PreCut Paint Protection Film - Transparent Bra

[BonBon]

The Z is my daily drive and I'm fed up with the stone chips and the annual respray of the front bumper.
I thought I'd try a transparent bra (let's see the humor...) and just had the following RSHIELD RVinyl product had delivered (as they only ship to the US):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350637284181?ss ... 1497.l2649
The fitting seems 'touch and go' to me - not sure I'll get it right first time.
Has anyone done this before?

[Davejue1]

I recently put clear stone guards on mine. After asking on here the general indication was lots of soapy water, assuming its 3M film then it's very forgiving as it doesn't lose its sticky backing so you can move it about as much as is required until you get it right. Good luck!

Cheers
Dave

[Warrior]

Soapy Water....for the record, some vinyls don't like washing up liquid. The reccomendation is to use a proprietary fluid OR baby shampoo.

I've just bought a spray bottle of clear coating that is supposed to stop bugs sticking and help avoid stone chips, from Clean Your Car.
Washes off and has to be redone after every shampoo.

[BonBon]

Gave it a shot, after studying all the DIY videos
....the baby shampoo slip solution.....isopropyl alcohol tacking solution......
Bottom line Gallant effort but no cigar - not for a novice (however gifted IMO) ******Read until end of thread
Flat smooth surfaces are doable (eg flat panels, windows or headlights)
....but to get a flat piece of precut plastic to completely fit a curved surface over a very large area blemish free, apparently needs a lot of trial and error - ie one skilled in the art.
Here are some pics. The first is the flat area on the bonnet - would have dried fine....but when I saw all the small issues at hand - I concluded that it just wasn't going to happen- as if you push hard with the squeegee you create an irreversible crease in the film (there is one on the right of the bottom pic)
May have needed a blow dryer to stretch etc. etc. Win most loose a few...
Hope this respray lasts a while. (The issue here is that because of the limited rain there is an abundance of stone chipping candidates)

[g8jka]

My dad and myself once tried to carbon wrap a Citroen Saxo bonnet for my brother, lets just say it didn't go too well

To do any sort of large surface takes a lot of skill and patience, small and flat surfaces are not to bad. I have done a few parts of my interior and recently put a couple of paint protection film stone guards on my rear arches which were all fairly straight forward. Any larger of more complicated surface should be left to a pro, unless its applied pretty much perfectly it can really spoil the look of a car.

[BonBon]

I tend to agree.
BTW - the pics above are just prior to realizing it won't work. Had I persisted, it would have been much much better - but I wouldn't have settled for less than perfect - hence stopped.

[Davejue1]

I was thinking of doing the same thing as I've just had mine painted. I won't be now but fair play for having a go.

Cheers
Dave

[BonBon]

The film that I got seemed to be relatively thick and stiff. I have seen some online clips of films that seem much softer/more maluable where they are wrapped around the edges (something imossible with what I got).
Presumably that stuff would be much easier to "work" - but I assume the protection would be proportionate.
If I thought you had half a chance - I'd encourage you. I guess the only real option is a professional job.

[BonBon]

Update for the faithful
Believe it or not - but about 4 years ago I was at the custom car show in Vegas (even posted some pics here) and got a sample of a paint protection film which I left sitting in the garage. It was a precut film gifted by CPFilms (a LLumar Precition Cut product).
Ignored it and bought a complete set by RVinyl (as I also wanted a bumper film) which I tried yesterday with poor results.
Before giving up I thought I'd give the old film a shot. Presto. A few imperfection that I can get out with a needle - but as good as can be expected. Not perfect - But I'll let it ride for a while.
The only differences were:
1. Different film manufacturer (this one seemed a bit more rubbery??)
2. More dilute slip solution (now about 2 tablespoons of soap per liter)
3. I'm more experienced.
Later today I'll do the bumper by RVinyl and we'll learn if it's the material.

[BonBon]

Needless to say: It wasn't me!
The RSHIELD - RVinyl is presumably vinyl and the LLumar is a urethane ........as they say: "You get what you pay for".
I don't like trashing products - but one worked for me and one didn't. The vinyl would probably be fine for a flat smooth surface.
Here is the best place to purchase quality product at good pricing - http://www.clearmask.com/

[BonBon]

Dave,
Just make sure you clean the bonnet really well. I did not believe it was going to work so cleaned it haphazardly - and a few specs now under the film show up unproporionately to their size. Now waiting for the bottom bumper film to arrive from clearmask.com. $59.40 & $21.65 p+p

[BonBon]

Just completed the bumper.
Not trivial - but with a set of good hands, a helper and some patience you get a pretty good job - the hood and the bumper should take an hour each if all the tools and liquids are in place (beer only after).
Also had to cut a couple of edges off with a scalpel.
Here's a pic....not really noticeable & hopefully will eliminate stonechips for a while. (it is really hard to penetrate the Llumar urethane films.

