A month or so ago, I bumped into Accumulator's thread regarding an inquiry about Static Cling Protection Films. http://autopia.org/forum/car-driver/92408-static-cling-paint-protection-film.html This got me intrigued right away and started doing my own small research looking for a solution. I found an American company that actually sells clear blanks. Window-Cling.com - Custom static vinyl window clings, decals and magnetic signs. After corresponding with a gentleman named John Kerlin, I found that their widest available clear blank measured 48". I then asked for a quote of 48"x144" which came to $69.12US plus shipping/handling, or $5.76US per foot. Shipping was $25US plus an unexpected $40CAD for brokerage fees because of UPS (I've already dispatched an email to John to see if it can be shipped via FedEx or US Postal for future orders).
So, this past friday it came in.
And for those wondering, that Honda Fit has 4 coats of Victoria Wax Concours on it. Wheels were coated with KAIO and 1 coat of Collinite 476S.
Now, before I go on any further, let me just state that I'm no expert engineer or hands-on type of guy. I lounged around during shop class in high school and still got an A, so it's not like I'm Mr. Wizard with tools. Anyway, the first step was doing my best to measure a cutout for the hood.
As a first attempt, I didn't plan on covering the entire hood. A coverage of 80-90% is satisfactory for me. This type of vinyl film also has it shortcomings. Particularly, you can't wrap the hood edges with this as you'll later see further down below. So, I wanted to leave a 1/4-1/2" gap to where the vinyl film begins to the hood edge. Using a permanent marker I dotted along the hood edges while the film was on the car. I then connected the dots on a picnic table to help me guide the knife during the cutting process. I ended up with this.
So, now comes the grand event. Before applying the film on, I sprayed the hood with ONR QD since I drove around for a bit the day before. I decided to peel the entire backing right off and apply the film. I'm not sure if this was a good idea. After about 2-3 hours, I managed to get the film on the hood.
As you can see it's not a very good job, but I'm not particularly picky at this point. In fact, I find it pretty close to what the local Honda dealer did on their showroom cars. This is just a preliminary test. What ended up happening is that I applied the film too high on the hood, and the width of the film stretched beyond the hood edges because of stretching trying to get as many bubbles out. I think the next time around I will cut the film in smaller sections to achieve a better form-fit. This photo below...
...shows how the vinyl film has a hard time wrapping around a sharp edge, and therefore is liable to peeling. I cut this excess with scissors and the film looks perfectly secure just being on top of the hood rather than wrapping around it.
The purpose of this project is to find a viable alternative to the clear bra and full nose mask. We all know that the biggest disadvantage of a clear bra is that anything below it doesn't get washed/waxed/polished/etc. It's second disadvantage is cost. For a full on entire hood, bumper, front valence, portion of quarter panel, and side mirrors clear bra install is around $700CAD plus tax for my '07 Honda Fit. A partial hood only job (which only covers 25%) is around $250CAD. This is technically not a rip-off, the labour is just very intensive. The advantage of this static cling vinyl film is that it is removable and re-applyable (if that's even a word), which is what I want. It does have its own disadvantages mind you. 1) As you already saw, it can't wrap around edges. 2) It's rated to last only 5 years indoors, 3 years outdoors. 3) It's 150 microns which I think equates to 7.5mil. Thinner than regular 3M 8mil adhesive paint protection film, and XPel's 12mil version. 4) Because of its removable nature, if it starts to peel on the corners, it is liable to fly off during highway speeds, which brings me to...
...the durability test. I will be just going through with my regular driving routine to-and-from work, and testing to see - first and foremost - how well it holds on to the hood. I am confident that it's going to protect just as well as regular 8mil paint protection film. I will update this thread as I progress along with this project.
I'm open to suggestions on how to apply it smoothly as I want to reduce the bubbles and reduce the time it takes to install/re-install it.
PS: Photos were taken using a Canon EOS 1D Mk1 with a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens. Added a very slight contrast and saturation boost during RAW conversion to reproduce a more natural look.
So, this past friday it came in.
And for those wondering, that Honda Fit has 4 coats of Victoria Wax Concours on it. Wheels were coated with KAIO and 1 coat of Collinite 476S.
Now, before I go on any further, let me just state that I'm no expert engineer or hands-on type of guy. I lounged around during shop class in high school and still got an A, so it's not like I'm Mr. Wizard with tools. Anyway, the first step was doing my best to measure a cutout for the hood.
As a first attempt, I didn't plan on covering the entire hood. A coverage of 80-90% is satisfactory for me. This type of vinyl film also has it shortcomings. Particularly, you can't wrap the hood edges with this as you'll later see further down below. So, I wanted to leave a 1/4-1/2" gap to where the vinyl film begins to the hood edge. Using a permanent marker I dotted along the hood edges while the film was on the car. I then connected the dots on a picnic table to help me guide the knife during the cutting process. I ended up with this.
So, now comes the grand event. Before applying the film on, I sprayed the hood with ONR QD since I drove around for a bit the day before. I decided to peel the entire backing right off and apply the film. I'm not sure if this was a good idea. After about 2-3 hours, I managed to get the film on the hood.
As you can see it's not a very good job, but I'm not particularly picky at this point. In fact, I find it pretty close to what the local Honda dealer did on their showroom cars. This is just a preliminary test. What ended up happening is that I applied the film too high on the hood, and the width of the film stretched beyond the hood edges because of stretching trying to get as many bubbles out. I think the next time around I will cut the film in smaller sections to achieve a better form-fit. This photo below...
...shows how the vinyl film has a hard time wrapping around a sharp edge, and therefore is liable to peeling. I cut this excess with scissors and the film looks perfectly secure just being on top of the hood rather than wrapping around it.
The purpose of this project is to find a viable alternative to the clear bra and full nose mask. We all know that the biggest disadvantage of a clear bra is that anything below it doesn't get washed/waxed/polished/etc. It's second disadvantage is cost. For a full on entire hood, bumper, front valence, portion of quarter panel, and side mirrors clear bra install is around $700CAD plus tax for my '07 Honda Fit. A partial hood only job (which only covers 25%) is around $250CAD. This is technically not a rip-off, the labour is just very intensive. The advantage of this static cling vinyl film is that it is removable and re-applyable (if that's even a word), which is what I want. It does have its own disadvantages mind you. 1) As you already saw, it can't wrap around edges. 2) It's rated to last only 5 years indoors, 3 years outdoors. 3) It's 150 microns which I think equates to 7.5mil. Thinner than regular 3M 8mil adhesive paint protection film, and XPel's 12mil version. 4) Because of its removable nature, if it starts to peel on the corners, it is liable to fly off during highway speeds, which brings me to...
...the durability test. I will be just going through with my regular driving routine to-and-from work, and testing to see - first and foremost - how well it holds on to the hood. I am confident that it's going to protect just as well as regular 8mil paint protection film. I will update this thread as I progress along with this project.
I'm open to suggestions on how to apply it smoothly as I want to reduce the bubbles and reduce the time it takes to install/re-install it.
PS: Photos were taken using a Canon EOS 1D Mk1 with a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens. Added a very slight contrast and saturation boost during RAW conversion to reproduce a more natural look.
) and it looks good IMO, let alone for a first effort. I'll be interested to hear how it holds up. That potential for coming off at speed would have me a bit concerned.