What's the best way to protect your loved one from stone chips. Has anyone had any experience with using "Armourfend" or any other of these types products. Thanks Warren
Wazza, i have used Armourfend on my 911's and it works.However, it ain't pretty.The coating will be machined and cut to fit over vunerable parts of the car[ bumper, bonnet and below door sills] but they don't really blend with paintwork and you can normally see edge of area it's been applied to.That said, it's a lot cheaper than a re-spray .I think there's another product by 3M that may be thinner and blend in better. Tony http://www.armourfend.com/
3M products here; http://products3.3m.com/catalog/uk/en002/auto_marine_aero/automotive/node_206X7CMQMPge/root_K3BHNB8005gv/vroot_G3Z2S2FRL9ge/theme_uk_automotive_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html
Thanks Tony, Is it difficult to put on? Looks like the sort of stuff that should left to a professional to put on. Wazza
Have any of you guys used Chipsaway? (http://www.chipsaway.co.uk/chipsaway.htm) I have a few minor chips & was contemplating using them.
this is a 'how to' i did for another website, it might be of some use to you How to remove stone chips and deap straches: 1. use a pin to apply a tiny drop of colour match paint, into the chip. use the pin to move the paint around untill it fills the hole completly. 2. wait for the colour match to dry, i waited about 1 hour for very tiny chips, but anything more than a pinprick would be better off being left a week to dry. then using very fine wet & dry, sand the filled stonechip gently level with the rest of the paint work. do not sand to much! as it will go though to the undercoat. deppending on the sise of the stonechip you may be able to get away with just skipping straight to the t-cutting after the paint has dryed 3. remove all the dirt from sanding, and T-cut the affected area for ages untill smooth again. A G3 rubbing compound can also be used, but take great care as it's very abrasive and you don't want to remove very much paint. i used t-cut on a moist cloth. u will have to buff the area with quite a bit of pressure to get it smooth and shiney again. best to do in natural light. 4. loads of wax and then more wax to help prevent anymore stonechips. for very deep straches keep re-applying paint untill the hole is filled before sanding smooth edit: i've done this to my own car, flame red, solid. metalic paint is simlar to repair, but you will need an extra laqure over damaged areas, i've not done this myself, so i can't tell you how to do it from experience. but in threoy, just fill stone chip with coloured paint on pin, keep doing this untill damaged area is nearly filled, then add a drop of laqure in the same way. wait to dry and t-cut over until smooth.
Thanks for the tips guys. I have a guy who has a business removing stone chips. I don't know the company name so cannot recommend him here but he does Sytners BMW stone chips which is a pretty good on the CV. I spoke to my garage about Armourfend and they would not recommend it. Apparently it is extreemly difficult to remove and you would risk removing some of the paint work as well. Tony. I think 3M stonegard and armourfend are the same thing ? Wazza
Waz, not the some company but product does the same job.Once that stuff goes on it effectively bonds so there's no taking it off.As you say, there would be serious damage to paintwork if you tried. T
Both use 3M films (same thing). Aparently it can be removed without damage to the paint, but will pull off any touch up paint that may have been applied to cover stone chips. Best thing it to leave it on. Why would you want to take it off anyway??
