Looking for some advice on detailing
 

When I purchased my car it came with a 12inch clear 3m strip across the nose of the car. Should I remove it before I wax it or should I leave it to protect from paint chips? Not sure what the long term affects will be on the paint

If it's in good shape I'd leave it. It will protect the paint and certainly won't hurt it. If you leave it on for several years and then remove it, you may notice that the paint hasnt faded as much as the rest of the hood. Some polishing would probably take care of that.

The 3M Protection should be left on. It is a permanent protection fix. You can wax over it. The 3M Protection has no long terms affects on the paint. I have the 3M product on my 05 now for 11 years.

Leave it

Interesting. So Ray, are you happy with the 3m film? I want to get the front bumper repainted on my FX2 this year, this sounds like it would be a nice fit for stone chips, and road debris.

What color is your truck? Rock chips are very common here and we've been sending the bumpers out and getting them powder coated. It's cheaper than painting, more durable, and we don't have to worry about the film. The only trouble is you've got a metallic color they can't match it.

Yes very. Wish I had it on both Mustangs.

My truck is oxford white. So it shows every little k
nick,and chip, then add the cold winter, and they all go yellow!!
Does the film show any nicks?

Powder coat would work for sure. On white you wouldn't even really notice the film. I had it on 2 white vehicles and it hardly showed.

This is a new thing for me, but I can't believe that some guys wrap the whole car, think maybe ohtobbad had it done on his R. Blows my mind you can do that.