Venture Shield

[Meesha]

The dealer suggested me to get this with my new car purchase:

http://www.ventureshield.com/

It covers more areas; Bumper, Fender, Hood, Back of the mirrors, Door handles, Door edges, etc... and it's $890.

It's spendy but I called the local shop and the price is about the same. So, the dealer isn't really junking up the price.

Has anyone got this product on your new car?

What do you think?

[terry993]

Not an unreasonable price for what is covered. I had it done on my wife's pewter CLK550 and will be getting it on my incoming Porsche. Very nice, no yellowing after a year, can hardly see the line. It's all in the capability of the installer. Ask to see somebody's car before you decide. Do it before or the hour after you take delivery. No point in applying it over road rash.

[nhman]

I had used the VentureShield product on one of my previous cars. It didn't yellow, crack or otherwise show signs of aging. It was installed on the front end and the mirrors. I now have the 3M product on my IS350 but the VentureShield is a good product.

Regards,

NHman

[Meesha]

Thanks for the information. It sounds like a good product then. I'll have to order it.

So... how does it work when it comes to waxing your car? Do you avoid the film area or do you wax over it?

[terry993]

I don't wax my shielded areas as I see no need. But I don't worry about overlap either. Just don't rub wax into the line as it may get under it.

[Manolo1]

Wax the whole car, including the shield, it's good for it too, although you will not need to do it so thoroughly...a lighter application...

my installer suggested using the light detailing spray after each car wash...

[kisik]

VentureShield is one of the best product out there. Many high end dealers stopped using 3M for many reasons.

I installed initially on my all front end including headlights and fog lights. Always waxed it just like a regular paint. Yes, you would have to use a brush to get some residual wax off. Not a biggi. I actually had sample rolls for thicker 11-14 mills sheets from a manufacture. So I installed more to the rear bumper since I am in Boston. I even put it on my race bike. Looks so impressive and protective.

It is a lot of labor even with precuts to make it bubble and wrinkle free.

Go fo it. It is a good investment.

[Manolo1]

All you want to know about clear shields:

quote

I just thought that I would clear up some misconceptions regarding clear paint protection. I have read alot of posts on this board, and being in that industry I thought I would explain some things. I am the sales manager for a large global distributor of paint protection films. We currently carry 3M, Venture Shield and Llumar. I am not trying to sell anything here. I could not sell to any of you even if you wanted to buy from me. We deal in large bulk rolls. I just thought that some industry backround and insite would help all of you make an informed decision regarding this product.

First, at the present time there are only two reputable brands of paint protection. 3M and Venture Shield. Avery, Llumar & Clear Shield are the other players, but they are way behind 3M and Venture. There are advantages and disadvantages to both of those brands as well that I will explain below.

3M

This is the grandaddy of this industry. They invented the product in the early 1990s to help the US Military prevent erosion of helecopter blades in the first Gulf War. When the helos started in the desert, the sand would literally sand blast the leading edge of the blades. So, this product was developed and applied to the leading edges of those blades and that fixed the problem. For the military, long term appearance did not really matter. So, when this first started to be used on cars it would turn yellow after 2-4 years. Since then, the product has been re-engineered several times in order to maintain the appearance for many years. The product is considered 8 mil thick, however it is really 6 mil with 2 mil of adhesive. The 3M product comes with a clear scratch resistant top coat. This allows the product to be very scratch resistant and seals the pores against staining from insects and dirt. The downside to this hard coat is that it has a slight orange peel look.

Venture

This product has been out for roughly 6 years and is the up and comer in this industry. The product is very clear and applies much easier than 3M making hard cars and more elaborate kits possible. This product is the only paint protection product that Scuderia Ferrari recognizes and authorizes. This product is also a 8 mil (6 mil material, 2 mil adhesive), but it does not have a hard top coat. The benefit to this is that the product has virtually no orange peel and looks fabulous on the cars. The negative is that with no hard coat it is easier to scratch and stain. Because of this, Venture requires you to clean the car frequently and protect it with a wax or Plexus type product to stay looking good. Many that already take car of their cars very religiously would appreciate the better looks of the Venture.

All that being said, I have 3M on my wife's Touareg and Venture on my 996. Both are great products, it just depends on what you want. I would especially recommend Venture on non-matallic paints though like Guards Red or Speed Yellow. On those types of colors the orange peel of the 3M becomes very noticable. On metallic paints, both 3M and Venture should virtually disappear if installed correctly.

