Anyone used this stuff on any of their vehicles? The front of my Jag looks like it has been sand blasted and I am looking to repaint the front of the car. But, at the same time, I don't want to have to go through all that work and money just to have the paint trashed again. So, I am looking for something that could be added that would not take away from the looks of the vehicle. I found this product and seems to do everything that I want. It is an 8 mil (0.008") thick clear plastic film that you put over the front of the car. So, instead of the rocks striking the paint, it would strike this film, at a minimum, minimizing the damage, if not absorbing all the damage, saving the paint. According to the testimonials I have seen, they say it is not visable at more than a few feet away. I can see where that would be a true statement. My bigger worry is after a few years of use, I want to remove the film to either put more on or simply remove it for selling the car, what sort of mess am I going to be left with in the way of left over adhesive? I would anticipate a little bit being left behind and if all it takes to get off is using some Goo-B-Gone, I am fine with that. I would be more worried about removing it and not having any adhesive left as this would tell me that the film doesn't stick all that well. I just don't want to have to peel off the film, having it pull the paint off or leave a sticky residue behind that I can't get off.

If you are worried about the numerous bends and whatnot of our cars, I think this stuff will handle the curves very well. It is very flexible and seems to conform to irregular shapes very well. They were applying it to the backside of mirrors with no wrinkles. I'm sure part of it is in the way that you install it.

Any feedback, positive or negative is appreciated. I found a place that I can get a 12x60" roll for $35 delivered to my house. I figure if I get 2 rolls, that should do the entire front end of the car.

 

Here in the Mountain West US, we use this stuff extensively. Many car dealers do it to EVERY car they sell.
There are a few comments I'd make however: In hot/dry climates, several years of exposure will oxidize the paint NOT protected at a faster rate, leading to some color issues.
And having installed several of these myself, with mixed results, I;d recommend either practicing first on a friend's car or have it installed professionally.

 

Surely if your car is stonechipped this is going to seal in the existing damage?
If it ever needs to come off it might damage the paint especially around thestonechip areas where it probably would get a better gripdue to the uneveness?
At our bodyshop wereplace a lot of stonechip clear tapes and blackout foils where they were factory fitwhich are tailored to cars and avaiable as "parts" from dealers eg Toyotas/Renaults etc etc around lower 1/4 panels, trailing rear door edges.
Never looked or seen them on Jags but it is very difficult/impossible to cut curves by hand which is why we get dealer chip tapes.
Maybe the tape you are looking at is thinner but I wouldnt fit it to mine.
Maybeyou are driving too close to other cars or lorries tobe getting these stonechip problems?

 

Buck, I would be repainting the bumper cover/grill to get rid of the stone chips. So, that is not an issue. As for driving too close, people around here won't let you drive more than about 1 second behind another vehicle. If you try driving further back, that is an invitation to have them cut in front of you and drop the gap to less than 0.5 seconds. So, it is a sour sweet deal with that.

As for cutting curves, I don't think it will be that big of a deal. I do a lot with miniatures, so, I am used to working with exacto knives and whatnot. It is one of those "gotta practice before you do things". I don't think I will have an issue with cutting the film.

 

do it, we do at the dealer when wanted and it works great. if done properly its hard to see and always looks better than tornup paint

 

Thermo, the previous owner of my X-Type installed a clearbra film on my car. It's not my favorite look on dark colors, but to its credit, I don't havea single paint chip on my hood after 22,000 miles, so the protective film definitely works.

Removing the clearbra is pretty straightforward: Wait for a hot day, park the car in the sun for a few hour to warm up the glue, then carefully peel the film off, and clean any remaining glue residue with something like Goof-off or 3M Adhesive Remover. One point of warning though: An installer I talked to said this technique should work fine on a car's factory paint, but advised against trying to remove the film if the car's been re-sprayed, because it's likely to rip the paint off in chunks from the re-sprayed areas. Given that you plan to re-spray your hood and then apply a clearbra, don't plan on removing it later unless you want to re-paint the area when you're done. I don't know why you'd want to remove it anyway, since many buyers may appreciate having the clearbra on there.

 

I had it on my Infiniti G35 (black) and I could only really see it when I was looking down the hood from the windshield. The kit on mine was 3M and it worked great but I ordered a "precut" set. It was like 13 or 15 pre-cuts made to fit just a G35, I dont know if they makeone for the X but thats the one I would get if I were going to do it again.(still might but need to repaint the front first)I did take off one section after about two and a half yearsand repalced it after getting a big gash form a stick or someting. I didnt notice and change in color or any residue left behind that didnt come off with soap and water.

 

3m product has no glue, it stays on like a vinyl wrap, heat to remove and wash down afterwards

 

that's what I was gonna say too!
And I don;t know why a re-spray would be more likely to come off when removing the ClarBra, unless it's a poor quality.
Most of us, when we're re=spraying a car, use superior materials and prep methods than the factory does... so it shouldn't be a problem.