[Nasu M3]

This is a product that 3M offers that I’m really interested for my my 03 carbon black M5 as well as for my wife's 04 X5.
Here is the product info taken directly off their website:

"Scotchgard Paint Protection Film maintains the beauty and integrity of automotive finishes on vulnerable exterior painted surfaces such as leading hood edges, fender end caps and rocker panels. This rugged urethane film helps protect against stone chips, bug damage, abrasion and weathering. Scotchgard™ Paint Protection Film is transparent and nearly invisible and it does not alter vehicle appearance".

Looking to see if anyone’s has had this installed on their car or truck. I'm trying to keep my beast as well as her X5 in the best shape possible & have briefly looked into having this clear film made by 3M applied to the front end. It would partially cover the front of my hood, fenders,bumpers,driving & headlights. It is definitely not cheap & I’ve been told that the process to apply it takes 3-4 hours.When I first stared looking into this I had called around a few places for my wife's X5 & was quoted anywhere from $475 to $950. I did not decide to get a quote from the same ones on my M5 until later & the only price so far was $550. I can understand that this is a very costly product which can in the long run be justified by not having to repaint or touchup the front end due to pitting of the paint or even a broken /cracked headlamp.

Any help advice & feedback would be greatly appreciated. If feedback is positive is there any shop you would recommend for those of you in the Souther California area? Orange County?

 

[Jayson]

Some love it but i dont'


I have seen many cars with it on, and they all have a line where it's cut on teh middle of the hood across. To me it's cheap looking, and some say when you pull it off you take some paint with it...Personally I'd just rather repaint the front then put it on.

 

[marcvip]

I have it installed and believe me it is worth every penny if you drive the car the way it is meant to be driven on the highway....

http://www.invinca-shield.com/asp/genkit.asp?kit=325

 

[Philip]

I have it installed and believe me it is worth every penny if you drive the car the way it is meant to be driven on the highway....

http://www.invinca-shield.com/asp/genkit.asp?kit=325

Same here, worth every penny. I refer to it as the "TailGater option", as I no longer fear getting close to other cars kicking up stones.

 

[5driver]

This is a product that 3M offers that I’m really interested for my my 03 carbon black M5 as well as for my wife's 04 X5.
Here is the product info taken directly off their website:

"Scotchgard Paint Protection Film maintains the beauty and integrity of automotive finishes on vulnerable exterior painted surfaces such as leading hood edges, fender end caps and rocker panels. This rugged urethane film helps protect against stone chips, bug damage, abrasion and weathering. Scotchgard™ Paint Protection Film is transparent and nearly invisible and it does not alter vehicle appearance".

Looking to see if anyone’s has had this installed on their car or truck. I'm trying to keep my beast as well as her X5 in the best shape possible & have briefly looked into having this clear film made by 3M applied to the front end. It would partially cover the front of my hood, fenders,bumpers,driving & headlights. It is definitely not cheap & I’ve been told that the process to apply it takes 3-4 hours.When I first stared looking into this I had called around a few places for my wife's X5 & was quoted anywhere from $475 to $950. I did not decide to get a quote from the same ones on my M5 until later & the only price so far was $550. I can understand that this is a very costly product which can in the long run be justified by not having to repaint or touchup the front end due to pitting of the paint or even a broken /cracked headlamp.

Any help advice & feedback would be greatly appreciated. If feedback is positive is there any shop you would recommend for those of you in the Souther California area? Orange County?

I had 3M's Scotchgard product applied to my carbon black '03 in Oct. '04 and am very pleased with the results. As you probably know, this film is more visible on dark colors. However, I found that, while you can see the line on the hood, you really have to be looking for it in extremely good light/sunshine. See if you can check out one of the installer's applications on a black car.

On the downside, you may find slight blemishes/flaws in the film that appear to be "alligator" wrinkles. These, to me, are more offputting. 3M has been working to reduce/eliminate them. My clear bra has one or two. The only only that bothers me is, wouldn't you know it, on the hood. Again, you have to look at it in pretty good light to detect it. But, hey, life is a series of trade offs and compromises.

Be sure to check out your installers experience and qualifications. Check out some of his prior work. I believe precut patterns are now available for several of the areas you'd likely want covered. Make sure he uses them.

