Stone chip protection

[Stiggy]

Appologies in advance if this is a re-post.  I'm seriously considering getting stone chip protection applied to my car and have had a look on the internet for companies available (which are few and far between by the looks of it).  I have had a quote by one company (called paintshield) which is fairly close (about 1.5hrs!) to where i live, as follows:

- partial protection (i.e. 1/3 of the hood, side mirrors, front bumper etc) for £400+vat
- full protection (i.e. all bonnet, front bumper, headlampa, fog lamps, side mirrors and front wings) for £800+vat

They use the 3M scotchguard stuff.  Problem is, i already have a couple of small stonechips so presumably i have to get rid of these first - any ideas?

Has anyone here already applied the protection film to their car?  If so, how much did it cost, and where did you get it done? Anyone used paintshield?  Or is there any other way to protect against stonechips?

Would really appreciate any help and advice - thanks in advance.  Just hate seeing stone chips on the car.  Should make the bonnet out of rubber

[joesgti]

save your £800 , get the stone chips touched up, then with the left over money get revo to have a look at your car 

and then dont drive so close to the car infront and you wont get stone chips   

[RedRobin]

save your £800 , get the stone chips touched up, then with the left over money get revo to have a look at your car 

and then dont drive so close to the car infront and you wont get stone chips   

.... Good advice.

[Lagerlout]

I've had it on my old M3 CSL, it works very well, but I would get the chips sorted first.

PS, wrt following too close, "let those without sin cast the first stone"...

 

[illyun]

save your £800 , get the stone chips touched up, then with the left over money get revo to have a look at your car  

and then dont drive so close to the car infront and you wont get stone chips    

It doesn't matter if you keep your distance from the car in front, as you can still get stonechips - even from the other side of a motorway!  I did exactly that with my new Edition 30 and still ended up getting a nasty stonechip right on the edge of the bonnet - at the front.  I only noticed the chip when I was having stonechip protection fitted this weekend    I only drove it - very carefully - from Ipswich to Bracknell once before putting a bonnet bra temporarily to protect from stonechips until I had stonechip protection fitted on but still ended up with a stonechip.  As for touching the paintwork up, do it well in advance - a couple of days - of having stonechip protection fitted as I asked if I could quickly touch up the chip before having stonechip protection fitted and was told that it wouldn't dry in time and would react with the film damaging it.  

I had my stonechip protection done by Rhinoprotect - www.rhinoprotect.com - and a guy called Phil came all the way from Cirencester to Ipswich last Saturday and covered the whole bonnet, the rear bumper, wings, headlamps, the whole front including my arkward Edition 30 skirting for £580.  I would recommend him to anyone as he took his time and did a fantastic job.  

As for the material they use, it is FAR better than 3M film.  I did my research on which film is better - Ventureshield which most car manufacturers use or 3M.  I was initially drawn to 3M as they have a very good reputation for scientific research and their products are well-known.  However, from reading many reports online about how 3M yellows with age and how it isn't exactly UV friendly by not allowing UV-rays to penetrate the film leading to differences in some paints with lighter and darker shades   Speaking to Phil from Rhinoshield, he told me some nightmare stories including one where he went to fit ventureshield on a Ferrari whose 3M had yellowed after 2 years and the paintwork underneath was noticeably different to the rest of the car - it had to be taken to a bodyshop for a respray     Ventureshield doesn't have this problem so they say… and they warranty the work for the lifetime of the car.  

[illyun]

I was going to write about my stonechip protection in a separate thread but you there first...

[Stiggy]

Some very good advice there as usual - very much appreciated guys.  As for remapping and keeping my distance, does the remap come with turbo boost so i can jump over the car instead   I always keep my distance especially on motorways but stones have still managed to find their way to my shiny bonnet.  Thanks for the good advice illyun - coincidently I rang up rhinoprotect today who were very helpful.  They quoted exactly the amount you paid, and offered to come to my house for an extra £30 - so I know i was being ripped off by paintshield.  The lifetime warranty is quite attractive - they also said they'd replace the film free of charge incase of an accident (only if your insurance company refuses).  Just a bit concerned about them doing it on site - surely there's less risk of debris coming under the film if i went to their warehouse and had it fitted?  I guess a 2 hour treck to Uxbridge is a bit of a mission.

Also, any advice on how to touch up the stonechip?  I've never done anything like this before and am afraid of making matters worse!  Was going to call chipsaway, but if its reassuringly easy enough, i may do it myself.  Shall i post a picture?

Thanks again for the advice

[duzza]

Some very good advice there as usual - very much appreciated guys.  As for remapping and keeping my distance, does the remap come with turbo boost so i can jump over the car instead   I always keep my distance especially on motorways but stones have still managed to find their way to my shiny bonnet.  Thanks for the good advice illyun - coincidently I rang up rhinoprotect today who were very helpful.  They quoted exactly the amount you paid, and offered to come to my house for an extra £30 - so I know i was being ripped off by paintshield.  The lifetime warranty is quite attractive - they also said they'd replace the film free of charge incase of an accident (only if your insurance company refuses).  Just a bit concerned about them doing it on site - surely there's less risk of debris coming under the film if i went to their warehouse and had it fitted?  I guess a 2 hour treck to Uxbridge is a bit of a mission.

Also, any advice on how to touch up the stonechip?  I've never done anything like this before and am afraid of making matters worse!  Was going to call chipsaway, but if its reassuringly easy enough, i may do it myself.  Shall i post a picture?

Thanks again for the advice

slowly build the chip up with several THIN layers of touch up paint. Use a cocktail stick and dab the the paint i to the chip with it, dont use the supplied brush! Allow each layer at least 20 minutes to dry before applying the next. Keep doing this until the chip is amost level with the surrounding paintwork. Once you are at that level use some very feint wet and dry sand paper 2000 grade minmum or rubbing compund and the polish it out! you can then drop a TINY amount of the clear coat to level it off, then rub or sand again and polish.

[derdle]

I had VentureShield done by AFP in Chigwell. I already had some touchup paint and they used that where necessary prior to applying the film. Real craftsman and would thoroughly recommend them

http://www.airstream.uk.com

[R32UK]

If you can find anyone to do this..... then its something you might want to consider!!

http://forums.thecarlounge.net/zerothread?id=3397494