seeking opinions on clear-bra, stonguard, etc. - 360CS

I had the clear plastic stuff, called "AutoBond" (sp??), installed by F/M New England.

Yes, there will still be some damage, esp in the nooks and cranies that are not covered by the plastic, with the net effect of say 3 chips when you would have gotten 30 chips 'pepper nose' without the plastic.

I see the benefit as reducing the time between resprays, and making track 'rubber boogers' easier to remove.

I would recommend it, especially if you are going to track the car.

- Jon

P.S.: You may want to get Spivy's opinion - his car is a red 360 Modena with clear plastic, tracked a couple of times.

 

I talked with 720 in Monterey and he and another guy with a CS took back roads there from LA. Rick followed very closely and his front was peppered with stone chips. The other guy only had a few of which one he had from before. So, I think the answer is stay back and don't worry about all the do-dads for the front. I think it'd be cool to have a bra that you could put on and remove for the drives when you need it. There $700 or so, ouch! I'm not sure that a 360 one would fit the CS.

 

Doody, I have it on my TDF Blue Stradale, don't have it on the Maranello. I was very reluctant to put it on the Stradale, my philosophy being pretty much like yours. I gave up on bras a long time ago, just too much hassle for my taste and I finally figured, what am I saving the paint for, to look at in the garage, but never enjoy on the road?

As I plan to track the Stradale, I went ahead with the film, and so far am glad I did. Can't see the stuff at all, except from certain angles, very close up. And I find that I just don't worry about stone chips at all, anywhere, not just on the track.

Don't know how it will work in the long run, eventually I assume it will get scarred up/dirty/peeled off at the edges and will have to be replaced. Will it discolor? Will the "covered" paint end up looking a bit different from uncovered paint? Can it be safely removed? Dunno, it's still an experiment. Of course, track a street car long enough and you end up with a pitted windshield and chips in places you're just not going to cover with plastic film - still, my hope is that a respray can be deferred.

I understand if you put enough on, you bounce harmlessly off tire walls.

 

Doody.......

I agree with you about how it looks on black cars. I personally would never use it on any car however.

The cost of repainting a hood is not much more than the cost of installing this stuff anyways (on most cars that is). And......you are right.....it gets chipped up too and looks bad in the end. It does not damage the paint at all in my experience, but it does eventually collect wax along the seam, were the 3M stops and the unprotected paint starts.

It's a gimmick like nose bra's were.......

 

I have the film on my 2000 titanium F1 360...so far, it's great. I have the full package (door edge guards, side view mirrors, full front, intake guards) and not one rock chip except on the passenger side intake. A rock hit it like a bullet and without the film it would have gone through the rocker panel and caused the surrounding area to start deteriorating. Instead it got lodged in the film and is hardly noticeable. No peeling or paint discoloration and it's been 3 years in hot Dallas weather. This car is my daily driver and has been on the track several times.

I've attached a recent pic as testament...fyi, the speck on the bumper that look like a rock chip is one of twoholes drilled for a front license plate - yes, I've gotten ticketed for no front LP, but that's another saga!

Frances

 

There are a variety of companies that sell it, but most (or all?) use the same material - it's made by 3M and it's called Scotchcal.

I installed it on the front bumper of my wife's silver mercedes. I think it has worked very, very well.

It really depends a lot on the car and the color, though. It is good on applications that are not horizontal (like a hood), i.e. as close to vertical as possible. The more the panel goes towards horizontal, the more noticeable the film is.

Also, if the application has the film edge going across the middle of a panel (again, like across a hood), it is more noticeable. It works best when all of the film edges are against the edges of a panel (like on a bumper - the edge of the film generally follows the edges of the bumpers).

Finally, color is impt. It is most noticeable on white. It is LEAST noticeable on silver. Reds and blacks are average.

One thing, though. It will save your paint. My wife's mercedes bumper had a few chips within the first few hundred miles. After I put the film on, there have been no more chips in 23,000 miles.

 

Have the car painted with Emeron paint; it will withstand chips.

I had my airplane painted with it, and it's fantastic!

 

I had Stongard on my Modena and got it once again on my Stradale.

The film is much less noticable on metallic paints like Titanium than on flat paints. Everything is noticable on black paints.

Yes, eventually you'll have to repaint due to damage outside the film. HOWEVER, you can go many more years without accumulating so much damage that you'll feel compelled to repaint!

Further, if you really drive the car, and accumulate an inch of bugs on the front bumper, its really nice to be able to go to a car wash and blast the heck out of the front bumper and use the brush tool on the front bumper to get that off without worrying about scratching the paint... and then very gently wash off the rest of the car.

Before you pull the trigger, try to see the a rosso corsa car with the film applied... make sure you're happy with the look. If you don't like the look clean, then it doesn't matter that it makes it easier to clean and protect.

 

I had the same opinion that you had....that's why God invented paint and body shops!!

I tried Ultra-Shield on my SL55 and it is BRILLIANT!! No chips! The bugs come off sooooo easily....and no need for paint after almost 2 years. Since then I have done all my Fcars and the X5 and I have nothing but kudos for the stuff!

