Paint protection

[Tamara]

Hello
I have already suffered stone chips to the nearside rear wheel arch in the first hour of ownership! It looks as though this area is particularly vulnerable on the 1M making country lanes a no go.
I did notice a thread on protection film including mention of paintguard/ventureshield but it was from some time ago (Oct).
One of the participants (Hotrod 99) had used Paintguard in Portsmouth and I wanted to know whether they would recommend them as they are my nearest supplier by the look of it. Otherwise it is Armourfend in Essex.
Did anyone else have any other recommendations. I would much appreciate some advice as it is very depressing to stare at white spots on your Orange car.
THanks
Tamara

[Ender_]

Did you try the search button?

There are posts all over here about it with pics and pro's/con's

[Tamara]

No as still finding my way around the forum, I will try your advice, thanks

[Dan Parker]

Lamin-x has a precut template for this area. I have it on my car.

www.lamin-x.com

[Juiced1M]

I have the 3M pre cut on mine love it you cant even tell its there.

[kjmez]

Originally Posted by Tamara

Hello
I have already suffered stone chips to the nearside rear wheel arch in the first hour of ownership! It looks as though this area is particularly vulnerable on the 1M making country lanes a no go.
I did notice a thread on protection film including mention of paintguard/ventureshield but it was from some time ago (Oct).
One of the participants (Hotrod 99) had used Paintguard in Portsmouth and I wanted to know whether they would recommend them as they are my nearest supplier by the look of it. Otherwise it is Armourfend in Essex.
Did anyone else have any other recommendations. I would much appreciate some advice as it is very depressing to stare at white spots on your Orange car.
THanks
Tamara

Hi - let me know if you come up with anything sensible. Ive not looked into it much and will no doubt regret it soon enough. Some of the costs I saw to prevent stone chips looked more like what I'd want to pay to get the whole thing resprayed in 3yrs.

[1SerieStud]

Xpel Ultimate and never look back! Their kits are second to none and include rear flare protection.

[Tamara]

Thanks for replies so far, v helpful.
in answer to Kjmez, got quote for £399 from Paintguard for mirrors, bumper, bonnet and wheel arches. They say they have templates as done two 1Ms already. Not too bad.....
Got lower quote from place in Peterborough a while ago, which unfortunately I cannot find!
I'll let you know

[Amnizu]

IMHO all paint protection film looks that doesn't cover the whole panel looks like crap. As the protection ages the seems become more and more obvious.

[1SerieStud]

Originally Posted by Amnizu

IMHO all paint protection film looks that doesn't cover the whole panel looks like crap. As the protection ages the seems become more and more obvious.

This depends on the film, installation, and how it's maintained. I've had it on my last 5 cars and I have to point it out in order for people to notice it. Love seeing their reactions when they realize there really is something on top of my car's finish.

[Amnizu]

Originally Posted by 1SerieStud

This depends on the film, installation, and how it's maintained. I've had it on my last 5 cars and I have to point it out in order for people to notice it. Love seeing their reactions when they realize there really is something on top of my car's finish.

As I've never seen your car in person, I'll reserve judgment. However, I tend to be hyper anal about paint and paint quality and notice the reflective changes in paint finish between panels. Any way you do it a half covered panel looks different on the covered half vs the uncovered half in direct light, regardless of if I can see the seam. This is why I recommended wrapping the whole panel if your going to do it.

Maintenance is key, as covers are porous on a microscopic level and will collect dirt and grime. In the PNW poorly maintained clear covers also tend to be a great place for growing green moss, so you get a wonderful green hue to your covered panels.

[1SerieStud]

Originally Posted by Amnizu

As I've never seen your car in person, I'll reserve judgment. However, I tend to be hyper anal about paint and paint quality and notice the reflective changes in paint finish between panels. Any way you do it a half covered panel looks different on the covered half vs the uncovered half in direct light, regardless of if I can see the seam. This is why I recommended wrapping the whole panel if your going to do it.

Maintenance is key, as covers are porous on a microscopic level and will collect dirt and grime. In the PNW poorly maintained clear covers also tend to be a great place for growing green moss, so you get a wonderful green hue to your covered panels.

The seams will always be there when doing partial covering, no question about that. I'm probably as anal about my car, if not more, as you are about yours. So, from the seams being noticeable if you look for them, to saying the film looks bad there is a long stretch...because if it did, many of us wouldn't have it on our cars. You can consider yourself as anal as you want, but maybe you haven't had good experiences with ppf, or maybe you've never had the chance to see the latest ones out there which are entirely transparent without an orange peel...whatever the cause may be, this is all subjective and you can trust me when I say that from many angles the seams completely disappear, but if you walk up to the car and look for them, yes they will be there.