| Author | Message | ||
| Mike Charness (Mcharness)
Member Username: Mcharness Post Number: 258 Registered: 8-2002 |
DMC -- Good find! However, notice that it's not the "same" kit as StoneGuard. They've chosen a different approach to coverage/protection. For example, in the 308 kit below, see the way that they do the headlight... it only covers the front edge of the closed headlight cover rather than the entire cover. They also have the pieces for behind the wheels I've now made myself from raw material (diagram numbers 10 and 12), that the Stongard kit didn't have. They don't do the spoiler at all, yet have other pieces that Stongard doesn't, such as rocker panels and the flare above the windshield. And you are correct that the Invicta priced kit (or individual pieces) are better priced -- MUCH better priced.  Thanks! You had a typo in their website link. It should be www.Invinca-shield.com | ||
| DMC (Machinnes)
New member Username: Machinnes Post Number: 44 Registered: 10-2002 |
You will find the same product from: www.Invinca-sheild.com for less money. | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 146 Registered: 11-2002 |
Just did my 355 2 days ago and I love it! Can't see it unless you know it's there. I can spin a wrench pretty good, but can't put a postage stamp on straight, so I let a pro familiar with F-Cars do it. I took him 9 hours. We did the upper front hood, bumper, spoiler, wheel panels and lights (fog, turn & headlights). And yes...even though he had a kit, he had to custom cut many areas for a perfect fit. Good investment and a must for anyone who has recently repainted thier spoiler! | ||
| Mike Charness (Mcharness)
Member Username: Mcharness Post Number: 257 Registered: 8-2002 |
Neil: Below are the two available pre-cut "kits" I've found for 308s. Upper is the "complete" kit, lower is the "partial" kit. The only seller I've found for these is www.StoneGuard.com  If I'd just had my car painted, I would at least consider the partial kit. Even with my great condition "old" paint, I plan to add pieces to the headlight covers, since those seem to be "problem" areas for my car and the paint is also getting a bit thin there. I will probably also apply door guard strips. I can get the headlight covers and door guard strips as pre-cut pieces, though it's more expensive that way than me just buying the sheet material from xpel. You might also search the archives here for "Stoneguard" or "Stongard" (alternate spelling); there's been quite a bit of discussion about kits for 348's and 360's, but it applies to our cars as well. | ||
| Neil Green (Neilg)
Junior Member Username: Neilg Post Number: 86 Registered: 2-2001 |
Mike, great post. Perfect timing for me, since I just had my 308 painted. I have forwarded this link to the painter to get his thoughts on this. | ||
| Mike Charness (Mcharness)
Member Username: Mcharness Post Number: 256 Registered: 8-2002 |
David: The instructions are explicit about removing wax first. The video reinforces the same thing. If you read the instructions for application of your own kit, you'll probably find it also tells you that. If you want to see some sample instructions online, go to www.xpel.com/installframe.html and look at the "Paint Protection Kits" installation General Instructions. You want your car very clean, but no wax or polish in those areas that might inhibit proper adhesion of the 3M clear film. | ||
| David C. (Worth_it)
Junior Member Username: Worth_it Post Number: 67 Registered: 10-2002 |
I recently purchased a set for my 348 Spider but have not installed it yet. I was waiting to detail the car ( after winter ends ) and then have the Stongard applied. Why do you say wax free ?? I figured I would do a complete detail then have the material applied. Are you saying to strip the painted surfaces of wax / polish first ?? What does the video say about this ?? Thanks for any advise you can provide. | ||
| Todd Gieger (Todd328gts)
Member Username: Todd328gts Post Number: 371 Registered: 6-2002 |
I agree.... this stuff is a must. I first saw it at a car show here in Morristown, NJ...practical, effective, protective, looks cool and reasonably priced. Good post Mike. Cheers, TTG | ||
| Ric Rainbolt (Ricrain)
Member Username: Ricrain Post Number: 488 Registered: 2-2002 |
Excellent post, Mike. Thanks. | ||
| Mike Charness (Mcharness)
Member Username: Mcharness Post Number: 255 Registered: 8-2002 |
When I put the bigger tires and wheel spacers on my 308QV, I was concerned about getting getting more rock chips on the lower body panels behind the wheels. I looked at StoneGuard paint protection film kits for the 308 (yes, they do have them pre-cut at www.stoneguard.com, along with kits for just about any other modern Ferrari) but they didn't have separate pieces for the areas I wanted to protect. So I bought two feet of 18" clear film and did it myself, cutting templates out first from butcher paper. The film is a product manufactured by 3M called Scotchcal. It is sold under various brand names such as StoneGuard, StonGard, Armourfend, X-Pel, and others. I found a good price on sheet material, with a free installation video, from www.xpel.com/bulk.html for less than $20. Add a special teflon squeegee and shipping, and it was around $45 total. The stuff is amazing, and really quite invisible from normal distances... you have to just about stick your face in it to see the edges. It was very easy to put on after watching the video instructions. Just follow the instructions, take your time, and have plenty of good lighting. Make sure the paint you're going to put it on is clean and wax-free. If you have any rock chips there already, you might want to touch them up first. If you want to do that yourself, I'd suggest the kit from www.Langka.com -- it gets rid of the usual "blob" from touch up paint, and makes the chip fill almost invisible unless you're really looking for it. They're also now an event sponsor for the Ferrari Club of America. We give away free samples of their stuff at some of our Southeast Region events (www.fca-se.com). The first 3M piece I put on was too big, as I didn't have the template quite right, and I tried to trim the piece after pulling an edge away from the car after I'd already placed it. That worked, but I wasn't very good at cutting freehand with an xacto blade compared to cutting out the piece with scissors while still attached to the backing paper. It was "ok" but not as clean/straight an edge as I would have liked. No problem, just stripped that piece off and recut a new piece out of the extra material I had. The other three pieces went on perfectly the first time since I'd done my "learning curve" thing on the first piece. In fact, I had originally only planned to do the panels behind the back wheels, but it looked so good and was so easy, that's when I decided to use the extra material and do the panels behind the front wheels. Here you can see the lower body panel behind the rear wheel. The it looks the same color as the other paint areas, and it reflects light the same as painted areas without the film:  The next time I have my euro spoiler refinished, I'm going to put this stuff on there also. Of course, if you're getting a full-blown pre-cut kit for your car, you can have a professional installer do it for you. I may have that done on my Acura, including headlight guards. |