Replacement for 3M protective film

Oldchinahand · 02-24-2018, 04:48 PM

Recently removed peeling 3M protective film from the front cap of our Journey. Looking at alternatives to protect the new clear coat. Any suggestions appreciated. Leaning toward a vinyl mask similar to the "Le Bra" we run on our Camry (and her predecessors). Any experiences with vinyl masks or anything other protective system?

Stu and Sue · 02-24-2018, 06:09 PM

That's a good question,I'll be interested in the answers

Removing my 3M us this springs project.

Did you remove it yourself or hire it out?

Oldchinahand · 02-24-2018, 07:22 PM

Removed it ourselves, using a heat gun and patience.

Hired a professional to prep and shoot clear coat.

(Intended to shoot the clear coat myself with my handy dandy HVLP. She-who-must-be-obeyed had other ideas.

Not pouting, you understand, but our professional used the same brand HVLP as I have.)

Stu and Sue · 02-24-2018, 07:50 PM

(no one here will fault you if that last sentence were to disappear.)

l1v3fr33ord1 · 02-25-2018, 04:05 PM

Terry-

I decided not to replace the 3M with anything. Maybe the stuff has improved, but I would not want to go through removing another product like the 3M film. What chips I can't fix will be farmed out to the paint shop before we sell the coach.

I might decide differently if I lived in or transited areas with lots of gravel on the roads.

Oldchinahand · 02-25-2018, 06:09 PM

Mark
Your solution is one that has been in our options bucket. And would allow us to spend our money in other ways.

But, your comment on gravel roads is a consideration too. We dry camp off road probably 60% of the time. Since we stripped off the Journey SE decal, thinking about replacing it with Land Rover.

Decisions, decisions.

l1v3fr33ord1 · 02-26-2018, 05:52 AM

Terry-

If you make sure no one is in front of you when you go off-road it should go a long way to reducing chips.

In our neck of the woods, it also means to stay back from the dump trucks on the paved roads. Those mandated fabric load covers don't always seem to work as designed.

When you join the convoy to Alaska, just designate yourself the lead dog everyday. Or, the tail-end Charlie.

rockymax · 03-19-2018, 06:20 AM

When we bought our '08 Adventurer, the protective film was cracked and looked awful. Rather than pay to have it removed ( I was not willing to undertake removing it myself ), I purchased a custom made bra and had it installed. The bra looks great and completely covers the film. By leaving the film on the coach, the bra will not remove any paint which can be a problem with a bra.