3M vs Xpel ultimate

Thanks, that's is who I meant.

Can you tell me the name of the person you dealt with?

I did call them & spoke to a Justin(?). I plan on doing a drive by to check them out...

 

I'm sure you probably spoke to Christian. He's a pleasure to deal with. A real car guy.

 

Follow up.

I picked up my car yesterday from my dealer who just got it back from a local Xpel installer: Automobilia Auto Salon in West Haven.

Result: I am very pleased and satisfied. Kudos to these guys who delivered a well done job, as promised. I had the whole car done w/ wrapped edges. Cut lines were very limited, in fact my dealer pointed to a few spots where he has seen cuts on other cars but not mine. They did not remove any of the emblems (I was worried they might try), the cut lines around them were very good. They prepped prior to install, so there are no spider webs, the shine was like glass, and it is even very hard to see if anything is on car.

I put on 200 miles yesterday, a lot of dead bugs up front, road dirt & splatter and I do not care, lol. I was not able to wash it last night, I will this weekend , so I am glad I did this.

 

Did you get the Ceramic Pro treatment too?

 

awesome Al! any pictures?

 

Yes it was on my invoice, but I am not familiar with the product since it was the plastic I was focusing on. I didn't ask , I trusted these guys to do the right thing.

Yes
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wow very nice! cant tell anything is there from the pictures, and the car its on isnt so bad either

 

I saw your car at Automobilia when I was there last week. Very nice! They apply the Ceramic Pro on top of the Xpel as well as on any areas that do not have the Xpel. They also have Ceramic Pro for wheels and calipers that make keeping those things clean so easy. Just a rinse and blow dry is all they need. I now have the full treatment on 2 of my cars done by Automobila. Very pleased with the results! Good choice, Al.

 

Xpel holds up. Ceramic pro is very good but not cheap at all. I know there is a similar product easier to apply thus less expensive but I dont recall the name.
On the Xpel I only have a bit of fog on one of my headlamp and you only see it at angle. rrest of if is flawless.
I'll have to go show him to figure if it is inside, outside or what. But it is minor so there is no urgency. The thing has warranty anyway. Paint covering is outstanding.

 

Hi Al,

I'm going to be getting a car through Miller and just wanted to make sure I understood the process. Did you work it out with them to take the car to get the detail and Paint Protection through 'Automobilia Auto Salon' prior to you taking delivery? I know Miller will do some level of detailing and will put on some type of film, but ideally I would like a reputable detail shop to do that work and I'm absolutely set on getting Xpel, and I don't think Miller does Xpel.

Thanks,

-Jamie.

 

A couple of folks were nice enough to share their experiences with Automobilia with me, as I have just picked up a 2013 California myself and want to get it wrapped. Both had very positive experiences.

I also spoke with Christian there, very nice guy. The one thing that concerned me was his opinion that aside from having the surface be very clean when the film is applied, he did not feel that the paint needed to be corrected before application -- he feels the film is like another layer of clear coat and will hide any surface imperfections -- whether it's scratches, swirls, etc.

This may more of an issue on a pre-owned car than a brand new one, and perhaps Miller does a certain amount of paint correction on its new cars before delivery, but after seeing some of the threads detailing how poor the condition of the factory fresh paint is -- swirls, buffer marks, etc. -- I would want to have the paint corrected and looking like glass before the wrap goes on the car.

It is probably less of a concern for a metallic color but I would say vital for a solid color, like red or black.

Some of the well-known forum dealers -- Todd from Esoteric, for example -- recommend a full correction before the film is applied, as anything beneath the film will be there.

Your mileage may vary, of course. But looking at the services Automobilia provides as far as detailing it does not appear that they do that sort of paint correction work.

This was a California thread that really got me thinking, incidentally.

Before:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143944764-post39.html

After:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143944772-post40.html

I would not want the film over the paint looking like that, and the dirt on the leather from the factory is astounding.

 

Are you sure you understood Christian correctly? I have had two cars done there. One was a brand new one and one was an older one. They did paint correction on both before applying anything to them. They will thoroughly inspect the car to determine what it needs before working on it. They aren't happy with the results unless you are.

 

Funny you mention that because I was looking at their website and thinking the exact same thing about the paint and finish correction before applying the Xpel. There is a shop near me (I'm in southern New Hampshire) that has all the corrective steps they take prior to the wrap clearly listed on their site. I certainly noticed that Automobilia didn't have anything like that. Though I agree that a new car should not need as much as a used one, I have a fair bit of OCD and it becomes a much bigger issue to fix something like this after a wrap is applied!

-Jamie.

 

That's certainly a plus! As I said in my last post, the options for paint and finish correction aren't as clear on their site as it was when I was looking at the shop closer to me. Automobilia's reviews both here and from what I've found via Google certainly do see overwhelmingly positive though.

I really want all of this done prior to delivery, hence my original post, so I'm hoping Miller has this as an option!

-Jamie.

 

Yes, I asked him specifically about correcting the paint, and he talked about cars he's wrapped where scratches and swirls disappeared due to the wrap.

It's not that he said they couldn't do paint correction -- I did not ask if they would do it anyway in addition to the wrap -- but the impression he gave me was that he felt it was not necessary and he was not including it in the quote, which was based on a piece by piece kit he has on the website.

A couple of other installers I spoke to are including paint correction as a necessary first step, which makes more sense to me; if the film is transparent then a swirl should show through it.

 

Jamie , talk to your salesman, see what they will do for you even if there is a nominal fee, imo it's worth picking up the finished product at the dealer.
I had just bought a couple different models from them and they offered to make the trucking arrangements , but I'm sure it's not free.

I did not even consider their detailer / wrap bc I wanted Xpel. From everything I read, I called the manufacturer (Xpel) & I was real comfortable with them. Then I went to car show where Automobila was and I was satisfied with a few of the cars they showed me, totally un scripted, met a varied of guys, every single car with xpel had no visible spider webs, which said a lot to me. Also their pricing was reasonable compared to other serious detailers I know, I just did not want to go that route bc the car just gets dirty & in the end, it will not be a garage queen.
I did/do have a small area coming up on a corner , I told them about it and they want me to come by to take care of it, it's just not so convenient right now but it hasn't got worse so I am ok with it. As far as pre-detailing or p-correction, I do not that's for a new car but yes maybe a pre-owned car. As far as swirls or new car imperfections, any wrap installer will make sure the surface is clear, I wouldn't worry. I am so pleased that I spent the money on the wrap as opposed to a radar detector or half wrap or some thing. Imo it's paid for it self already,, as I drive in the rain & it cleans off easily & I am not worried about ruining the paint.
Good luck , pm me anytime if you like.

Al

 

Thanks Al. I'll certainly talk to them about working this into the deal.

-Jamie.

 

Do you have a complete kit with side skirts to 599GTB ???