XPEL vs. Suntek PPF - answers on a postcard please
Discussion
About to book my 991.2 GT3 in for full front & sills PPF and wondered if anyone had experience of either Suntek or XPEL
I had Suntek on my RS and thought it was very good - I thought it dulled the paint very slightly, but it was invisible and in truth, this may have been my imagination playing tricks on me. The specialist I want to use for this, strongly recommends and mostly uses, XPEL (he’s authorised for both)
Has anyone had experience of both or just the XPEL and as such, has a view ?
Cheers
I had Suntek on my RS and thought it was very good - I thought it dulled the paint very slightly, but it was invisible and in truth, this may have been my imagination playing tricks on me. The specialist I want to use for this, strongly recommends and mostly uses, XPEL (he’s authorised for both)
Has anyone had experience of both or just the XPEL and as such, has a view ?
Cheers
Have you got a date yet 100%
Ppf is more down to prep, the template and the fitter, I had an xpel front bumper on the GT4 it was ni on invisible, but that was on yellow, on metalics, white or black it never looks that great imo. Did you see my car, I cannot remember.
Who are you using to do it ? One is easier to fit than the other I am told so fitters like the easier option or that can also mean the easier one can look better, I would ask which one the fitter can do best and has the best template.
Ppf is more down to prep, the template and the fitter, I had an xpel front bumper on the GT4 it was ni on invisible, but that was on yellow, on metalics, white or black it never looks that great imo. Did you see my car, I cannot remember.
Who are you using to do it ? One is easier to fit than the other I am told so fitters like the easier option or that can also mean the easier one can look better, I would ask which one the fitter can do best and has the best template.
Porsche911R said:
Have you got a date yet 100%
Ppf is more down to prep, the template and the fitter, I had an xpel front bumper on the GT4 it was ni on invisible, but that was on yellow, on metalics, white or black it never looks that great imo. Did you see my car, I cannot remember.
Who are you using to do it ? One is easier to fit than the other I am told so fitters like the easier option or that can also mean the easier one can look better, I would ask which one the fitter can do best and has the best template.
Cheers D - I think the ex build date is Thurs of next week but I’m not 100% sure and don’t want to keep asking.Ppf is more down to prep, the template and the fitter, I had an xpel front bumper on the GT4 it was ni on invisible, but that was on yellow, on metalics, white or black it never looks that great imo. Did you see my car, I cannot remember.
Who are you using to do it ? One is easier to fit than the other I am told so fitters like the easier option or that can also mean the easier one can look better, I would ask which one the fitter can do best and has the best template.
Saw photos of your car but never in real life.
Fitter strongly preferred XPEL but you never know if this is margin / ease driven
RSVP911 said:
Thinking of using Max Protect.
London ?, the 2 names which come up are always Paintshield and Topaz and I never see any thing bad about those 2 bar the prices Signature-group are tempting their works looks good and more local.
max protect is just a franchise I thought.
I did hear Paintshield was the market leader but Topaz poached one of their fitters, and seem the new market leader.
but I always hear top results from paint shield still.
they also wrap edges on bonnets ect some only use a template and refuse to wrap an edge or do any custom work, they just buy the xpel template and don't differ from that.
If I had a bonnet done then I would want wrapped edges, if I were just getting a Bumper done then it's going to be a fixed template.
paintshield still say "Europe’s most Skilled Installers ensure quality workmanship."
my GT4 job while better than a lot I See was still not great and had lifting edges and a few bubbles was a smaller indy which did that.
I had XPEL Ultimate fitted to my 718 BGTS yesterday and the results are superb - invisible with no colour change and zero orange peel. If you are located in or near Sussex I highly recommend Race by Design in East Grinstead. They were considerably cheaper than Paintshield and others I had quotes from.
Porsche911R said:
RSVP911 said:
Thinking of using Max Protect.
London ?, the 2 names which come up are always Paintshield and Topaz and I never see any thing bad about those 2 bar the prices Signature-group are tempting their works looks good and more local.
max protect is just a franchise I thought.
