I have heard and seen the website for this 3m clearmask thing, but do any of you actually have it on your car or have you seen it on a car before?
Is it exspensive? Do you do it yourself or is it better to have someone do it for you?
check it out at http://www.clearmask.com

 

I've heard it's great, and also very expensive to install.

tan

 

here are some pics from that website:
<img src=http://www.clearmask.com/image_2/astro2install.jpg> <img src=http://www.clearmask.com/image_2/astro4install.jpg>

 

in <A HREF="http://www.stongard.com/sgcontent/default.asp">Stongard</A>.

I'm curious as to the differences between them....3M looks to be a bit more new to the shelf than the Stongard product...

 

Unfortunately I dont' have any close up pics of it. It doesn't show on film to well, anything past 5 ft and it's undetectable.
Cost me approx $700 for the whole car. Front bumper, hood headlights, back of mirrors, leading edge of front fenders, leading edge of rear fenders, and a straight piece for the rear bumper.

 

I think that all StonGard is , are pre cut kits for cars. I think that is still still made out of 3M ScotchGard (or whatever it's called). You can also buy rolls of that stuff and do it yourself. I would rather pay someone to do it. $700 seems like alot though. Whatever. I've seen them on an M5 at BMW of Peabody. Couldn't even really tell unless if you were up close. I would get it for my car, but there are so many scratches on it already, and chips in the hood. Definitely on my next car.

 

I got the full front treatment for the 2K (actually 2 different kits), cost a total of $200, and I *WILL* put it on myself, one of these days. I've watched the video they sent, looks pretty straight forward, and if a couple of "good ol' boys" can install it on the video, I'm pretty confident I can do it too. Either company uses the same 3M material and cuts it to spec, but the clearmask was a wholesale price (which won't last) making it the better value. Check out the group deals forum on this, people asked for it, I set it up, but not many people ordered it?!
Whatever!

 

Where did you get your clearmask from? I need to get one before my new Max gets dinged up in the front.
Thanks,

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.phtml?threadid=5925

Go to this thread and get all the info there - who to call, how much, etc. Remember, you may or may not want to do the install yourself, that is up to you.

 

As I added a few pieces. the front fender pieces aren't in the kit, they were cut on site.
I also thought that I could install it myself, as I'm an excellent window tinter, but after seeing the installers having difficulty (and seeing the ARmourfend installers myself screw up 2 pieces) I was glad that I didn't try.

It's not cheap, but well worth it, it's protected against what would've been some really nasty dents

 

Jim,

What happened to the pieces that got screwed up? Was your kit pre-cut? I did not see anything about pulling or stretching the film onto the car in the video I saw, and you had mentioned this previously I think. Please clarify.

Thanks!

 

My pieces were pre-cut, the kit comes that way. It's just that in order to install the film, you must first pre-fit it (lay it on the hood with just water holding it in place) Once you're certain that it will fit, you must then strip ALL the wax off the paint (they used a alcohol/water combination, then wiped the surface down with thinner) Your surface must be absolutely dirt/wax free.
Then the install, and this is where the real trouble is. YOu generally start with the smaller piece first. You apply it like window tint, except you will need a heat gun, and you must constantly squeegee the film to make sure that it adheres, with no bubbles. I don't care what the website tells you, any water bubbles will stay there. THEY DO NOT DRY UP AND GO AWAY!!! YOu will need 2 other people, one to spray the film (must be kept dripping wet) the other to squeegee, and the third person to strecth (for any contours that the film must follow) Each persons hands must be absolutely clean, and dripping wet. Reason: the glue on the film will pick up your fingerprints and they WILL NOT GO AWAY!! The Armourfend installers (from the HQ) messed up my hood piece twice (once they overstretched it, the second time they got their fingerprints in it) The video nor instructions say anything about strecthing. They also had mentioned giving you one free replacement piece. Trust me, one free replacement piece won't be enough. I can virtually guarantee you that the largest piece will get messed up during a self-install. The size of the piece almost makes it a certainty. It took the pro shop 6 hrs to install my kit, and I had to return a second time for another 3 hrs. Many of the people on the Audi forum who have seen my car say that I've got the best application of film that they have ever seen, and I have one or two areas that aren't perfect.
Last but not least, unless you buy those special squeegees that are on the clearmask site, you will scratch the hell out of the film. And scratches on the film are like scratches on your paint, only the small, minute ones can be polished out. Any big scratches or gouges will remain and will haunt you. If you scratch it and don't like the look, you have to peel it off and start again. Can be very expensive. After watching my kit being installed, I was very happy that I decided not to do it myself.

 

Thanks for the further info, Jim. BTW, are you attending an Audi meet this Saturday? My friend (an A4 owner) said he is going to one Saturday, somewhere in the tri-state area.

 

Just remember to take your time, and get a couple of friends (with clean hands) to help.

I won't be attending the meet this Sat. I'll be heading to Pa for tons of shopping.