gweigle

Has anyone a recommendation for dealing with front end protection against the stones thrown up othe highway by other vehicles causing chips in paint on the front end of the car?

Jake94526

I had the 3m clear bra installed on my Coupe. I have had it on my prior cars and would not drive a car without it. they did the hood, fenders, bumper, mirrors, headlights, door edge.

slk55er

I recently posted threads with photos of the clear film I've applied to the hood, bumpers and headlights. You'll find these at:

https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...ed-photos.html

and

https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...ed-photos.html

I've done this on 5-6 of my vehicles and I highly recommend this, particularly on dark colors.

mr.mbenz

for those who have it done....

does this turn yellow or peel after a few years? especially on lighter color as my GLK is white.

if the protection gets damaged ( rock chip, etc) , is it covered under warranty?

Blazeitup123

i have had the 3m on my calcite GLK for a year and 4 months and it is still perfect. it has no damage or discoloration and is almost invisible. No damage to it at all and i have driven a lot of highway; Saskatoon to Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary and to Edmonton. I wish the entire car was covered in this stuff, rock marks are only seen in unprotected areas.

mr.mbenz

thanks Blazeitup123....

driving through the Rockies, is probably the harshest test you can give for this application. Do you have any pics of your car? What area did you get protection and cost, please.
I have got the same color. Is there anything special to do in terms of maintenance?

Blazeitup123

i'll be posting a thread with pics about all my mods shortly. i'll get some angles of the 3m too. the only decent digi cam in my family just crapped out, so i will try to get some shots with a friends cam this weekend. i am doing a full led light conversion and new 8000k hid bulbs this comming week. it's a little birthday present to myself. all bulbs in the car will be replaced.

as for maintenance, I'm pretty sure there is none. i wash my glk so often my wife makes fun of me, so it has never really been dirty enough to stain. my only advice is if you see a corner lifting or bubbling, take in it right away and they will replace the whole piece no questions. it took 3 tries to get the front of the hood perfect.

GEMINIDAN

Blaze!!! Do you ever wax over the film???also My guyt said that when he aplies it there will be a bunch of seams due to all the angles???Dan

MBRedux

Yes... and no warranty... I'll never do it again..... I'll stick to my little touch-up paint kit from MB.

slk55er

I've never had any problem with the film yellowing over a period of 10 years which I had on a white BMW 7-series and 3-series. If it does yellow, it can be removed and replaced. Touch-up paint does not provide any protection against future chips -- it is a repair, not prevention.

At least with Iridium Silver and Barolo Red which I have on my current MBs, the touch-up paint is too dark -- the metallic flakes never come to the surface to provide the required reflectivity. A much better solution to touch-up paint is that provided by Dr. ColorChip at http://www.drcolorchip.com

mr.mbenz

MBRedux says it yellows?
slk55er says it doesn't and so does Blazeitup123. I am

Is there any warranty on yellowing? Will it do any damage to the paint as it may not breathe as rest of the surface.

Blazeitup123, how much did it set you back for the coverage done?
I am thinking of getting it done due to too many truckers on regular roads\
So far I was quoted $700 - $800 for the front end only.

Blazeitup123

i think i paid around $1500 for 3m, leather protector w stain and tear warranty as well as paint sealer. i bought it last February and can't remember exactly.

mr.mbenz

thanks Blazeitup123.
when you get a moment to post some pixs, that would be great

I've got some coming for my updates soon.

Blazeitup123

yeah, i will a soon as i can.

ahhhh ok, i found a digi. i'll take some now in the garage.

Blazeitup123

Garage shots. its dark outside so this is all the light i can find.

MBRedux

Yes it yellows, (certain soap detergents do make it worse along with automated car wash systems) and when and if you ever remove it... there will be a line seen in the paint with one side of the paint not matching the other..... (the film protects the paint from UV fading, thus when its removed the paint will not be as faded as the rest of the car.)

This happened to several of my cars... had them all done in the late 90's then another in 2002.... sorry I cannot locate the pix of these cars, but I will try and dig them out for all of you to see. I tried to get one applicator to pay for the repairs to the paint but lost because of the fine print in the contract that states that it may cause such problems.

