Thoughts on paint protection film

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We didn't get it on my wifes Mazda 3 and three years later the hood and bumper were full of chips. I got it on my Mazdaspeed 3 and three years later there wasn't a chip on the hood or bumper or any noticeable damage to the film. Maybe I was just lucky but it was just flawless. I doubt I'll get a new car without it now. Especially with the new "enviormental" paints being so weaksauce.
 
I own an exotic car and on the advice of many I had it installed. But instead of putting it on my sports car I had it put on my 2005 Acura TL, which was brand new at the time. The film protects against small dings but it does have a couple of drawbacks. First, it is expensive, you can probably respray the front of a car for what it costs. Second, it has a shelf life. Once it degrades it is hard to remove, instead of coming off in a big sheet, like the way it went on, it comes off in bits. Finally, while it protected the area it was installed on the TL, everywhere it wasn't seemed to get road rash.

I also had it put on my wife's car, it is nearing the end of it's shelf life and will have to be removed.

I am not putting it on my 4Runner.
 
It really depends on which company you get it from. I don't know how good the one posted on Toyota's website does with time but I have Autobahnd "RoadBlock" which is now made by 3M and its been fantastic. I have it on two other cars which have better quality paint to start with than Toyota and it hasn't yellowed or peeled or flaked at all. A lot of people tend to put it on and then forget about it and even when they wax their cars they just leave that part alone and thats when things go wrong. I don't think standard hard wax is usable on it as it probably would get damaged but if you use something like RainX FastWax on it every few months or when you wash it'll stay slick and invisible. This isn't something I just tried either, the installer at Mercedes told me and there was a booklet they gave when installed which explained it too. The BMW guys told me they use something different, made by Meguiar's and it does the same thing but the coating didn't last as long when I tried it out.

In terms of cost, I paid 700 for one car and 850 for the other, so it was pricey but it also included a lifetime warranty and if it does start to discolor, tear or whatnot they will replace it for free...they also included the door handle areas and the mirrors. I did have the headlights done on one car and it was a mistake and pointless, the material doesn't stick as well and it does take away from the HIDs slightly. It did start coming up on a headlight but they came to the house and fixed it in my garage which was nice.

Bottom line - if your gonna get it done, get the good stuff and have a professional installer do it, pays off in the long run - just my 2 cents.
 
GatorFL said:
I own an exotic car and on the advice of many I had it installed. But instead of putting it on my sports car I had it put on my 2005 Acura TL, which was brand new at the time. The film protects against small dings but it does have a couple of drawbacks. First, it is expensive, you can probably respray the front of a car for what it costs. Second, it has a shelf life. Once it degrades it is hard to remove, instead of coming off in a big sheet, like the way it went on, it comes off in bits. Finally, while it protected the area it was installed on the TL, everywhere it wasn't seemed to get road rash.

I also had it put on my wife's car, it is nearing the end of it's shelf life and will have to be removed.

I am not putting it on my 4Runner.
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Gator,

Why not the 4Runner? Is your decision about the product or the truck? In other words, has your mind changed in regard to the film, or is it just that you feel differently about the 4Runner than your other vehicles? Thanks so much for the input--this is the insight I am looking for.
 
Ryan F. said:
Gator,

Why not the 4Runner? Is your decision about the product or the truck? In other words, has your mind changed in regard to the film, or is it just that you feel differently about the 4Runner than your other vehicles? Thanks so much for the input--this is the insight I am looking for.
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More of a reflection of the product than the truck although the design of the 4Runner plays into it. Bottom line--lifetime warranty or not--which I had on the 3M film put on the Acura, there are issues with the areas the film covers and even more on the areas it doesn't cover. The film is expensive and it degrades over time are the two main issues I have with it. I think it is more appropriate on a low-milage sports or exotic car where paint protection is really worth a significant investment. And inevitably, the areas that aren't covered will be damaged.

On the 4Runner specifically you'd have to cover the entire hood which is a huge piece of real estate. If you only go partway up the hood you can see the line, I don't care how much you clean the film, you can see the line. I cleaned my film frequently with Plexus.
 
