How useful are the 3M films?

I was wondering... how useful are the clear plastic films that sit behind the wheel arches and around the lower intake arches behind the doors?

Do they really protect the pain from rock chips, or if one was to drive without them for a few years (averaging 10k miles), would it really make all that big of a difference?

Curious minds are eager to learn more

 

Ferrari didn't go to the trouble and expense of putting them on if they didn't protect the paint in problem areas.

 

Yup, that sums it up pretty well.

 

Where can you get these? I have the telltale rock chips that I want to touch up and then protect.

 

Ferrari factory installed. They do sell them but probably cheaper to just visit your local film installer.

 

It's not just around the wheel wells. I have my cars heavily protected with clear bras and it makes driving them more "relaxing" as I'm not nearly as worried about stuff flying up and hitting the hood, bumper or fenders.

I've seen pretty large items bounce off the hood and leave no marks behind.

I think if you're going to spend $200-300K on a car, spending another ~1% for clear bra protection is well worth the price.

 

Without having the PPF around the "high" impact areas (i.e. wheel wells and rocker panels), you can expect to have a significant amount of paint chips in those areas. It doesn't take long for these to occur. Granted, it depends on where you drive, but throw in "sticky" tires and 10,000 miles per year (as you stated) and look out.

My 2008 430 has PPF in those areas and I was surprised at the amount of stone chips that occurred even at the lower intakes (as witnessed on the film). I wouldn't be with out it.....

 

I'm looking to replace mine with new ones, the ones behind the rear wheels have 'splotches' of dirt which I can't seem to cleanup anymore...

But makes sense to keep them based on what everyone here says

 

Some folks are also installing the ones on the windshield due to the cost of replacing one of those.
I've been meaning to but keep forgetting.

 

Some people are covering their complete car .....

 

I just got a quote of 6k to do the whole car

 

I will never use a clear bra. Lots of damage when taken off.

Fot that amount $$ you can do a lot of paintwork the coming years imo.

 

well i doubt ill be doing my whole car but ill probably do the front end

 

Same here, hate the way they look.

 

+1 on the windshield film. After losing an unobtanium windshield on my '90 Corvette ZR1 to a stone that came out of nowhere (and that the film would have saved), I've been a convert.

That said, there are a lot of bad experiences with windshield film on many forums, but I am 100% convinced that they all are installer issues.

I just had both my 328 GTB and 360 done by Protective Film Solutions (PFS in Santa Ana, CA) using Clearplex film. This is the same company, film, and installer (Angel) that did my ZR1 years ago. Impeccable finished results and optical clarity.

My one disclaimer is that I do not have "daily driver" or bad weather/high wiper experience.

 

I have had clear film put on all my cars since they were turning yellow 15+ years ago.

3M essentially invented it and others have taken the concept and made things better (3M has also gotten better). The yellowing was from the adhesive and this was fixed a long time ago. I suggest XPEL, Lumar, or 3M in that order.

On my daily driver BMW M4, I had the car color sanded to remove all orange peel (very little to start), then had XPEL put on the whole car. All clearcoated surface, even the trunk. In my area the full front clip is usually around $1600 and is the full hood, bumper, fenders and mirrors. A whole car is about 6k-8k for a small/med couple. Lambo's are about 10k from my understanding.

Experience - On a previous M car I had only the clear bra that went up 1/3rd my hood. One day I got a 3mm rock chip about 1" past the clear bra. After that I at least do a full front clip.
On this M car I got sprayed at freeway speed by two small pebbles, they skipped off the hood (XPEL) and destroyed the windshield. The windshield not only had a chip but it cracked accross immediately. The pebbles actually damaged the XPEL but not the paint under it. I have also had some rocks hit the fenders hard and spray from the tires has hit the quarter panels. slight marring of XPEL that you cannot see without 2k lumen light and 20/20 vision at 12" away or less. I could replace the XPEL but there is no need as the painter under is fine.

You can't really see the XPEL. I have to point it out. Sometimes ferrari's have to have reliefs cut but it's way better than a respray.

windshields...
For your weekend car, never in the rain, never use the wipers. The clear film put on the windshields allegedly works great. The paint on stuff does not from my understanding. The paint on stuff does not scratch as easily so it seems to last longer.
If you drive 500 miles a month and use your windshield wipers more than say 20% of the time, you will need to replace the windshield film every 3 years or so. It does scratch. Best to always keep your windshield hand cleaned with good non-abrasive cloths before you go out. This usually costs $400-ish. If you have a $1600 windshield that is impossible to find. Definitely do this. If you have a $1200 BMW windshield and a $50 deductible, and you daily drive it in the rain, pass.

