3m coating

[CaptainYooh]

I've had full front 3M protective film installed on all of my vehicles, my wife's vehicles and, now, my kids' vehicles in the past 15 years. From my experience, yes, it's pricey, but it's worth every dollar you put in it. It protects the front of your vehicle against rock chips that are a) irreparable, unless the whole front of your vehicle is re-painted for $,000's, b) make your vehicle look worse and c) promote rust. I've never experienced peeling due to washing (we wash our vehicles religiously once a week at Petro-Canada car wash stations). I've never experienced visible discoloration of the coating on any one of our vehicles.

The only issue I can think of about 3M is dealing with it after an accident. My son has hit a driver side front fender and bumper causing the edge of the coating to peel slightly. Body shop was able to straighten up the parts from the inside and offered to re-apply the 3M. We declined due to high cost and they just trimmed off the peeling edge. What's interesting, no further peeling occurred.

Overall recommendation, don't cheap out by doing just the bumper. Do the full thing. You will not regret it, if you care about how your vehicle look, cosmetically.

[keratosis]

Have it on my 3 year old car. Worth it. My 06 Caddy is chipped up.

[TheGrimm]

I had the dealer put 3M film on my '06 Taco when I bought it new, it's still holding up extremely well. It really is a great product and I haven't noticed any yellowing which I was worried about. I bought a new car this spring and had the dealer put it on as well before I noticed the "3M paint defender" spray in a store... I decided to pick up a can of it anyway to test it out. I will say it's a pretty neat product, I wasn't able to get the finish as smooth as the film but it's hardly noticeable on the vehicle. I haven't went through a winter with the spray but I don't expect it to last as long as the film has.

One cool thing with the spray is that I was able to apply the film on small and hard to reach areas such as the underside of the front fender and the areas around fog lights. In fact I just sprayed it over my fog lights entirely as I figured a thin rubber coat over them might prevent rock chips.

[burn_this_city]

The spray only lasts a year or so from what I've read.

[RedMileDJ]

My wife has 3M on her 2006 Civic. Just this past year it started peeling up. However, we took it back to the dealership, and they're replacing it. Life-time warranty against stuff like that.

Oh, and it never "yellowed" or anything like that. Still clear.

[millhouse11]

are there any newer products out there? We want to get the new car done. Full front and rocker panels.

[Huntingwhale]

A question I have: is there a way to fix film that is peeling off? I have it on my '08 vehicle, but the film on the hood is slowly starting to peel off. This means dirt and grime gets caught there and it looks like a brown streak going across the hood. What are my options to fix it? All I can really do is keep trimming the part that loses it's adhesive off, but that sucks. Do they have a ''patch up'' strip you can use?

[blueski]

Holy Crap, this thread is exactly why I drive a beater.

[Bean]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

A question I have: is there a way to fix film that is peeling off?

Damian at Icon Tinting has always treated me really well. Give him a quick call and maybe he can help you out with an option.

http://www.icontintingandgraphics.com/

[FlameOn]

So how is the 3m coating different than something like diamond kote paint protectant? Isn't that pretty much the same story here except they've been doing it for years?

[CaptainCrunch]

yeah I got it done when I bought my car.

Might as well protect it from the rocks and stuff.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

So how is the 3m coating different than something like diamond kote paint protectant? Isn't that pretty much the same story here except they've been doing it for years?

the 3m coating is like a layer of saran wrap on the front of your vehicle and i beleive the diamond coat is like a glorified wax treatment.

3m is meant to protect your vehicle from getting sandblasted.

[OldDutch]

It is thicker than Saran Wrap just to clarify. Basically it replaces a car bra, it can protect from scratchs and minor dings on your hood from deflected rocks. It also can be applied to you bumper and mirrors. It is clear thick film.

Diamond coat is a chemical application to your paint against fine scratches similar to waxing, but is supposed to last long term and not need reapplication. It won't protect against things like rocks on Deerfoot however.

[Hevishot]

Diamond coat is a scam. You would be better off going to a car wash and using the fancy rainbow wax every time your done. Real 3M products are pretty durable and fade free especially if you use some Meguiars vinyl wax on it. When its installed by a certified 3M tech it looks great. Once its installed it can be time consuming to take it off the glue is super strong. There are other clear films that are cheaper and are used in the industry and people call it 3M. That kind of stuff fades quickly and usually if a corner starts to come off you can pull it off easily. Some guys cut from kits and other guys cut free hand. You will always get a better job with someone who wraps the edges not just puts the kit on the car. But for the most part you get what you pay for.

[ernie]

Do it! 3M products are awesome!

Full disclosure: I work for 3M. But seriously the car wrap stuff is great.