Consider yourself warned.... good luck!

slk55er

Hmm. So by not putting it on, you have the benefit of UV fading AND stone chips in the paint!

The film is quality proven product which many like myself swear by. Seems like one should at least consider applying it to the bumpers which are most vulnerable to stone chips due to their location and vertical surfaces. If you have a concern about the film preventing fading while other unprotected paint does fade, don't put the film on the hood or fenders. (But I do and will, 'cause I believe this is not the most significant issue -- I'd rather not have stone chips in the hood paint.)

When it comes time to sell or trade your car, your car will be more valuable having had this protection over the years of service.

RedRover

My last car used the 3M film professionally applied. It was a 2003 Nissan Murano. Gold.
I had a complete job. $600. Including rear bumper cargo protector.
I could post a pix,but it was installed properly, therefore you could not see it.

I took the film off after 7 years.
The film itself showed the damage that could have been done to the paint.
Numerous cuts.
But not much on the hood or headlights.
The mirrors were the worst.
Even if I wasn't trading it in, I would have taken them off. They were getting nasty with many cuts and bruises.
I had about 75000 miles on the car.
A lot of that on Interstates.

There was no difference in the paint. Note I keep my car in a garage.
The used car guy at MB commented on the fact that there was not a single paint chip on this 7 year old car.
I told him about the InvisibleBra that I had had put on.
He went back out and came back in and said he could see no evidence of the Bra ever being on the car.


The Only drawback I could see was.......a couple of times a year, I had to take a soft toothbrush and some polish and go along the seams. They tended to attract dirt that showed the line. But a minute or two, and you could no longer see the seams from 5 or 6 feet away....even if you knew where they were.

I saw no Yellowing.
But then, That's why I mentioned the color of the car.
I cannot say that this film on a white car would not have yellowed slightly.
But again, on my car, after seven years you could not see where the bra was/wasn't from 5 feet away. And after it was removed, even a pro couldn't see where it had been.

Another point. Some films are porous. That's really what makes a film "yellow".
So you need to close the pores.
Wax is not a good idea because carnauba wax is not optically clear and is in fact....yellow.
Not a problem for me as I have used a polymer for about 20 years now from Zaino http://www.zainostore.com/.
I started with Zaino in my Corvette days. It is a big favorite with the Vette crowd. Optically clear. Higher gloss than wax and lasts longer.

Rejex and some others are likely good too.
In fact Meguiars, after poo pooing polymers for years while Zaino was eating their lunch at car shows, finally came out with a polymer.
Oh, you can still get their Gold Class..but the top of the line now is NXT Tech Wax.....which is a polymer.

Our vehicle of choice does not attract that many aftermarket folks to a forum because, lets face it, MBs are low volume and most MB drivers are not car guys. So, sometimes we have to go to other forums to get some info on aftermarket stuff.

Heres a nissan forum that wrestles with this question of Clear Bras all the time. They have some installers on the forum and their chatter is interesting.
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...ection-17.html
Some guys are doing their whole car in a Film!


If I was going to use this car as a primary vehicle (interstate travel etc) I would definitely do an Invisible Bra again.

NYCGLK

This used to be a problem, new films don't become yellow and there is 7 year warranty

MBRedux

First, any type of covering, from a car cover to chip guard films will prevent UV rays from fading your paint. (Regardless of the color). So if your plan is to protect only the front end and not the rest, the paint will be faded where the film isn't applied depending on the amount of exposure it gets over the life of the vehicle. And if you ever remove the film from those specific areas, it WILL be noticed.