 

The "clear bra" where it covers the 1/3 of your hood. Yes I agree.

But you'd be hard pressed to see on my M4 if it has a clear bra. It is full car. All the pieces are wrapped where they can be and where there is an edge it is usually at a sharp bend where you won't notice by the naked eye. For the hood and fenders the film is wrapped around and under all of the add-on parts and badges.

One note, if your car's paint has any imperfection, it will not look good under the film. Get all chips and scratches fully fixed and have a perfectly smooth paint before applying.

 

When I bought my F430 it had a clear bra on the front end. It was only halfway up the hood though and you could see the line and it did not look great. This is because the pieces only come in 30 inch. I custom ordered a 60 inch strip and re-did the entire wrong end and side fenders. The cost was around $2k and include some rock chip repair. It's hard to notice the clear bra at all. It comes with quite a warranty but will over time start to yellow a bit. at that point you can just replace. they guarantee it won't harm the paint. I had a 911 without clear bra and after a few years the hood looked like swiss cheese. Way to expensive to repaint and you'd have to repaint the entire car to properly match. I didn't want to repeat that mistake with an Fcar. Now when i drive it i can relax a bit more. I highly recommend.

 

I personally don't find "the look" of the clear bra an issue. If u take care of them they are almost invisible. I clean the edges with toothpicks, q-tips, mix water, rubbing alcohol and use plexus plastic cleaner for the main surface area. Looks really good to me.

 

I have the half nose clear bra on mine, and yes, you can see the edge, but it doesn't bother me too much (a lot less than rock chips, haha)

The reason I did the clear bra was like 3POINT8 mentioned, I had a car once without it and over time the hood and bumper was like a map of the galaxy. And since I drive my car as much as I can with the time that I have, its important to minimize the rock chips because that is one thing that would drive me nuts.

The reason I only did half was also both my friend and I got our clear bra done at the same place. Not only did the ferrari cost more to do the 1/2 hood than it did for my Aston Martin, it also cost just a tiny bit less than my friend who did the whole hood for his corvette. Frankly the cost to benefit ratio just wasn't worth it for me.

 

I agree that doing a paint correction before could only help get the best result, but I just find them very noticeable.

Not if a car is driving past of course but at a car show or parked, to me it's easy to spot, even at a distance.

This is on cars that have the entire vehicle covered. There always ends up being edges or places where the film meets.

I just think the paint looks better without and if it ends up needing a repaint every so often would rather do that.

 

I have mixed feelings about clear bras. I had my 430 done last year from the windshield forward (after a bumper repainted) along with the wheel wells etc.
The first time I took the car out with the new film I got a couple of dings in the film. Did it damage the paint, I don't know.

Prior to this, I had the original film removed and there were numerous chips in the paint despite the "protection" film. So does it really work, I'm not all that convinced based on what I saw after removing the original film


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Bob, I've heard others say the same. With paint I can fill, wet sand, polish and you can barely tell, if at all.

Don't think there's anything you can do with film other than replace it again (and fill/sand/polish paint if there is in fact a chip under it)

 

I would highly suggest using one of the top brands. If you put on a film today and it yellows over time you got the wrong product. All the major brands changed adhesives (it wasn't the film but the adhesive that turned slightly yellow) more than 8 years ago from my research.

Don't do a half bra, do the whole front clip. Find out where the BMW/Mercedes dealer does them and contact that company. I found a 25% savings doing that.

Yes on a whole car there will be edges. If done right you can't see them without looking and being within about 3 feet. Normally I have to have people use their fingers to find the edges. Most good shops wrap the edges, take out the lights and trim and other attached items and lay the film down under.

I have about 50,000 freeway miles on 4 cars and I have taken film off 1 time and can tell you that it does keep the chips away. It doesn't keep dents away though, although those can usually be taken out with paintless dent repair.

On a 308 museum "A - A+" car that is rarely on the freeway (side roads, mountain roads, tow truck, etc.) maybe don't put the clear bra on because you might lose points in a show. For a daily driver or 250+ mile a month car that is use somewhat on freeways and during the winter.... I am a fan of film.

 

I recently wrapped my entire scud with a clear film. Prior to that I only had the front clip wrapped. One of the main reason I decided to wrap the entire car is that I don't have to worry anymore for micro scratches and chips. The film protects the car overall and it handles the flying rocks from the highway better. The new films that they use these days are way much better than years ago. Shinier, durable and they don't turn yellow with over time. You can barely see the film on the car.