Just curious, why you didn't take advantage of the lifetime warranty considering it would've look brand new and at no cost to you, it even would have taken care of the variation with the rest of the car showing scratches etc.

I do agree in the sense that if your planning to use your 4Runner off-road there is really no point in getting it done since the rest of your rig is gonna show some scars down the road anyways - use it and love it. But if your mostly using it on the road and do a good amount of highway driving I'd get it - no point in doing the whole hood in my opinion either...look at a ride that doesn't have it on and see where the majority of damage is.

You see a line if your car is a darker color but if its White, Silver, or even Shoreline Blue I doubt you'd notice unless you go looking for it and even if you got a Black one - I'd rather have a straight line showing than a chipped and sandblasted hood in a few years time. Ever see a Ferrari in Corsa Red? The line shows clearly however and their owners don't seem to mind. imo.
 
4C4Runner said:
Just curious, why you didn't take advantage of the lifetime warranty considering it would've look brand new and at no cost to you, it even would have taken care of the variation with the rest of the car showing scratches etc.
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Because with any "lifetime warranty" YMMV and mine did. The product was warrantied but the labor to R & R it wasn't. I had a reputable shop in South Florida do the work. It didn't make sense to me to do this and I would have been out $ to simply have the old film removed. As I said I could have resprayed the front end of the TL for what I paid for the clearbra in the first place and to me that is a better investment.

I forgot in my earlier posts--the bumpers on my TL and on the 4Runner are plastic. I had a few nicks from larger objects that dented the bumper on the TL. Sure the paint underneath the 3M film was fine but the bumper was dented. The only way to fix that is a bit of bondo and a respray.
 
I see where your coming from, the product is actually a lot cheaper than it is to install - if your shop was going to charge again for the R&R and they gave you the YMMV talk then I get your point of view, my dealer just did it and it came with unlimited miles, unlimited years. I suppose its just luck of the draw that too I only had a small piece replaced, not the whole thing.
 
I have it on all of my cars and don't have full hoods on any of them. On all of them, you can tell if you get right up on the car, but from 5' away, you can't see anything. It is a lot less noticeable than a huge rock chip. I got my TE with it installed.
 
tblackj said:
I have it on all of my cars and don't have full hoods on any of them. On all of them, you can tell if you get right up on the car, but from 5' away, you can't see anything. It is a lot less noticeable than a huge rock chip. I got my TE with it installed.
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How far up the hood does the protection go?
 
Ryan F. said:
How far up the hood does the protection go?
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I'll tell you in a couple of days. They installed it while I was on vacation. I just got the truck the day before I left for two weeks. That is why I am on here now... soaking up knowledge on lift kits, tires, wheels, options, and how to close hoods.
 
Very good option

I had it installed on my 1993 4Runner which I replaced with a Trail edition a month ago. No discoloration, or paint chips.

I installed it on my new truck again (about 16" - 18" in the front of the hood). I also install it on the lower part of the rear door (1/4 circle) , since the running board does not integrate into the body in older styles to protect against flying rocks caught it tire treats.
 
my limited came with it installed. its already been a life saver. theres a couple of dings in the film....but not on my paint.

still waiting bug guards.
 
bump. does anyone have or know of someone who has the film on the headlights as well? im getting clear bra'd this weekend and they are trying to sell me on it.
 
I have it on my headlights, and can cut you the film for the entire front of the vehicle. 3M/Venture Shield sales here.

Tell me what pieces you want, and I can mail em to you.
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fully wrapped front

I'm getting my 11' SR5 clear bra'd today!!

I had my 08' Prius (dark grey) frontend fully wrapped and 2 yrs later it looks completely new still. no discoloration, chipping or fading of the color so I'm giving my new baby the same treatment.
Heading to Omega Tint Werks in Dublin Ca. to get the whole front end wrapped and front window tinted. I've asked him to custom wrap the whole hood, headlights, fog lights, side mirrors, and partial rear bumper. Super excited!

I'll post pics as soon as i have my baby protected.

Dave
 
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