Now I must insist that all clear films and coatings... and I mean ALL clear films and coatings (even two part urethane or nano clear coat paints) yellow.... and I do mean YELLOW! Spray cars as much and as often as we do and you'll know this to be true. Warranties are nothing but pure ... meant to extract your cash$$$$ and that's all. What's it to them? So they replace those sections that do yellow if you scream loud enough... so what! Most people can't be bothered because most people wouldn't care, their car is a lease or it will be traded in three or less years. That's what these installers COUNT on... so I and many of my racing colleagues figured out a long time ago that this crap simply isn't worth it, especially if you're going to baby sit or trade your car out in a few years anyways. (By the way, most high end dealers prefer trades that DO NOT have this junk apllied for the very same reasons mentioned.)

slk55er

It's interesting that some members like MBRedux think the film is "crap" and "junk" while others like myself who have installed it on several vehicles really consider it a necessity. Perhaps this difference arises in part from our locations and the method used by our state's road maintenance department to treat snow packed and icy roads.

My parents who live in the Phoenix do not have a problem with stone chips. I have not considered it necessary to put film on their C300 (although I have put thicker film on the headlights and fog lights.) However, having lived in Colorado and Utah for 40 years or so, I know that stone chips on paint and windshields are routine occurrences. I mean it is really bad! Perhaps the amount of salt used there is less than in the northeast rust belt, but the sand and gravel used plays havoc with paint and windshields.

It's guaranteed that driving a season in the winter, you'll have a pitted windshield and many, many tiny stone chips in the paint of your bumper and vertical surfaces of the hood and fenders. Even the A pillars and side mirrors will show pitting. And you'll be lucky to not have at least one significant chip in the horizontal surface of the hood. In a year and a half with my CLS, I'm on my 3rd windshield. It's really a shame. The benefits of the film in this case far outweighs the possible long-term effect on yellowing of the film and differences due to fading of the unprotected paint (which can be greatly mitigated my regular waxing of paint.)

So back to gweigle's initial question -- I'd say that it depends on your location and intentions WRT keeping the car long-term. In my situation and location, the film is a necessity. I'm very thankful that there is a quality product that provides such effective protection.

mr.mbenz

okay... too much heated discussion. I have asked the same question to a local installer and will get back to you folks with an update. thanks for the update guys...

mr.mbenz

as promised, here's a response from a 3M installer, (I also asked about the unprotect areas for paint fade/breathe &HeadLights performance as I have Bi-Xenons...):

The Headlights brilliance will not be affected at least to the extent that while the PPF protects against
expensive headlight replacement, it also protects them from the hazing and pitting of everyday road rash.

Your concern of Yellowing is covered under 3M's Warranty = 3M warrants that Scotchgard™ Paint Protection Film,
installed after November 1, 2003, will be free of defects
in materials and manufacture — including yellowing, bubbling, or cracking — for five (5) years from date of purchase.
This warranty does not apply to damage caused by misuse, accident, misapplication, or ordinary wear,
nor does it apply to dents caused by physical impact of rocks or road debris.

Other than poor maintenance (lack of cleaning) of the areas of paint not covered by 3M PPF,
when PPF is removed years down the road, the areas protected will be the same colour as the unprotected areas. "

looks good so far. And because it is 3M, I feel more confident of them backing up their products.

NYCGLK

"when PPF is removed years down the road, the areas protected will be the same colour as the unprotected areas. "

I would not believe this statement, it may it may not, depending on quality of the paint and where car is held. Simple UV and wear and tear on the paint that is not covered would make it look off from the protected part.

I would cover bumper and headlights if I were to do it.

In my case I have chips on the bumper and don't care much so I'm not spending 600-800 bux on that. I did put xpel covers on the headlights, as after a year I can see lots of small micro chips, so I don't want them to continue accumulating. I like the look of new headlights. And xpel cover was 50 bux, and I could put that myself.

GEMINIDAN

I am going to have the front bumpers, headlights,mirrors, and only the lip of the hood done.. The installer uses a film called "Venture Sheild" which is supposewd to be far advanced then 3m????? they have a great warrantee, and I have a friend that has it on his DB9 for 1 year and we live in Florida,,,and he has nbot had a problem with it..I spoke to Rejex,,and they said it will be fine to apply to film. As long as these chips stay off the car I am happy..this film is very durable,,and I watched them apply it today to a Infinity G35... I had the 3M film on my FX45, had to have it re-done once from peeling..once they got it on the right way it was fine..