Front End Protection, '91 Accord interior (56k no)

audicoupej

audicoupej

New member
Well, 2 days after Christmas my girlfriend moved down to Virginia from Buffalo. I wanted to keep her Rabbit's front end safe until it warms up and I can apply a clear bra so I used some blue painters tape. Here is my process and some pics.



Process

12/25/06 Wash and wax car. Megs deep crystal wash, Megs Nxt Tech Wax. (It was 50º in Buffalo on x-mas! I washed and waxed two cars :bounce )

12/26/06- Apply painters tape to front end and fender arches. I applied two layers since the tape is very thin. The car went for a drive in the rain immediately after I finished applying. It went back into the garage wet several hours later. I thought the tape would come loose, but it didn't.

12/27/06 Drive from Buffalo, NY to Centreville, Va. No loss of tape even though it was wet the day before. We arrived to Va and I removed the tape. Here are some afters of the car:



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Here you can see what the paint looked like after removing the tape. It was still clean!

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A few days later my friend called and asked if I could detail his sisters interior while since she was home from school. It came out ok. The floor mats are toast. The dirt is just ground in.



Process:

Vac

Shampoo floor mats and carpet

Stoners IG

Costco steamer on seats, vinyl, and stains

303 to protect



Before:



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After

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Before

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After

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The interior pictures are not very good but I finished at night, that's about 4:30pm here right now.
 
good job on that interior.i wish i would of taped up my front end on long trips before,needless to say i have some minor nicks now.i try to stay pretty far back from other cars.anyway good job.
 
Wow, that interior has seen some miles. Good turn around on it. I've seen cars on the way to Vegas with the blue painters tape bra. Looks like great protection for those long road trips.
 
paradigm said:
how many miles on that old accord?
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Around 150k if I remember correctly. It has a beautiful Maaco paint job. :sadpace:





socommatthews - The tape works great. I cannot wait for the weather to warm up to put the clear bra on. The way traffic is around here it is hard to leave space.



tyoung - Thanks for the kind words. The blue tape bra was getting quite a few looks on the highway. It was funny. I almost made a big circle with a slash with the words rock chips in the middle. I figured people might understand then.
 
The clear paint protection film I can tell you is the best product and the best thing you can do if you really value your finish.



Also, I hope you are getting someone who is a licensed installer, these are not for someone who's never done them. Besides, they know every trick and have the required tools.



Prior to the film, polish the paint to the best you can, no glaze or wax, just polish. Then once the film goes on, let it cure and get all the water out prior to using a sealant over it. Sealants work better on films as they are clear. Waxes can in time yellow a film. Newer waxes that have a high volume of polymers (sealants) in them work very well w/o yellowing.



I have the whole front air dam filmed. Then a good portion of the hood, headlights, wheel arches, side mirrors, and door cups (fingernail protection), rear wheel dog legs/arches. On my previous car, I also did the rocker panels as well.



Enjoy the film when it gets on!!



Regards,

Deanski
 
I just had a "Clear Bra" put on my front bumper, part of hood and front fenders, mirrors, and inside of door handles this past Monday.



They custom cut the 3M film and rolled it around the hood and all so there are no edges of the film showing except for where it ends on the hood and fenders. They did a great job.



After having it on for a week I can say that I'll have one put on every car I buy from now own!! I love it...



You really have to look hard to see it's on there, and then only the line across the hood is visible and you can't even see that from a few feet away.



Looks like this from most angles:



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Here you can see the line:



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Very nice! That Accord interior was trashed!



Just FYI, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works great at removing make-up from the steering wheel, shifter, etc.
 
I'm actually going to install the clear bra myself. I know it is not an easy task but I want to try it. The worse that can happen is it won't look good and I remove it. I have a few cars I'm going to try it on so I should get the hang of it eventually. I also have a hood sitting around that I might try to install some bulk film on prior to the Rabbit.





Scott- Thanks again for the compliments. What do you use when there is debris stuck in the carpet. I don't like to use a brush because it makes some carpet more afro like (for lack of a better word). Also, when you use woolite:water do you just spray, brush and extract?



I do use the magic eraser sometimes, but they always fall apart. I need to get the heavy duty ones.
 
so how do you go about getting your girlfriend to drive several states with blue painters tape on the front of her black car?



I would do it if it were my car, I just can't imagine trying to talk someone else into driving all that way with tape on their car. ;)
 
Frugle said:
so how do you go about getting your girlfriend to drive several states with blue painters tape on the front of her black car?



I would do it if it were my car, I just can't imagine trying to talk someone else into driving all that way with tape on their car. ;)
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Her words "I didn't want to listen to you complain about the chips." and "I really didn't care."



Doesn't bother me I got my way! :getdown
 
great idea going with the tape on that trip John. I need to get in touch with you regarding my S4, but I need to settle down in the new house first.
 
socommatthews said:
good job on that interior.i wish i would of taped up my front end on long trips before,needless to say i have some minor nicks now.i try to stay pretty far back from other cars.anyway good job.
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:har: it never works. theres always rock and other debris flyin around on major hwys. just tape up ur front and be done with it.
 
^&04types said:
:chuckle: :chuckle:
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That's not a detachable face, it's a detachable RADIO. Old school iPod - portable.



LOL - looks like the one i put in my 87 Sentra!!! LOL But trust me, it beats the alternative!
 
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