PPF: Glossy v Stealth

[Prime]

I’m personally a sucker for a super clean and glossy/reflective car. I thought matte was cool 10 years ago, but my preferences have changed. I also think some colors do matte better. Silver looks best IMO on the Rivians, El Cap looks good too, but I still prefer gloss.

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[TDB]

I just picked up (Saturday) my R1S El Cap Granite and now have to decide which Llumar ppl to use: Glossy or matte. I had originally thought I would do a complete black out and tuxedo look, but having the vehicle now we really like the El Cap color. We are headed to the shop for tint, PPF and ceramic coating, so we are trying to decide which route to take.

I would assume that both provide the same protection. I do hunt and can't miss the occasional tree branch.

My questions are:
- does one have any advantage over the other in hiding small scratches?
- how muted does the El Cap get with a Stealth/matte finish? If you have a matte finish could you post a picture?
- does the matte/Stealth finish require any special care as opposed to glossy?

Thanks in advance for your help, first time with PPF.

I have a friend with R1T El Cap in Expel Stealth and it looks amazing. So much so that I have my El Cap R1S in the shop having full Xpel stealth applied right now. Pick it up on Tuesday. Can provide pics then if you like.

 

[calvin534]

I have a friend with R1T El Cap in Expel Stealth and it looks amazing. So much so that I have my El Cap R1S in the shop having full Xpel stealth applied right now. Pick it up on Tuesday. Can provide pics then if you like.

That would be awesome, thank you!! I decided to go stealth and drop it off next week, I'll post pics as well.

 

[swflor]

Here is a picture of a matte El cap R1T from the internet. This picture alone drove me to schedule matte for mine. I met with the shop that put a sample of matte in the side just so I could confirm.

I’m doing g clear on all gloss black areas.

I got the AO matte black logo set to put on afterwards.

I can send pics around Nov 6th.

 

[calvin534]

Here is a picture of a matte El cap R1T from the internet. This picture alone drove me to schedule matte for mine. I met with the shop that put a sample of matte in the side just so I could confirm.

I’m doing g clear on all gloss black areas.

I got the AO matte black logo set to put on afterwards.

I can send pics around Nov 6th.

Looks great, I take mine in on Tuesday, matte on all painted areas, chrome delete, clear on all glossy areas, emblem faces painted black- leaving yellow accents to match calipers, ceramic coating on film & wheels and tint.
Looking forward to seeing your pics.

 

[swflor]

Looks great, I take mine in on Tuesday, matte on all painted areas, chrome delete, clear on all glossy areas, emblem faces painted black- leaving yellow accents to match calipers, ceramic coating on film & wheels and tint.
Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Yup. You will have to share pics.

The logo set I got keeps the yellow accent also.

 

[Hillbilly]

No ppf. Spend the money on an adventure.

 

[Runamok]

Plenty of ? peel in that Rivian paint. Going matte on my blue to help hide.

 

[ravian]

Plenty of ? peel in that Rivian paint. Going matte on my blue to help hide.

Or get the peel removed!!

 

[Runamok]

Or get the peel removed!!

Looked into that. Maybe it could be done? All depends on whether the peel is on the clear coat (usually the case) or base. And even if it is in the clear, you WILL be removing some clear (cutting compound and denim pad) to get it down.

Internet has mixed things to say about whether it's worth it to cut down your clear coat just to remove the peel.

Those mixed messages just led me to the conclusion that matte wrapping works, and is reversible.

Maybe I'll fix the peel in 7-10 years when the matte PPF comes off?

 

[Ecupip]

I love Matte but it does show a lot of dirt after a few days so be prepared for that. I like it more on “flatter” colors as well. Generally a little more expensive and my installer had 8 mil for matte and 10 mil for gloss.

Interesting thought. Normally flat paint hides better than shine.

i have matte over el cap and it hides dirt and dust a lot better than gloss.

 

[iansriv]

I just picked up (Saturday) my R1S El Cap Granite and now have to decide which Llumar ppl to use: Glossy or matte. I had originally thought I would do a complete black out and tuxedo look, but having the vehicle now we really like the El Cap color. We are headed to the shop for tint, PPF and ceramic coating, so we are trying to decide which route to take.

I would assume that both provide the same protection. I do hunt and can't miss the occasional tree branch.

My questions are:
- does one have any advantage over the other in hiding small scratches?
- how muted does the El Cap get with a Stealth/matte finish? If you have a matte finish could you post a picture?
- does the matte/Stealth finish require any special care as opposed to glossy?

Thanks in advance for your help, first time with PPF.

Beauty is in the eye of the credit card holder. I have a ECG and am considering PPF. They all look good to me. Only thing I see is that the stealth/matt is a very distinct look while the gloss looks like a good wax job on the ECG. Cheers.

 

[MidnightRivian]

Which one is better at hiding pinstriping or scratches from going off-roading on tight trails with overgrown areas?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It isn’t really about one being able to hide scratches or self-heal better than the other. The differentiator is appearance. Stealth was originally created for cars with factory matte paint, so owners can maintain original look and still protect paint. Metallic paints are like emulsions with millions of tiny floating fine mirrors. Highly reflective and high contrast. With Stealth applied it’s like watching a state of the art 8K TV through a sheet of frosted glass.

IMO, if you have one of Rivian’s metallic paints and love dynamic nature of metallic paint, you would be diminishing that by choosing Stealth.

Both variants of the film will do what they’re made to do, protect paint. The only correct answer is answer to this question: what do you want?

 

[shrink]

My Rivian Blue R1T has clear PPF while my Red Canyon R1S has matte. Both also have ceramic on top of the PPF.

When clean, the blue really pops - very glossy, very shiny - but it doesn't change the OEM look at all. The red gets a lot more looks and complements these days. There are very few cars out there right now that come from the factory without a glossy finish (off the top of my head I can think of only a Fisker matte option), so the matte is definitely more of an attention getter these days whether that is a consideration for you at all.

Here are some photos in case they help you decide. The first one is of the matte PPF installation in progress. It's a neat contrast between the still glossy bumper but matte hood and quarter panel.

Installation:

Side-by-side:

Clean car with clear PPF:

Matte:

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