Stone Chip Protection

[Jiberjaber]

OK, my car is in for it's annual re-spray of stone chips on the bonnet etc... this time I m thinking of getting a bit of protection for the car to prevent any further trips back to the body shop..... whilst I seem to be getting these trips paid for under warentee, it is the fact I am without the car for a few days etc.....

So... currently three options....

1. Dont drive the car any where (cotton wool and all that)

2. Paintshield

3. Armourfend

4. Get a car bra (Similar to 3 & 4 but more heavy duty and with bug deflectors for the wind screen)

Now option 1 is a bit of a non-starter in my book....

Option 4 I have not seen in the UK and they doo look a little daft on the cars I have seen them on in Canada..

.... so I am going to investigate the two other options (2 & 3).

Both companies use a 3M sourced film (though I am unsure if they use the same derivative of it) with the film being pre-cut using CNC to match the car and then applied in a fashion similar to that of the window tints you may be familiar with.

The only thing that I can see that sets the companies apart is that their use there own templates for the cutting of film.

I am going to do a little phoning around tomorrow to get some prices if possible, please feel free to contribute to this thread so we can make it into a one stop point of reference for protection against stone chips.

I will incorporate any good stuff into this post to keep it in one place :)

From the web there are a few items turning up in google, these are linked to at the bottom of this post to assit anyone else who wishes to pursue this form of protection.

SeatCupra.net guide to DIY Armourfend installation

SeatCupra.net review of Armourfend

A little thread involving our 4x4 colleages

Good thread from a USA site relating to Clear Bras

Updated 1/11/05 - added detail about Car Bra

[aido]

What sort of driving do you do to get such bad problems mate?

My local dealer wouldn't touch a paint job that went bad due to stone chips, they don't even want to know!

[Jiberjaber]

I guess it's mostly Motorway. M25 / M40 / M1 only clocked up 4200 since I got it beginning of September. the chips arn't little or many but they are enough for me to want them fixing. If you pay 19K for a car you want the thing to be right!

[Rob]

options 2,3 and 4 are the same 2 and 3 are just a clear bra, i have had mine for 6 years and have had 1 stone chip

[MartinC]

My bonnet seems to be chipping real easy at the mo, do you really get a warranty job on stone chips??

I thought Aido's case sounded more like the motor trade that I know

[Rob]

no warranty jobs on stone chips

[Jiberjaber]

options 2,3 and 4 are the same 2 and 3 are just a clear bra,  i have had mine for 6 years and have had 1 stone chip

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You are partly right... they are all car bras but 2 and 3 are not as fugly as 4...

Heres a proper car bra as I was refering to:

RE: Warentee jobs. This is the second warentee job I have had for paint chips. Both have involved resprays of the bonnet on new cars.

[Mr Morse]

I also had a stone chip warranty job fixed - new bumper fitted. Think that Gord also has his replaced.

[Rob]

oh - surprising that they did the stone chips - well done!

the car bra "proper" are not so good - u get rubs + paint fade - and u look like a gimp!

gp for a clear one - it is all 3m scotchcal, u get a huge amount of types - 3m have developed one for car use only, ( go to the 3m site) make sure they have the right one. also if it is a pre cut piece make 100% sure it does fit the UK car as the us bumpers are different.

[Kremmen]

Ignore this one :)

[Kremmen]

I do the M25 / M4 and I have quite a few tiny stone chips but you need to be fairly close to spot them as I do my best with the touch up.

I'm considering getting them looked at professionally and I reckon it's a complete bumper and bonnet paint.

With the cost of the IS250 I will keep this one a few years longer than originally planned so a 'refurb' at 3 years will be cheaper than a change.

Close up, the windscreen is a bit of a disaster as well, loads of really tiny chips.

[aido]

Think it's all down to the dealer you use- the guys in Sheffield resprayed my front bumper then 11 months later it was a right mess, lacquer peeling, paint peeling, you name it, they did not want to know.

Easy answer is never use them for a paint job again - will take my business elsewhere - chipping I can understand but the state this was in was a disgrace - had another body shop take a look at they told me the wrong sort of primer was used too..

Rob was with me when we went to see them, guess it's all down to their discretion, you've got a good dealer there mate :D

[Lexus Jim]

my new bonnet is about 6 mnths old and is riddled with stone chips. Black paint is very soft!

I'm thinking about getting some of that clear film but have a few questions,

1, does the film stand out at all, ie can you notice it?

2, rough cost for the bonnet?

3, recomended place that do it near manchester?

thanks guys

[Rob]

1 not really, i can hardly see mine but u have to clean the edges or polish will collect there and then u will see it.

2 depends on company u use

3 most places in uk only have pre cut bonnet section, only goes about 15" up bonnet. other option is to get whole bonnet done - need to find place in uk to do it.

[koshime]

isnt there another option like multiple polish coats?? adn slow driving??

[Jiberjaber]

isnt there another option like multiple polish coats?? adn slow driving??

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See option 1 in my list in the original post!

[Rob]

isnt there another option like multiple polish coats?? adn slow driving??

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if u can find me a polish that will fend off stones then u might be onto a winner!

[Lexus Jim]

cheers rob,

what sort of ball park figure we talking? hundred? couple hundred?

[Jiberjaber]

cheers rob,

what sort of ball park figure we talking? hundred? couple hundred?

←

You could always check out the links at the top of the post... after all thats why I put them there

If your looking to get the whole bonnet done, you will be looking at more than one piece to cover it because of the size thesheets are made in. The whole bonnet will be a special as that is not the standard (this is not to say it is not avalable).

Here is an example of the typical paterns for a Jag from Armourfend:

[Mr Morse]

For a dark coloured car, the bonnet seam will be quite obvious. Only invisible on white and light colours.

[Rob]

well i ordered my kit from the US and it was about £40/60 ish i think.

DO NOT try and fit it yourself unless u get some pieces of this beforehand and have a few attempts to know how the film behaves.

The bonnet is a double curve so u will get channels forming.

I have found some places in germany and here that will and can do the whole bonnet in one piece - waiting for some prices to come back.

[Paintshield]

well i ordered my kit from the US and it was about £40/60 ish i think.

DO NOT try and fit it yourself unless u get some pieces of this beforehand and have a few attempts to know how the film behaves.

The bonnet is a double curve so u will get channels forming.

I have found some places in germany and here that will and can do the whole bonnet in one piece - waiting for some prices to come back.

The whole bonnet can be done here in the UK the key is 48" film widths and machinery big enough to manufacture it, proffessional install makes sense because this stuff is very difficult to fit well. Most organisations will offer club discounts and group deals if approached by a Mod from the club (we do this fo many clubs already and I doubt we are alone). At the moment on a pre cut kit basis I believe we are the only people who will offer this service as standard on the 4 foot film (although I am sure that will change)

Cheers

tom