3M spay on paint protection/bra
3M spay on paint protection/bra
Anyone interested in my experience with spraying the front of my Z with a clear bra?
Thank Bronzee
About a month or so after I bought my Z I was looking at all the stone chips and touch up spots on my black Subaru and decided to look for something that might protect my nice shining newish paint work. Locally I could have had a graphic sign company put a plastic wrap on the front for about $300 but decided that I would be better off putting that money towards a respray. Then while researching on the internet I came across a new 3M spray on protection product for about $34US so decided to give it a go. I knew that if I stuffed it up I could just peel it off again.
This is what I found:
The 3m 90100 Paint defender system does a really good job if you are prepared to be patient. I was not as patient as I should have been at times and it reflected in the quality of the end result.
* You need a garage with good lighting and space to work around the car. I suppose it could be done outside with no wind or direct sunlight.
* Make sure the area to be sprayed is clean and any paint chips touched up.
* Take your time masking up the area to be sprayed and as instructed a second strip of tape is applied on all edges where your film meets the paint area of the car that has not been covered.
* Polish the area to be sprayed with the supplied polish. Very important when it comes to removing the film.
* Try to spay in a continuous motion as stopping and starting can cause spray residue to drip off the nozzle.
* Watch for a build up of film in areas that are covered during multiple passes. It will self level to a certain extent but vertical surfaces are tricky to get the right amount of film verses too much that runs. More is better than less. I wondered what the paper towel roll was for in the instruction videos when spraying the bonnet or hood. Turns out that keeping the bonnet/hood almost level provided a surface that self levelled the film better and resulted in few runs. I did not do this and ended up with three runs on the bonnet. However it was not bad enough to waste all the time and effort I had put in to get the film on the car and start again. Next time I will hopefully learn from my mistakes.
* When spraying the bonnet/hood try to keep the spray can parallel with the surface being sprayed to ensure an even coating.
* It is not advisable to respray thin areas after it dries as it will turn a milky colour.
* You can speed up the drying process with a hair dryer if required.
* Do not get it wet before it has cured.
* You do need to put the car in the sun to cure the film.
* The film will feel really grippy until it is polished. However I was careful when I polished the film not to disturb the surface with a product was too abrasive or contained any of the chemicals mentioned in the instruction sheet. Wait until it is fully cured before polishing or washing.
* You need to read the instructions carefully.
* I did the front bumper area, 18" up the bonnet and the wing mirrors and still had product left in the can.
So far so good. I drove to Whakatane last weekend through heavy rain and rocks in the Waioeka gorge, washed it yesterday and the film seems to have done a good job. Hopefully it should last 12 months.
About a month or so after I bought my Z I was looking at all the stone chips and touch up spots on my black Subaru and decided to look for something that might protect my nice shining newish paint work. Locally I could have had a graphic sign company put a plastic wrap on the front for about $300 but decided that I would be better off putting that money towards a respray. Then while researching on the internet I came across a new 3M spray on protection product for about $34US so decided to give it a go. I knew that if I stuffed it up I could just peel it off again.
This is what I found:
The 3m 90100 Paint defender system does a really good job if you are prepared to be patient. I was not as patient as I should have been at times and it reflected in the quality of the end result.
* You need a garage with good lighting and space to work around the car. I suppose it could be done outside with no wind or direct sunlight.
* Make sure the area to be sprayed is clean and any paint chips touched up.
* Take your time masking up the area to be sprayed and as instructed a second strip of tape is applied on all edges where your film meets the paint area of the car that has not been covered.
* Polish the area to be sprayed with the supplied polish. Very important when it comes to removing the film.
* Try to spay in a continuous motion as stopping and starting can cause spray residue to drip off the nozzle.
* Watch for a build up of film in areas that are covered during multiple passes. It will self level to a certain extent but vertical surfaces are tricky to get the right amount of film verses too much that runs. More is better than less. I wondered what the paper towel roll was for in the instruction videos when spraying the bonnet or hood. Turns out that keeping the bonnet/hood almost level provided a surface that self levelled the film better and resulted in few runs. I did not do this and ended up with three runs on the bonnet. However it was not bad enough to waste all the time and effort I had put in to get the film on the car and start again. Next time I will hopefully learn from my mistakes.
* When spraying the bonnet/hood try to keep the spray can parallel with the surface being sprayed to ensure an even coating.
* It is not advisable to respray thin areas after it dries as it will turn a milky colour.
* You can speed up the drying process with a hair dryer if required.
* Do not get it wet before it has cured.
* You do need to put the car in the sun to cure the film.
* The film will feel really grippy until it is polished. However I was careful when I polished the film not to disturb the surface with a product was too abrasive or contained any of the chemicals mentioned in the instruction sheet. Wait until it is fully cured before polishing or washing.
* You need to read the instructions carefully.
* I did the front bumper area, 18" up the bonnet and the wing mirrors and still had product left in the can.
So far so good. I drove to Whakatane last weekend through heavy rain and rocks in the Waioeka gorge, washed it yesterday and the film seems to have done a good job. Hopefully it should last 12 months.