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3M protection

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Old 06-17-2012, 11:56 PM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by stev0h
I agree with ChadStang, but my limer is a daily driver, and is actually the second out of three cars that I have put the 3M on (I have a friend who installs this stuff as a sideline to his auto graphics design biz). The first car it went on (when new) was a leased black Sonata, and after 79,977 km, whatever it was covering was still perfect.

It went on the Mustang the day I brought it home, and it now has over 160,000 km. Again, everywhere it covers is perfect underneath, with the exception of a few spots where it has started to bubble up due to corrosion caused by the Ford iron particles in the aluminum hood panels problem (TSB 06-25-15) that so many have had. Also, it is starting to look a little worn along the edges of the angled pieces on either side of the grill after so many km's and winters.

The last car it went on is my wife's salesmobile, a 2010 Accent. Only 30,000 km on it so far, but it is silver, and silver paint on Hyundai's is notoriously thin. So far it looks good.

If anyone does decide to install this stuff, there are a couple things to take note of:

1 - Don't do it yourself. Even guys with plenty of experience installing stripes and other graphics have a tough time with this the first few times they do it.

2 - You will always see a line across your hood and fenders and it will drive you a little crazy, but I have found that most other people don't notice it until you point it out to them.

3 - When you look at it through polarized sunglasses, you will not like what you see - it will look dis-coloured and hazy in spots. Take off your sunglasses, it looks perfect to the naked eye.

Hope this helps anyone else thinking about doing this, and don't hesitate to ask for more info if you need it.
Well this has me sitting on the fence again now lol. I am not sure what to do lol. As of right now it will be a spring/summer/fall good weather car only but could turn into a DD pretty quickly if need be.
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Old 06-18-2012, 04:58 AM
  #12  
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Do what works for you and what you want. It's fine to ask for opinions, but don't rely on someone else to make your decision for you.
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Old 06-18-2012, 11:49 AM
  #13  
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The Mustang arrived on 22 April, 2005 and a few days later I had it in the Car Pretty Shop in Edmonton for the 3M protection. Have it on the hood, upper and lower bumpers and on the headlights. Works well for me.
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Old 06-18-2012, 12:48 PM
  #14  
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Well i went and washed it this morning as it was dirty from the drive home, and i noticed a chip right on the edge of the hood where it meets the grill . im upset now as i have to goto ford and get it repaired, then i am getting the 3m on, forget this lol. 600km's and a chip already
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Old 06-18-2012, 01:25 PM
  #15  
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I'm sure everybody here feels your pain, and a lot have stories of damage to their new babies that happened too soon. Someone dinged my driver side rear quarter less than a week after I picked it up. I was parked at a mall, in the farthest corner of the parking lot, perfectly parallel between the lines of one spot (not two, as some like to do, don't want to p*ss anyone off), with no other cars within a couple hundred feet of me in any direction. In and out of the mall in about ten minutes, and there it was. I'm convinced somebody did it on purpose . . .
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Old 06-18-2012, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by stev0h
I'm sure everybody here feels your pain, and a lot have stories of damage to their new babies that happened too soon. Someone dinged my driver side rear quarter less than a week after I picked it up. I was parked at a mall, in the farthest corner of the parking lot, perfectly parallel between the lines of one spot (not two, as some like to do, don't want to p*ss anyone off), with no other cars within a couple hundred feet of me in any direction. In and out of the mall in about ten minutes, and there it was. I'm convinced somebody did it on purpose . . .

That's crappy man, I would be even more mad about that then getting some paint from ford to fill the chip......
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Old 06-18-2012, 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Simons
Well i went and washed it this morning as it was dirty from the drive home, and i noticed a chip right on the edge of the hood where it meets the grill . im upset now as i have to goto ford and get it repaired, then i am getting the 3m on, forget this lol. 600km's and a chip already
It's best to be safe that sorry later.
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Old 06-19-2012, 01:04 PM
  #18  
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I have never used it but I would say if you will be on the highway/expressways quite often then get it done. The chances of getting rock chips in town on residential streets would be fairly low which was my case 90% of the time.
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Old 06-19-2012, 06:54 PM
  #19  
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ya see i live 11km's out of saskatoon, so everything i do is a commute. I just got my back 3 windows tinted, and he is getting a quote done up for me to get the 3m put on.
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Old 06-20-2012, 09:58 AM
  #20  
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Originally Posted by DublDee
No that stuffs not for me. I need to be able to polish and wax, and you just cant get the same shine through the 3m film.
Sorry...don't agree. Mine waxes and polishes just fine. As a matter of fact the wax and polish over the years as blurred the line to the point that you can hardly see it.
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