[non sequitur]

The head Fisker tech at my local dealership gave me a tip on a new 3M product that is easier to work with, and much less expensive, than the alternatives (including 3M's own prior products). You can see it described with a video at
http://3mauto.com/paint-defender-spray-film.html

Seems to be sold on Amazon and Autozone (though I can't seem to add to my cart on the latter) for the same $25/can price. Some jobs may require several (example given is 2 cans for complete hood).

A useful review by Top Speed can be found here:
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-ne...int-defenderclear-spray-on-film-ar154393.html

Question: to those who have gotten the 3M film (prior to this product obviously): How much of the car did you have covered? Full hood? Half? How much of the sides? Etc. Looking for input so I know how many cans to buy.

 

[non sequitur]

UPDATE: I called Autozone who advised me after some research that they have some in warehouse, but weren't going to continue to stock it, leaving Amazon as the sole retailer. Fearing it may disappear on Amazon too, I just ordered 4 cans. I have memories of 3M voluntarily taking scotchguard off the market about 12 years ago, and this product may similarly disappear.

 

[Sportsmeddoc]

I had my entire car covered except pillars with 3M in feb 2012. It has been great and saved my paint numerous times. I have diamond dust shadow and not easy to repaint. Have a few touch up sticks which work well. Glad I did not go cheap route or skimp on areas. No rock chips or door dings yet!!

 

[Sandy Eggo]

Thanks for the tip. I just bought several cans + accessories on Amazon. Can't wait to give it a try. I've been stressing about the paint and this seems to be a great solution.

 

[EVer1]

I covered my entire car except the sunroof in Xpel Ultimate film, and it has been terrific. It is like the 3m film, but self-healing. You cannot tell that it is on the car, visually, at all. Which is important with the diamond dust finish. That said, it was expensive, and DIY would save quite a bit.

My dealer's model with 3m on half the hood and part of panels was quite noticeable where the film stopped, so I did the entire car. I wonder, with the spray, if one could feather it a little, as with paint to reduce the line. Or just do the entire panel.

Did you notice that the useful life for the spray is "for a year or more"? That could be a concern if you didn't want to apply it every year or so. Keep us updated on how you like it and how it performs.

 

[steven]

After seeing this post, I tried the "Paint Defender"... not having much luck... first I applied it too thin, and it took a whole day to get off. I just re-applied it and it mutated during the curing process. Has anyone had any luck with this product? The unaffected sections look great, it has a lot of potential.

 

[non sequitur]

Thanks for reminding me to update this discussion. I got my 4 cans about a week after the Karma arrived at my house. I used a BMW as the "test" car, masking it really well. The car was white, and the application seems perfect - hard to distinguish where it starts/stops, etc.

I was then ready to try the "shadow" color Karma, and here was my experience:
1. 3M says you need about 2 cans to do a hood - no way. If anything I used a little too much and had left over from ONE can.
2. The fact that the Karma hood opens AWAY from the cockpit makes doing the whole hood a breeze with minimal masking.
3. Although the weather report was for blistering sunshine, no sooner had I finished than it got really cloudy. I panicked and drove to a mall with indoor parking, and as a result I don't think the job properly "cured" so I too may have to start again.

So although this is an EXTREMELY affordable alternative, and I am convinced that it will preserve the paint job, mine did not come out perfectly (some small dots where tiny raindrops fell while it was wet). It is also more "grippy" in the treated areas (not as smooth as where paint is untreated). I will try again if it is possible to ensure a sunny day.

 

[steven]

Thank you for the update... My car is black, so it is very unforgiving.

 

[kabalah70]

I definitely like this option and I think I will be buying a can. I really like it because I get a cash-back bonus in the form of my 3M stock dividend. ;-)

 

[Sandy Eggo]

Well, I gave it a shot today and have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I spent 3 hours masking things off and followed the directions. It's been drying for about 2 hours so far and there are too many runs and lumpy areas to be anywhere near acceptable. When it's fully dried, I'll be peeling it all off.

I have 4 unused cans if anyone wants to buy them off me. :-/

 

[non sequitur]

Well, I gave it a shot today and have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I spent 3 hours masking things off and followed the directions. It's been drying for about 2 hours so far and there are too many runs and lumpy areas to be anywhere near acceptable. When it's fully dried, I'll be peeling it all off.

I have 4 unused cans if anyone wants to buy them off me. :-/

As I wrote, I didn't have a sunny day for my job to cure properly, but with many sunny days since then it has smoothed out. Wait the 3 full days (parked in sun if possible) before making a decision to remove it, and if you do, call the 3M support line - they may give you a refund because they were very candid with me this is a very new product.

I think Harleyguy has had some success with the product, but I'd like to know if the success has been on cars of certain colors (my experience was much better with a white car than a dark one)?

 

[Sandy Eggo]

Well, I decided to only peel off the portion from the front edge of the hood. I will give the rest of it a few days of curing to see if the "waves" (see first pic) will smooth out a bit. The 2nd pic is after most of the masking off was completed. The final pic was taken shortly after applying the paint defender.

Tip 1: If you're going to do the job, don't go too light (a light application is impossibly difficult to remove). If you err, err on the side of applying too much - at least then you can peel the stuff off very easily (if you don't like the results).

Tip 2: I used 1 can to do the entire front fascia and up the hood just about 1 inch past the back edge of the optical cluster.

Tip 3: If I were to do it over, I think I'd just remove the front fascia, pop out the grills and spray it. This would avoid all of the fussing around and masking things off.

Bonus: With Tip 3, if you're thinking about doing the Carbon Fiber stickers for the foam crash pads behind the grill - you could knock both projects out at the same time while the fascia is off the car.