[alienstudio]

With the new X5 home, I was debating with ceramic coat or the ppf. Im a picky guy and have always detailed my own cars (all black cars). This time around, no different as the X5 is black. However, my knees and lower back are no where near as before, I started to think if paying to do the film. Couple thoughts considered, cost me more money, can be a little careless with washing, even take it to car wash if I wanted to. I studied for what type of film, Xpel. 3m. Suntek and where to go and expect what sort of outcome. Called around the local shops and was left with a lot of info and quote. I went with the Suntek ultra, the shop I ended up choosing had a choice of Xpel ultimate plus and suntek ultra, they did a piece on the car to show me the difference. I can't say about the thickness but the suntek was the winner in gloss and clearness. Both have this magical self heal feature, meaning no swirl marks on black anymore.
Now this is where it got funny. Since we are currently in the pandemic of convid-19 virus. My timing wasn't exactly great. I asked to do the whole car and was given a 5 days turn around time. However, with 2 days in, I got a call from the shop and said they had to close down fearing the virus. I totally understood the situation ( me and my wife even thought about leaving the car there, fearing to go out). With the car half complete, I took the car back and will bring it in once we have some normalcy back in life.
Man I can tell you all it is a great decision to go with the film. The sapphire black metallic shined great and it's virtually invisible. I can clearly see a difference in gloss between the front door and rear door ( the entire front is done, the black trim pieces on bumpers were done as well, plus one driver door and I did all the pillars as well). It is very satisfying to watch a nice paint work and will not swirl anymore. The install job is top notch. They used a software to cut film, and was able to do a lot of the small trim pieces because of that. They also showed me the difference with a rolled edge and not rolled edge, I obviously went with the rolled edge. It is a bit weird to the touch, no more hard to the touch rather a soft plastic, rubbery feel. I also had the shop do the interior with leather coating, since I'm paying a big chunk for the film, a couple hundred more won't hurt. Overall, I can't wait to get the whole car done. For anyone that's looking to do this investment, I feel like it is great, especially on black paint. Now stuck a home, I'm gonna tackle the wheels and window with coating, just to kill some time.
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