Finally, please do not try and install this yourself! This product is very difficult to install well and why would you want your 996 looking less than it's best. You will pay anywhere from $500-$1500 for a good install with either of these films. The range is to take into account amount of coverage and skill of the installer. Do not try and save a dollar here. A bad job is worse than not having it done at all in my opinion.

===

At the end of its life, how difficult is 3M to remove and/or replace? Does the old adhesive cause any issues with the finish?

The only way that it could cause issues is if it was applied to a fresh paint job that was not yet fully cured. Other than that, it comes off quite easily and leaves behind some adhesive residue that can be cleaned off with 3M adhesive remover. Follow that with a coat of wax and your back to square one again.

===

Are there downsides to putting this on a 2001? Do I have to prepare the car differently than on a new car?

No downsides at all. Obviously, if the paint is already damaged you may want to have it repaired or touched up first. The material will not hide any damage that already exists, so if it is not fixed first you will just have a protected damaged bumper.

===

It's my understanding that there are various grades of 3M film. Do you have an opinion as to which is best? I've heard some talk that the "aerospace" grade is the best. Thanks.

It has no hard coat, so it installs easier and has no orange peel like Venture. However, it is not designed to maintain the appearance long term like the original helo tape, so it will discolor in 2-4 years. Not only that, it is more expensive. If you like the look of the aerospace film, have Venture installed. My recomendation is to stear clear of the aerospace film for car applications. By the way, 3M thinks so as well. That is why they are doing everything possible tpo keep installers from using it.

unquote

[Knightshade]

I'm curious why the guy thinks Avery is way behind the other brands... local installer I've been talking to can do both Venture and Avery and recommends Avery as the better product

[joeb427]

I'm curious why the guy thinks Avery is way behind the other brands... local installer I've been talking to can do both Venture and Avery and recommends Avery as the better product

Avery is probably a bigger profit maker for the installer.

[motorcop71]

I had the local Boston venture shield installer put it on my brand new 2008 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Edition. What a mistake!!!!!

The guy's name is Dave Diminico and he works out of Rockland Ma. I called him and had his company put venture shield on my 1 week old brand new 2008 Escalade Platinum Edition. Within 2 hours the covering was bubbling and peeling. I immediately texted Dave pics of the problem. Dave did not stand behind his work or his product and had the gall to accuse me of causing the problem. I asked him to explain the reasoning for me to ruin a $500.00 job I just had done on an $80K vehicle. Of course he couldn't think of a logical reason, but still denied doing anything wrong.

I told him that since he was not willing to stand behind his product or it's installation, I wanted the venture shield removed and he came to do that 2 days later.

When Dave finally looked at the job, he finally admitted that there were some "installation issues". Then when he removed the venture shield, it exposed all the deep razor cuts that were put into the paint of my brand new black car during the installation his company did.

Prior to the installation Dave had touted venture shield as being better than all the other competitor's products because the pieces were pre-cut and didn't need to be cut on the car. They probably figured I would never have the shield removed, and therefore would never see the damage they caused.

After removing the venture shield, Dave jumped in his car and took off as fast as he could. I called him on his cell phone several times as he was driving away, and he wouldn't answer. I even text messaged him once. I pleaded with him to come back and inspect the damage on my vehicle. Dave did not return and did not return any of my messages. Instead he had his father Tom call me an hour later to stick up for him. Tom Diminico told me to sue them because "at the most, they were looking at a small-claims court case".

I contacted the better business bureau, the state's Attorney General's office, and an attorney. I am going to sue them in court to hold them responsible for ruining my brand new vehicle.

I can't stress enough how terrible my experience with dealing with venture shield and Dave and Tom Diminico has been. In my experience, one would be very wise to stay clear of the Diminico's, their company, their products, and their "services". If anyone would like to see photos of the damage the Diminico's company did to my new car, PM me and I will send them to you via email.

[IS250_rookie]

Highly suggest this stuff. We don't have it on any of our cars but if we did we wouldn't have to worry about scratches on bumpers and such. Also for the price the dealer is asking... sounds like a good deal, I've looked this up before and it's always around 900-1000 dollars for the front.

