rx7tt95

I stopped by www.ultra-shield.com this morning to get a price quote on covering my third gen's fiberglass FEED replica (pics in another post, this section). The stuff looks very promising and it should prevent the every-six-months-in-the-bodyshop syndrome having the front end repainted.

Unfortunately, he came back with a quote of $500 which didn't amuse me. I'll hold off on calling it rediculous until I find out how much the film costs. I did a bit of research on the 3M film (3M Automotive web site) and got a few part #'s and FAQ how-to install PDF files as well as a reseller here in my town. I'll jet over there today to get a price on a few of the items and take a look at doing this myself. If it comes in a few hundred less, I'll tackle the project. Honestly, if this guy had said $300, I would have done it. But $500, that's too high for clear plastic film that'll probably cost $75 for a 24yard roll.

I'll report back with the details but here's a link to the 3M page (it's long!)
http://products.mmm.com/us/auto_mari...GglGSLNXYVYLYb

You may just want to type in the first half of the URL and go through the links or use this:
http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aero/aad/catalog/ Then go to Striping, Tape, and Paint Protection Film, 6th choice down on the right.
Michel

dclin

iTrader: (4)

There is also www.xpel.com , www.armourfendusa.com and www.stongard.com . From what I've seen, $500 is close to what everyone else is charging, and would be inline considering they have to make a new kit for your FEED bumper. It's still a rip-off though! A full kit for my sister's new G35 is almost $500...

I'm sure 3M jacks up the price of thier film, but I think the majority of the price stems from the fact that they have computer assisted laser cutters to cut out the template. Maybe it's the same as used at sign stores? I can't imagine it isn't.

I was going to stop by at ww.expel.com (in San Antonio) after I got my 99 bumper in, and was going to see if anyone wanted to do a 'group buy' on the film...

rx7tt95

Ok, stopped by the distributor. Turns out this stuff is EXTREMELY expensive. I priced a 6 mil thickness 24"x20 yards. It was $900!!!! Crapahola. Anyway...I talked to the 3M/Dupont rep and she's amazed we have problems with chipping paint on fiberglass front ends. She commented that fiberglass shell boats don't have that problem (then again, they're not zooming down the highway at 85mph behind a gravel truck!) and felt that most shops probably don't prep the surface or the paint/clear correctly. She recommended having the bumper sprayed in a urethane clear with a bit of hardener added to make it less brittle. It'll probably cost me $250 as opposed to $500 too.

dclin, don't sell that lower intake manifold...paypalling you the money now! Forgot about it...
michel

Fd3BOOST

iTrader: (7)

I was going to say after reading your first post Michel. You need to find a better body shop if your painting your fiberglass front every 6 months or so. They have flex additives and others that would help to strenghten the bond of the finish. BTW the new pics of your car are awesome.
-Dave

rx7tt95

They really are bad...which is why I'm taking the car to another shop. It just sucks that I have to take it somewhere else and spend more money to fix their mistakes.
Michel