Keeping a Clean Nose

[drj]

Getting ever so close. A little over two weeks until our car "hatches" in Irvine. I'm curious about experiences with paint protection for the front of the SPF. Ours is coming with the clear spats for the rear wheel flares but I'm concerned about all the little rocks and dust here in SoCal doing a real number on the nose. I've gotten opinions all over the place on clear bras, clear paint, nothing at all . . . Experiences? Opinions? We are getting this as a cruiser, not a racer so the racing (eg. painters tape)solutions aren't what I'm looking for. All information is appreciated.

[wtm442]

I have the clear plastic overlay ... or whatever they call it.

It was installed when new. No chips in paint.

[Fred Z]

Drj.........unfortunately, part of the deal........unless you want to get a 3M additive on the front, which can color it different.....you are pretty much stuck with it. I questioned Jeff Miller, and he said it just comes with the territory. He paints these things well, and he had no solution............except that.......for some reason, the stripe never gets the rock chips......interesting.

sorry,

fred.z

[Excaliber]

I got a lot of nose chips at the race track with my Excalibur, running behind other cars (you know, getting ready to pass ). I never ran the ERA to close to other cars or in the 'heat of battle' to avoid that.

[CoupedUp]

Invince-a-shield by 3M. They make a pre-cut kit for the SPF MKIII. http://www.invinca-shield.com/n_make...&kit_type=auto

Doug

[gary osborne]

The 3M front protection has been used with mixed results. If you don't use it, plan on some chips. The first one really hurts but eventually you just shrug them off and look at them as badges for driving your car instead of trailering it around to show other people how pretty it is.

Now IF you use it be sure to have it professionally installed. I have not heard too much good about the "do it yourself" jobs on these. On the other hand, many who have had it installed properly are really happy with it. Plan on the product yellowing over time and perhaps not allowing your paint to remain the same color (between that covered and that not). One person I know had serious damage done to his car's paint when he had it professionally removed (peeled large chunks of paint off).

Frankly, it has not been something I wanted but I respect why others like the idea of it.

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by Fred Z

Drj.........unfortunately, part of the deal........unless you want to get a 3M additive on the front, which can color it different.....you are pretty much stuck with it. I questioned Jeff Miller, and he said it just comes with the territory. He paints these things well, and he had no solution............except that.......for some reason, the stripe never gets the rock chips......interesting.

sorry,

fred.z

I actually have a couple small chips in the stripes, and because they are black they show more than the ones on the titanium paint. I also have the clear 3M on the nose as well as the rear fenders and it works well. The few chips I have are very small (you can't see them unless you are wiping the car down, waxing etc...) and are above the 3M. I would reccomend the 3M highly. I also second the comment about getting it installed by someone that knows what they are doing. There are a lot of curves to go around and it takes some skill to do it without air bubbles.

[speed220mph]

drj: Don't hesitate, make sure the vulnerable areas are protected with Invinca Shield and have it installed by a pro. I've had it on my ERA for three years and the result . . . no paint chips. FYI, Dennis Olthoff has pratically every SF that goes out the door protected with this stuff. But if you like those whose badge of honor is paint chips, don't use it.

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by gary osborne

...chips...The first one really hurts but eventually you just shrug them off...

Yup...been there, done that.

I have even found that the 3M film that covers the front of the rear wheelwells doesn't quite shine as clear and bright as the rest of the car. It even gets little dings in it, and you can't easily paint, fill and polish those out as you can a real paint ding.

I just keep a spare bottle of touch up paint and slowly fill the dings. Then color sand and buff out. With practice the results are spectacular. Some here use a syringe to apply the paint (actually a great idea). I'm not that anal (any longer, anyways) and the longer I have the car, the more I begin to live with the warts that road driving will produce over time.

-Dean #747

[dlang14]

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

I just keep a spare bottle of touch up paint and slowly fill the dings. Then color sand and buff out. With practice the results are spectacular. Some here use a syringe to apply the paint (actually a great idea).

OK Time to admit my ignorance. I've always heard folks talking about color sanding, but I honestly have no idea what that means or how one would go about it.