[mathwhz]

I had ventureshield put on my car a week ago. Every bird dropping and bug will leave a stain in the finish. Ventureshield does not stand behind their product. They informed me it was a porous product, so what did I expect. I had it removed this morning, it was an expensive lesson.

You might want to think twice.

The dealer suggested me to get this with my new car purchase:

http://www.ventureshield.com/

It covers more areas; Bumper, Fender, Hood, Back of the mirrors, Door handles, Door edges, etc... and it's $890.

It's spendy but I called the local shop and the price is about the same. So, the dealer isn't really junking up the price.

Has anyone got this product on your new car?

What do you think?

[terry993]

I had ventureshield put on my car a week ago. Every bird dropping and bug will leave a stain in the finish. Ventureshield does not stand behind their product. They informed me it was a porous product, so what did I expect. I had it removed this morning, it was an expensive lesson.

You might want to think twice.

The dealer suggested me to get this with my new car purchase:

http://www.ventureshield.com/

It covers more areas; Bumper, Fender, Hood, Back of the mirrors, Door handles, Door edges, etc... and it's $890.

It's spendy but I called the local shop and the price is about the same. So, the dealer isn't really junking up the price.

Has anyone got this product on your new car?

What do you think?

Sorry this was your experience, mathwhz. Every one of my bird dropings and bugs comes off. Ventureshield on another car. Looks like new again.

[Andy.Andretti]

I had the local Boston venture shield installer put it on my brand new 2008 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Edition. What a mistake!!!!!

The guy's name is Dave Diminico and he works out of Rockland Ma. I called him and had his company put venture shield on my 1 week old brand new 2008 Escalade Platinum Edition. Within 2 hours the covering was bubbling and peeling. I immediately texted Dave pics of the problem. Dave did not stand behind his work or his product and had the gall to accuse me of causing the problem. I asked him to explain the reasoning for me to ruin a $500.00 job I just had done on an $80K vehicle. Of course he couldn't think of a logical reason, but still denied doing anything wrong.

I told him that since he was not willing to stand behind his product or it's installation, I wanted the venture shield removed and he came to do that 2 days later.

When Dave finally looked at the job, he finally admitted that there were some "installation issues". Then when he removed the venture shield, it exposed all the deep razor cuts that were put into the paint of my brand new black car during the installation his company did.

Prior to the installation Dave had touted venture shield as being better than all the other competitor's products because the pieces were pre-cut and didn't need to be cut on the car. They probably figured I would never have the shield removed, and therefore would never see the damage they caused.

After removing the venture shield, Dave jumped in his car and took off as fast as he could. I called him on his cell phone several times as he was driving away, and he wouldn't answer. I even text messaged him once. I pleaded with him to come back and inspect the damage on my vehicle. Dave did not return and did not return any of my messages. Instead he had his father Tom call me an hour later to stick up for him. Tom Diminico told me to sue them because "at the most, they were looking at a small-claims court case".

I contacted the better business bureau, the state's Attorney General's office, and an attorney. I am going to sue them in court to hold them responsible for ruining my brand new vehicle.

I can't stress enough how terrible my experience with dealing with venture shield and Dave and Tom Diminico has been. In my experience, one would be very wise to stay clear of the Diminico's, their company, their products, and their "services". If anyone would like to see photos of the damage the Diminico's company did to my new car, PM me and I will send them to you via email.

This is strange as I have had a fantastic experience with Venture Shield. I called Dave Diminico and my Porsche had a film on it the very next day. Both me and my brother (who had his BMW covered) are very happy with our products and can find no reason to complain. I sympathize with you for your poor experience however I am sure that that was a very rare experience and I know that is not how they run their business. Me and my brother can only highly recommend this product to anyone wanting an invisible paint protection film.

[FireLikeIYA]

I would stay away from Ventureshield. I had Ventureshield installed on my wife's 2008 Lexus IS250 a couple of years ago. The material was installed on the entire hood, front fenders, bumper, A pillars, etc. After install I initially noticed a little bit of a yellow tint to the film but didnt think much of it. Now, 2 years later, the film is ridiculously yellow. I have contacted the installer and was informed that white cars are more prone to having the film yellow. Being that the install is just over two years old and the installer gave me a 5 year warranty I have been trying to get it replaced. Unfortunately, the installer is no longer taking my calls. I am guessing by their reaction that this is a very common problem. Two of my co-workers also had their vehicles done with Ventureshield (both cars are also white) and have experienced the same.