3M ClearShield Opinions

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Egleone6

New member
What are the pros and cons of this applied to ones car?



I have an estimate for my 2007 Nissan Altima for 500 dollars, plus tax to do the the Hood, Fender and Mirror, Bumper, and the Headlamp. I am debating simply because of the cost. $500 bucks. Or would I be safe just to get the h,f&m done for half the cost of all three? This would cover up to 24 inches on the hood and fender.



Any and all suggestions would be helpful.
 
Do as much coverage as you can. You'll regret it if you didn't do it. The uncovered areas will wear while the covered areas stay new looking.



I had mine installed on the car with 10 miles on the odo. After 2 years and over 20K miles it still looks like it just came off the lot. :)
 
PROs:



1. The car's next owner gets a chip free car at your expense.

2. if the car turns into somekind of family heirloom that you'll be keeping for the next generation it will have a beautiful front end.



CONs:



1. you're not going to get your $500 back when you trade it in.

2. if you get that many chips a complete bumper repaint runs about $350 [oh and, this isn't 1965, a good body shop can match the paint near perfect factoring in paint fade].



I get wanting to keep a new car's paint in near perfect condition but $500 is a lot of money to keep a few paint chips off the car. where does it stop, door dings, bird crap, senior citizens pressing the rusty metal bumper of their 1971 ford galaxy 500 against your painted bumber in parking lots. Look, shitake is going to happen there are folks that fix these little imperfections if they ever become that unbearable.



Take the $500 you were going to spend place it in a mutual fund and let it grow so that when it's time to buy another car you have a nice down pymt. Dont waste it making sure the car's next owner get a killer deal.
 
A buddy told me if I was going to trade it in a few years, that would be worth it. But I am going to be keeping this for atleast 5 years, I think a few paint chips will be overlooked some.



I will ponder this some more on the back burner.



Thanks
 
I would do it especially if you're keeping your car! I enjoy driving a car with a chip free front end and maintained in top condition. It is not just the paint that gets covered, headlights get protected from scratches and rocks won't crack the plastic. You can't repaint a cracked and chipped headlight.



If you're planning on only keeping it a couple of years and don't care about the condition of the front in the interim then there's probably no need for the protection. $500 is worth it to me to have a great looking front every day and not require a repaint in a couple of years.
 
I love my 3m clearshield. I thought for sure I could do a better job of installing it myself rather than having it "professionally" installed. It was very hard (for me, at least) to install. My installation is... let's just say... less than perfect.



I would definitely pay 500 bucks for professional installation of the coverage you mentioned. You really won't regret it.
 
Not only is it overlooked but just about all used car depts or dealerships have the bumpers repainted anyway (here in calif anyway) of course it depends on the amount of damage to the bumper. In other words, to the dealership taking your trade it's the difference between spending $80-100 to prep the bumpers or spending nothing on a bumper repaint.



Here's a better use of your $500 bones, get your windows tinted and one of those foil windshield shades to protect your interior. Interiors cannot be fixed as easily as a bumper can.
 
sonyexec said:
Not only is it overlooked but just about all used car depts or dealerships have the bumpers repainted anyway (here in calif anyway) of course it depends on the amount of damage to the bumper. In other words, to the dealership taking your trade it's the difference between spending $80-100 to prep the bumpers or spending nothing on a bumper repaint.



Here's a better use of your $500 bones, get your windows tinted and one of those foil windshield shades to protect your interior. Interiors cannot be fixed as easily as a bumper can.
Click to expand...



wow, you are trying really hard to talk him out of something that YOU don't like or have:nervous: . i had it put on my 07 corvette @ 2 miles. it's on my 04 avalanche AND its on my CTS. full coverage, not cheap BUT i don't like painting cars and i don't like looking at chips. it's not about getting your $500 back. its about never having to deal with chipped paint, by waisting time and paying for repaints. the paint that you protect on the car ALWAYS looks like new. :nana: :wavey
 
sonyexec said:
Not only is it overlooked but just about all used car depts or dealerships have the bumpers repainted anyway (here in calif anyway) of course it depends on the amount of damage to the bumper. In other words, to the dealership taking your trade it's the difference between spending $80-100 to prep the bumpers or spending nothing on a bumper repaint.



