No bra/film wrap regrets?

[wiztecy]

Paint shields do work. But I personally don't have any and don't want any. Negative sides, distort the paint, typically turn yellowish over time, and have lines where they end up giving an odd uneven look, and cost.

I have road chips from stones and road crap on the nose of the Roadster as well as along the underside where the front tires have kicked it up. Do I care, not really. Its not ment to be a garage queen and I've found it stressful to keep every scratch and chip off the car. I'm more concerned about the reliability and maintenance of the vehicle and proper braking.

If you're showing the car and making money off it I can see why to put it on, but then you'd want to take it off for the show.

If you don't have it. Don't worry. Use and enjoy the car. I find the chips to be a part of character and proper use of the car.

The car can always be repainted, especially just the front bumper areas that get nicked.

A car that has nicks and chips does not mean its neglected or not loved, actually its the opposite. Loved so much that its being used as it was designed to be used!

 

[morbot]

I put 3M wrap on my Mazda 11 years ago... I had it removed about 2 years ago since it was looking rough. Multiple chips, scraps, scrapes and one nasty brush against the garage entry.
It never yellowed (and this was decade old 3M technology), it didn't leave a line or "fade area" where it was covered. It did a helluva job protecting my paint.

When I tell people how old my little ICE is, I always get one response: Disbelief.

When it comes to my Tesla, I want it to look just as amazing a decade from now.

 

[Jean-Claude]

This is what I think of:

I believe the reference fits - upon first hit, shields seem to always go down 27%. Paint protection film has its own Scotty built-in, but he did wear a red shirt in the old days so you can only push it so far.

LOL!

 

[robby]

How does the cost of a clear wrap compare to the cost of adding a coat of paint to the entire car in the future?

 

[rjcbox]

All sounds very reasonable, good info, thx

The paint on Model S is considered "soft" because of CA OSHA laws requiring it to be more water-based. Try taking a Mercedes S-Class or Porsche Panamera through a car wash and do the same with a Model S....the argument will pretty much end there.

Maintaining a Model S however, that's very easy. Use the right wash mitts and towels, hand wash, rinse mitt and panels after every section of being washed, and you'd be surprised how great the finish will look. Not EVERY Model S needs paint correction, but most do. When we qualify a client to see of they're a good candidate for paint correction, my first question is "how do you plan on maintaining?" If they answer by going to a car wash or having the local wash guy come out at office for $15-20 /wash...well, I tell them to not invest the money as they will be back here in a month or two with new swirls.

Doing a clear bra, say with XPEL Ultimate or Suntek, is more for peace of mind and protecting your car for YOU to enjoy. Your Model S is not an investment, it's not a collector car, and it's not considered a "Supercar". For most owners, it's their daily driver. So, if someone chooses to clear bra their Model S to protect their "investment", it's a good reason, but it shouldn't be the main reason. You're protecting your sanity. As others have mentioned, a dent or scratch in the door, not deep enough to go through the paint, say from a shopping cart at local Costco, can easily be fixed if clear bra is on the paint. You simply:

1. Remove the film
2. Remove dent
3. If there is a scratch, most of the time it's a light one as the clear bra took the brunt of the damage, you polish out scratch
4. Install new film
5. Coat film
6. Send client out same day

So in the end, what's your TIME and SANITY worth? Having clear bra lowers the risk factor of the damage that can be done to painted surfaces. It's like having auto or health insurance. You may not ever use it, but it's comforting to have when you do need it.

Also, clear bra isn't for everyone and you shouldn't FEEL like you HAVE to do it because everyone else does. We have clients that are satisfied with just a simple semi-annual service with us and they don't have clear bra, nano coating, etc. They know what they're up against, and they simply don't mind coming in a few times a year and getting a proper Phase 2 or 3 with us...and honestly, their Model S looks great. A few chips and swirls here and there, but it still looks great.

 

[Fezzik]

Ok. here goes my geek "stuff". that picture has to be from star trek 5 or 6. since the old enterprise refit had the bubble sheild.

Ok. now to the tesla. I had the 3m put on my WHITE g37 in 2010 and it yellowed in a year and a half. I had a dealer install and it was covered. It was also a 3m film I had them replace it with xpel and it has not yellowed at all. In fact I have a tear in it where a rock hit it in the hood over the summer. I am getting it replaced this spring. The other thing is that on a dark car it will prevent swirls marks from happening on the self heal bras.

