What portion of your M3 will you clear-bra or wrap for paint protection?

[davidc18]

0% voter. It is just a car, the value is only going one way. Mine look great with a pretty simple weekly routine. invest the money - be happy.

 

[Krugerrand]

You're right, I don't have personal experience with today's latest ceramic nanotech products. However I have decades of experience with "if something sounds too good to be true it probably is".

I also understand you are simply repeating manufacturers claims, but in the area of automotive paint care manufacturers have been making bogus claims for nearly a century now, regardless of the warranty they offer for their product (it's worth noting that the warranties often have about 100 get of jail free cards for the manufacturer too and that most owners are going to give up long before the "gold warranty" is ever paid out).

This article had what appears to be a very realistic breakdown on this product including a cogent list of the pros and cons to it (P.S., this is a leading detailer who applies these products);

The Truth About Ceramic Coatings | Charlotte, NC

Yeah, I'm not actually repeating manufacturer claims. I've actually talked to high end body shop owners, car owners that have it on their cars AND get this...I actually have it on my car...so like life experience. I've also had cheap paint jobs you consider good and actual real paint jobs that are good done on cars. Again, you get what you pay for.

The article isn't wrong but it only talks about a 'single' coating of ceramic. To get a lifetime warranty you need several coats of the ceramic and then once a year checkups. My car has 5 layers of coating and took two weeks to dry and harden where it couldn't be allowed to get any water on it, not even dew. It has a 9H hardness rating so you aren't scratching that without some serious effort. To wash I give a quick spray down with an electric power washer and then an equally quick wipe with microfiber cloth and it looks as good as new. No swirls, scratches, water stains etc... Just had a bird diarrhea all over the car the other day while at work. Sun baked it on the pano roof and trunk. Took literally 30 seconds to wipe it off with a dry microfiber cloth, no residue.

 

[voip-ninja]

Yeah, I'm not actually repeating manufacturer claims. I've actually talked to high end body shop owners, car owners that have it on their cars AND get this...I actually have it on my car...so like life experience. I've also had cheap paint jobs you consider good and actual real paint jobs that are good done on cars. Again, you get what you pay for.

The article isn't wrong but it only talks about a 'single' coating of ceramic. To get a lifetime warranty you need several coats of the ceramic and then once a year checkups. My car has 5 layers of coating and took two weeks to dry and harden where it couldn't be allowed to get any water on it, not even dew. It has a 9H hardness rating so you aren't scratching that without some serious effort. To wash I give a quick spray down with an electric power washer and then an equally quick wipe with microfiber cloth and it looks as good as new. No swirls, scratches, water stains etc... Just had a bird diarrhea all over the car the other day while at work. Sun baked it on the pano roof and trunk. Took literally 30 seconds to wipe it off with a dry microfiber cloth, no residue.

I’m happy it is working out well for you. I’m sure you also spent thousands of dollars on this product being applied to your car as you seem to be a bit defensive about it.

You know how I judge a paint job? If it looks indistinguishable from the factory paint on the dealer lot it is “good” and I have not seen that being something that costs $8,000. Maybe it does these days but I am skeptical.

I have known people who had the entire body of their car disassembled, had the parts stripped and bead blasted and had multiple coats put on the car so it looked like new and they didn’t spend $8,000 although the last one I knew who did this did it about 8 years ago.

You’re in California, so I get it.. kind of. I’ve been to many places in the world but I’ve never observed the level of car worship that exists in your neck of the woods or people’s desire to double the sticker price of their car doing things to it. More power to you. Probably great for the local economy.

 

[mauswerkz]

The quotes I got for paint protection were on par with the cost to respray a panel. It's very expensive insurance that I have not opted for.

 

[xav-]

This is another really great poll, a true beauty.

One drawback though is there are not enough choices. I think It would really be interesting if we could break down this poll even more and add age and average household income.

 

[Tim@adonisdetail]

Couple of things:

1 You get what you pay for. Some pricing listed here is ridiculously low and I would question the skill and quality of work and product being used.
2 Vinyl wraps, while having improved over the years, have limited life. The edges eventually peel and they wear in general. They are meant to be used when you like to change the color of your car every few years or so.
3 Paint correction should be being done as a matter of course regardless of when it came off the assembly line and who the mfg was and what you’re having done.
4 The current trend is partial clear bra followed by the entire car being covered with a nanotech ceramic product. You can get anywhere from a 1 year to lifetime guarantee on the ceramic.

