CX-5 Clear Bra anyone?

Has anyone tried out the new 3M Paint Defender? It's a spray on type of film; much cheaper than traditional clear bras... I would imagine these would be pretty good for some of the smaller jobs; like sills, mirrors, leading edge of the roofline, rear bumper guard, etc.
 
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The 3M Paint Defender only lasts a year though while the traditional ones lasts for at least 3 years.

Right now if you buy the 3M Defender System (Spray, Application, and Trigger Kit) at AutoZone, you can get a $20 AutoZone gift card after MIR, expires 6/24/13. Might be a good time to try it out since it will only cost $24 after MIR.
 
I have a 3M clear bra installed since 2006. It is worth every penny including a couple of hits to the front bumper. No damage, no paint transfer or anything. It is still in great shape, washable and waxable just like the paint. I will say stay away from Ventureshield, which was bought by 3M, but is apparently a different formulation. Looks better at first, but does not last...has a clear coat that gives a nice shine, but deteriorates quickly when not garaged.

If you believe installers I have spoken to, they believe Ventureshield was bought by 3M for a very specific set of products or manufacturing capability that 3M paint protection film did not cover...a really wide roll of film that can cover entire hoods, trunks, roofs, etc. who knows...
 
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I was going to add this to the "3M Paint Defender" thread that HandA started, but apparently that thread has been removed? (huh) (confused)

Anyway... This weekend, I tried the 3M Paint Defender spray out on the new car. I did not buy the application kit, but would tend to say now, that it may well be worth getting, if only for the trigger holder (and maybe the reel of tape). My trigger fingers were really hurting by the time I finished! (I kept swapping left to right hands, which just made both fingers ache.)

By far the most difficulty was in taping off. I used newspaper but it's more painful to position and tape down than plastic sheet would be. The spray itself is very 'wet' (large droplets, heavy flow, small spread), nothing like regular paint sprays, so the spray doesn't move very far unless you're in the wind - but then not a good idea to do this in the wind anyway!

I applied a ~20" wide strip across the hood an a couple of pieces on the front of the fenders and pretty much emptied the can. So the 10 square foot coverage is pretty accurate. Looked horrible when freshly sprayed - milky and irregular - but dried (several hours) to a clear smooth film. So all's good. Obviously I've no idea about longevity yet, but it's a decently thick film, though I doubt it's anywhere near as good or as strong as clear-bra.

One tip if you do this... mask first (with a double line as the instructions say) BEFORE applying the wax that comes with the can! Otherwise (don't ask) the waxed surface is so slick that neither masking tape nor blue tape will stick down. (gah)

So, here's a couple of application photos. I have no post-dry photos yet as I did this Saturday and it's been raining ever since, so the car's been stuck in the garage... They warn you not to let it get wet for a couple of days after application (the stuff is water-based and needs to cure well, or the finish can suffer, apparently). Will add final photos later.

These are taken freshly after spray and after the first edge layers of blue tape have been removed...

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While visiting a popular window tint shop a few minutes ago that installs 3M products I asked at the end of getting the tint estimate if they installed 3M paint protection film and he said he does several cars each year at about $600, but he told me that he just took a hit from a rock on his new Camaro that had the film and was damaged and said he got an estimate to repaint the front for less than $600. He said he doubts he would put the film on again and would just have it repainted again instead of the trouble and cost it was to apply the film.

I thought that was a pretty interesting discussion from a guy that owns the shop and makes money with this type of service. He said that the cost of the 3M film is so much that they have to reduce their labor charge and they don't make much money, but he mentioned other shops using non 3M film will get it cheaper and bump up their labor charge to look like you are getting a quality 3M job.

He then mentioned that he will try the spray on for long trips.
 
Some more photos of the spray-on stuff dried and cured - now the rain has stopped enough for me to get the car out of the garage :)

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Thanks for posting that, I had been scared away by reviews I've read elsewhere. My last car's hood was all chipped to hell, and this is a lot more ecomonical than a traditional clear bra. May have to give it a try. Is one can enough for what you did?
 
costermonger said:
Thanks for posting that, I had been scared away by reviews I've read elsewhere. My last car's hood was all chipped to hell, and this is a lot more ecomonical than a traditional clear bra. May have to give it a try. Is one can enough for what you did?
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:)

RedBaron said:
I applied a ~20" wide strip across the hood an a couple of pieces on the front of the fenders and pretty much emptied the can. So the 10 square foot coverage is pretty accurate.
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Looks great RedBaron! glad you took the time to post details as well. I was in your town for the past 4 days, beautiful city, saw a few CX-5's but none in Soul Red :)
 
Felt_Rider said:
While visiting a popular window tint shop a few minutes ago that installs 3M products I asked at the end of getting the tint estimate if they installed 3M paint protection film and he said he does several cars each year at about $600, but he told me that he just took a hit from a rock on his new Camaro that had the film and was damaged and said he got an estimate to repaint the front for less than $600. He said he doubts he would put the film on again and would just have it repainted again instead of the trouble and cost it was to apply the film.

I thought that was a pretty interesting discussion from a guy that owns the shop and makes money with this type of service. He said that the cost of the 3M film is so much that they have to reduce their labor charge and they don't make much money, but he mentioned other shops using non 3M film will get it cheaper and bump up their labor charge to look like you are getting a quality 3M job.

He then mentioned that he will try the spray on for long trips.
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Sucks for the Camaro owner. Had paint protection film installed on the CX-5 DIY project last year. Holding up great. Clear, smooth, and no damage yet while the windshield has many tiny chips on it. My fogs have no chips. My headlights have no chips. I hand wash and wax my cars and small chips really piss me off. So far so good.
 