 

[gnychis]

One thing I find very confusing is when we all use the term "full wrap" -- however full wrap is extremely ambiguous, since full wrap to some means not covering a partial region (e.g., part of the hood), to some it means the full front region + rear bumper, and full wrap to others means wrapping EVERYTHING including the a pillars and trunk lid.

That said... for all of you who said full wrap, just how much of the car did you get wrapped, and at what cost? I had my full hood, front bumper, front side panels, and rear bumper wrapped. When I scraped my trunk lid on the roof of our garage, I wish I had the trunk lid wrapped too. Oh well.

 

[morbot]

Most shops offer at least 2-3 variants of front coverage. At the minimum it'll be the forward face of the car and partial hood. At the top end frontal coverage will include front corners, full hood with no seams, front of mirrors.

For me, "full wrap" means every painted surface of the car. That is the wrap I'm currently having applied to my car.

Price is going to vary depending on the shop, material and your location. I'd recommend checking the regional subforums to find out what some other owners in your area are paying.

 

[docrice]

My reason for getting paint protection film put on was to preserve factory clear coat as much as possible (aside from any initial defect correction). I plan on keeping my car for a long time, perhaps a decade or more. Getting new film put on is relatively cheap compared to a good repaint, and from I understand even really expensive paint jobs won't look good as what you get from the factory. I've also heard these films protect well against someone keying the car.

There's also a bragging right when the original paint is still there in such good condition after so many years. Most people don't really care about keeping the actual car pristine-looking though (or at least the awareness isn't there).

This is mine:

2015 Tesla P 85 New Car Detail Clearfilm wrap (Entire Car) - Professional Detailer's Studio - Detailing Bliss powered by Detailer's Domain

The most recent News From The Frunk (episode 26) mentions a slight yellowing with XPEL, although it's being covered by the installer's warranty. My understanding is that yellowing isn't in the film itself, but the adhesive between the film and clear coat (skip to 3:11):

Installing the Unplugged Performance Tesla Model S Body Kit - its News from the Frunk episode 26! - YouTube

Some other videos I found helpful:

Clear Bra: Invisible Paint Protection -- /DRIVE CLEAN - YouTube

BMW i8 Wrapping the Future Spotlight - Fast Lane Daily - YouTube


(the Enterprise screen cap is from Star Trek 6)

 

[jerry33]

That said... for all of you who said full wrap, just how much of the car did you get wrapped, and at what cost? I had my full hood, front bumper, front side panels, and rear bumper wrapped. When I scraped my trunk lid on the roof of our garage, I wish I had the trunk lid wrapped too. Oh well.

Every painted area plus nose cone, headlights, the strip between the pano roof and windshield. Sunteck, and about $5K. Looks great two years later.

 

[yobigd20]

You guys are pushing me further and further into thinking about getting this done. I was going to wrap just the front, but sounds like the rest really needs it. I hate to spend this kind of money on a car and then watch the paint "degrade" from normal day-to-day driving. I found a detailer in NJ that has done a lot of Teslas (And other exotics.) Full wrap on this coast will run about $5k.

Leeburbs and Greg's signature detailing? A ton of us have used them. Including me. They are the best of the best. They've gotta done a few hundred Tesla's by now I think.

Agree with everyone else. No part of the car should be left bare due to all the chip and swirl issues previously described. Everything needs to be wrapped or coated or both wrapped then coated

 

[Fezzik]

One thing I find very confusing is when we all use the term "full wrap" -- however full wrap is extremely ambiguous, since full wrap to some means not covering a partial region (e.g., part of the hood), to some it means the full front region + rear bumper, and full wrap to others means wrapping EVERYTHING including the a pillars and trunk lid.

That said... for all of you who said full wrap, just how much of the car did you get wrapped, and at what cost? I had my full hood, front bumper, front side panels, and rear bumper wrapped. When I scraped my trunk lid on the roof of our garage, I wish I had the trunk lid wrapped too. Oh well.

When I am talking full wrap. I am talking. Headlights, fog lights. All outside painted parts. All the rear hatch/trunk, side view mirrors, door handles. The way my place said was. Partial hood (which he did not recommend) full front meaning full hood and full front fenders and sideview mirrors. or full body wrap. You can even get an extra option for wrap around which wraps around edge (cost more too).