I did hear Paintshield was the market leader but Topaz poached one of their fitters, and seem the new market leader.
but I always hear top results from paint shield still.
they also wrap edges on bonnets ect some only use a template and refuse to wrap an edge or do any custom work, they just buy the xpel template and don't differ from that.
If I had a bonnet done then I would want wrapped edges, if I were just getting a Bumper done then it's going to be a fixed template.
paintshield still say "Europe’s most Skilled Installers ensure quality workmanship."
my GT4 job while better than a lot I See was still not great and had lifting edges and a few bubbles was a smaller indy which did that.
Have you got a date for yours btw ?
No firm date Porsche seem to be making a lot of cars this 1st 1/4 dates are always moving.
Like you I have not chased for a few weeks, it will be here soon :-)
I am sure paint shield will fit the decals ok just get them sent to you in a tube.
I cannot remember why I choose xpel after digging though a lot of bulls
t.
Like you I have not chased for a few weeks, it will be here soon :-)
I am sure paint shield will fit the decals ok just get them sent to you in a tube.
I cannot remember why I choose xpel after digging though a lot of bulls
t. Porsche911R said:
No firm date Porsche seem to be making a lot of cars this 1st 1/4 dates are always moving.
Like you I have not chased for a few weeks, it will be here soon :-)
I am sure paint shield will fit the decals ok just get them sent to you in a tube.
I cannot remember why I choose xpel after digging though a lot of bullst.
Paint shield don’t do decals unfortunately and these are not complex , but not super simple either . I’m sure it will sort itself out Like you I have not chased for a few weeks, it will be here soon :-)
I am sure paint shield will fit the decals ok just get them sent to you in a tube.
I cannot remember why I choose xpel after digging though a lot of bulls
t. RSVP911 said:
Desert Dragon said:
Who's your installer? I'd go with expel if thats their advice.
Thinking of using Max Protect.http://cgperformance.co.uk/
I've not used them but probably will be when my car arrives in April. I've seen them recommended on here in the past.
As I understand it Xpel is a slightly heavier gauge than Suntek and consequently more durable but by the same token that bit harder to install. My installer only uses Xpel but says some firms use a mix of both with Suntek on the less vulnerable areas ( but then he would say that wouldn’t he 
)
A couple of detail points (forgive pun). Removing the bonnet badge and then refitting when the film is in place gives a better finish with no cut edges. The 991 front pu design means it is not possible to remove the lights to wrap film into the light nacelles without removing the PU first. I wouldn’t want anyone other than OPC removing the PU but on my car though OPC offered to do the work at no charge I decided I would rather have the cut edges than someone monkeying about with the PU.
)A couple of detail points (forgive pun). Removing the bonnet badge and then refitting when the film is in place gives a better finish with no cut edges. The 991 front pu design means it is not possible to remove the lights to wrap film into the light nacelles without removing the PU first. I wouldn’t want anyone other than OPC removing the PU but on my car though OPC offered to do the work at no charge I decided I would rather have the cut edges than someone monkeying about with the PU.
Cheib said:
RSVP911 said:
Desert Dragon said:
Who's your installer? I'd go with expel if thats their advice.
Thinking of using Max Protect.http://cgperformance.co.uk/
I've not used them but probably will be when my car arrives in April. I've seen them recommended on here in the past.
lowndes said:
As I understand it Xpel is a slightly heavier gauge than Suntek and consequently more durable but by the same token that bit harder to install. My installer only uses Xpel but says some firms use a mix of both with Suntek on the less vulnerable areas ( but then he would say that wouldn’t he )
A couple of detail points (forgive pun). Removing the bonnet badge and then refitting when the film is in place gives a better finish with no cut edges. The 991 front pu design means it is not possible to remove the lights to wrap film into the light nacelles without removing the PU first. I wouldn’t want anyone other than OPC removing the PU but on my car though OPC offered to do the work at no charge I decided I would rather have the cut edges than someone monkeying about with the PU.
