respray and won't look OEM), PPF is the only way to go. When my 19 gets here, I'm getting xpel stealth or suntek matte asap.
Maybe it's just me, but I thought that the whole idea of the magno paint was to only have to use soap and rinse. Why is everyone wrapping the car to have the same finish? You could have saved yourself significant money by getting a metallic paint and doing a ceramic coating for ease of care. I would also think the the application of the ceramic coating involves some perfection of the finish which would not be compatible with a non-gloss paint I would think.
Or they could just get a glossy paint, get xpel stealth and to it into a matte version of whatever glossy paint you want. A Matte Cardinal Red or Lunar Blue would probably look amazing, and be pretty unique. And you'd end up spending maybe a thousand more than if you had checked the matte paint option and worried about the finish.
There is a huge misconception that ceramic or other type of liquid or wax coating are actual paint protection. That is completely false and ridiculous that detail shops advertise that it does. It make the car look more glossy and easier to clean as the paint surface is hydrophobic, but that is it. Paint protection needs a film. Even if you put multiple layers of ceramic coating it will NOT protect your paint. If a shop tells you this, run away. If you want to protect your paint (especially magno finish that costs 3k per panel to respray and won't look OEM), PPF is the only way to go. When my 19 gets here, I'm getting xpel stealth or suntek matte asap.
THIS! A ceramic or any type of spray coating is ~1mil (which varies with the skill of the person applying) and must be reapplied every 1-2 years if you want to maintain that thickness...and road debris can cut right through it to your paint easily. Xpel Ultimate and Stealth are both 8.5mil thick. They're also self repairing. The dealer wants you to get the coating because they likely get a cut of referrals. Get the XPEL. Every surface of my car except the windows is wrapped. I've got 6k miles on it and you can't tell it didn't just roll out of the showroom. Same with the SLS that was fully wrapped and had 30k miles, like showroom new after a wash.
Thanks folks, the dealer swears this Ngenco stuff is better at protecting the car than XPEL (it seems to create a plastic film just like a wrap) but I agree, he clearly gets a cut of a referral and the overwhelming feedback universally has been XPEL is a good way to go.
The idea of using a metallic glossy paint and then wrap it with a Xpel Stealth or other matte PPF is great and that is what I will be doing with mine.
The OP's quote on the Xpel and coat seems too cheap for an authorized installer. I got a quote of 6900€ plus VAT which I find on the expensive side.
Installers get better prices but go to Xpel's site and do the math. Pre-cut panels with normal Xpel will cost about $6400 usd. Stealth version adds 10% over it. And still needs labor and coating... If you opt for buying a film sheet of 5m x 2m it will cost about $1200 usd and you will need at least 3 of them for the wrap. That's $3600 usd plus labor and coating.
There is no better option currently for paint protection than a PPF. Everything else is BS. Coating only gives a very superficial protection, mainly for uv and dirt and ease of cleaning. Just a tiny peeble will cut thru it. Door dings likewise. Coating will only place 1 or 2 mil layer. Vinyl will place 3 to 8 mil at best. PPF places 6 to 10 mil. Xpel puts around 8 mil. And it has self healing properties because it is an expandable material under heat. It will not ease cleaning much. For that you need a ceramic coating. It will give another layer of hydrophobic protection.
Being a lease I would just put xpel on the front and cover all the car with ceramic coat
The idea of using a metallic glossy paint and then wrap it with a Xpel Stealth or other matte PPF is great and that is what I will be doing with mine.
The OP's quote on the Xpel and coat seems too cheap for an authorized installer. I got a quote of 6900€ plus VAT which I find on the expensive side.
Installers get better prices but go to Xpel's site and do the math. Pre-cut panels with normal Xpel will cost about $6400 usd. Stealth version adds 10% over it. And still needs labor and coating... If you opt for buying a film sheet of 5m x 2m it will cost about $1200 usd and you will need at least 3 of them for the wrap. That's $3600 usd plus labor and coating.
There is no better option currently for paint protection than a PPF. Everything else is BS. Coating only gives a very superficial protection, mainly for uv and dirt and ease of cleaning. Just a tiny peeble will cut thru it. Door dings likewise. Coating will only place 1 or 2 mil layer. Vinyl will place 3 to 8 mil at best. PPF places 6 to 10 mil. Xpel puts around 8 mil. And it has self healing properties because it is an expandable material under heat. It will not ease cleaning much. For that you need a ceramic coating. It will give another layer of hydrophobic protection.
Being a lease I would just put xpel on the front and cover all the car with ceramic coat
100% agree. Taking the same approach. The PPF for protection and the coating will be for appearance for me.
Ok guys, when you mean get the front done PPF - specifically which panels do you mean and do you recommend getting the back panel/bumper where I’m loading things into the boot?
Ok guys, when you mean get the front done PPF - specifically which panels do you mean and do you recommend getting the back panel/bumper where I’m loading things into the boot?
I had the front hood, fenders, bumper, headlights done in XPEL and the entire car done with Ceramic pro. Makes the water spots from driving in the rain and road debris easier to clean off with a wash, but doesnt keep the spots off. It does make the car dramatically easier to dry. I use a spotless water system and a foam cannon. I wet the car, foam the car, wipe the car with a mit quickly and then dry it with a Master Blaster. The entire process takes 15 minutes. Faster than it would take to drive to the car wash.
I did the same as SmokinV10 after some minor paint correction before the Ceramic Pro was applied. Turned out great and the car is easier to maintain clean.
11-10-2018, 01:40 PM
