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    3 M Film Protection----

    I've noticed mention of the 3M film that some have put on their hoods/fenders/etc. Can anyone summarize the pluses and minuses of the film? Cost? Look?
    It is removeable when one has to repair ? Does it peel??
    My neck of the woods has many small rocks/gravel left over from winters and general road repair (Minnesota has two seasons--- Winter and road repair). I intend to use the S quite a lot from Spring to Fall and would like to avoid the pitting/sand blasting I have on my Bimmmer/Miata.
    jack49

    ps: the earlier comment about the use of RainX is right on. Most of the time you don't even have to turn the wipers on, and, it is great on removing bugs splatters . There is another commercial product that is better marketed by a company called "Zep", which is even better. I got it from a former sales Zep sales rep. I wish I could find another source.


    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Thank much Stradale. As a newbie on the forum, I'm just getting somewhat used to the great collection of information. I'll have to hunt down the local 3M vendor for estimate. I think I'll wait until it warms up to have the film put on....ie April/May. Sorry for the stupid questions.
    We have a great event this weekend (Sat.) in my area,,just outside of Twin Cities in Osceloa ,Wisconsin called "Wings and Wheels" ---sponsored by MBI Publishing (big car publisher).. Should be over 2000 cars of all makes/types and over 100 planes. If anyone is around , I recommend it for a nice field trip to the country.
    jack49

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    jack49 said:
    Thank much Stradale. As a newbie on the forum, I'm just getting somewhat used to the great collection of information. I'll have to hunt down the local 3M vendor for estimate. I think I'll wait until it warms up to have the film put on....ie April/May. Sorry for the stupid questions.
    We have a great event this weekend (Sat.) in my area,,just outside of Twin Cities in Osceloa ,Wisconsin called "Wings and Wheels" ---sponsored by MBI Publishing (big car publisher).. Should be over 2000 cars of all makes/types and over 100 planes. If anyone is around , I recommend it for a nice field trip to the country.
    jack49



    WELCOME to the forum then !
    I didn't see any stupid question. Besides there's no such thing as a stupid question. (my teachers used to love that saying) Guess they're right though.

    I'm a huge fan of the clear bra and body armour. My CS has the bottom 1/3 of the hood, the entire front bumper, the bottom 1/3 of the doors, the entire rocker panels into the car (to prevent chips from the road and marks/scratches from shoes), behind each wheel, the lights and the mirrors. My 997 S cab has everything above minus the mirrors and the doors. Paint chips and dings suck the big one. The stuff really protects so the big pluses are much less damage, better re-sale (not just because the car isn't damaged but because other car nuts will know you're anal) LOL !! you can remove it if you hate it (UNLIKE Damaged paint) and a big one for me whenever I'm driving - piece of mind. I honestly enjoy my cars more with a little less stress this way. For me that's big.

    The most important part is finding the RIGHT installer. The quality of the install is everything with this product. To answer your question it shouldn't peel at all and can be replaced if damaged. But it can really take abuse before needing to be replaced. In other words if you have to replace a piece of 3M chances are your paint would have been trashed from the impact.

    The cons - To some people they don't like the line on the hood. It doesn't bother me. On Silver cars the film is less noticable. On black cars you can see it more.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    I've got close to 7K miles on my car without the saran wrap. The car has almost no visible rock chips. IMO I'd rather have the clean look. If it does get a little road rash then I'd go for a repaint later at 3/4 of what the 3M costs. To each his own but I'd rather not save it for the next guy.

    If I was in an area where the front took a lot of abuse it might be a differnt story.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    I've got close to 7K miles on my car without the saran wrap. The car has almost no visible rock chips. IMO I'd rather have the clean look. If it does get a little road rash then I'd go for a repaint later at 3/4 of what the 3M costs. To each his own but I'd rather not save it for the next guy.

    If I was in an area where the front took a lot of abuse it might be a differnt story.




    "The car has almost no visible rock chips"

    What does that mean ?

    My car is absolutely free from rock chips.