Ciao

Dino

 

I am very happy with the Llumar film I had installed on my 360. I've had a number of comments that it is nearly invisible. It is, in my opinion, a far superior product to 3M Stonegard, much clearer optically and therefore less intrusive in appearance, with the same protection qualities. It is a bit harder to work with so will probably be more labor to install. If you can arrange to see Stonegard and Llumar side-by-side you'll immediately see the difference.

Gary

 

doody,

since your car is red, the sooner the paint chips off the better [just kidding].

i had the film on my last gt2 and it's ok. i generally use latex paint rolled on with a 3 inch disposable roller when i go to the track or open road racing. you can get it from phil's automotive. get home, peel the bugs off in 10 seconds.

works great for a week or so, but comes off in torrential rain.

here i used racer's tape to get a clean edge. sometimes a feathered edge is hard to get off the bonnet.

i put 4500 miles of 10,000 on that yellow GT2 on the track or 100-170 mph and the paint was perfect when i sold it
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I have this on the 355 and the Lotus Elise. The Elise has been on for 3 years and no probs ( i have not tracked it at all). The 355 however would have needed a respray already had i not done it. The battle scars after 3 track days, a trip to Le Mans and another to the Nordscleife are there for close insection. Some places where there would have been massive chips do have a slight tears in the plastic and some of the film has started to peel off near the left fog light in the front bumper.

i would htoroughly recommend it as I know that the paint under the film is intact and the superficial scars harldy show up once washed and zymoled.

Philip

 

i have seen a clearbra on a red 550. to be honest i didn't even see it until i got up real close. i still wouldn't use one though, pointless. a little road scars arn't gonna hurt nothin' but its value. lol.

-Doug

 

I second Gary's recommendation. I could not beleive there was a film on his car until I got very close to it. If you are getting the protection get the Lumar. On the TDF was not noticeable I am sure it will be the same on black.

 

I have Autoshell a 3 m product on my Swaters Blue 360 Modena and it is GREAT. Hardly notice it at all. On a trip to Sebring Fla without the film when I got home I had to touch up 10 stone chips on the bumper.

Not a mark on it since.

Recomend it
Buzz

 

Hi Doody -

As a former 355 owner you know how bad the bottom spoiler gets beat up. I had the entire kit on my 355 (red) and the stuff is great!

When you do your research it's important to remember that the product comes in different levels of thickness....you have a choice.

On the top side we used thin, medium on the nose,mirror and wheel arches and thick on the headlights, turn signals, fog lamps.

I would only go with a company that uses a kit - if a guy shows up with a roll of plastic stop right there. The guys that are really good have a laser machine similar to companies that do boat lettering graphics. The computer has the exact specs for you car and cuts the curves and details precisely and eliminates any possible air bubbles, defects.

I'm close to 3 years now...no discoloration...no problem. To maintain simply use any quick detailer spray.

I do concours and the only downside to the equation is that it is a 1/2 point deduction in any IAC/PFA sanctioned event....but that's just fine with me

If you don't like it, or want to try a different brand, the sooner you pull it the better. You'll need a heat gun and will remove without pulling the paint.

 

I have Autobahnd Roadblock paint protection on my 1990 TR, my 99 Mustang GT and my 04 F150. This product truly does what it is designed to do, it prevents stone chips.

My company, www.TheXtremeClean.com uses Autobahnd to install the film on our customer's cars. The Autobahnd installer that we use, Brian is simply the best in the business. He can install the film on the most complex of cars with zero issues. I have seen people try to install this film themselves to save money, only to have us remove it, and Brian install a new kit properly.

For more info on Autobahnd, and the Roadblock Paint Protection film, visit

www.AutobahndInt.com


Alex

 

No Stripe? Going aftermarket or none? What else did you spec out on it?

 

No plastic -- I think it looks tacky. Plus I've driven lots of sports cars hundreds of thousands of miles over the years and haven't suffered many paint chips.

I think the key is keeping your distance behind other vehicles, the distance depending on the type of vehicle and the kind of road surface.

It'll be interesting to see how many hidden paint chips will be peeled off when all these plastic coverings are eventually removed. And differential paint fading too...

 

if u are going to drive ur f car fast....i'd say there is no use for that clear-bra stuff. a clear bra will not protect any rock chips when your car is going 100mph+.

if u are going to baby ur f car in the driving sense....get the bra.

 

Actually, I know that Brian (Brian C. Stradale) is often going over 100 mph on (and off? )the track in his CS. With over 5k miles in less than 4 months, he doesn't exactly baby his car. He also tracked his previous 360. Both have the film packages. I have his "old" modena and there are absolutely no chips.

 

Doody: Do Get it. I have seen two Red 360's that had many chips. I have seen the film applied at FOW and if I was getting a 360 I would not even hesitate. What I wish someone would answer is why I have a Z06 (19K miles)and a Viper (7K) and they have no nose chips, and yet the F-Cars get beat up. I was out touching up my 355 over the weekend. The film on the Red barely shows...but the 360's have the same chipping problem as the 355. WCH is right. His Stradale looks beautiful and you hardly notice the clear guard. The guys at FOW have told me that you should have it put on immediately if you are going to do it as is works better on the new finish before it gets out on the road. My 355 had a freshly repainted bumper when I bought it and I wish I had put it on.