nalocar

Had it installed today. The problem to begin with, was finding an installer. There are only 4 where I am from. Out of the 4, 2 of them never returned my phone calls. Of the remaining 2, only one of them would accept a credit card, and he had a shop. The other was mobile and I don't have a relatively dust free location.

The installer whom installed it did not appear to have extensive experience with the Xpel product. The Xpel Bra did not fully extend around the bumpers, and has two thin strips on the top and bottom of the bumper portion which attached to the main bumper portion. It didn't come with fender end caps either. The installer tried the best he could and even installed it on a Sunday, when he is normally closed for business. The other problem I saw was that it appeared to me that the bumper portion of the bra was cut too short width wide from one end of the bumper to the other, which was probably the reason it didn't go on totally straight left to right and top to bottom.

I don't know how long this thing will stay on my car, but I think I would be lucky if it lasted a year. He gave me a 3 year warranty, and he knows how **** I am about my car, so he said to wait 1 week and take it back in so he could look at it.

I took a look at the Invinca-Shield bra for the Maxima. It wraps around the bumper, has one thin strip that is separated from the main part of the bumper up top, has 2 wider individual strips on the bottom portion of the bumper, has fender endcaps, and cost for it itself is cheaper than the Xpel : $289 vs $339.

After watching this guy do it, I feel pretty confident I could do a much better job, but not with the Xpel product. All I need to do is find a warehouse to do it in.

Ah, live and learn. This was an expensive learning experience for me. The only good thing about this is that since it rains here daily, I won't have to fight anymore with my Colgan Bra that I had on the car. I used to have to remove it, dry it, and install it on a daily basis.

I'm not even gonna say what the total cost with installation was, so please don't ask.

Oh, and another thing. For me, its real easy to see it on the car, close and far.

nalocar

From the Invinca-Shield website:

"Get your vehicle ready for winter with our 10% off sale now through the end of October. Protect your paint against the ice, rock salt, cinders and sand that plague winter drivers. Order online using discount code IS002. "

I think that would make it 289-28.9= $260.10

Bluesbrekr

iTrader: (4)

That front bumper piece is huge. I would imagine it would be a bietch to install, especially for someone with little experience.

I installed the small hood piece myself (Invince-Shield), but there's no way I'd attempt the bumper. Good luck!

NT2SHBBY

my invinca-shield hood bra has been on for like 6 months now with no problems, and I did it myself....

bumper piece looked to be a bish to install and also too much $$$

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

Because there was no competent enough installer you're giving the Xpel a thumbs down?

nalocar

Want to read what I wrote again in its entirety? After you do, and you still want to ask that question, then I'll give you my answer, which is already there.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

Looks to me like it was an installer error if anything. From the Xpel i've seen locally the issues you presented above were not present.

As such, i still stand with my original statement.

nalocar

First of all, you did not pose a statement, you asked a question. That is what the questionmark is for at the end of a sentence.

Secondly, I know you did not read what I wrote, or if you did, you did not comprehend. So I'll take a portion out of context and write it again.

"The Xpel Bra did not fully extend around the bumpers, and has two thin strips on the top and bottom of the bumper portion which attached to the main bumper portion. It didn't come with fender end caps either."

"The other problem I saw was that it appeared to me that the bumper portion of the bra was cut too short width wide from one end of the bumper to the other, which was probably the reason it didn't go on totally straight left to right and top to bottom."

"I took a look at the Invinca-Shield bra for the Maxima. It wraps around the bumper, has one thin strip that is separated from the main part of the bumper up top, has 2 wider individual strips on the bottom portion of the bumper, has fender endcaps, and cost for it itself is cheaper than the Xpel : $289 vs $339."

So what I am spelling out to you now is that it is more than what you think.

Both companies use 3m film. If you were present at the install, you would have seen for yourself the ridiculousness of having 4 thin strips connected to one large piece which is not cut properly to begin with to allow proper installation.

You would also have seen that the Xpel bumper product needs to be stretched to come into some semblence of proper alignment. This material can only be stretched slightly because excessive stretching causes deformity. In order to have had it aligned perfectly, the product would have definitely been deformed.

Did you also ever think that maybe, just maybe, the bra I had was cut incorrectly as opposed to others that Xpel may have cut correctly? I have, but then again, I'm the guy paying so I have a right to say the product sucks after having seen it in person.

I didn't pay as much as some places I've seen advertised, but if I can make any org member think before throwing big bucks at a product that I feel is lacking, I'll do it again and again. There are still some issues with the bra pending, and I have a warranty, so if those issues are rectified, I'll mention so.

So now I ask you these questions. Do you have a 2k3 Maxima, and if so, do you have an Xpel bra on it? Have you ever been present at an Xpel installation on a 2k3 Maxima? If you have been present, when the bumper piece was applied, did it have to be stretched widthwise for perfect alignment, or did it lay down perfectly? If it had to be stretched how much was it stretched, and did it deform?

If you talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

Chill.

The way you posted your original thread can mean different things to different people. My understanding was (in conjunction with the prior statements on installers) that the Xpel was not cut right - i thought of this because when i last looked at Xpel being installed in customer vehicles, the cut was done on-site and not pre-cut as i'm starting to understand your post now.