[gookah]

My dad and myself once tried to carbon wrap a Citroen Saxo bonnet for my brother, lets just say it didn't go too well

I blame you for that....
I least I stayed calm......

[Warrior]

I'm by no means an expert on vehicle wrap but run a vinyl lettering website, apply etched glass look vinyl to windows and have some experience fitting temporary graphics to new cars - compound curves and all that!

Couple of tips...
Do ensure the surface is completely clean. Use painters tack cloths to pick up all the gremlins and keep the vinyl wet to eliminate static when peeling off the backing paper. A spec of dust can look like a housebrick underneath vinyl!!
Don't worry about a few bubbles, they will disappear of their own accord in most cases. If not a pin will help clear the trapped air but shouldn't be necessary.
Use a felt squeegee rather than a hard edged one - much more forgiving!

There are products out there such as vandal/bomb proof film that is crystal clear but a hard acetate and variations on this product used on cars albeit thinner will be impossible to lay well over eg., a curved bonnet. A clear stretchable Wrapping vinyl as can be found here. ....http://www.pmxcoatings.co.uk/paint-protection-film.php won't have the ultimate protection of an acetate but should work and apply much better. I had an account with these guys a year or so back and will try to get some samples for people to have go with.

[Davejue1]

Thanks for sharing. Always good to have something to look at as a reference. Could the above post go in the knowledge Base?

Cheers
Dave

[TitanTim]

When I had the MINI Cooper S done it took the poor fitter 6 hours to do the bonnet and bumper.

I might try this stuff sometime, alot easier.

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/3m/p ... tAodC0gANA

Tim.

[Del]

When you buy a BMW or Mini from a main dealer the sales-people offer some sort of "paint protection system" but they are a bit vague about what it actually is?

[Davejue1]

When you buy a BMW or Mini from a main dealer the sales-people offer some sort of "paint protection system" but they are a bit vague about what it actually is?

Do not buy dealers paint protection!!! It is the single biggest rip off this side of Skeggy! I should know I used to push my sales team to sell it, simply because it carried 70% profit. It's very expensive and complete rubbish. Have you ever been asked this question when your having your car valued at the dealers, "did you have the paint protection when you bought this?" Regardless of your reply the answer will always be the same....."I thought so!" ENOUGH SAID I THINK!

[TR4man]

When I had the MINI Cooper S done it took the poor fitter 6 hours to do the bonnet and bumper.

I might try this stuff sometime, alot easier.

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/3m/p ... tAodC0gANA

Tim.

That's just what I'm looking for - has anyone tried it?

[TitanTim]

When I had the MINI Cooper S done it took the poor fitter 6 hours to do the bonnet and bumper.

I might try this stuff sometime, alot easier.

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/3m/p ... tAodC0gANA

Tim.

That's just what I'm looking for - has anyone tried it?

Originally came across 3M Paint Defender from ZPost here,

http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread. ... stone+chip

I think it does need a little practice but if your ok at paint spraying and choose a warmish day then I think you can get good results, just need to be careful of over application to avoid any runs, at least you can peel it off should it go wrong.

Tim.

[Althulas]

If you read some of the reviews on reviewer claimed the finish spotted after a rain storm and could not polish the marks out and the stuff would not peel of as advertised and had to use alcohol to rub it off marring his paint work. Maybe he didn't let it cure long enough though. Interesting idea though.

[BonBon]

Just and update.
Well after three years the stonechips did enough damage to the films that they need to be removed and the bonnet and the bumper need to be resprayed.
Taking off the films with a blow dryer is a real bitch - just as hard as getting them on. And in some small areas it damaged the underlying paint.
So bottom line - best to spray every three years and forget about the plastic film.
If anything - perhaps on the bumper which suffers most of the stones - but not on the bonnet.....and it suffered the most damage when peeling off. (the truth being that once damage was enough to require a respray - I list patience and just peeled it off)