Stone Chip Film ... help and suggestions please!!

[NZ_M3]

So ... further to my other post about me getting my car fully repainted - I got it back yesterday afternoon after work :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

And it's looking like bloody brand new :hahaha::hahaha::hahaha:

No doubt I am a happy fella ... but it was straight home and into the garage and parked away. Honestly I have never seen a shinier car before!!


I am now looking at getting that protection film that some of you have on your cars - I was wondering whether a fellow member can help out and point me in the right direction:

1. Those that have installed this stuff on your own - was it hard to do by yourself or is it recommended that the professionals do it?

2. Where do you source it from? Is it pre-cut? What does it cover? I presume bumper, flaps, front guards and the whole bonnet??

3. If it is pre-cut, how much is it and is it hard to post out to New Zealand?


Cheers!!

[shimmy]

i couldnt do it well so i would get specialist to apply it for you.


search for Paintshield, Ventureshield or 3M paint protection for best products by far. You should have franchises nearby;)

they seem to produce a template the first time they so a car shape and use those templates to cut the material next time round so i guess you could buy the cut sheets but it is very hard to apply well

the accuracy of the sheets is also important. sometimes they cut corners and edges are rough or in the easy and not bst places.

good luck

[scott7]

I had mine done by a company specialising in it, they had the car for about 9 hours to do all front bumper, third of bonnet, bottom of front and back wings and side skirts, cost me £500 cash.I believe its very difficult to do well and time consuming, if you get it done take ten minutes before paying for it and inspect the job, it wasnt until i had paid for mine and was waxing the car a few weeks later that i noticed a couple of bits i wasnt happy with.

[dave1]

i would'nt bother costs a fortune and looks shit

[Ade]

There are basically only 2 people in the country who are worth considering for this job. The cost for full panel shielding is not cheap, and there are a lot of really poor jobs done on a tight budget.

The end results when done by either of people I know are excellent - you can't see the film at all. If my car didn't have stonechips already, it would be the first thing I'd have done. It's worth the cost.

[Mark CSL]

I have done 4 CSLs now by my self not an easy job but can be done go for the full kit full front wings and 3/4 bonnet thats the best kit

Look here Ryan will ship the precut Kits Postage is not cheap :thumbs:

http://www.autopaintguard.com/

3M is good for the bumper and venture sheld is great for the bonnet and wings :thumbs:

[Jay55]

I would certainly get a pro to install the film

if you want the best in the business i would get Tom at Paintshield to do this for you... or try Nick at ventureshield...

there is several companys which offer venturesheild but some of the the installers are crap so be careful!!!!I would also get the paint perfect before installation as film will just highlight any swirls or defects present

[Jay55]

i would'nt bother costs a fortune and looks shit

film has come along way ...you find most dont yellow like they use too and are not as noticible

its all down to what film you use and how good the installer is...

expensive ??? maybe but certainly worth it if tracking the car

[Rags]

I have Paintshield on my E92 M3, its not cheap but its worth it!

[Rags]

film has come along way ...you find most dont yellow like they use too and are not as noticible

its all down to what film you use and how good the installer is...

expensive ??? maybe but certainly worth it if tracking the car

It is great to hear that a detailing is not totally against it.

The pros:

Almost invisible, protects the car from stone chips(obviously), can still be waxed, 4 year warranty, prevents scuffs as well, doesn't damage the paint, no more sh1t resprays

The Cons: You cannot polish the paint, its not 100% invisible (near enough), you can't correct the paint and have to rely on the film to obtain the shine

[csl_mba]

I have a friend of a friend who has a body shop - the price of the full front end kit is more expensive than me getting the front fully resprayed. :beer:

[Ade]

the front fully resprayed. :beer:

how much? stone chips irritate me.

[csl_mba]

For the bonnet, bumper & wings £500

[Rags]

I do actually half agree and the purist should have paintwork without all this stuff.

However, I bought my e92 m3 with no miles on it. The paintwork had no chips on it.

Yes, the car can be repainted for £500 - £1000 but it will only remain like that for a short space of time.

Imagine this:

You spend £500+ on a front end respray, then you do a couple of track days and it gets sprayed with gritters - stone chips galore

You are gonna be gutted!