Given my understanding in the previous paragraph i started wondering if you came to the conclusion that Xpel is a bad product because the installer was less than knowledgeable in handling the product. Thus, i posted a question.

A simple explanation would have sufficed, but then you just had to start assuming that i didn't read your post.

Simple case of misunderstanding on both our parts.

And to answer your questions. I do not have a 2k3. I have a 2k2. I don't have Xpel or Invisibra on my ride. However, i have seen numerous installations of the bra at our local tint shop when i had mine, my parents and my friends ride tinted. So i'm well-aware of how the measurements/cut/installation goes. Some installers leave gaps on the edges, others don't - the gaps can even vary as much as 1/2" if the installer isn't competent enough. Some of them stretch the material to get a "firm, stretched" fit, others don't.

From the stretched installation perspective, that's relative. There are instances where the "stretch" is not as forceful as some, in those cases there's barely any deformation. Though i've seen extreme cases where it was stretched to the point that the bra does come off after a while.

SgtSchulze

iTrader: (6)

I have the Xpel Product and I watched the whole install. Like you I had to "FIND" my installer. He came all the way from Indiana. It went pretty smooth. He clayed each area then sprayed it with solution. Then he and a helper applied the pieces. For being the first 5th gen he had done, it looks pretty good. He did stretch each piece to make it fit snug etc...
After having it for about 1 year, I'm starting to see some "wear" in the way of peeling. I have everything done (i.e. mirrors, door cups, rear bumper, full front including fenders) there are a couple places that the edge has peeled back a little. No biggie but I know it's there. Sometimes thats enough right????
BTW My total cost was around $650.00

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

LOL! Yep, sounds about right. When i first got my 2k2 (back in 2001), they quoted me that much for the front bumper and hood alone!

looslip

iTrader: (3)

Nalo, chill out dude. People are only try to help you. You don't need to start gettin your panties in a bunch cuz soundmike made his opinion, thats it. Either you like or lump it. Flaming people will only make people think twice about helping you out.

2k1seae

iTrader: (1)

I have the Xpel product on my car and it was installed well (precut) and they did have to stretch it some (doesn't wrap the edges). I didn't have the bumper done (expense), but I did have the door edges, mirrors and headlights and driving lights done. Sorry about your bad experience, but maybe you don't need to make a blanket statement about product based on your experience. It's a good heads up, tho'. Go with the cheaper product and report back on your experience with that. More infromation is good. My experience with Xpel is good. Just my .02.

nalocar

The way you help people out is to make comments or suggestions that help. You have done neither.

RocketMAX

iTrader: (1)

I went with the invinca-shield and installed it myself including the bumper piece. The front and side pieces were easy but the bumper was a Pain in the A$$. It took me almost 2 hours to get it on. I would recommend doing it yourself only if you have some window tinting experience, a lot of patience and a dust/dirt free work area.
Other than that the thing really works. I drive about 50 highway miles a day and have only a few chips in the surrounding areas of the bra.

Check out my homepage for the finished product.
http://maxima.cardomain.com/member_p...=388811&page=3

nalocar

As far as I know, the film itself is either made by 3m or Venture. What makes the product a Dynashield product or Xpel product or Invinca-Shield product is if it was precut from those companies as mine was.

I just discovered by speaking to another installer, that although he did not know the web location, there was a forum for installers where many of them complained about the precut Xpel product. He said that compound curves are the most difficult to tackle, and what makes the Xpel product a problem for most installers are the things I mentioned already.

After having read the comments and reviews on this site, I did not find anything negative about Xpel so I decided to go with it.

My point of this whole Xpel thing is to give people whom are thinking about this a different perspective from all the positive ones here. Someone needs to be the Devil's Advocate. Everyone is entitled to as much information good or bad, about an investment they are about to make that will make a dent in their pocket. My hope is to make people think and ask a whole lot of questions before they jump in.

Not everyone is as fortunate as some of you are to have a perfect install with a perfect product.

One screw up on my part was that I didn't ask for references of people whom had it done on their car. But I was tired of having to deal with a vinyl bra on a daily basis since it rains here daily.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it myself. Whether or not that happens depends on what happens in this coming week.

nalocar

Thank you for the info. Finally someone whom actually did the bumper with Invinca-shield.

Could you please tell me if you could step by step how to handle the big bumper piece? Also, did you have to use their installation hotline?

RocketMAX

iTrader: (1)

I didn't call tech support but they do send an instructional video. The instructions actually suggest that someone help you with large pieces, I ended up doing it myself.

The bumper is one piece that you have to do one side at a time and each side took me almost 45min. The the rest of the car took about 30min. It was a pain because while your working on one end you have to spray the other with the soap mix so that it doesn't dry up and stick to the car. Plus the bumper piece really isn't an exact fit, there are a few sections that I had to trim and create slits in order for them to line up.

I'll see if I can put together a step by step guide when I get home.

In the meantime here's a link to the instructional video that they send you. http://www.invinca-shield.com/invinca-1.rm

nalocar

Just spoke with Mark Elliot whom is the head installer for Invinca-Shield. He said that before the bumper piece is cut, they can have the computer make a cut that is perfectly centered in the middle of the bumper piece. This way, you would be installing half of the bumper then the other half. The cut in the center would not matter if you have your license plate over it. He said this is the best way to install it.