wizkid

I know that my car has a freekn' million rock chips all over the front end. It makes me sick sometimes looking at it although I have gotten over it. We have had the front bumper and hood painted once already and it didn't take 6 months to have a million of them show back up. I have chips all the way up the front quarter panels on the top near the mirror.

I will put some pictures up later, not that I am proud of it.

So let's here it, I can't be the only one with a car that has chips everywhere...can I?

Eric
www.installuniversity.com

Sauceboy01

and that's why i bought silver..

Also, apparently the new benz's have this nanotec paint technology which is supposed to help you paint last longer.

-Danny

Nickle

Don't know about the current nanowhatever paint, but MB's water based paint before that (the paint before 2005) is mediocre at best. Average gloss, probably more "orange peel" than paint from most other manufacturers, and seems very prone to chipping.

That being said, the 3M clear stuff will save the front of your car. Particularly the front bumper.

Saprissa

that's for sure... thinking of doing the 3M clear stuff treatment with my new front AMG bumper after it's prepped, painted, and glossed. Same thing with those protective clear sheets on my Bi-Xenons and AMG fog-lights.

I don't think the new 2004.5 and on NanoPaint really protects the car any better from rock chips. The paint is a bit more resilient to sun and water wear, but not from objects hitting your car at high speed. Older MB paint is rather soft compared to other car manufacturers and very prone to chipping when aggravated. Quite a few posts on this topic throughout all these forums. Huge complaint overall !!

W0n6_3d4n

My hood has tons of them, 4 major chip.

rubenl

that's why I'm putting "Llumar" film on my front end this weekend....

jinijazz

I don't have any rock chips!
...ok mine is only 2 mos old with mighty nano tech.

Seriously, your driving style makes huge difference on rock chips.
If you love freq tail gating & find yourself behind SUBs a lot, your c automatically becomes rock magnet. In addition, on long highway driving, better wear bra on it . Clear bra is the best solution, of course.

oggle

I noticed when you drive over 90 mph, the rock chips get exponentially worse. Keep it below 85 and the problem isn't that bad.

FrankW

blah...already got used to it....

taylor192

Lets see where do I start?
1 - Driver rear fender
1 - Passenger door handle
4 - Passenger front fender
2 - Driver front fender
20+ - Front impact strips
40+ - Hood (including 1 big gash from an object off a truck)
15+ - Painted grill
10+ - Chrome grill strips
3 - Windshield trim
Too many to count - Front bumper

90% of the chips would've been covered by a 3M clear bra, lesson learned, going onto my next car for sure.

I only get upset when I park next to other MBs at the dealer without a single paint chip and wonder, WTF is wrong with my paint!

jan ken po

Speaking of the 3M bra...anyone got any b4 & after pics?? I wanted to get one...but not if it is too noticeable

wingless

What part of that is surprising?

My prior practice had been to put a black bra on the nose and mirrors. After trying the Invisible bra on my wife's Cayenne, I was converted. My C320 Sports Coupe was protected before I drove it off the dealer's lot. That included some custom films, to protect the door cups, the fog lamps and behind the rear wheels.

Remember there is only one factory paint job per vehicle.

wfb1746

I would love to see some before and after pix as well if anyone has them.

wingless

What image is being requested?

The best I can describe is to imagine the Emperor, in his new clothes. Then envision the Emperor is a car. That is it, except, depending upon the angle of the light, the Emperor has visible clothing lines.

wfb1746

I would like to see the difference (if any) b/t having a clear bra vs. not having one, being able to see what the "clothing lines" look like would be nice...thanks!

jan ken po

Yeah I would like the same....actually a picture of a car with the bra would suffice so I could just how visible the "lines" are. I could simply compare it to mine which does not have the clear bra.

Narcissus

You can not see the 3m protective platic, unlss you know it's there and you really look close to the merging line... as for rock chips, I had so many of them I needed my hood re-sprayed because some of them were starting to rust under even if I prepped, cleaned and put touch up on all of them.... thank Canadian winters and road salt for this!

crispy011

I have had the car for three days and had the bra put on before it left the dealership. My last two cars were repainted twice each (BMW, Porsche) so I have learned my lesson. I was told a couple of things by the installer that was interesting:
*It looks best on cars that are not black or white
*I can expect white spots in the film that may not go away

Yes, you can see the lines, yes it does not look as good as one without, but the alternative is more painful for me. I would recommed it so far.

Nickle

The white spots should go away. If they don't, your installer didn't do a good job.

Some colors hide the film better than others. White is the worst color for the film. Silver, and other light metallics, are the best at hiding.

When you use it on a bumper like a MB bumper, it is hardly noticeable, on any color. When you use it on a hood, though, or any other surface where the film cuts across a panel (in other words, doesn't butt up against an edge), it is more noticeable. I didn't put it on the hood because of this.

Also, it is more noticeable on horizontal surfaces (like a hood) than on surfaces that are more vertical (like a bumper).

wingless

The attached images show the front fenders and hood with the Invisible bra. The vehicle color is Desert Silver.

The film is made by Avery Denisson, not 3M. According to my installer, it is much easier to get a perfect installation with the Avery, than the 3M, as it is more forgiving to shifting after initial placement.

wingless

The attached image was provided to define the custom film, behind the rear wheels, for the installer. No, I did not get green, just clear like the rest.

nlpamg

Did you get em with the headlight covers? If so, is there any difference in the brightness? Pics please? Thanks!

wingless

Yes, headlights and foglights. Mirrors and door cups too. I don't have information on the brightness, but my guess is that it is a neglible difference. To me, these films look transparent. I dont have pics, but the almost imperceptable film edge is very close to the lamp assembly edge.

My vehicle also has films on the fog lamps. I removed the fog lamp assemblies and had the films applied with these out of the vehicle. That way, the entire visible surface is protected, once installed back onto the vehicle.

Sauceboy01

I still dont think it's worth the money unless you have a dark/black car!

wingless

There is probably not a lot of winter road treatment in southern California. But, in some parts of the country, all leading edges of a vehicle will be sandblasted after just a coupla years.

For those who care, the only option used to be a black bra, but it is so much work, it isn't funny. Now, with this tape, put it on and after it starts to look bad, replace the tape and the car still looks good. Seems like a good choice to me.