Model S Exterior: Paint Armor

[MikeK]

I heard back from my friend. For his BMW 3-series, he says:

It cost me about $2300 to do the full front, the areas behind the door handles, side mirrors, and the areas behind the rear tires. To do the whole car probably costs around $3k to $4k, depending on the difficulty.

He says he's very pleased with it, although he did have a bubble develop that required having a piece of the material replaced. The shop said it was caused by "tree sap reacting with sunlight".

 

[dsm363]

I think that you are going to find that the cost to do an entire car without significant seams is going to be a multiple of your $1000. Depending on the film used.

I think you're right. I might have misheard him over the phone.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Checked out the factory-installed Paint Armor on the catalina white that was on static display at the Palo Alto event today. The lines were very, very obvious on the white; they may be less obvious on the darker colors though. There were lines visible a third of the way up the hood, very prominently around the charge port and along door edges (sorry, didn't get pics of the areas other than the hood).

 

[MikeK]

I agree -- saw the same car and wouldn't dream of installing it, at least on the white. Other colors might be less visible.

 

[teslasguy]

After seeing the paint armor on the cars at the DC event, I've decided that I will definitely be selecting that option.
The edge lines weren't really very noticeable at all to me. More noticeable on the white car though I think.
One of the key things that swung me over was seeing all the different areas that they are covering. It's not just the hood.
And by the way, I think the amount of coverage on the hood should be fine. Looked like it goes almost a third of the way up the hood.
The charging port area is also covered. Also a lot of the front bumper area and the rep told me that there is some coverage on the mirrors as well.
Given the amount of coverage from their kit, the $950 seems to be a very fair price. I check prices locally to do it aftermarket, and as I said, I think the $950 is a fair price plus the benefit of having it done at the factory by Tesla pre-delivery.

 

[AnOutsider]

After seeing the paint armor on the cars at the DC event, I've decided that I will definitely be selecting that option.
The edge lines weren't really very noticeable at all to me. More noticeable on the white car though I think.
One of the key things that swung me over was seeing all the different areas that they are covering. It's not just the hood.
And by the way, I think the amount of coverage on the hood should be fine. Looked like it goes almost a third of the way up the hood.
The charging port area is also covered. Also a lot of the front bumper area and the rep told me that there is some coverage on the mirrors as well.
Given the amount of coverage from their kit, the $950 seems to be a very fair price. I check prices locally to do it aftermarket, and as I said, I think the $950 is a fair price plus the benefit of having it done at the factory by Tesla pre-delivery.

side note: so YOU'RE the guy who took Tesla S in PA!

 

[Nikoli]

I had StonGard installed on my WR Blue Pearl WRX and the lines were pretty obvious. The "finish" of the film didn't match the finish on the car's clear coat perfectly, it had a bit of an orange peel look when viewed at an angle. It protected against rock chips, but was no match for a guard rail

 

[teslasguy]

side note: so YOU'RE the guy who took Tesla S in PA!

:biggrin: Yep. 9 months ago!

 

[Jrhodesmd]

Went to Get Amped test drive today in Austin. To stay on topic and not stray from this intended thread, I'll comment only on Paint Armor. It was on the white performance S, and it looked AWFUL. If you are getting white or pearl white DO NOT get the pain armor. It was dirty on the edges, yellowing everywhere else. Even the Reps there admitted it is not for the white cars. Has anybody seen it on the signature red yet? I ordered it on mine, but if it looks anything like the pearl white car did today I want to cancel it ASAP.

 

[ADN_ModelS]

Based on a similar thread on the teslamotors.com/forums site, I emailed Tesla and asked about the paint protection on the pearl white specifically. They emailed me back and said that THEY don't recommend it on that color. So I canceled it from my order (which, it seemed, they were more than willing to do...I'm Sig ~650)

 

[contaygious]

I just backed out of my paint armor on my white performance. I had to resign all the documents again. Should I do an aftermarket wrap? I really like my invisashield, but I have a black car. I can't imagine how mad I'd be with chips all over the front

 

[Liz G]

I just backed out of my paint armor on my white performance. I had to resign all the documents again. Should I do an aftermarket wrap? I really like my invisashield, but I have a black car. I can't imagine how mad I'd be with chips all over the front

I've decided to go the after market route. That way I van get what I want covered.

 

[ModelS1079]

I am not as motivated as LizG to go aftermarket (though it may be a better, more customized wrap), and went with Tesla Paint Armor as the cost is competitive, I am worried I'll blow it off if I don't do it before delivery, I have to believe Tesla does a nice job with this at the factory, my p#1079 is Blue not white, and I live in New England where there is more rubble than pavement on most highways.

 

[SCW-Greg]

I just backed out of my paint armor on my white performance. I had to resign all the documents again. Should I do an aftermarket wrap? I really like my invisashield, but I have a black car. I can't imagine how mad I'd be with chips all over the front

Yeah, the more i see images of this, it really shows the line on white cars, unless you spend a lot of time cleaning the line. Better suited for the dark colors, IMO.

 

[mnx]

What's the consensus, is the white + paint armour a Tesla thing, or does this apply to all white cars with paint armour?

I have a BMW in alpine white with paint armour now, sure the paint armour is very visible but it doesn't bother me since I know that my car is protected. Sure beats paint chips... (although after a couple years, the paint armour has begun to yellow unfortunately. I'm sure this is probably most visible with white paint.)

 

[grisnjam]

Has anyone seen it on a Silver Model S? Only the white had it at the Austin event and I was really put off by it. I plan on getting a silver car but I am now on the fence.

 

[contaygious]

Tesla rep told me its noticeable on white, pearl, and silver.

 

[stephenpace]

At the Houston event last weekend, I asked one of the minders about full coverage for the hood, and was told that they didn't recommend it due to how it made the color shift on the hood. I don't know if this meant they tried it and weren't happy with the look and thus reverted to partial coverage, or if the guy was speculating. I ordered it for Sig Red, though.

 

[smorgasbord]

FWIW, my wife thought the Sig Red car was scratched by the rear wheel as we approached it from the side.

 

[MikeK]

I called the local high-end paint armor place today, and asked for an estimate over the phone. I described the areas covered by the standard Tesla package, and he then quoted me a figure for all the same areas, but with the coverage extending all the way up the hood and front fenders, wrapped around the edges. (The "full front quarter".) It was "high three thousands". :scared:

He said that the full front quarter is about $2500, and the remainder was all the other little bits.

Tesla's charge for the armor is sounding pretty good right about now.