Paint protection film

[bramtram]

Last night noticed something that looked like a scratch on the boot lid and got really upset about it (with car clocking on just 1000 kms so far) - lucky it turned out to be just some caked on dirt which I was able to whipe off, but it gave me a bit of a scare and now I'm looking at getting some sort of pain protecting film applied to some of the painted surfaces of my Euro. Has anyone had any experience with these film protections? Any recommendations?

http://www.ducoscratch.com.au/

http://www.ozicozi.com.au/surfacetech/

http://www.universaltint.com.au/car-protection/paint-protection

[Type R Positive]

Do a search, I know there has been a few threads about it. From what I gather, it's not so much the product, but who applied it / how it's applied.

[buddah51au]

I have Ventureshield film applied to the front of my CU2. The 2 main films used are Ventureshield & 3M which are both distributed by the same company. 3M has a 5 year warranty while ventureshield has a life time warranty. You would be happy with either film. The biggest problem is finding an installer who knows what he is doing & takes pride in his work. I had mine installed by Altapac in Newcastle & there is no way I could recommend them to anyone. A very poor application.

The quality of the installer is everything with this film, not the film itself which is great.

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?125328-Altapac-amp-Installation-of-Clear-Bra

[HunterZero]

Traditional paint protections including polymer coatings, sealants etc. will give you no protection from scratches or stone chips whatsoever, and minimal protection from bird cr@p damage. They do give the car protection from some environmental damage such as water spotting, and do make the car easier to wash.

The only effective scratch and stonechip protections are products like buddah51au is talking about, which is a clear car bra. It is effectively a thicker layer of durable clear plastic film, and usually only covers the front of the car and side mirrors to protect from stone chips. The only minor issue with this is that the extra layer of durable film makes the pearl in the paintwork look a little bit fuzzy. It's not very noticeable on lighter coloured cars unless you look very close, but it is somewhat noticeable on darker coloured cars.

- HZ

[buddah51au]

Traditional paint protections including polymer coatings, sealants etc. will give you no protection from scratches or stone chips whatsoever, and minimal protection from bird cr@p damage. They do give the car protection from some environmental damage such as water spotting, and do make the car easier to wash.

The only effective scratch and stonechip protections are products like buddah51au is talking about, which is a clear car bra. It is effectively a thicker layer of durable clear plastic film, and usually only covers the front of the car and side mirrors to protect from stone chips. The only minor issue with this is that the extra layer of durable film makes the pearl in the paintwork look a little bit fuzzy. It's not very noticeable on lighter coloured cars unless you look very close, but it is somewhat noticeable on darker coloured cars.

- HZ

Actually, if you had the dollars you could do the whole car with it "providing you had a good installer" It is very popular with exotic cars in USA to get a "FULL WRAP"
I know I have a white car, but the effect of the pearl is not effected

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo325/buddah51au/DAS%206%20Machine%20Detail/Euro6.jpg

[HunterZero]

Actually, if you had the dollars you could do the whole car with it "providing you had a good installer" It is very popular with exotic cars in USA to get a "FULL WRAP"

Yes, of course. One of the links he posted showed an IS-F getting a full wrap in black film.


I know I have a white car, but the effect of the pearl is not effected

The difference is small in real life, it's next to impossible to show what I'm talking about in a photo. I've seen the film applied to a white pearl Maserati GranTurismo, and the pearl flake was still there of course, just a little bit muted on the wrapped areas.

On white and silver cars, it is very difficult to detect the film at all, especially if the whole car was wrapped. People won't see it unless they look very closely and see an edge.

However I saw it applied to the front of a black Ferrari 599, and the film was more apparent. The edge of the film was noticeable, and the wrapped black area was ever so slightly less deep in gloss/colour. It's such a small difference though, similar to how some sealants and waxes can change the colour of a car, but it's there. Again you wouldn't really notice it unless you were looking for it.

- HZ

[bramtram]

I contacted one of the Melbourne installers (Terrence from www.ozishield.com.au) and he quoted me $700 for the front kit installed, however he doesn't have a workshop and it needs to be done in a covered area, where there is sufficient light and no wind. I also got in touch with ducoscratch.com.au and they recon I can install their kits myself, but judging by what everyone is saying it really needs to be done by somebody who has experience with these kits. Any Melbourne-based people here who had this done? Who would you recommend as an installer?

[NSHonda]

I got the door handle protection film applied to mine when new. Done by the dealer (or their installer). No scratches, film has lasted 2 + years now (no bubbles which was my biggest concern) and the car gets washed regulalry. Would recommend it. Will certainly get it again.

[buddah51au]

http://www.invisiblecarbras.com.au/product_history.htm
http://www.ducoscratch.com.au/clear_car_bra.asp
http://www.3dfilmpro.com.au/fabrication.html

there are 3 i found with a quick search but it is up to you to research each installer & check the quality of their work

[bramtram]

http://www.invisiblecarbras.com.au/product_history.htm
http://www.ducoscratch.com.au/clear_car_bra.asp
http://www.3dfilmpro.com.au/fabrication.html

there are 3 i found with a quick search but it is up to you to research each installer & check the quality of their work

No exactly the answer I was looking for (I was really after recommendations of specific installers), but thanks for the suggestion.

[buddah51au]

I think it would be hard to get recommendations on a forum such as this due to the fact that the product has not been around that long in this country & therefore very few people have had it done. I only know of myself & 1 other forum member who have a clear car bra.

You need to do your own research of the various installers in your area. In addition there is lots of videos of the product on youtube, mainly from the USA, where clear wraps are very popular.

[bramtram]

I think it would be hard to get recommendations on a forum such as this due to the fact that the product has not been around that long in this country & therefore very few people have had it done. I only know of myself & 1 other forum member who have a clear car bra.

You need to do your own research of the various installers in your area. In addition there is lots of videos of the product on youtube, mainly from the USA, where clear wraps are very popular.

I understand about the need to do my own research and part of that research is asking people on this forum :)

By the way, I had a look at on the sites your suggested (http://www.invisiblecarbras.com.au/), and his work looks very average (check out this "piece of work" - notice the clearly visible seam, which I understand should be tucked in:

http://www.invisiblecarbras.com.au/images/van04.jpg

[buddah51au]

Yup, it should be folded over the edge ...... poor installation.