3M clear protective foil

[tnas@dtpdirect.nl (Tom Nas, DTP Direct bv)]

Hi all,

I seem to remember a thread about protecting the front of your car against
stone chips some time ago. In this week's AutoBild magazine there was a
feature about this treatment, where they put this foil over areas likely to
be damaged (e.g. bonnet front lip, bumpers, under door handles) In the
pictures they show how it's being done, using a hair dryer to shape the
stuff and templates for cutting. Looks very nice to me. My car's prolly too
far gone already for this to have any effect, but on my next car (or if I
ever decide to have this one repainted) I might try this out. Anyone else
on the list have experience with this? Bras are right out for me (what's
the use of protecting your paintwork if the protection is uglier than
damaged paint, like baggy seat covers over beautiful upholstery?) but I
would like to know how this foil holds up WRT washing, polishing etc. Do
the edges show up over time? Does it stay clear and invisible or does it
yellow/scratch with age?

TIA, Tom
1988 80 1.8S FWD 120k miles
in Holland (where the base model A4 1.6 FWD costs about $29k already)

PS Had an incident with a rather fast-moving rock yesterday. No damage
except for a large hole in my 'screen. Lots of splinters in my car and on
my person. Insurance covered screen replacement at no cost & no loss of
NCB... firm called Carglass came by and replaced screen while I was at
work. Great job- just a nasty smell in my car remains. Fitter cursed Audi
for their glue (had a h*ll of a job getting the thing out). Interior mirror
stem wouldn't come off like it should, the guy spent 45mins on the mirror
alone. At last, I've got a screen I can actually *see through*: original
one was peppered and scratched.

 _______________________________________________________________________
   Tom W. Nas, graphic design                        tnas@dtpdirect.nl
   DTP Direct bv                              Voice +31 (55) 5 790 799
   Apeldoorn, the Netherlands                   Fax +31 (55) 5 790 125

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