CX-5um said:
Sucks for the Camaro owner. Had paint protection film installed on the CX-5 DIY project last year. Holding up great. Clear, smooth, and no damage yet while the windshield has many tiny chips on it. My fogs have no chips. My headlights have no chips. I hand wash and wax my cars and small chips really piss me off. So far so good.
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I think you and I were one of the first ones to do this installation ourselves I also did an install on my 2014 6 just a month ago. Same here the 3M PPF is holding up great, still unnoticeable, people talk about the line being visible and I have no idea what they're talking about as if you wash your car regularly there should be no dirt build up on that line. Yes any little tiny chip annoys the heck out of me as well even a pinhead sized one :D I didn't apply the headlight and foglight film but it's ok.
 
Gio26NJ said:
I think you and I were one of the first ones to do this installation ourselves I also did an install on my 2014 6 just a month ago. Same here the 3M PPF is holding up great, still unnoticeable, people talk about the line being visible and I have no idea what they're talking about as if you wash your car regularly there should be no dirt build up on that line. Yes any little tiny chip annoys the heck out of me as well even a pinhead sized one :D I didn't apply the headlight and foglight film but it's ok.
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Yeah I saw the application you did with your white 6. Looks really good. Looking forward to getting a 6 myself in about a year and a half. The headlight kits are totally worth imho. Only thing about CX-5 and Mazda6 headlights are they have aggressive curves near the turn signals. Kind of tricky to install. Fogs are easy though.
 
I got an estimate for application of Xpel Ultimate film that I am seriously considering. Price is common to a lot of quotes here at $600.
He does a lot of applications in the Atlanta area and provided me with a lot of photos of high end performance cars that he has done.

In his email he described all that he does in preparing the vehicle for application with cleaning and sealing. The price includes partial hood , fender , mirrors, door cups, grille/bumper.

I am still thinking about it, but I am leaning that way at the moment. When I traded in my truck recently it was in pretty good shape except for the front end had a lot of small rock chips.

I read the first part of this thread with people doing their own application, but I don't think I want to try it.
 
RedBaron said:
Some more photos of the spray-on stuff dried and cured -
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That looks really good.

Felt_Rider said:
He said he doubts he would put the film on again and would just have it repainted again instead of the trouble and cost it was to apply the film.
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I guess to each their own but for me the paint every few years or before you sell option ends up with the car still looking chipped up for quite awhile in-between. Plus you have to hope you find a shop that does a really good job matching and blending paint. And if you are going to still keep the car for several years you have to hope the new paint ages similarly to the factory paint.
 
Felt_Rider said:
I got an estimate for application of Xpel Ultimate film that I am seriously considering. Price is common to a lot of quotes here at $600.
He does a lot of applications in the Atlanta area and provided me with a lot of photos of high end performance cars that he has done.

In his email he described all that he does in preparing the vehicle for application with cleaning and sealing. The price includes partial hood , fender , mirrors, door cups, grille/bumper.

I am still thinking about it, but I am leaning that way at the moment. When I traded in my truck recently it was in pretty good shape except for the front end had a lot of small rock chips.

I read the first part of this thread with people doing their own application, but I don't think I want to try it.
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In my experience the front bumper, hood, grille, and headlights/foglights need the most protection from rocks. These sections are also the trickiest (except foglights) to install. See if you can get a quote on those sections only to save money. $600 is a decent price but I notice it did not include your headlights/foglights. Everything mentioned + Headlights/fogs is a good deal imo.

The CX-5's fog lights, door cups, and door edge trims have a difficulty rating of 1 out of 5 imho. I strongly suggest you buy those sections yourself and save money.

The CX-5's headlight film install has a difficulty rating of 5 out 5 imo. I suggest to have a pro install it due to its sharp creases unless you have some prior experience with headlights before. I installed on a 10' Accord, 01' BMW, 10' Jetta, and 13' VW CC before. The CX-5 headlights are as tricky as they come.

The Fenders have a difficulty rating of 2 out of 5 imo.

Front bumper is a 4 out of 5 mainly due to its size.

The hood is a 3 out of 5.

The black grille area is a 1.
 
CX-5um When you do fogs with say a yellow film, does too much heat build up in the assembly and crack the glass, burn out the bulb or other things? On my other car, I went to the trouble of selective yellow H-11 bulbs, but I am not sure I want to go to that trouble. I do believe the yellow light is more useful when you actually have fog, rain and snow, especially with HID headlights.
 
CX-5um said:
In my experience the front bumper, hood, grille, and headlights/foglights need the most protection from rocks. These sections are also the trickiest (except foglights) to install. See if you can get a quote on those sections only to save money. $600 is a decent price but I notice it did not include your headlights/foglights. Everything mentioned + Headlights/fogs is a good deal imo.
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Looking at the installers email it looks like he installs the kits that come precut from XPEL for each specific car.

This is how he list it in his email not including tax.

Hood, Fender, Mirror and Door Cup kit (24) $275
Grille and Front Bumper kit $300
Headlight and Fog Light kit $75

He does mention other options available that provides greater coverage, but did not think it was necessary for the CX-5 since it sits up higher than they usual sports car that he sometimes does the full car. The email I received from him last night said he was booked up until the first of August so I have time to think about this some more. Doing a lot of web research it does seem that many people that have added a good protective film think the cost was worth it. I almost feel that way because each time I get on the interstate I don't as much peace of mind. I want this vehicle to look good for a long time as I plan to keep it a long time.

I guess I did not think the headlights were as important. On my Titan that had all the rock chips on the front paint the headlights looked brand new. I may get some XPEL bulk film (or a enough to cover the door sills and cargo/bumper area) just to get some personal experience. At least those areas will not be exposed to public view.
 
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