3m Application And Colorguard

[et1957]

my lexus dealer offered me a plastic invisible covering by 3M for the hood,bumper and other parts of the car that they claim to be an "invisible bra" like the ones u would see on all the cars in the 1980's,,,supposed to work to avoid rock chips on the highways, and accidental bumps when others park close to u,,,

was wondering if anybody was offered this during their purchase of their vehicle and if the stuff really works,,,also wondering if anyone really has seen if the Colorguard they offer works as well,sometimes i feel these dealerships do this to make some extra cash,,,,colorguard sounds to me like an expensive wax job,but i could be wrong,,,what do u guys think????

[DeanB]

my lexus dealer offered me a plastic invisible covering by 3M for the hood,bumper and other parts of the car that they claim to be an "invisible bra" like the ones u would see on all the cars in the 1980's,,,supposed to work to avoid rock chips on the highways, and accidental bumps when others park close to u,,,

was wondering if anybody was offered this during their purchase of their vehicle and if the stuff really works,,,also wondering if anyone really has seen if the Colorguard they offer works as well,sometimes i feel these dealerships do this to make some extra cash,,,,colorguard sounds to me like an expensive wax job,but i could be wrong,,,what do u guys think????

Greetings, just bought my RX400h yesterday. Today I had a local xPel (clear bra company http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp ) dealer install the product. Their product is based on the 3M protectant. There are three kits for the RX400h as you will see on the site. I found my local dealer on their site. The product looks, well, you can't even see it, really, you have to run your finger over the seam in order to find it. You can do searches on "xPel" on the internet to read about other people's installs. The latest 3M product is the clearest, longest lasting. You can wax and buff the product as the new generation has a clearcoat finish on top, treat it just like paint. I recommend sealing it and your car with Zaino (http://www.zainostore.com). While I am a new customer, I am very satisfied so far (the install/fit/coverage is excellent). I paid $600 for a full install. My dealer offered 2 of the 3 kits installed for over $900. Hopefully this helps!

[BarryD]

I'm not familiar with Colorguard, but I do know about the 3M product. We've had it on the nose of my wife's 2002 RX300, and we're very pleased with it. The front looks like new, and the material has not yellowed or peeled. I put it on my new RX400h - definitely worth the price. I wish I'd put it on my trusty '99 Saab. It's hood looked pretty bad after 145,000 miles. I don't think the door edge application is worth the extra cost, but that's up to you.

I've been with 3M for lots of years, and I know the guys who make and sell this stuff. It's original purpose is to protect the leading edges of wings, rotors, radomes, etc., of military aircraft. This is still a huge need, and this product is performing admirably in the desert right now.

[katzjamr]

the clear bra or plastic invisible coating is a good idea. rock chips are inevitible and this does protect from them. also the covering on the hid lites should be even thicker to protect them as they are expensive items to replace. the dealer does have alot of markup on this product so dont be afraid to ask for a better price, and in my case i had just the lites, door edges, door handle cups and back of the outside mirrors done. This was less expensive, as i didnt like the line on the hood where the 3M product started and stopped. Also as many people have mentioned, this can be done at a shop other than the dealer to save money.

[SW03ES]

the clear bra or plastic invisible coating is a good idea. rock chips are inevitible and this does protect from them. also the covering on the hid lites should be even thicker to protect them as they are expensive items to replace. the dealer does have alot of markup on this product so dont be afraid to ask for a better price, and in my case i had just the lites, door edges, door handle cups and back of the outside mirrors done. This was less expensive, as i didnt like the line on the hood where the 3M product started and stopped. Also as many people have mentioned, this can be done at a shop other than the dealer to save money.

Saved you money, but removed the basic reason for having the product installed in the first place, to protect the areas most prone to chips, the hood and the front fascia, from road debris scarring over the years. So while it cost you less, you ended up with a package that basically is useless IMHO, so it actually wound up being a waste of money instead of a smart investment.

If anything you should have skipped everything you got and got the hood and bumper protection. Remember, it probably would cost you $40 to repaint a mirror, the scratches in the door handle cups can be polished out by hand, the door edge chips can be avoided by not opening your doors into things, and the headlight protection will protect against cosmetic damage but not anything large enough to break the light. What does it cost to repaint a front bumper, hood, and fenders after years of being blasted by highway debris? $2,000 or more and good luck getting it to match on a silver.

Having it put on the mirrors, headlights, door handle cups, and door edges and ignoring the areas most prone to damage to save money makes no sense. I'd go back and get the rest of the kit installed.

[katzjamr]

First of all i agree the hood does have two tiny rock chips and it should be protected. On the applications i saw, the line where the product starts and stops right in the middle of the hood seemed very visible to me when it was new, and i did not think it would improve with age. also i was not sure what would happen if the bumper was protected with the film and it it was touched by another car in a parking situation, would there be cracking. At this time with 8200 miles i have no chips on my bumper at all. So that and the fact that this process was being offered to me in the finance room while im signing for my car, i made some quick decisions. It was presented to me as a way to protect the hid lites, and the clear plastic on those areas is three times thicker than the rest of the product. It just seemed like alot of money at the time close to a grand for that protection and if i had to do it over again i would have someone other than the dealer do the whole thing for a more reasonable price.

I know that repainting is not cheap and matching is an art rather than a science ( i sell color for a living) however i had my local body shop do an estimate for me as if i needed bumper and hood repainting and he assured me after pulling my vin number, that a new bumper cover painted would be about $400, and hood repainting 600, perhaps adding another 200 for the three coat process.

[SW03ES]

You might want to look into Armorglove or Xpel instead of the 3M film, the line will be less noticable since the product is thinner. They also can cover the whole hood, that way you wouldn't have any lines. You should really have this done, if only to make the money you've already spent worth something.

I'd look into having it done. I know you don't have any chips in your bumper yet, but believe me, you will. I never got the clear bra installed and kick myself every time I wash the car now because of it. The clear bra will help if you're ever touched by another car by avoiding paint transfer and even if it were to tear for some reason that peice can simply be removed and then re-installed. It can't crack because its soft and pliable.

Also keep in mind the cost of having the hood and bumper repainted doesn't stop at the $1500-$2000 to have it done, it also presents itself as loss of value since no Lexus with more than one panel repainted can be sold as a Lexus CPO car. As for yellowing, the product is guaranteed for something like 5 years, and of you keep it clean and waxed it won't yellow. If it ever does, just remove it.

[katzjamr]

Thanks for those addional thots. The CPO comment is good info also. During the year i was on the waiting list i was able to do reasearch on every question that might come up with the purchase, i had not seen any discussion on the 3M product, i wish my salesman had talked about it since he knew it would come up with the finance people. I will consider the full hood coverage, i'll do some research locally on what is available in the pacific northwest.

[RX400h]

I've noticed that there are few, if any rock-caused chips missing from our Lexus. Tall vehicles tend to be far less likely to receive damage. My Corvette nose accumulates much more damage than our RX. Of course, the amount of damage inevitably changes depending upon the type of roads on which you drive. Areas of the country that are cursed with rock salt and purposely-deposited sand during winter months are more likely to bring about paint destruction than southern or far western areas.