Thanks for this - I know this is exactly what Topaz do - Suntek is marginally clearer and lighter and as such is placed on less exposed areas and XPEL is tougher as it’s thicker and as such is placed in areas of risk - apparently it’s impossible to see the two films on the car. They also mentioned the point re the front lights and have developed a special tool to deal with this - I await the quote with nervous apprehension )A couple of detail points (forgive pun). Removing the bonnet badge and then refitting when the film is in place gives a better finish with no cut edges. The 991 front pu design means it is not possible to remove the lights to wrap film into the light nacelles without removing the PU first. I wouldn’t want anyone other than OPC removing the PU but on my car though OPC offered to do the work at no charge I decided I would rather have the cut edges than someone monkeying about with the PU.
Thanks will try all of those guys for a quote. Full PPF via Expel in Letchworth on a 991 cab is £3500. I had an AMG done by them at the front and the PPF started peeling off itself so we got rid of it. It was a poor install in my view but a difficult car to do but in this instance they should just be up front and say that particular car etc is a nightmare better not to bother but perhaps thats naive on my part? Paintshield want £3900 but this includes picking the car up. Seems an awful lot of money both are asking for a plastic wrap when you consider you can have a full glass out respray for around £3000 to £4000 which involves much more labour, dust free paint booth/oven and most importantly labour intensive preparation.
If its going to be a daily driver that does a lot of miles or a track toy then I would suggest using Xpel Ultimate as its more hard wearing then SunTek Ultra or Llumar Platinum (same film but branded different from eastman chemicals). Some installers just prefer to use SunTek/Llumar as it did look better then xpel and its a lot easier to install as the adhesive isnt as aggressive so the film can be manipulated without any distortions or stretch marks.
Xpel have just released a new film called "Ultimate Plus" which is what I would recommend to have fitted as it looks good and has a nice gloss to it compared to the older version of "Ultimate".
Xpel have just released a new film called "Ultimate Plus" which is what I would recommend to have fitted as it looks good and has a nice gloss to it compared to the older version of "Ultimate".
Edited by jayplay28 on Saturday 10th February 13:03
Desert Dragon said:
Thanks will try all of those guys for a quote. Full PPF via Expel in Letchworth on a 991 cab is £3500. I had an AMG done by them at the front and the PPF started peeling off itself so we got rid of it. It was a poor install in my view but a difficult car to do but in this instance they should just be up front and say that particular car etc is a nightmare better not to bother but perhaps thats naive on my part? Paintshield want £3900 but this includes picking the car up. Seems an awful lot of money both are asking for a plastic wrap when you consider you can have a full glass out respray for around £3000 to £4000 which involves much more labour, dust free paint booth/oven and most importantly labour intensive preparation.
A £3k paint job will be crap. But I agree I don’t get ppf rates a lot of people getting very rich on it.
Porsche911R said:
Desert Dragon said:
But I agree I don’t get ppf rates a lot of people getting very rich on it.
I used to use http://cgperformance.co.uk/ and they did/do a fantastic job, covered a Black 991.1 GT3 and you could not see it had been done. I needed a new car doing before using it and CG were booked up so tried http://www.autostore.co.uk who are 10 minutes down the road from Cambridge and they did a brilliant job and have used them every since.
Both come highly recommended and for me it would come down to lead-time if I had to choose one.....
Both come highly recommended and for me it would come down to lead-time if I had to choose one.....
w5pwr said:
I used to use http://cgperformance.co.uk/ and they did/do a fantastic job, covered a Black 991.1 GT3 and you could not see it had been done. I needed a new car doing before using it and CG were booked up so tried http://www.autostore.co.uk who are 10 minutes down the road from Cambridge and they did a brilliant job and have used them every since.
Both come highly recommended and for me it would come down to lead-time if I had to choose one.....
Thanks for the advice Both come highly recommended and for me it would come down to lead-time if I had to choose one.....
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