Wazza, Face it mate "when its so badly chipped it aint worth washing get it re-painted" thats my advice. Amen
Best way to avoid stone chips is to be a GJOB and never drive the car. Somehow can't see Wazza fitting into that category
www.chipsaway.co.uk my local bloke seems Ok. but have heard differening reviews based on the person doing it, as It's a franchise you may want to ask for references
I like tony had the front of my 911 done in armourfend and it worked perfectly. If it is correctly applied you can only just see the edge and it really is not intrusive. It certainly does not polish up and shine like Joe's car ! but does stop chips very effectively. It can be safely and easily removed without paint coming off , that is one of the benefits ! James
Mark we can take it to Goodwood and polish it for him (not) Mark do you think the CS brakes would get as "Hot" as your 355 ie "SMOKING" or is that just your aggresive driving nature!!!!!!heeeeheee!! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well I recommend Armourfend. It definitely works, and whether or not it sticks out depends on where you put it. I put it on the 360 Modena (front bumper, wheel arches, front lights, lower air intakes both sides), and on the 456: front bumper, wheel arches, lights and the leading edge of the bonnet. The only one I regret is the bonnet. The rest you'll have to look closely to see. Best example of it working was the lower air intakes on the Modena; where there was armourfend the paint was perfect, the unprotected paint next to it had been sandblasted down to the primer. Reminds me that I need to check they have patterns for the Stradale. You can keep it on, but if you need to remove it, it has to be heated up and will then peel off. Bringing off all the touch ups and badly applied paint with it. But if you take it off, you're going to repaint it. To get rid of the blobs of touch up paint I use Langka http://www.frost.co.uk product code V300. Just no way I'd use T cut. And Chipsaway are great for a reasonable repair- reasonable in both finish and cost. They've done the wheels on my 911 (£40 each) and repaired parking damage on my wifes' car (£160 two panels damaged). HTH Kevin
Wazza, I had my 355 armourfended (together with a friends 550 and anothers 911 C4). I arranged to go to their shop on a Sat (we paid extra as they are normally closed) and did all 3 cars. The owner of the company was there to put it on with another employee. We got chatting and i learned many interesting thinkgs i.e. he does cars at Maranellos, JK had his Enzo done inside and out, the annual service for a Mclaren F1 cost £25k as they have to coat the engine bay with gold etc etc. On the armourfend stuff though I can tell you this. The film is from 3M and it is special for its durabiltiy as well as for the fact that it does not become yellow over time like the crap they put on at the Ferrari factory on the 360's rear wheel arches. When the film is applied the car must not have had a recent paint job becasue when you need to take it off the new paint will come off with it. Ditto for chip repairs. If the car is in good nick then you have no problems. Taking it off is easy and it is done with steam. My friends black 550 was slightly chipped and the paint was a bit less shiny on one side of the bumper. After the armourfent it actually looked a whole lot better ! As for the application you need an expert to put it on. Another friend did a 360 up at Lancasters a couple of years back and they charged about £1000 but if you do it at the shop its about £200 cheaper. Two years on and the car is perfect. I also have an elise which was armourfended about 2 years ago and that too still looks fantastic. As for the lines you cannot really see anything unless you are looking for them. I say do it as my exprience has found it worthwhile. It is easy to respray but to do the job properly you need to spend silly money. Would you not rather keep the original factory paintwork intact if you have such an option ? I hope this helps Philip
Ben / Mark, You guys would say anything just to get your hjands on my car. Forget it !. Not sure. Still can't decide. I know one thing though. NOT driving the car is Not an option. BTW had the "race mode" on for the first time at the weekend. I can't even start to describe it to you. !!!!!!.. It just got even loader , stiffer, quicker. A big suprise and a very nice one. Wazza
You could try adjusting your driving style also.. Or to be honest, just forget about it and respray the front every few years (if you keep cars that long). Noone will see a few chips anyway. This is my preference. For me, a nicely detailed car with a load of stone chips will always look much better than one without stone chips that has armourfend/Stonguard type products applied to it.
Agree with above - judicious use of armourfend does not stand out (i.e. don't have hafl the bonnet covered leaving a line across the panel). There is another benefit - if like me, you have a t**t who reverses into bumper leaving a football sized dent (picture attached) then the armoufend actually holds the bumper (and chunks thereof) together until you get the car back to your dealer/specialist. Very useful when in France. Izza Image Unavailable, Please Login
keep it on the blackstuff? Just kiddin' Waz. How's the V season shaping up? I'd be up for coming / watching a couple. Been to the blues recently? Must catch up soon... Ben.
Hello Ben Mate Long time , no speek. ICHING is the word of the month. hate Januarys it's just bs until the season starts. V testing starts mid Feb. Racing starts Mid March. Can't bloody wait. Track days start April. Might have to try an organsize something earlier, I don't think I can wait that long. AND GIVEN UP SMOKING SO HENCE A BIT SNAPPY GGGGRRRRRR>>!!!!!!! Just bought a couple of season tickets to Fulham to help while away the winter. So Chelsea and Fulhan, always home on alternate weekends. cool. Seeyeh soon Wazza