Something we all need:

[Ricardo Montalvo]

Thankful it won't cost us big $$$ to have our cars custom clearwrap guarded anymore.

I guess it was only a matter of time:

New Product Review: 3M Paint Defender - Clear Spray-On Film - Top Speed

 

[Alex]

From what i've read it's too thin to do anything for most rock chips. a small glancing blow, yes, but most rock chips will puncture through it and still chip. Don't expect clearwrap protection from it.

 

[Ben Whittle]

It's basically the clear 'plasti-dip' that everyone has been waiting for...

 

[Ricardo Montalvo]

Are you guys 100% positive? It's barely been on the market. I know some other brands clear spray on solutions didn't work so well.

If you're right, it's a big letdown.

 

[Mesa]

It IS very new, I have some on order and will report back once I have a chance to test it. Past attempts to do this have been marginal at best, so it will be interesting to see how 3M does. I find it interesting that the car must be waxed beforehand, I'm guessing it is a safety net to guard against it sticking to a marginal paint surface, after all I'm sure in some cases this will get put on a substandard paint surface.

 

[Alex]

It IS very new, I have some on order and will report back once I have a chance to test it. Past attempts to do this have been marginal at best, so it will be interesting to see how 3M does. I find it interesting that the car must be waxed beforehand, I'm guessing it is a safety net to guard against it sticking to a marginal paint surface, after all I'm sure in some cases this will get put on a substandard paint surface.

I've seen plastdip peel paint off during removal, so it's probably so a bunch of morons don't jump up and down if they damage their surface.

 

[Mike]

It IS very new, I have some on order and will report back once I have a chance to test it. Past attempts to do this have been marginal at best, so it will be interesting to see how 3M does. I find it interesting that the car must be waxed beforehand, I'm guessing it is a safety net to guard against it sticking to a marginal paint surface, after all I'm sure in some cases this will get put on a substandard paint surface.

Let us know your thoughts. Thanks

 

[Randy V]

I'll wait to pull the trigger on this... I was about to purchase some black Plasti-Dip to paint bras on the front of a couple of our cars...

It's not so much rock chips that I want to avoid, although they are a factor too.. It's more to keep the bastard bugs we have out here in the country from adhering to the paint or the acid from their little crushed bodies dulling and eating into the paint. June bugs are the absolute worse!!!

 

[Jim T]

From what i've read it's too thin to do anything for most rock chips. a small glancing blow, yes, but most rock chips will puncture through it and still chip. Don't expect clearwrap protection from it.

Are you guys 100% positive? It's barely been on the market. I know some other brands clear spray on solutions didn't work so well.

If you're right, it's a big letdown.

Not having any personal experience with the product, I may very well be misplacing my trust in the 3M name! However, my experience tells me that usually when the 3M name appears on a product.....

1. Its going to be expensive!
2. Its going to out perform anything else on the market (with the possible exception of DuPont)!

So far I've never been disappointed following this philosophy; therefore, I'd have to give the 3M Paint Defender a try.


Just my 2 cents worth.
Jim

 

[Greg]

I'll wait to pull the trigger on this... I was about to purchase some black Plasti-Dip to paint bras on the front of a couple of our cars...

It's not so much rock chips that I want to avoid, although they are a factor too.. It's more to keep the bastard bugs we have out here in the country from adhering to the paint or the acid from their little crushed bodies dulling and eating into the paint. June bugs are the absolute worse!!!

You might look into Rejex, popular with airplane and RV owners.

RejeX: Nothing Sticks but the Shine!

 

[Randy V]

Thanks Greg.. Looking into it now!

 

[John Milmont]

You might look into Rejex, popular with airplane and RV owners.

RejeX: Nothing Sticks but the Shine!

Greg, do you have any experience with RejeX? I'm thinking of giving it a try. There's other 'sealants' on the market like 22ple, i wonder how this stacks up..

 

[Tom]

Just picked up a couple of cans from Autozoned and will give it a try. Got any links to the negative reviews?

I'll be taking the Cobra on a week long drive in June (Cruise Colorado), and for the price if it lasts for the week or even a month, I'm good with it. With at least 27 Cobras on the open road, there will be plenty of pebbles and sand being blown around especially if you're not leading the pack!

Sometime around late June I'll let you all know how it performed.

 

[Ricardo Montalvo]

Just picked up a couple of cans from Autozoned and will give it a try. Got any links to the negative reviews?

I'll be taking the Cobra on a week long drive in June (Cruise Colorado), and for the price if it lasts for the week or even a month, I'm good with it. With at least 27 Cobras on the open road, there will be plenty of pebbles and sand being blown around especially if you're not leading the pack!

Sometime around late June I'll let you all know how it performed.

The 3m Paint Defender or Rejex?

 

[Tom]

Ricardo,
Spray cans ($22 ea) of 3M Paint Defender to protect from pebbles and sand....

 

[Greg]

Greg, do you have any experience with RejeX? I'm thinking of giving it a try. There's other 'sealants' on the market like 22ple, i wonder how this stacks up..

My father started using it on his RV recently and so far it seems to help. So far so good. All I can say is that you might wanna check out some of the RV forums to read up on it.

 

[Mesa]

Had a chance to do a quick review of the 3M paint defender product.
Three coats dries down to 2 ml. Nice looking clear film provided you have a clean dust free environment with which to apply. Film strength is pretty good for a spray applied coating, although it is not near as strong as the film we all know and see across the front of cars these days. As a rough guess I’d say it is less than ½ as strong and possibly half as thick as sheet film. This coating was water resistant in short term exposure, yet in overnight exposure it did blush (tended to turn white-ish opaque) where subjected to standing water. Once the water had evaporated the film fully recovered to clear status.
I’d say this product will be less effective than film in outright ability to protect against gravel, yet will find good use in the temporary “apply as/when needed” protection market.

 

[Luke S]

Thanks for detailed review, Mesa. Sounds encouraging for track days.

 

[Dave Hood]

I installed the 3M film on my car three years ago. I had thought about the various sprays that were available, and I'm glad I didn't go with them. After almost 7,000 miles the 3M film has held up great, and I've had no problems with rock chips on areas where the 3M product was not installed. If a spray is maybe 50% as effective as the film, I'd stick with the film. It's too big of an investment to protect with a product that may be half as effective. Just my opinion.

 

[Ben Whittle]

Mesa, how long had it been until at that point? The plasti-dip guys over at dipyourcar seem to reckon a weeks worth lets the plastidip 'set' properly before it becomes really resistant to jet washes and general protection.

As far as I can tell this is just a clear plastidip.