New to the game / Looking for recs

[Friggy31]

Just received my new 2024 X5. I'm very OCD about the finish and this is probably the nicest car I've ever owned. Saw a small swirl at the dealership which was buffed out but got me researching protection options ASAP.

Currently looking at having a full wrap of XPEL Ultimate Plus applied following detailing/paint correction to keep the paint as close to new as I possibly can. Base color is carbon black.

Questions are:
- What are people's thoughts on XPEL Ultimate Plus ($6k-ish for full wrap)
- Would I be happy with just the wrap for overall protection and gloss?
- Alternatively considering front wrap with opti-coat pro plus after. ($4k-ish for front/rear partial and ceramic coating).

As always, thanks for all the advice!

Just looking for advice for what will give me the most protection I'll be happy with. without totally breaking the bank.

[house]

I'm fairly OCD myself. I did the the full front Xpel PPF and Ceramic Coating, and I'd do the same thing again if I needed to.

The ceramic coating just makes it look incredible, that is a no brainer. If you do the PPF, I had them do the front and stop at all the natural breaks in the car. There are only a couple of spots you can see the PPF line, and you have to look incredibly hard.

I didn't the PPF on the whole car because of cost, but I'm glad I didn't. The rear diffuser would have required so many cut lines it would have driven me nuts. I did have them do the black rockers to help as well with rocks bouncing off the road.

[ppointer]

I have been the route of PPF on the front and ceramic for the rest of the car. I'm most worried about stains from birds and tree sap, and the ceramic works. I would guess for the long hall a full PPF might be cheaper than refreshing ceramic every year or so. I guess I will find out.

I know from experience that PPF is good for about a dozen years. At that point it gets yellow and brittle, and so I have replaced it on the front of two cars that I have owned long term.

One thing I like about PPF is that I can scrub on it pretty hard to remove bug debris, without damage to the PPF.

[SYT_Shadow]

PPF protects against sand and small rock chips, ceramic coating does not. If you pay 6k for PPF, 10 years later and after 100k miles, your car's paint will still be pristine.

That's worth it for me!

[Westside Guy]

I have allover Ultimate Plus and put ceramic on top of it. The car looks beautiful and for me personally it was a great investment as I have piece of mind against normal rock chips, etc.

However if I have to protect a new car I might select Xpel’s Ultimate Fusion that has a hydrophobic top-coat and you don’t need to add a ceramic coating.

[tallslenderguy]

i've been reading up on PPF, i have actual experience with ceramic. i'm totally sold on ceramic coating and would not have a care without it.
my understanding is that PPF protects from rock/chip damage, ceramic is more about protecting from sun damage. Ceramic coating over PPF helps protect it from sun damage. And now there is PPF with infused ceramic, but i wonder about the verbiage "infused" vs surface? idk, maybe just my perception, but for me the hydrophobic properties of ceramic in my experience have been hugely effective, i think i'd opt for ceramic over PPF vs infused, but that's not evidence based, just my particular take on it.

[Mr. Jonathan]

Are there any suggestions regarding the carbon roof? Is ceramic the best product to protect against UV? Anyone have an issue with discoloration or other imperfections over time on the carbon roof?

[farishat]

Also, if I might add another question... is it a concern to apply PPF and Ceramic during winter when temperatures are low and close to freezing? Shops are probably climatized, but still makes me nervous ;-(

[Chilled]

Brand choice is 2nd to the choice of installer. A gumby installer will mess up any PPF install and will make you hate it.

As far as what brand/type, I would say go with Stek's Dynoshiled, 3M 200 Series. Currently they seem to have the best offering in term of both protection and visual aspects. By visual I mean clarity, orange peel, and built in hydrophobic properties.

Xpel Tier B, at best. They may have been good back in the day, but not today. That is in regards to everything, protection, orange peel, hydrophobic. The only people that recommend Xpel now days, are the people that either A) Are contractually obligated to sux Xpel off, B) got suckered into getting in the first place.


As far as Ceramic vs PPF. As this question.

• Do you want to keep your car looking clean with 0 rock chip protection whilst spending a couple 1000 every 6-12 month on reapplying ceramic coat?
  or
• Do you want to protect your paint against rock chips and scratches?

If its the latter choose, PPF.

Here is also in interesting vid.

[NikMN]

Originally Posted by Chilled

Brand choice is 2nd to the choice of installer. A gumby installer will mess up any PPF install and will make you hate it.

As far as what brand/type, I would say go with Stek's Dynoshiled, 3M 200 Series. Currently they seem to have the best offering in term of both protection and visual aspects. By visual I mean clarity, orange peel, and built in hydrophobic properties.

Xpel Tier B, at best. They may have been good back in the day, but not today. That is in regards to everything, protection, orange peel, hydrophobic. The only people that recommend Xpel now days, are the people that either A) Are contractually obligated to sux Xpel off, B) got suckered into getting in the first place.


As far as Ceramic vs PPF. As this question.

• Do you want to keep your car looking clean with 0 rock chip protection whilst spending a couple 1000 every 6-12 month on reapplying ceramic coat?
  or
• Do you want to protect your paint against rock chips and scratches?

If its the latter choose, PPF.

Here is also in interesting vid.

How much?