XPEL or Suntek?
 

Which is better to use?

Does either "yellow"?

I don't have personal experience with Suntek, but have had 3 cars fully wrapped in Xpel by Automobilia in West Haven, CT. The newest Xpel Ultimate material is fantastic. Even on black, you still get perfect clarity and see no marring or swirls in the material after repeated washes. The material is self-healing, so if you lightly scuff it, just park the car in the sun or lightly use a heat gun and it'll smooth right back out. None of the newer Xpel or Suntek stuff should ever yellow. The installer is the most important piece of the puzzle though. Make sure you go to a respected shop with many positive reviews, do your research in this area. Also ask them about their warranty; it's good to have that piece of mine should a piece of material peel or develop any bubbles/issues with how much these full-wrap jobs cost! :yesnod:

Here are some pics of my car from Barrett Jackson Northeast fully wrapped and coated with Xpel Fusion ceramic coating. I also have the Xpel window tints.

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Ask to see a vehicle that the company has done before. If they use a needle that is too large to pop air bubbles they won't heal and will always be noticeable. Also, make sure they wrap the material around the edges, not just on top surface. If you ceramic coat you need to make sure you get several coats. The Xpel seems to absorb it from the surface. I learned this from my own experience and asking around at the various installers. Don't know anything about Suntek but my Xpel looks decent for the 7 months I have had it.

Used to be said that Suntek was easier to apply as it’s 6 mil thick versus the Xpel that is 8 mil, and that the Suntek was slightly optically clearer. However I have always had Xpel installed and have been very pleased.

My current car has Xpel ultimate. My 19 coming in early september will have suntek. My installer uses bith wants ke to go with suntek. Optically more appealing. So I'll try it out.

Hoping it's as good or better. Time will tell.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Did each of you get your whole car covered? I am thinking the whole front (Bumper, splitter, hood, front fenders), Rockers, Rear Quarter Panels - Should I cover the doors too?

I did the entire car. From what you have listed, definitely add the doors. The whole sides of the car get pelted, especially if you run the Cup 2 tires. :yesnod: You may also want to consider the roof panel and A-pillars as well. The leading edge of the roof is nice target for rocks.

Thanks Billy! I choose XPel Ultimate Plus - I will ask how much more the for A-Pillars and the Roof.

Thanks again for all of your help!

My installer wanted me to switch from Xpel to Suntek for two reasons (he previously Xpel'd my '14 C7-Z51 and it is still prefect). One of the reasons was after 7 years in the Florida sun the old Xpel Ultimate film we used allegedly yellows some and is very hard to remove without damaging the paint.

Looking at the two cars side by side, the SunTek does appear to be a bit brighter. But what I am finding is the non-self healing Suntek may become an issue. I got a small rock strike on the hood, The film raised at the impact point and scratched the film for an inch behind that point. You can see both the impact point which raised the film and the inch-long white gouge mark against the Shadow Gray Metallic color behind it. However, it did save the paint.

The fix is going to be to recover the entire hood.

When I do that it will be with Xpel Ultimate which always self-healed (as advertised) on the '14 Z51. If the two truly are the same as far as refectivity and brightness is concerned I will know right away if this was the right thing to do.

Maybe Xpel will chip in to help cover the cost of this experiment - hahahaha :-)

For me,doing the nose was good enough for me.SunTek.
'17 Z51.

\db2

I can’t compare with expel but I’m happy with Suntek product. Limited 5 year paint protection warranty.
2017 ZO7
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...b9aeeefda.jpeg

Xpel Ultimate on nose and mirrors of my 2015 Z with no issues. Still looks great on my Shark Grey car after quite a few track days. Would do it again.

I thought recent Suntek films were supposed to be ‘self healing’ also? Have you tried gently going over the area with a heat gun or whatever Suntek states to do?

Yeah... that's what I thought too. Taking it down to the installer's shop this week to get his opinion. This rock strike actually left a gouge in the film on the hood just aft of the front clip seam and rolled the top layer into a ball at the top end of the gouge in the film (bottom of the picture=front end of car), And then it hit a second time and just nicked it good ( top of the picture) but past any seff-healing possibility. At least it is not in the paint!! The cost of recovering will be less than trying to repaint and match this color.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...ba2912b36c.jpg

I have a suntek certified installer in my town. I recently took my new white Jeep rubicon to him to film the front and sides. He flat out refused to work on the white saying it will start looking yellow soon and I won’t be happy. White is one color he has stopped filming for a while now. I asked him about how suntek says no yellowing and all that and he didn’t agree.
I then took the Jeep to the same Xpel guy who did my vette and that guy had no concerns around xpel yellowing after sometime. Let’s see how it holds up in long run.