If someone would take the time to educate me I'd apprecaite it, and I'm sure the nose of 2293 would appreciate it too. So far I have not opened the touch up paint just because I wanted to figure out the right way to do it first.

Thanks,


Daryl

[greg schroeder]

I have the clear bra for the front and on the back fenders. It looks to have saved a couple chips.

I've found the main thing to reduce chips is to keep away from cars in front of you and don't drive through debris or in wet weather. I always drop way back if a car needs to be in front of me. I also avoid having cars which are in front cross the division line of multiple lane highways. Most debris collects there and on the shoulder. It sprays backward as the car in front drives through it. Stay out of rain all together and particularly rain with a car in front of you. Such a condition works about as good as sand blasting.

[cobrasnake]

I have installed clear static cling material with reasonable success. I cut it all by hand and formed it in all the tight spaces. One can see a band of material over the top of the nose as it is not truly "colorless". Below the midline, it is tough to spot. Like vinyl meatballs, if I ever want to take it off, it should come off easily. It is not a perfect job, but is removable should I ever want to try again. Cost - less than $10. Time - several hours of trial and error. Next time, I will use a warm hair dryer to help shape the tough angles. It is probably not as thick as the 3M stuff, but does help with the chips.

Tom

[DonC]

I'vwe got the Invincashield on the nose of my ERA and in 14,000 miles over two years have not taken any damage to the area that is covered. There is some stone damage to the uncovered areas so I know the stuff is working. Very glad I had it put on.
Got some sheet material and cut out applications to go under the snap line for my top and along the tops of the doors where the side curtains fit as well. I applied those myself and the material went on quite easily.
I consider it a good investment. From 10 ft. away you can't event see it.
DonC

[RedSnake351]

Originally Posted by dlang14

OK Time to admit my ignorance. I've always heard folks talking about color sanding, but I honestly have no idea what that means or how one would go about it...
Daryl

And like dlang14, I would be interested what this "Color Sanding" is all about!
Thanks.
Ralph

[Tom of VA]

I spoke to Dennis O about buying a 3M kit from him. I didn't ask the price. I checked ou the link by Doug. Could that price be right? $300+ for just the nose pieces? Yikes! A similar covering came on a couple of spots on my motorcyle which was always kept inside and out of the sun but it still turned yellow after a year to two. I was worried if this happed would the paint pull off or be ruined when the time came to remove the covering. It pulled right off the bike but those were small pieces. Has anyone removed thier 3M shields with sucess and how does it compare to the static cling type? Is using more of the cling type safer than the 3M?

[CoupedUp]

Tom,
I've had the 3M kit on my wife's Infiniti M45 (her kit cost over $400 if I remember correctly and was in 11 pieces). It is incredible! She has had the car for exactly one year with a 25 mile (each way) daily commute on California freeways. The car has no rock chips on it whatsoever, and bugs wipe off of it MUCH easier than paint. I bought the nose kit for my coupe and can't wait to put it on. The kit looks "more invisible" on silver colors, shows up a bit more on darker colors (where you really see the line at the edges, depending on what angle you are viewing from), and shows up the most on white, where it appears (very) slightly yellow. It does have a slight orange peel look when viewing at flatter angles. The best thing to do would be to find someone who has it installed and look for yourself before making a final decision. It is definitely one of those personal preference things.

Last but not least - get a professional installer if you decide to go with the 3M product. Installation will likely cost as much as the kit, but is well worth it. It requires good technique and experience - so get someone good.

Good luck either way!
Doug

[Naumoff]

Sell the car and then you don't have to worry about it.

[WildBill1965]

Dennis shop installed mine and I think it was well worth the investment. I don't think I would have paientence or time to get it on as well as ther did.

[greg schroeder]

The best way to avoid chips on the front of the car is to not follow anyone and avoid having people change lanes in front of you as the lines in the road and the shoulders collect the most debris to throw. Rain and the road debris is like a wet sand blaster. That's good to avoid too. For tires the Mickey Thompson ET street drag radials on the rear don't throw stones under average driving conditions. They also stick like glue. The low grip BFG Radial TAs are nice for the front to not throw stones much.