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I have the 3M PPF on my GX as well. (hood, headlights, a-pillar, mirror caps, and under the door handles) Are you sure you had film to the left and right of the grill originally? Personally, had it not come with this I would not have put it on for the prices they want for XPEL specifically. I would just repaint the front end and or hood if it really got bad enough with the rock chips.
Thanks for the information. I got quotes for both kinds of film and they were within a few dollars of each other here. I talked with our preferred body shop and they ballparked the cost of repaint at about $900 for the front bumper. That is well less than film. Since we have film on all of the areas except for the front sections of the front bumper adjacent to the radiator and headlights, I may just go with this thru the summer and get a feel for how the front areas fare.
I wish I would have done protective coating when I bought my used GX. I don't care about resale but just a FYI repainting a car can be a bad thing for resale value.
I have the factory clear film with the little L logo on my 2011. It came with the truck when I bought it 2 years ago. It seemed to have saved the hood from chips but the current condition of the film makes me want to remove it. Would a simple heat gun remove the film or will I need to remove left over glue? It def is worth it on a new truck, mine lasted close to 9 years.
I have the factory clear film with the little L logo on my 2011. It came with the truck when I bought it 2 years ago. It seemed to have saved the hood from chips but the current condition of the film makes me want to remove it. Would a simple heat gun remove the film or will I need to remove left over glue? It def is worth it on a new truck, mine lasted close to 9 years.
I had the Lexus one on mine when I purchased it used and the film was yellowing and had dirt build up on the edges so I just removed it myself. I tried using a heat gun and it left the glue on the paint so I ended up not using the heat gun and the piece will peel out with the glue. Just take your time and go slowly. My truck is 4 years old
If you are particular about your car an you plan on keeping it for a while, definitely do the PPF. Xpel is amazing stuff. Ive had 3m over the years and it yellowed, especially notable on white cars.
The last 4 cars/trucks have had it and after 7 years, 5 years on a couple they had zero chips or defects. Definitely helped the trade in value.
I just picked up a 2019 GX Lux,Sport Design for the wife, Had the entire hood wrapped in one piece, both front fenders completely wrapped and of course the lights and bumper etc. I also had Feynlab 5 year ceramic coating on the paint and wheels. Just under 2000 for all of it. Well worth it..
Thanks for the information. I got quotes for both kinds of film and they were within a few dollars of each other here. I talked with our preferred body shop and they ballparked the cost of repaint at about $900 for the front bumper. That is well less than film. Since we have film on all of the areas except for the front sections of the front bumper adjacent to the radiator and headlights, I may just go with this thru the summer and get a feel for how the front areas fare.
Xpel sell precut bumper kit for GX and you can just do those small sections yourself. I did a full bumper / half hood wrap myself sometimes back and it wasn’t difficult. If you decide to have a shop do it, make sure find one with good review. I had different shops did 3 of my cars and the result was day and night. White car is especially challenging since any imperfection will collect dirts. Also, it’s best to do it in warmer days and avoid temperature fluctuations.
Man you should totally do protective film, i really wanted to do it but kept delaying because of the price, was too cheap to drop a good amount especially since i got new tires and brakes recently and that hit the pocket a bit. This happened today, was going home from the snowboarding trip, was doing about 70-75 on a freeway and a pickup truck flew by and a rock came out from under the car and hit my, loud bang but i was skeptical cuz you know, small rocks usually hit there car on a freeway, its a common thing, usually a tiny chip, but yeah this is the outcome and now i have to touch it up and i think ill put the film now, a little too late though
i highly recommend getting clear mask added. i did it on my previous car and it lasted 10 years. i just had my GX done (again) last week. i had the whole front bumper, headlights and rear bumper masked. cost varies, but $1500 sounds pretty high.
word of advice, do a lot of research on the shop and never go to the dealer. my dealer installed hood/fender is already starting to yellow. the front bumper is overly complex and it takes a very skilled person to do it right. i had it done by some cut rate shop the first time to save a few bucks. i quickly regretted it. took me months of fighting with them to get it removed and a refund. took it to a much better shop and they did a perfect job. the rear bumper i only had the middle section done since i step on it a lot. front is fully wrapped edge to edge top to bottom in one piece. you cant even tell it is there. it keeps the front protected from all the road debris and rocks, your car will look new for many years. clear mask is much much cheaper than a new paint job
Speaking of PPF.... I've been using the same installer for the past 4 years on my new vehicles. Just like our new GX...I placed an appointment for full front/A pillars/partial roof/head lights/mirrors even before I picked the truck up.
Truck has 269 miles on it and wife was behind me driving up last weekend. We get to his shop and she said "I think something hit my passenger tire...". I check it out (it was raining) and didn't see anything on the wheel or front fender.
We head inside and go over what will be done and leave back for home. I get a text this week while he's working on the truck... Sends me a picture and sure enough my wife did get hit with a nice sized rock on the highway. Unreal. 269 miles and the truck was being driven to get PPF applied. We pick it up this weekend and he touched it up and leveled it out...applied PPF and told me it looks pretty good now. Much better than the glaring black spot.
Yes. I would highly recommend PPF and more importantly as others suggested...I very reputable installer.
I got a PPF quote for my 2021 GX 460 using Xpel.
Full Front + A-pillars, side mirrors, and headlights.
$2,056 including tax.
Does that seem a tad high?
(North Dallas area)
I got a PPF quote for my 2021 GX 460 using Xpel.
Full Front + A-pillars, side mirrors, and headlights.
$2,056 including tax.
Does that seem a tad high?
(North Dallas area)
Depends on the shop/installer. Back in 2018 I paid around $1,800 for a SunTek wrap but it was part of a package deal with some tint. After a fender bender I needed a re-wrap. Since the installer stopped carrying SunTek and started carrying Xpel they pulled everything off and did a complete re-wrap in Xpel; billed insurance for the bumper/hood and I was not charged for the rest. That extra level of customer service was evident in all of the google reviews online and I doubt I would have received such service if I had went with one of the other $1.2k or $1.5k quotes from a different shop that had some questionable reviews about tints needing to be done over for bubbles and bad edges. So my suggestion is to put a little more attention on finding the right shop and how well reviewed they are in the area and how long they have been in business. It's a great value if you buy a newer model (like you did) and intend to keep the truck for a long time but there are others on the forum that do not see the value because they either swap vehicles every few years or buy a significantly older/cheaper model where the value prop of a $2k PPF job does not make economic sense.
Fair warning though - once you start wrapping you will not go back. After you watch the first big rock bounce off your bumper or hood and watch the shop erase all evidence with a heat gun it is hard to not drive away with a smile on your face.
One final tip: Consider asking for a 6"-10" strip above the windshield towards the sunroof. My installer threw that in and it was where the rock mentioned above deflected after hitting the hood.
12-09-18, 06:44 PM
