Just Got The Car...Did You Get Paint Protectant? How Much Did Ya Pay?

A good friend of mine owns a shop that does allot of this work for new car dealers (window tint, clear bra, paint sealant etc...).

Just a couple of notes on these items...

1) The clear bra will 'yellow' after time from the sun. It CANNOT be removed after installation without destroying the paint.
2) Paint sealant is a fancy term dealers like to use for wax. One of the oldest dealer scams in history to get more money out of people.

Save your $1100 and put on a good wax.

 

$1,000 won't buy enough glossy shine for us, so we just use wax from Napa, thanks anyway Mr. dealer

 

Just had a premium 3M pkg put on my car - 24" hood protection, full bumper wrap, 24" fender, mirror wrap, headlights, fog lights door edge and door cups (4 doors). The cost was pricy I will admit but I have piece of mind that the car is protected. I live in the northeast and during the winter, road salt, gravel / sand, etc.. can beat up a front end pretty badly resulting in a lot of touch-up in the spring. The product is warrantied for 5 years by 3M and the local company that installed the film provids a life-time warranty on workmanship. I was advised by the installer not to use or put on the film a car wax that has a dye in it (some color usually yellowish/white). It was stressed to NOT use a wax with a dye on the 3M film when waxing my car. Most waxes come with some sort of dye be it paste or liquid. However, you can purchase a clear wax to use on your car such as a Clear Carnuba paste-liquid or similar type wax and it will not yellow as mentioned earlier in ths Thread. Also, the 3M film can be removed without damaging your paint.. I know first hand about having the film removed. During the initial (first) installation of the 3M film, some dirt specs got trapped under the film and that was unacceptable for me. The installer re-installed the problem areas no questions asked and it looks Great. The film is a Urethane type maateria similar to a clear coat and allows your paint to breath so it will not fade or become damaged.

Do some more homework before you decide one way or another. Here is a link you can go to: Paint Protection Film - XPEL Technologies Corp. Once at the XPEL home page, choose the products drop down menu and then select shop paint protection. The info and prices you see are just for the 3M kit. It does not include installation costs.. Remember if the product is installed correctly and it is cared for as recommended, you should get good service from its use.. Good Luck..

 

It's not worth it by far unless your time is worth a few hundred $ per hour. You can buy your own can of Scotchgard and tub of wax for about $20.

 

I got the 24" hood, standard fenders, mirrors and rear luggage guard to start. I plan to go back to get the bumper wrap. Since the paint is softer than most, it protects the finish better (Florida has nasty lovebugs that will eat the paint). I have read it is a pain to apply yourself and professional install is actually worth the money. Shop around for installers; don't go to the dealer. You will probably find a good installer with prices much less than the dealer.

 

Pass on the stuff from the dealer and get the 3M or VentureShield film installed by the specialist shop. Even money bet the dealer is subcontracting that work to him and marking the price up to you.

 

There is no extra that the dealer sells that I've seen that it worth buying.

However, if it were, I would just go back a week later and buy it from parts/service for under half the price the salesman or F&I guy tells you.

 

Like others that have commented, I would also shop around at other shops witch apply the 3M or VentureShield film. As for the "maxxgard" I would save that money for a rainy day. Last time I bought a car the finance manager was trying to sell it to me. Told me how you could use spray paint on the car and it would just wipe right off. Also said that if any interior carpet or seat was stained they would replace it. The problem is with the fine print. Usually you have to bring the vehicle back to the dealership every time you turn around, and with the repairs usually come a large deductible that you have to pay on top of what you paid for the supposed "protectant."

 

Have these clear bras been around for long?

I know they can be removed after a short while without harming the paint, but I wonder what it would be like after several years.

I'm kind of on the fence with it right now.

 

Plastic films have been available for years. Reno (who did mine) pointed out the VentureShield film that was several years old on his Land Rover. It looked fine.

 

But unless he took it off, you couldn't tell if it affected the paint at all.
I wonder of the paint would fade unevenly or something.

I still may do it b/c anything beats a scratched hood.
How much did he charge, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Protect every part of the car you can with anything you can. The Prius Paint is very thin and SUCKS! You can literally scratch to the primer with a fingernail. Also get a hood deflector. (Do a search on this forum) or click here for my own ideas...http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/45978-hood-deflector-silver-prius.html

Although I have no experience with the 3M clear film. I doubt it will protect the rocks, trash, and debris from damaging the lightweight thin aluminum hood at 70 MPH. Trust me on this one. YOU WILL get at least one dent and several scratches on the front your hood if drive on the interstate in a metropolitan area on a daily basis.

 

Seems like most Japanese cars have "thin" paint.. this issue is from Nissan 350z to G35s... and Toyotas.. is it true that the put "less" layers of paint than MB or BMW? I never had problem with my BMWs... but seems like even my Lexus SC430 has "cheap" paint.

 

Never had a paint problem with My 01 Xterra or my 05 Pathfinder both had around 70K miles of the same driving ( and even a little off road driving) I am doing with my Prius.

I heard the Prius paint is "environmental" and therefore ultra thin and ultra Sucky! I am just glad I got the deflector. This morning on the way to work a large dump truck was dropping all kinds of crap on the freeway. My hood would have had several more scratches and possible dents on it without the deflector.

 

The 3m Clear Bra works wonder on my cars. It has lifetime warranty that it won't turn yellow even after several years. Actually it is very effective to protect your car from stone chips. It is highly recommended.

With regards to the thin layer of paint, The paint nowadays are water based hence for the sucky quality. All car manufacturers are required by law to use environmentally friendly water based paint. Even my brother's 2006 MBenz has so many stone chips.

Around $500 for a clear bra on a Prius is a good price (hood, bumber, headlights, rear view mirrors).

 

This also makes me somewhat nervous - http://www.ventureshield.com/newpdf/10.05newsletter2.pdf

It loses its gloss after 12-18 months? I don't have a heat gun to re-gloss it, and after doing that a number of times... I doubt both areas would be exactly the same if you removed it.

But again...it may still be better than paint chips.

Decisions, decisions...

 

The film will lose its gloss if neglected. Note the page stated "if the car was waxed once per year". The photo shows film neglected for 30 months. Under these conditions the paint will look like crap as well.

The film is UV neutral so the paint underneath should fade evenly.

I was invoiced $500. One can ask if there is a cash discount.