Since the OP asked, the benefit of ceramic is that it makes the car incredibly shiny, makes it super easy to wash off without spending hours shampooing, hand wiping to remove water stains, streaks etc, and waxing, prevents scratching, swirls etc..., protects against chips and is next to impossible to key such a car. It also holds down those clear bra edges.

PLEASE READ!!!

Ceramic coatings do not protect against rock chips, nor do they hold down the edges of film better.

Best case recommendation is wrapping as many painted areas as you can afford/dont want damaged. Usually full frontal protection is our most common option.

 

[david_42]

Chalk up another zero. I've never put any kind of protection on any vehicle. My wife's last car had a clear coat, which was flaking everywhere after 7-8 years. It would have cost more to strip and refinish than the car was worth.

 

[voip-ninja]

PLEASE READ!!!

Ceramic coatings do not protect against rock chips, nor do they hold down the edges of film better.

Best case recommendation is wrapping as many painted areas as you can afford/dont want damaged. Usually full frontal protection is our most common option.

You just don't get it, do you? If you had multiple coats applied, spending thousands of dollars and did your annual check ups it would totally be worth the mult-thousand asking price!! LOL.

Chalk up another zero. I've never put any kind of protection on any vehicle. My wife's last car had a clear coat, which was flaking everywhere after 7-8 years. It would have cost more to strip and refinish than the car was worth.

Clear coat should not do that. Did you park the car outside and never wax it?

A clear mask/bra like we're talking about in this thread is probably not seen as being useful in the pacific NW. In other parts of the country there are a lot of sand and gravel on the roads and after a few years the front of the car can look pretty beat up just from normal highway driving.

 

[run-the-joules]

You just don't get it, do you? If you had multiple coats applied, spending thousands of dollars and did your annual check ups it would totally be worth the mult-thousand asking price!! LOL.



Clear coat should not do that. Did you park the car outside and never wax it?

A clear mask/bra like we're talking about in this thread is probably not seen as being useful in the pacific NW. In other parts of the country there are a lot of sand and gravel on the roads and after a few years the front of the car can look pretty beat up just from normal highway driving.

…and in California, the roads themselves turn into gravel and shrapnel because they're built about as well as… I don't really have an analogy for something as poorly built and maintained as our roads, but our roads look like something out of a movie set after a nuclear war.

 

[Krugerrand]

PLEASE READ!!!

Ceramic coatings do not protect against rock chips, nor do they hold down the edges of film better.

Best case recommendation is wrapping as many painted areas as you can afford/dont want damaged. Usually full frontal protection is our most common option.

Take your own advice and read, please.

 

[Canuck]

I have a friend who runs a side business detailing cars and has about 20 Teslas that he details regularly. He has indicated to me that paint on Tesla cars is not very good as he's had to do paint correction on some that are only a couple of years old.

Now isn't that odd that someone who does this work says Teslas need it.

I put 22ple on my car when I got it new and every six months since. People can't believe it's 4 year old since the paint shines like glass. No plastic coating can do that. They dull the shine and wear over time, as all plastics do when subject to UV light, even with UV protection.

A clear mask/bra like we're talking about in this thread is probably not seen as being useful in the pacific NW. In other parts of the country there are a lot of sand and gravel on the roads and after a few years the front of the car can look pretty beat up just from normal highway driving.

I guess if you never drive into the mountains in the PNW there's some truth to that but I bet there's few here who drive with more grit on the road than where I do going to my cabin and back... Highway Thru Hell - Watch Online

We dump tons of gravel and dirt on the road for traction in ice and snow through the mountain passes. When a semi throws a rock at you, you hear it, as if being shot at. But if you look at the S's profile, the windshield is far more exposed, and you can't wrap that. The hard flying rocks rarely hit the front or hood but I've had the windshield replaced 3 times on my Tahoe and two rock chips injected on my Tesla, with one rock chip on the hood -- which is very small -- and which I'll take any day over any type of plastic coating.

 

[david_42]

Clear coat should not do that. Did you park the car outside and never wax it?

Parked outside, which is where the Model 3 will live. The single-car garage is centered on the two-car wide driveway, so you can't get a vehicle into it and we are too close to the road for a carport. On the plus side, this will be a city/highway car, not much gravel.

