How to prevent rock chips

dongoesby

New member
hi, I've heard there are sealant (not wax) or a sheld liquid that can proect paint from rock chips. Anybody got experiences on that? Is there any way to preventing rock chips other than puting on a protecting film in the front clip of the car that costs $400? Hope to get some answers soon. Thanks



Frank
 
dongoesby said:
Is there any way to preventing rock chips other than puting on a protecting film in the front clip of the car that costs $400?



Frank



The best way I know of is to just be smart. Don't tailgate and avoid following behind trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, or any vehicle that has a lot of the rear tire exposed. The more rear tire you see, the greater the threat.
 
kmayer is right. If you follow closely, particularly during the winter months, you will get chips. There is just so much stuff on the road then, that it is "rock chip city."



I lay back a lot, and let the idiot drivers go on, and I still get some chips.



That's how it is. I can always tell which drivers tailgate a lot. There's no paint left on the front bumper, and the front part of the hood.
 
i just bought a $65000+ 07 corvette. spent $887 on full front and wheel lip/mirror protection (3M). :D if you want to protect YOU MUST NOT BE AFRAID TO SPEND :secret . there is no inexpensive solution, IMHO.
 
does labor on a clear bra act. cost 200 bux in labor?? on average?





your solution is really dont tailgate, dont drive the car , blue masking tape, or CLEAR BRA.
 
I bought the clear bra for my car as well when I first bought it. I had it on my other Porsche when I bought it new as well. Best investment one can make. I got a break on both as the dealer charged me cost for the bra and some labor which worked out to be ~$350.
 
bpfoley- Heh heh, yeah, my thoughts exactly :xyxthumbs



I'm content to accept the inevitable damage and get things painted (and windshields replaced) as needed. The chips in the windshield usually bother me a lot more than the chips in the paint.



Give some thought as to how the clear bra will look on your vehicle (and to each their own when it comes to deciding how it looks).



You folks who decide to get the clear-film protection, make sure the installer does good work. Somebody here had all sorts of trouble last year...the installer actually *cut* the paint in a few places and it ended up being a nightmare.
 
kmayer said:
The best way I know of is to just be smart. Don't tailgate and avoid following behind trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, or any vehicle that has a lot of the rear tire exposed. The more rear tire you see, the greater the threat.



:2thumbs:



I hate those clear bras ...
 
kmayer said:
The best way I know of is to just be smart. Don't tailgate and avoid following behind trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, or any vehicle that has a lot of the rear tire exposed. The more rear tire you see, the greater the threat.

What I hate is getting rocks kicked up toward me from vehicles in neighboring lanes. But the worst situation I've had lately is when a semi changed into my lane just ahead of me, then a few seconds later, as I was slowly backing off, he swerved briefly several feet onto the shoulder and kicked up a bunch of salt and loose rocks. My front bumper was just painted a few months ago and I'd been trying to be careful with it until this jerk pulled his stunt. :wall
 
My solution has been simply to stay off of the freeway during winter (naturally, not everyone is able to do this), and as others have mentioned, stay back from traffic a bit. After the first storm of the winter, I decided to take the "quick" way home... ended up with what sounded like a small boulder hitting my windshield, essentially ruining it. That's when I decided I could handle the extra 5 minutes taking surface streets instead, LOL.



Anyhow, unless it's really excessive, the rock chips don't bother me so much. Pitted headlight lenses, lights, and windshields annoy me more. I've seen many 2000+ cars with far worse chipping than both my '85 500 and '70 250, so I don't feel so bad... and for some strange reason, my motorcycle seems impervious to rock damage. ;)





cheers
 
thanks you guys for all those great input! Best out of the best!



BTW, why winter tends to be easier to get rock chips, and why clear-film protection mess up the paint? (I thought it is transparent).



PS: I get what you feel, velobard, and I hate this ignorance drivers too.
 
A friend of mine swears by these, but he also trades every 6 months to 2 years. I tend to keep my vehicle for at least 5 and wash once a week. I am curious to see how they hold up after 5 years of washing. The plastic would have to scratch and swirl. I don't like em'. I used to have a bra and it had to be takin off with each wash, dirt got stuck behind it. It was worse IMO than not having one. Sold it with the last car.
 
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