3M Paint Protection Film

[Brett7]

I am considering the 3M paint protection film. Pros? Cons?

I would especially appreciate feedback from others who have direct experience with this type of application.

Also, any recommended installers within 1 hr. drive from Oshawa? I’ve checked with Downtown Porsche (unreasonably priced), Pfaff (realistic pricing, but do not tuck the film) and Oakville (very reasonable pricing). Anyone having experience, positive or negative is appreciated.

Brett Hardy

[blotto649]

As with any service like this, there are good and bad installers, and pros and cons to the actual application. I’m no authority, but here are my thoughts…

– dealerships will not do the work themselves, they’ll merely farm it out to a collision centre or tint supplier that they deal with, so you’re better off going straight to the source for the best price.
– depending on the type of film, they can yellow with sun exposure and change the hue of the paint colour compared to panels that don’t have the film – especially problematic on light coloured vehicles (I have a white BMW with this applied and the difference is very noticeable)
– you treat the film just like paint, so no special cleaners required and you can wax the same as paint
– heavily contoured pieces are the hardest to do well ie. bumpers with dramatic curves, air intakes, etc. Something like a hood is really easy

I recommend searching online – trimlineinc.ca and advancedmobilegroup.net both work with many exotics and come highly rated.

[Brett7]

blotto649,

I appreciate your thoughts and links. I’ll check them out.

Brett Hardy

[Sonny]

Patrick Cassavan does incredible work. I’ve never used him personally, but I’ve looked closely at two 911’s he’s done and was extremely impressed. He does Porsches now exclusively for Downtown Porsche.

[Kevin Donahue]

I’m curious to know what kind of cost you are looking at. I had one quote for my Cayman that I though was quite high, and see advertised installed prices online for less than half. What would be a reasonable price range?

Kevin

[Brett7]

Kevin,

I am soliciting quotes for full hood, front fenders and bumper as well as partial mirrors. Quotes range from $2,700 – $1,800 plus HST.
These quotes are all from Porsche dealerships. I’m certain that it would be cheaper to get an independent installer not affiliated with a dealership, but I don’t have any solid recommendations from anyone with direct experience. I would like to have other choices. I’m not looking for the lowest quote. Quality work deserves reasonable compensation, however I feel that there is a sizable profit margin built into the Porsche quotes.

Brett

[Kevin Donahue]

Thanks Brett, my quote was in the $1700 range, but then i see this website from vancouver which gave me pause for thought……..

http://www.clearbra.ca

[gcornwell]

Hi Brett,
I had my Cayman S done with the 3M product by Pfaff when I bought the car. They charged less than half the numbers quoted above, but there were a couple of air bubbles. They redid the installation to my satisfaction. I assume they are using outside contractors, but they do it at the Pfaff shop.
There is slight amount of colour change between the protected and unprotected areas, my car is Lapis Blue.
I am glad I did it, there are some marks on the film from stones, and those probably would have caused a lot more paint damage.
Cheers, Gerry

[Brett7]

Thanks Gerry and others who responded. I have had the car covered by Downtown Porsche. I picked up my new Cayman S last week and had to look carefully to notice the 3M. A very professional job.

Brett

[Kevin Donahue]

Just followup Brett. I had mine done also, and I am not very happy with it. For the price range we were discussing I expected to get a custom cut film on the bumper where they place one piece of film and cut and fit all the contours. As opposed to a pre – cut film that comes in a kit in several pieces that are fitted on the bumper, and you can see all the edges and joins. On your new Cayman S was it a custom fitted film? or can you see several different joins on the bumper?

[Brett7]

Kevin,

Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction. I was advised not to get the pre-cut kit that some install. There is slight variation with the kit and the only way to get a superior install is to have the film cut to fit. Although the price of the install was not inexpensive, you usually get what you pay for. You should have been informed that a kit was being installed and not a custom cut installation.

No seams. A custom, one piece install for the front bumper, full front fender, full hood and partial mirror as well as rear wheel well from Downtown Porsche. My car is basalt black metallic. You need to look very closely to see that the 3M film is installed. When I picked up the car, I was not certain that the film was installed. I’m very pleased.

Brett Hardy

[fzanutto]

Hi Brett,

Sorry I am late on commenting, but my 2002 Boxster is red and has had 3M since new, on front bumper and half way up the hood, and it is in excellent condition today. You can see the line across the middle of the hood, but there is no colour difference after 12 years – No fading or cracking. The only problem is that they covered the head lights too, and the daytime running lights lights have caused the film to bubble (but has never cracked). but just on the daytime running lights, not on the headlights. It looks like the 3M has protected the plastic light covers, so that’s good, but the bubbling on the daytime lights is not. The 3M on the headlights has never bubbled, perhaps because it does not heat up like the daytime lights. If I did it again, I would cover the headlights but not the daytime lights.

[Anonymous]

Keeps paint well protected. had it done for less than $500. be careful you are getting ripped off huge at those prices

[Kevin Donahue]

Yeah that’s what I thought, lesson learned.

[Author]

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