 

[30seconds]

I put a film on my front bumper but not the hood. After a few years in the Bay Area it was pretty clear that I should have done both

 

[JeffnReno]

Isn't the hood going to be made of aluminum?

If that's the case, I wouldn't bother as it and the bumper won't be rusting anyway.

Maybe the front portion of the ceiling and the A pillars will do.

I've had rock chips in an aluminum hood and in dark colors they stand out regardless of the non-rust issue. It will be a full hood ppf plus other areas for me. Especially the way the front of the Model 3 hood slopes down.

 

[voip-ninja]

Parked outside, which is where the Model 3 will live. The single-car garage is centered on the two-car wide driveway, so you can't get a vehicle into it and we are too close to the road for a carport. On the plus side, this will be a city/highway car, not much gravel.

So you not only parked it outside but you did no preventative maintenance on the car's finish? I'm just trying to clarify this for the benefit of others in this thread.

A car's clear coat, if properly maintained should last the life of the vehicle. Some paint correction will be necessary over time but the clear coat should never start to flake off.

 

[voip-ninja]

Now isn't that odd that someone who does this work says Teslas need it.

I put 22ple on my car when I got it new and every six months since. People can't believe it's 4 year old since the paint shines like glass. No plastic coating can do that. They dull the shine and wear over time, as all plastics do when subject to UV light, even with UV protection.

Yes, my buddy who has a side business detailing cars, who mostly does this work for friends, acquiantances and referrals is secretly a thieving bastard who is bashing on the quality of Tesla paint.

The reality is that he's detailed most makes and he says Tesla is one of the worst out there.... but what would a guy know who has detailed hundreds of different rides and invested thousands in tools and materials to do paint correction know anyway, right?

As far as film dulling over time, that's something that historically has been a problem with older generations of product. I have 3M protective film on a nearly ten year old MDX and it looks just as good as it did the day it went on.

 

[byeLT4]

Would depend on the color I think. Our current cars are a silver Accent with 0% and 33k miles and it is hard to see any scratches, swirls or chips (not sure how honestly) and my Night Race Blue (dark) Z with about 50% PPF and 100% ceramic coating with 27k miles and I love the PPF parts of the car. Starting to get individual hairline scratches on the non PPF parts and I try and try to keep the car scratch free. The parts covered with film I can scrub to get bug guts or wipe bird poop without any worries of scratching the paint and zero 'etching' from bird droppings as well. The ceramic coating is supposed to help with the etching but unfortunately it does not, at least not on mine....

 

[voip-ninja]

Would depend on the color I think. Our current cars are a silver Accent with 0% and 33k miles and it is hard to see any scratches, swirls or chips (not sure how honestly) and my Night Race Blue (dark) Z with about 50% PPF and 100% ceramic coating with 27k miles and I love the PPF parts of the car. Starting to get individual hairline scratches on the non PPF parts and I try and try to keep the car scratch free. The parts covered with film I can scrub to get bug guts or wipe bird poop without any worries of scratching the paint and zero 'etching' from bird droppings as well. The ceramic coating is supposed to help with the etching but unfortunately it does not, at least not on mine....

It sounds like in retrospect you would have gotten the entire car wrapped since you've been very happy with how the wrap has performed.

FWIW silver is one of the easiest to maintain car finish colors out there. If not THE easiest to maintain.

 

[PlayaVista]

Re paint quality of Tesla - cousin works at SpaceX (paint department) and regularly goes up to Fremont for technology exchange meeting with the Tesla team. The BASF primer and paint used by Tesla is really not that different from that used by other automotive companies (who are customers of BASF).

Sure my cousin has not worked at the paint department of other auto companies but I buy what my cousin says. On the other hand though, no one is examining the rockets for swirls...

FWIW my S is not wrapped and X is fully wrapped. Wrapped car is easier to clean and maintain and IMHO worth the $$$.

Southern California - outside parking.

 

[daniel]

It's a car. Not a painting by Rembrandt. It's purpose is transportation. In a decade it will be worth as near nothing as makes no difference. If I'm really unlucky, someone will crash into it and all the clear-coat in the world won't make a bit of difference except that I'd have thrown away some money.

Washing it is no big deal. Maybe there are swirls and definitely a few specks I missed. But it's a car.

No added "protections" for me. The real protection is that it's going to be one of the safest cars on the road. That's the "protection" that matters.