3M Paint defender kit

[DanEC]

My major concern over this type of temporary product is if you do get a stone hit that fractures the paint through the film, when you pull the film off, will the chipped paint come off with it? If so it seems all this does is postpone the inevitable touch up. Can anyone comment on any experience with this?

How long can the 3M Paint Defender be left on the paint - a couple years?

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by DanEC

My major concern over this type of temporary product is if you do get a stone hit that fractures the paint through the film, when you pull the film off, will the chipped paint come off with it? If so it seems all this does is postpone the inevitable touch up. Can anyone comment on any experience with this?

How long can the 3M Paint Defender be left on the paint - a couple years?

Hi Dan,

I have been reading about this product and 3M states protection for "at least a year". I didn't see any specifics about a maximum time it can be left on but that wording implies it should last that long and maybe longer, so I called 3M and was told that after about a year, it will start to yellow. I asked if the yellowing was due to age or sun exposure and the rep I spoke with wasn't sure (I appreciated the honesty). We both guessed that sun exposure would be the biggest cause of yellowing. So, it is likely that it would look good longer on Cobras since they typically aren't daily drivers. Only time will tell since it is a new product.

I had a film installer recommended by XPEL come and look at my car and he's working a quote up for their "self-healing" film for my fender flares and doors. He's concerned about all the curves in the front, so I'm thinking of using this 3M product if positive reviews keep coming in. You are right to be concerned about still getting stone chips. I watched test videos on both XPEL and 3M's site where a machine pelted the products with gravel. The XPEL protected surface had no marks after they peeled off the film, the 3M Paint Defender protected surface had a few nicks, but looked significantly better than the half of the test surface with nothing on it. 3M publishes that Paint Defender provides about 80% the protection of films.

Regards,

Kevin