    Has a little to do with saving it for the next guy. I'm trading for a Turbo next summer and would rather have the car perfect then have to argue about the decreased value of the car because of beat up paint. There's so many mint cars out there, a car with chips etc. is a hard sell. But it's more because it kills my to see chips in my paint. Hate it. I wouldn't walk around with a chipped tooth and I wouldn't drive a chipped up car if I can help it, which I can easily. I rather have the 3M look then look at damage. A re-paint for 3/4 the cost ? Why not just protect your paint instead of repainting and spending the money anyway. You know what's going to happen to the front after a repaint not done at Porsche ? Think major pock marks my friend. "repaint" is the absolute last thing I would want for my Porsche. Accident with repaint, repaint for chip damage same difference. The paint is never the same as factory and always will kill your cars value. Even if you're not in an area that has lots of stones you're definately sand blasting your paint behind each wheel. Check it with a flashlight. If it's not there yet it will be soon. The longer you have the car and more miles you put on the worse it will get. It doesn't stop at any point. Not what I'd call a "cleanlook" but whatever.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    To each his own as I said. IMO not worth it.....

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    STRADALE said:

    I didn't see any stupid question. Besides there's no such thing as a stupid question. (my teachers used to love that saying)



    Just stupid people

    JK welcome to the forum!

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    I've got close to 7K miles on my car without the saran wrap. The car has almost no visible rock chips. IMO I'd rather have the clean look. If it does get a little road rash then I'd go for a repaint later at 3/4 of what the 3M costs. To each his own but I'd rather not save it for the next guy.

    If I was in an area where the front took a lot of abuse it might be a differnt story.



    Repaint can decrease the value of your car by up to 10%. Add that to the cost of painting it and the clear film looks cheap. Besides repaint never wears as well as original paint.

    I wasn't going to get the clear bra but I got my first ding on the way home from the dealer in my brand new car. I got my second when I returned to the dealer to buy touch up paint. I drive the same freeways as you and avoid trucks, etc, but rocks will still eventually get you. Since the film absorbs more without damage, I have now gone four months without any damage.

    You can do what ever you want with your own car, but the economic justifaction you gave does not fly. Repaint of the front bumper and hood will cost more that the clear bra and you still haven't factored in the decreased value of your car with repaint. I seriously doubt you can get your entire front end painted by a good shop for the $850 I spent on the bra.

    Just my opinion......

    Phil

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Go to a Porsche dealers lot a night and look at the used cars in the florescent lights even the ones with very few miles. Most have lots of paint damage almost all of that would not be there if they had the 3m film .

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----


    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    STRADALE said:




    ABSOLUTELY Stradale !!
    I don't get it either !!
    Wish we could get the Clear Bra over here, wouldn't hesitate one minute to have it installed by a pro,
    BETTER PREVENT THAN CURE !!
    Just my 2 cents

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    BTW, if you do get rock damage through the 3M(I've seen it happen many times) when you go to remove it it will peel away bigs chips of paint. Then you'll have to respray anyway If you think it's worth it, go for it. I'm done.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    I thought you lived in an area where the 'front doesn't take took a lot of abuse' ?

    Honestly that's never happened to me and I've never seen that happen. And you've seen it happen "many times" eh ?

    I guess if something big enough was to hit hard enough to damage the paint through the 3M then thank God it didn't hit the paint direct. Not only would you have a chip you'd probably have a nice dent too. So not only would you need to respray your car you'd be looking at bondo and body damage.

    Someone actually backed into my Durango and I replaced the film because it was scratched. The paint underneath was left perfect. I wonder what kind of object would have to hit to damage the paint ? Tell the truth, you just made that up didn't you ?

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    BTW, if you do get rock damage through the 3M(I've seen it happen many times) when you go to remove it it will peel away bigs chips of paint. Then you'll have to respray anyway If you think it's worth it, go for it. I'm done.



    And think how bad it would have looked if those same rocks had hit your unprotected paint. Certainly there is nothing that can provide 100% protection, but the clear bra eliminates damage from 90% of the things thrown at the front of your car.

    I had a red 996 and never used any sort of bra. I got pretty good at touching up the nicks to the point that they were hard to see. I now have an artic silver 997S. It is impossible to touch up. It is not just a matter of eliminating the touch up blob, I can never get the color to match. Most metallic paints are more difficult to touch up than solid colors. So, since I can not touch up with any sucess, I felt a bra was an alternative solution.