Here's a better use of your $500 bones, get your windows tinted and one of those foil windshield shades to protect your interior. Interiors cannot be fixed as easily as a bumper can.
Click to expand...



I'd much rather have to replace a few pieces of the interior than have to repaint a car, IMHO.
 
I'd rather deal with not tailgating people & touching up a few chips than constantly looking at how wierd a semi-dull skin looks like on it. Almost every car I've detailed with these covers look terrible and cannot be corrected with buffing. They keep the paint from getting damaged, but they don't make dark colored car look good. You should weigh what's important to you and go from there.
 
If you are having it installed make sure that:

a) the installer is 3m certified

b) they are using actual 3m film, ther are a lot of cheap knock off's out there that are NOT all the same.



3m warrantees installations for 5 years if they are installed by a licensed installer. If they are licensed they should give you a warantee card and place a sticker on the door jamb with their id # and the date of installation.



Once its installed you can clean and wax it like the rest of your vehicle after 24 hrs.
 
what kind of material is the clearshield made out? will it affect gloss anyway since when you apply wax or sealant it will not be directly on the paint.



just curious
 
Egleone6 said:
What are the pros and cons of this applied to ones car?



I have an estimate for my 2007 Nissan Altima for 500 dollars, plus tax to do the the Hood, Fender and Mirror, Bumper, and the Headlamp. I am debating simply because of the cost. $500 bucks. Or would I be safe just to get the h,f&m done for half the cost of all three? This would cover up to 24 inches on the hood and fender.



Any and all suggestions would be helpful.
Click to expand...



A Clear Shield is a good investment. I tell my customers to get that type of protection. Tesla motors uses Star Shield Armor to protect the front end of their new Electric Car.
 
Bought it. Love it. Probably the best money spent on my vehicle. I know it has saved some chips and after 25,000 miles the hood still looks like new. I usually just QD mine after a wash. You can use a non abrasive wax or sealant on it. Mine is about 3 1/2 years old and there is no yellowing at all. You have to get up close to it to see it. I have it on the mirrors and it has saved them also.
 
David Fermani said:
I'd rather deal with not tailgating people
Click to expand...



I hate this rationalization. I'm the furthest from tailgating anyone and my front end looks like hell. I don't know what it is but there is just **** kicked up all over the road in this part of the country. When you drive 60+ miles a day this is what happens.



My windshield has also taken a similar beating and there is no "clear film" to protect that. Looking through all those little pitmarks pisses me off more than the stone chips on the hood.



It's a daily driver, what else do you expect? If it's a weekend car you probably don't drive it enough to need the sticker anyway. I'll just have it re-painted when I move...
 
I have it on mine and I'm satisfied. The thing that frustrates me is that I got a couple of chips right above where the film ends on the hood! I do wonder what kind of chips I would have if I didn't have it.
 
David Fermani said:
I'd rather deal with not tailgating people & touching up a few chips than constantly looking at how wierd a semi-dull skin looks like on it. Almost every car I've detailed with these covers look terrible and cannot be corrected with buffing. They keep the paint from getting damaged, but they don't make dark colored car look good. You should weigh what's important to you and go from there.
Click to expand...



Not to be argumentative, but I've had great luck polishing the 3M film with 106FF. You can get them really shiny. I've polished up my brother's silver BMW and front end clear mask quite successfully. You have to look very closely to even see the line of the mask. IMHO, even a poorly applied clear mask looks better than a heavily rock-chipped front end.



I *never* tail gate people, and my old Celica's front end was almost completely devoid of paint after 12 years on the road. A rock or pebble flung from the rear tire of a car at 75 MPH is going to travel quite a distance. Much farther than the five or six car lengths distance to the following car.
 
All I can say is... it's the best option you can buy for a new car. I have mine well over 2 years, and it's looking good!
 
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