For non-standard areas, e.g., mirrors, head lights, door edges, lower door jams, rear bumper just outside the trunk, wrapping around the front air dam, he will have to make a pattern and cut his own film. Nevertheless, you should consider these options.

I had all these done and my price was $600. So far, it's held up well.

Oh, regarding the statement that removing it will pull off paint, I believe that is a risk only for touch-up. OEM paint is not a problem according to my sources. And, my installer said that touch-up spots shouldn't be a problem either if you use a lot of water when removing the film.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[a_ok2me]

It is definitely not cheap & I’ve been told that the process to apply it takes 3-4 hours.When I first stared looking into this I had called around a few places for my wife's X5 & was quoted anywhere from $475 to $950. I did not decide to get a quote from the same ones on my M5 until later & the only price so far was $550. I can understand that this is a very costly product which can in the long run be justified by not having to repaint or touchup the front end due to pitting of the paint or even a broken /cracked headlamp.

I was quoted $1195 at several places in northern cal. Philip saved me several hundred bucks. $550 sounds like a steal in cal. My brother had his done for 3 something in MN. Make sure you do it before you have to cover over those pits. Also make sure to ask them to extend the kit to cover the entire front bumber sides and extend the front quarter out to the fender.

 

[Anzir]

I just made a post about this a little while ago, but it has been the best investment I made on the car (and back when I got it installed 5 years ago, it was around $350). It has taken a lot of abuse over 5 years, so I began the process of removing it last week. I am going to be finished with the project (hopefully) this Sunday, so I'll make a full post next week. Meanwhile, here's a pic to show the abuse that the film took and the untouched paint underneath. And no, it does not take ANY paint off when you take it off. It might leave a little adhesive residue, but that is easily cleaned off.

I attached a pic of the damage that it took and the untouched paint underneath in this thread last week.

 

[ELEVENS]

At first I thought it was great.

Then I got sick of looking at at, and removed it all myself (mirrors, hood, front bumper). BTW, it did not damage the paint at all.

Now, driving only a week - and I never tailgate - I see a few tiny stone chips in my previously protected hood.

Man, tough call! I suppose it boils down to how and where you use your car. If your M5 is a garage queen/date car, leave the clearbra off and be very, very careful. If you tailgate or travel heavy traffic where tailgating is normal and necessary to get anywhere, clearbra is a must.

I don't buy the argument about just repainting instead of protecting with clearbra. It cost me over $1000 to get only my hood repainted properly due to a BIG stone chip on an area of the hood that wasn't covered by clearbra). I can't imagine what it would cost to repaint (properly) the entire front of the car!


:cheers:

 

[a_ok2me]

I don't buy the argument about just repainting instead of protecting with clearbra. It cost me over $1000 to get only my hood repainted properly due to a BIG stone chip on an area of the hood that wasn't covered by clearbra). I can't imagine what it would cost to repaint (properly) the entire front of the car!

Repaint - I have never seen a perfect colormatch. In the Midwest, there are less cars and less materials flying around. In cal, you have no elbow space. I've notice a tremendous increase in chips even with clear armor.

 

[FAST 5]

I have it on my 2003 M5. The guy applied the film all over the car, to the areas prone to getting chipped by flying rocks. It looks great! You can hardly see it at all. You have to examine the car and its various spots to detect the edge of the film. My color is titanium, so this may have something to do with the fact that the film is hardly noticable.
Robert

 

[Tony Chien]

One month ago, I went to this place in El Monte, CA. The shop is located inside of El Monte Airport and had the clear bra done on my car. www.aeroshield.com

For the whole front and the mirrors, including head lights it's about $500 with our group buy. Life time warranty on the material, the guy is local so any problem, you can always take your car back for warranty service. I went back 1 week ago for a little warranty work, nothing major.

Email me if you want to see my car. I'm in LA. [email protected]


Tony
Montebello, CA
2002 Blue M5

 

[Whiteyford]

"Then I got sick of looking at at, and removed it all myself (mirrors, hood, front bumper). BTW, it did not damage the paint at all."


I'm glad to hear it. I just had 3M installed and I'm not sure if I like it. At least I know that it's not hard to remove.

 

[sjdennis]

I have a product called "Clear Armor" on my Avus Blue M5. Yes, you can see the line if you look hard enough and if you don't clean out the wax residue after waxing. My 97 purple M3 had so much road rash on the front end that I was willing to try the clear bra on the M5. So far, so good.


Dennis