New Car - 3M Paint Protection Film? - Page 2

Regardless of if the deflector you choose is open at the bottom or not; water, dust, organic debris (leaves, bird droppings, etc...) will find its way underneath. It can become very dirty if left unattended. Some deflectors are designed to be slightly raised while others have a rubber gasket that seals the lower opening between the deflector and the hood. Also, depending on the hardware provided, some are permanent solutions while others can be removed (usually 5 screws or so). By the sound of your description, it looks like that deflector will be a permanent fix. I would advise against that for the reasons mentioned above. In my experience, the plastic deflectors have never done this to any of my cars. My 2 oldest cars (17 and 10 years old) have had hood deflectors on them since new and I have never experienced the fading you mentioned. They've also been very good at reducing stone chipping - almost completely actually. I think what you are referring to with respect to fading is hood bras (the leather looking black cover) that go over the front portion of the hood and/or cover the entire front bumper. Most people have recommended that if you do use them, to only do so temporarily (ie. road trips, extended highway driving, etc...). The problem with that application is a) it's touching the surface of the car (rubbing, scratching) and b) if left for long periods of time moisture can be trapped and destroy the covered sections of the body. Obviously as you mentioned there have also been known issues of fading when the bra is kept on as a permanent solution.

Give up the dream. Its impossible to protect your car no matter what you do. Its going to get dings/scratches/dents/marks/etc.. on day one and only get worse from there. Your best bet would be to go into the detailing thread and learn how to properly wax and clay your car.

Nobody here is talking about tuning.

I completely agree, especially if one resides in a consistently warm environment. ....you can't put too much stake in some of these poster's comments. To the OP, I think you're paying a little too much for tint. At $265, you're essentially on the upper level of tint quality, but if you're area of residence is anything like Houston, some tint dealers/installers will haggle with you on price. I would really suggest calling around and checking on line reviews (some places install better than others).

Window tinting is worthwhile. I paid around $150 so $265 seems high to me. Maybe they're that good I don't know. Wouldn't do 3M on a Civic..

I looked at various protection products when I brought my last new car. In the end, I decided that none of them are really worth the money and would pretty much spoil the look of the car. The best bet, in my opinion, is to keep to a routine of regular polish and finish, and try to polish out minor scratches as part of this routine. Major blemishes, I would have professionally repaired 1- 2 times per year. However, remember that this is purely a selfish indulgence, and whenever you come to sell the car, a certain amount of wear and tear is acceptable, so this will purely satisfy yourself having a dink free car!

My personal routine was as follows;

1. Wash car with a good quality car shampoo and lots of water, rinse very well preferably with a power washer, NEVER EVER EVER use'coin operated' automatic washers, Whilst some have softer, foam brushes, most will dull the paint by putting micro scratches
2. Dry with a leather
3. Bi-Weekly, Apply a coat of Auto Glym Super resin polish (white bottle, red label). Working in small areas, apply to a cloth, rub in circular motion then polish off.
4. Every month / 6 weeks, following the super resin polish, apply a coat of Auto Glym Super High Gloss (white bottle, gold label). A very easy polish, simply apply to the cloth and wipe of the car, allow it to dry to a haze (around 30 minutes or so depending on temperaturem just enough time for a nice cup of tea!) then buff off.

This will protect the paint, and the close nature of the finishing will allow you to spot and polish out any small scratches. Every 6 months if desired, have major chips / scratches professionally repaired if required. However, I found that most small marks will polish out with some good hard work. Just be careful using T-Cut , Auto Glym renovator on new paint. I tend to only use this on paint over 2 years old.

Finally, which model Civic? A good car in general!

I say again, a good choice of vehicle. Actually, you would be surprised at the routine and how quick it can be. The car that got me started on the routine was a Jaguar. It used to take at most 2 1/2 hours (the Resin polish being about an hour and a half, the high gloss being about 30 minutes and the other 30 minutes being the waiting for it to dry!)

Understand about not getting scratches at all, but I still think it is better to use a car, accept a few minor marks, but enjoy the car for what it looks like as the manufacturer intended, without bits bolted on. but then, that is a very personal view.

Good luck with it though!

The way I see it:

1) The film can cause color differences in the paint, and wax can build up around it.
2) They want 600 for the whole package, you could have your bumper repainted for less than that.

IMO, it makes no sense to buy a protective covering to prevent stone chips, when in the event that you ended up with a ton of stone chips, you could paint your bumper for a price cheaper than that of the protective film.

Just don't get too close to cars in front of you, and you won't get stone chips on the front end. Simple as that. I've owned cars for 4 or 5 years and ended up with maybe two tiny chips when they were sold, because I never ride anyone's ass on the road.

Get the tint. Forget the 3M.

This.

And I don't even want to imagine the bug shield. Isn't that like a pocket protector for your car?

I put these on the last 3 cars I bought. I frequently drive on the highways/ interstates and now on the racetrack. Mine have worked incredibly well to prevent the small paint chips and broken headlights I had before discovering 3M. The contours of your car will determine how difficult it will be to DIY. Get a pro if in doubt. The only negative is that dead bugs stick to it much more than paint. If you do this, do not put it over already damaged paint. Fix it first, the apply.

In my experience installation is critical; the average film installer does not know what they are doing. There seems to be one good guy in every city based on the auto boards I read. That said, there is difficulty in maintaining the film from a detailing standpoint. It's a problem that has yet to be solved.

Here in the states, different states have different tint % allowed by law. Some states will let you go darker than what the law states if you have some kind of cert from an optometrist saying you have sensitivity problems, or so I have read.