    Phil

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----


    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    If you can't get it maybe try doing it yourself. The bumper would probably be too hard but you might be able to do a decent job on the hood and behind the wheels. I've said the installer is everything but if you don't have one what are ya gonna do ? Depends how handy you are I guess. Just a thought trying to help.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    I've seen it mostly on F-cars. Seriously if a rock is say the size of a piece of gravel(that falls off a dump truck or is kicked up by another car) then 3M won't stop it. The impact will cause the paint to shatter slightly underneath. Enough of those and you're looking at a respray. That on top of your $850

    Here's a little damage with 3M by a rock kicked up by another driver. It held the pieces together nicely

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    If you want to compare real world costs and from experience first hand - I could say the money I've spent on 3M has prevented respays on 5 different cars. So I'm about $5000 ahead in that area. Factor in depreciation for the cars that have been resprayed and I'd say it's $10,000 minimum. Easy. And that's not even considering the ugly factor. Trying to say it costs more for a car with 3M then one without is a little ridiculous. All that aside frankly I think Porsche's and Ferrari's with paint chips look like crap. And believe me I'm not the only one that walks away from a car that is chewed up.

    Truth is the vast majority of the time the 3M does it's job of protecting the paint so that it doesn't get chewed up with chips. Like I said if something is big enough to cause a huge tear in the 3M thank God it didn't hit the paint direct because it's almost guaranteed there will be body damage. The 3M in that pic was well worth it's price X 10 probably. For something to cause that much damage it had to be big. Very big. It's probable that 3M will often prevent a tear in the bumper. Fact is - Your car will stand up to something impacting it better with film that without. Fact is if I didn't have 3M installed the paint on the front of my cars they would be chewed to shreds. It used to happen to me all the time before I knew about the product and it happens all the time to co-workers of mine that drive the same highways that I do to work. They're always complaining and showing me new chips. I've offered to help but honestly once you have quite a few major chips the 3M doesn't lay right on the paint. Fact is - For my area if you don't protect the front of your car you are guaranteed to have lots of damage. The front of my Ferrari and Porsche is perfect. If I didn't have 3M installed I'd have some damage like you. Everyones different. I have a problem in that I'm anal as hell with my cars. Chips in my paint ruin my day. If it doesn't bother you and you think it costs you less not to have it done, well good luck to you. Fact is - Even if you were right and the opposite were true and 3M actually cost me more then having my cars resprayed then I'd STILL have 3M installed. If 3M cost me 10 times more then resprays to keep my car from getting chipped, dented and resprayed then I'd still do it. Everytime.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Let me guess you're a 3M stock owner? As I said I don't believe it's worth it for me. You feel it is for you and that makes you 100% correct

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    , if you do get rock damage through the 3M(I've seen it happen many times) when you go to remove it it will peel away bigs chips of paint.


    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Nope. I'm the owner of Bubba Gump Shrimp. It's a household name. Yes, sir. We got more money than Davy Crockett.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    OCEAN said:




    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    OCEAN said:
    Quote:
    , if you do get rock damage through the 3M(I've seen it happen many times) when you go to remove it it will peel away bigs chips of paint.





    If you get hit with a Meteorite you're outa luck.

    Here's some scientific info on 3M. The guy shot pellets from a gun hitting the 3M film at 279.62 MPH. LOL !!
    http://www.automotivearticles.com/Clear_Bra_3M.shtml

    Notice the authors conclusion:
    " I think it is very clear that the 3M product is a must have for those concerned about keeping the car's paint mint. If the enthusiast can front the money, it is probably one of the most useful investments that can be made, aside from an oil change."

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Is it me or is the 3M YELLOWING FOR THE PROMO?

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    These controversial threads are always the best and most informative - especially when smart posters stay above insults and name calling and stick to the info. I think this post is great. I for one, am sold, and my next 911 will have it for sure.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    Is it me or is the 3M YELLOWING FOR THE PROMO?



    Can you see the bra on my car???

    Phil

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    Silver Bullet said:
    These controversial threads are always the best and most informative - especially when smart posters stay above insults and name calling and stick to the info. I think this post is great. I for one, am sold, and my next 911 will have it for sure.



    Yes, good idea. If I was driving in a place that used rock salt on the roads I'd have it for sure too.( I lived there for 30 years of my life) Here it's pretty tame.

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    PS CA said:
    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    Is it me or is the 3M YELLOWING FOR THE PROMO?



    Can you see the bra on my car???

    Phil



    Can I see the after install shot?

    Re: 3 M Film Protection----

    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    Quote:
    PS CA said:
    Quote:
    SrfCity said:
    Is it me or is the 3M YELLOWING FOR THE PROMO?



    Can you see the bra on my car???

    Phil



    Can I see the after install shot?



    That is the after the install shot.

    Phil

     
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