RE: 3M clear protective foil

[Peter Henriksen <peterhe@microsoft.com>]

I have Stongard's protective film on the headlights on my 200. It's been
on for a while and I'm quite happy with it.

They also do another, much thinner, application of the same stuff like
an "invisible" bra, which is probably what you're looking for. They
recommend against doing the application yourself as *anything* under the
film will make it look ugly (especially fingerprints on the back of the
film or on the surface it's adhering to). They're located here in
Bellevue, WA, but I think they have dealers spread out across the
States.

I've seen their stuff applied to one of the owners' 911 (highly
customized '70s model) on the leading edge of the hood (about 12" up
onto the hood) and a few other protruding places on the body. It looks
very good even on a white car although you can see the line where it
ends if you know where to look. I'd guess it would totally disappear on
a darker car.
- peter, peterhe@microsoft.com, issaquah, wa, usa
  91 200qw
  94 acura legend gs
  80 mazda 626


>-----Original Message-----
>From:	Alexei M Voloshin [SMTP:Alexei.M.Voloshin-1@tc.umn.edu]
>Sent:	Friday, September 06, 1996 11:17 AM
>To:	tnas@dtpdirect.nl
>Cc:	quattro@coimbra.ans.net
>Subject:	Re: 3M clear protective foil
>
>
>A friend of mine (a big Honda, Nissan freak) has it on his '90  Accord 
>since '91 and on his Maxima since '94 when he bought it. He is very 
>pleased with it and as far as I can see, it is still clear and invisible 
>unless you actually find the ridge with your fingers. That is true for 
>both of his cars. He washes them at least once every week and 
>polishes/waxes them regurally. He has only the hood protected with it.
>
>I'm planning to put it on my '91 100 since there is still not a single 
>chip on the front of the hood. As far as I know you have to get it from 
>the dealer... (may be wrong)
>
>I would be careful though with wheel wells 
>and places that are not very well visible. You, or who ever installs it, 
>would have to be careful about not leaving any air bubles under the film 
>etc... otherwise it could lead to rust. 
>
>Alex
>
>
>On Fri, 6 Sep 1996 tnas@dtpdirect.nl wrote:
>
>> 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
>> 
>> Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: Negative expectations yield negative
>> results. Positive expectations yield negative results
>> 
>>