artsci's Model S modifications

[highedu]

Taking the MS in tomorrow to get tint, vinyl and a full PPF. Pretty pumped. Going the "murdered out" look. Not really interested in CF-look vinyl as it always looks tacky when up close, so I'm just going to go for all blacks and grays. I'm hoping that true CF parts come out in the future for some bits on the Model S other than the spoiler.

PorscheDealer, for your turn signals, is the Tesla T cut out, or is the vinyl over the top? I'm hoping my shop can cut out the T so that it'll still shine through, but it's pretty small and intricate. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. Our cars are basically twins. I'll post some before and after pics as well, but your's will still be more kick-ass with the real CF overlays.

It's been so hard to sit on my car the past two weeks waiting for the PPF to be put on. But I keep telling myself it'll be worth it about a week and half from now when my car comes back. In the mean time, my car now has 4 layers of polish and 2 coats of wax on it. Boredom is killer. haha

Any pics gsrex?

 

[Sancann]

@Humbaby,

How much of your car did you apply paint armor? Also, did you have the vinyl wrap done first or the paint armor?

 

[gsxrex]

Any pics gsrex?

I just have some before pics I snapped on my driveway. Car should be done either Friday or Saturday of this coming week. Then I'll post some before and after pics.

Premier didn't want to do the black vinyl on the chrome bits. From their past work, the vinyl tends to weather faster than the rest of the paint, and it holds finger prints worse than the chrome. So I'll do some more research on the vinyl and see what other options are out there.

Also, highedu, you had asked about the lower gray plastic panels and whether you could wrap stuff on it. The answer to that is yes. I'm getting the rocker panels on the sides as well as the front lip wrapped with PPF.

I'll have some more updates by next weekend.

 

[byt]

Pardon me, what's PPF?

 

[spleen]

Pardon me, what's PPF?

Paint Protection Film. Also known as clear bra when it's on the front of the car.

 

[highedu]

any updates

 

[byt]

Ahhh, thanks!!

 

[Doogue]

Love the chatter here about blacking out the chrome pieces. I had a 2012 BMW with "Shadow Line" option, which essentially blacked out much of the chrome, especially all the trim around the windows. Really a nice look. At this point, I have a quote for $1200 to do the same to my black performance model s w/gray 21" rims. Given cold/hot/fingerprint effects this black vinyl wrap, as does age (roughly 6-8 year life cycle quoted, so maybe even less), I am looking into some sort of treatment - powder coating or something a bit more elegant. I'd really like to do this and would be a bit for the look and quality of the finish, but I'm a bit nervous about having aftermarket guys figure out how to breakdown and re-install the Tesla chrome pieces, especially the functioning door handles.

I'm checking around - seems like Belmont, CA has a bunch of pretty high quality aftermarket groups - most doing vinyl, but I'll keep digging. Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

 

[jcstp]

people talk about "clear bra", but is there also a protective transparant wrap in satin or matt?
Recently saw a matt brown bmw 6. looked nice!

 

[highedu]

I just have some before pics I snapped on my driveway. Car should be done either Friday or Saturday of this coming week. Then I'll post some before and after pics.

Premier didn't want to do the black vinyl on the chrome bits. From their past work, the vinyl tends to weather faster than the rest of the paint, and it holds finger prints worse than the chrome. So I'll do some more research on the vinyl and see what other options are out there.

Also, highedu, you had asked about the lower gray plastic panels and whether you could wrap stuff on it. The answer to that is yes. I'm getting the rocker panels on the sides as well as the front lip wrapped with PPF.

I'll have some more updates by next weekend.

gsxrx...did you get the work done? Pics?

 

[ElSupreme]

NFC Tags!!

So this one is really easy. I am expecting to lose 3G connectivity in a month or two. I expect that loss to coincide with the ability to use the car's WiFi to pick up a hotspot put out by my phone.

So with those assumptions down I did a quick 'modification' that really just involves a pen, and a sticker NFC tag. Well you need a NFC capable phone too.

Basically just pull up the carpet in the floor between the seats, it is just heavy duty Velcroed, I had to pry it up with a pen. Then put down the NFC tag, I didn't really care what it looked like, so mine is all crooked.

Then put back your carpet, use a NFC programming tool on your phone. Now whenever I plug in my phone and set it on the floor I get a nice pop-up asking if I want to turn on "Internet Sharing". Works like a charm.

