Anti-Stone Chipping Film | FerrariChat

Anti-Stone Chipping Film

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by martiy1971, Sep 6, 2016.

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  1. martiy1971

    martiy1971 Formula Junior

    Jun 2, 2015
    647
    Alberta
    Full Name:
    Robert Martineau
    I have a 2013 458 spider which is covered in this stuff, and in my local driving area this is a good thing. However, after three years I feel like the car is not nearly as glossy as it should be so I decided to take a small piece off (tonneau cover) and was shocked to see that a lot of the imperfections I have always thought were in the film are actually in the clearcoat itself.

    The quality of the paint under the anti-stone chipping film was horrendous and Paint correction aside, the car looks like it was barely wet sanded (at least on this section). In places the clear coat resembles ocean waves when viewed from a plane. It is just mind boggling that a car this expensive has worse paint than most budget vehicles out there.

    The two other F Cars I've owned have had decent paint, but hardly stellar, were in a different league than the junk thats on this 458.....disappointing.

    Sorry, I digressed. While the film itself is quite hardy, after 3 years it is definitely yellowing and losing its shine and I want to remove it all, correct the paint and reapply expel.

    The biggest question I have is removing the old film is a giant PITA, mainly due to the adhesive primer which was obviously used around all the edges, so I am hoping that someone has a decent solution to remove efficiently.

    I have tried various oils, alcohols, adhesive solvents, heat and steam all with limited success and mainly used my lump to literally "roll" the goo off, but it is extremely time consuming and ultimately painful.
     
  2. koop

    koop Formula Junior

    Apr 30, 2011
    811
    458 paint is notoriously bad. My clearbra installer told me that the 458 is the only car where he has issues removing old film from factory paint. Even with heat (steamer or heatgun), there is still a chance of some paint peeling off - the most common areas being around edges of the hood and fenders.

    As for the left over adhesive, I've had good luck using a gasoline soaked towel on previous cars. Also if you're going to replace the film, checkout Suntek. I find it just as good as Xpel in terms of protection and healing properties, but more glossy, clearer and less texture. I've had xpel ultimate installed on many of my previous cars and have never been happy with the overall look.
     
  3. cool flash

    cool flash Karting

    Jun 18, 2016
    52
    Find a professional with suitable tools and knowledge and let him do it.

    Why risk damaging the paint (even if it's substandard)?

    Regards,

    CF
     

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