Also, when I come to sell my car, it will be free from Stone chips.

For you, £500 front end, few stone chips, come resale? You will still be knocked down and questions about your paintwork not to mention imperfections etc from a spray job! This is not to say my factory paint is free from orange peel!:hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::haha ha:

[csl_mba]

^^ I will ask him to apply it with a sponge to get that BMW effect :hahaha:

[Rags]

^^ I will ask him to apply it with a sponge to get that BMW effect :hahaha:


:hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::hahaha::h ahaha::hahaha:

The boys on detailing world will cry!

[NZ_M3]

Well I did just get my car fully repainted, so it's probably worth while putting the film on.

Getting someone to look at it today actually.

Do you think doing just part of the bonnet and front guards are okay? Or should I do the full bonnet and full guard??

[Mark CSL]

Well I did just get my car fully repainted, so it's probably worth while putting the film on.

Getting someone to look at it today actually.

Do you think doing just part of the bonnet and front guards are okay? Or should I do the full bonnet and full guard??

I have the full wings done so you dont see any edges and i have 2/3 of the bonnet done :thumbs: + the other parts bumper and the likes worth every penny

[NZ_M3]

Well, after doing a bit of research and speaking to a few other regular trackers both locally and abroad, I took the dive and got the car clear filmed by Venturesheild

Found the best applicator that there is here in New Zealand and did the following:
- Full bonnet
- Full bumper and splitters
- Headlights (he threw these in for free)
- Full front guards)
- Full length side skirts
- full length rockers
- half of the doors
- 1/4 of the rear guards (in line with the doors)

I have to say the results are AMAZING :thumbs: Really pleased I went ahead with the job and finally I can enjoy the car without worrying about stone chips!!!

The applicator took 2 days to do the job as he wanted a perfect finish and he was only a one man band operator ... 14 hours later .. results!!

Now for the photos:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010415.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010416.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010417.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010418.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010419.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010420.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010421.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010422.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010423.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010424.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010427.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010429.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010435.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010437.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/M3_Power/CSL/ResizeofP1010438.jpg

[Mark CSL]

Looking good Tom
Did you get the bottom of the doors done ??

[NZ_M3]

Looking good Tom
Did you get the bottom of the doors done ??

CHEERS Mark!!!

Sure did ... the bottom half of the doors, rocker panels and side skirts .. and 1/4 of the rear guard to bring it in line with the bottom half of the doors.

Basically I asked the panel shop where the stone chips were and had all those areas covered :thumbs:

Took the car around the panel shop afterwards to show them the job - their jaws dropped and were blown away by how good it looks ... even the shine from the product matches the clear coat of the car.

When I had the car repainted the painter measured the paint to ensure he wasn't laying too much product on there and matched the natural peel in the clear coat to factory. Took them a whole month to do the job ... new clips, moulding ect were used. :hahaha: I am a happy man.

[Bealo]

Looking good :thumbs: :thumbs:

[Mark CSL]

Thats the only part i did not do Tom.
But i have more film in the garage so i shall do it when i get the car back from BMW when ever that is :hahaha:

[bryce]

It does look good but the fact you can still see the seams bothers me.

How does a 'chipped' venturesheild panel look? What was the % cost vs a respray?

[NZ_M3]

Mark I'd highly recommend doing the bottom of the doors - I certainly picked up a couple of chips from tracking the car on that panel.

It does look good but the fact you can still see the seams bothers me.

How does a 'chipped' venturesheild panel look? What was the % cost vs a respray?

You have to remember that this is a stone chip protection film, not a miracle film that's going to stop everything penetrating it - if it was I'd imagine it to be fairly difficult to cut and mould to shape.

The cut lines are honestly not that noticeable and because it is so close to the edge it blends in with the car some what. I was initially a bit concerned also, but to be honest after seeing it in person, it doesn't bother me.

Chipped venturesheild would look no worse than a paint chipped panel, the difference being you can easily and quickly replace the film and still have good paint underneath (sure there will be the odd ones that will penetrate and damage the paint, but I would say for majority of the stones or pebbles that come in contact, they will do very little damage).

Cost wise, the film is about 1/3 of the cost of a near perfect repaint job here.