I bought the Samsung TecTiles (the only ones my T-Mobile store had) from my local T-Mobile store. The guy was excited because they got them only a little while ago, and I was the first person who bought any. I used Nokia NFC Writer to play with the tags to start with, but it didn't allow me to get to "Internet Sharging" setting directly. I then downloaded NFC Launchit which worked like a charm.

I am using a Windows Phone 8, Nokia 810 on T-Mobile. You can do this with really any NFC phone. Android phones you can have the settings change without even prompting, but Windows Phone OS requires a prompt as a security measure.

 

[byt]

Tesla installed 3rd row seats and P85 badges on Thursday.

K40 installed on Friday, just wished I washed her before the photo shoot!

Thanks Ernesto Oñate of Sound Innovations in Hayward!

Carbon Fiber Wrap appointment on Monday

 

[gsxrex]

gsxrx...did you get the work done? Pics?

Got the car back on Wednesday, and the PPF and tint job turned out awesome. When I went to pick up, there was a white Model S in to have work done as well.

Paint protection film on everything that is painted, as well as the headlamps and nosecone. They rolled the film under the hood and body panels where they easily could, so there's no noticeable lines. There's really only two places where they had to make cuts to work around the body lines, and that's down on the lower bumper where the support beams for the lower opening are. Again, you'd have to really be looking for it to find it. The trunk was done as one piece, so they removed the spoiler (also wrapped) and the Tesla T logo. They weren't able to do the rocker panels. They attempted to put it on, but once it dried, it turned a cloudy white.

Tint is 45% (Spectra Photosync Nano tint) all the way around, with 75% on the front windshield. I originally was going to go with 55%, but with all the light coming in from the pano, I wanted it to be a bit darker. And since the shade for the pano roof is still MIA for the foreseeable future, I wanted to go for something darker now. Only caveat to the film (especially on the front windshield) is that if you like polarized lenses, it'll look weird when you are driving. I'm also happy because you can't even tell there is anything on the windshield, so it doesn't stand out to CHP.

More pics here that I quickly uploaded at higher resolution.
Tint and PPF | Blk Nja Photos

I still want to tone down the chrome a bit. It'll be either black or a dark gray to match the wheels for contrast. I need to do some more research on that. Other than that, really happy with the work done by Premier. Professional work, excellent craftsmanship. While the price might be on the higher end of the spectrum, based on looking at the finished product, I definitely feel I got what I paid for.

Now all I need is somebody to make authentic aftermarket carbon fiber pieces for the front chin spoiler, rear diffuser and rocker panels. I'd definitely pay for aftermarket carbon fiber bits for the Model S to go along with the carbon fiber spoiler. :biggrin:

 

[byt]

Now all I need is somebody to make authentic aftermarket carbon fiber pieces for the front chin spoiler, rear diffuser and rocker panels. I'd definitely pay for aftermarket carbon fiber bits for the Model S to go along with the carbon fiber spoiler. :biggrin:

Sound Innovations is doing that on a Model S now but it's above my range cost wise. The parts look fantastic however. The car looks great, love the dark side of the Model S. Calling her Darth?

 

[Ranch13]

gsxrex- what kind of polish and wax did you use in your time waiting before film? It looks amazing!

 

[gsxrex]

gsxrex- what kind of polish and wax did you use in your time waiting before film? It looks amazing!

I used Glare polish. See artsci's post on his testing of different polishes. However, if you are planning on getting PPF applied, I'm pretty sure most shops will polish and wax it themselves before applying the film.

Premier did this for me. There were some scratches in the clear coat caused by the paper zero emissions license plate on the rear. I was too lazy to buff these out with my random orbital polisher. Picked up my car, and these are all gone. :biggrin: Time to get some foam to put on the backside of my license plate once it arrives (actually, it already arrived, I'm just not wanting to put it on quite yet. ).

 

[highedu]

I used Glare polish. See artsci's post on his testing of different polishes. However, if you are planning on getting PPF applied, I'm pretty sure most shops will polish and wax it themselves before applying the film.

Premier did this for me. There were some scratches in the clear coat caused by the paper zero emissions license plate on the rear. I was too lazy to buff these out with my random orbital polisher. Picked up my car, and these are all gone. :biggrin: Time to get some foam to put on the backside of my license plate once it arrives (actually, it already arrived, I'm just not wanting to put it on quite yet. ).

After my pff was applied I was told not to use wax. Instead they gave me a 3m product to spray after washing in place of wax.

 

[chicagotsla]

gsxrex, looks great!

 

[byt]

Carbon Fiber Vinyl installed today by Lyle, wish the sun was out for the photo's

 

[contaygious]

Byt looks great do you have pics from farther away?