| Users |
21,313 |
| Products |
100 |
| Reviews |
78 |
| Views |
3,162,609 |
|
|
|
|
Reviews
|
Views
|
Date product posted
|
|
0
|
3093
|
Mon May 28, 2012
|
|
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
Average Rating
|
|
No recommendations
|
None indicated
|
None indicated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
|
I think all auto bras, no matter what the design or color, are ugly and eventually work loose to flap in the wind. Another reason I've never liked fabric bras is that most of them are attached in a manner which traps dirt and dust underneath. Once trapped, this dirt scratches the paint as it's impossible to keep the bra from moving. For that reason, for a long time I lived with front ends which were braless and peppered with chips from tiny stones and other road debris.
About ten years ago I, discovered 3M's Scotchcal exterior Paint Protection Film (PPF). Actually, Scotchcal has been around for a long time. It's an adhesive-backed, clear, polyurethane film originally developed by 3M for application to the leading edges of helicopter rotor blades to improve their durability during operations in unimproved landing zones. Scotchcal earned its stripes"during the First Gulf War. It greatly decreased the erosion and impact damage done by dust, sand, dirt and rocks. It saved the military a boatload of money because rotors last a lot longer with Scotchcal on them keeping those choppers in combat longer. One of the first automotive applications of Scotchcal was on the rear deck lid of C4 Convertibles. Since the early 90s GM has applied Scotchcal to the part of the deck lid that is contacted by the edges of the convertible top when the top is up.
Scotchcal Paint Protection Film is a three-layer sandwich consisting of: a clear outer coating, a layer of polyurethane (either 6-mil or 12-mil thick, with the 6-mil version the most common) and an acrylic adhesive backing protected by a peel-off liner. When applied to exterior surfaces of a vehicle, it increases the resistance of those surfaces to damage from: rubber particles, insects and fuel or oil spray and, most importantly, impacts of small stones. Because the urethane-based, clear coating is capable of impact absorption, small stones do not leave marks and even bigger ones will leave less of a mark than they would on an unprotected surface.
Scotchcal is resistant to: acid, most solvents, gasoline and oil, temperatures up to 160°F and moisture. It's shrinkage is rated at less than 0.1%. 3M claims Scotchcal is immune to weathering for two years. The data 3M uses to support this claim was derived from two, outdoor "weathering" tests, one with the sun at 45 deg. (said to be typical of Arizona) and the other with the sun at 5 deg. (said to be typical of southern Florida). With either test, after a 24-month period, there was less than 10% loss in the product's glossiness and no more than 2.5-dE change in color. "dE" is a unit of measure in a "color space" system commonly used by industry to quantify changes in color. In that system, 2.5 is a small color shift which might be noticeable on a light-colored surface. In a practical sense, Scotchcal's dE will be less than that of a dye-colored, fabric car bra over the same length of time. 3M warrants that Scotchcal Film will meet those specifications for two years.
Back in the late-'90s, 3M developed the idea of marketing die-cut sheets of Scotchcal on an aftermarket basis for use on impact prone parts of a car's exterior. Computer-controlled cutting of the film allowed mass-production of what some began to call "clear bras". Since each die-cut to fit each car, a lot of the labor involved in fitting a car with Scotchcal paint protection film on an aftermarket basis was eliminated. As the product is difficult to apply properly, 3M sells the product through factory-authorized and trained installers.
Back in 2003, I began a real-world test of Scotchcal film on my 1995 Coupe. At the time, the car's paint was not seriously damaged, but it showed the car's 67,000 miles with a fair amount of chips on the nose and the hood. I had Scotchcal applied to the nose, the forward part of the hood and the forward facing surfaces on the side-view mirrors. My intent was to prevent further deterioration of the car's finish due to stone chips and other minor impact damage which you get during highway driving. I was amazed to notice that, once the PPF was installed, most of the smaller existing chips and mars disappeared. That, alone, is worth the price of the installation.
A week later, I took the car on the 50th Anniversary Corvette Caravan. In fact, I was assigned the honor of leading the Southern California/Southern Nevada Section of the National Corvette Caravan. Driving the SCSN Caravan Lead Car, I gave the Scotchcal a 4687-mile test over a two-week period on the drive to Bowling Green, KY and back. The product's performance was exceptional. During a close inspection washing the car after the long trip, I noticed only one new mar to the area protected by Scotchcal and that was from a pretty big stone. In fact, my then-fiance and now-wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, remembers us getting hit with that rock, kicked-up by a truck ahead of us, as it bounced off the front of the hood, then nailed the windshield in front of her, taking a small chip out of the glass. Other than that, you couldn't tell the front end was on a car which had been nearly 5000 miles.
In fact, Scotchcal PPF works so well that, four years later, when it came time to begin planning the 2009 Caravan, I had the film installed on the 2004 Z06 which was the Lead Car for the '09. Again, the Scotchcal made a significant contribution to the survival of our '04's front end during the SoCal/SoNev Section's prerun trips along with the Caravan to Bowling Green
There are two characteristics of a Scotchcal Paint Protection Film which some, who are sensitive to the look of the exterior of their vehicles, might question. First, once applied, when viewed from certain angles and in certain lighting conditions, the Film has a slight texture to it–sort of like paint which is slightly "orange-peeled". Also, if you apply Scotchcal to a large, relatively flat surface, such as the front of a hood, there will be a line at the edge of the Scotchcal which is visible from certain angles and in certain lighting. I did not find these two qualities objectionable considering the significant improvement in appearance compared to a traditional, fabric auto bra, that the product protects my front end and that it's durable beyond when a fabric bra has completely rotted away.
In the Spring of 2012, as the SCSN Organizing Team began planning of the 2014 National Corvette Caravan, once again I went looking for a factory-trained installer to put Scotchcal PPF on what would be the Lead Car for the SCSN Section, a '12 Z06. Transhine Auto Detailing of Whittier, California stepped up to support the SoCal/SoNev Caravan by installing "Auto Armor" (their name for Scotchcal PPF) on the front end, the lower part of the front fenders, the sideview mirrors, the rocker panels and the upward facing surfaces of the car's side skirts.
There is one aspect of Scotchcal Paint Protection Film which some hardcore DIYs might find unfortunate. In some information 3M has available and in several conversations I had with Bill DeBever at Transhine, I learned Scotchcal is really not a DIY product. While some 3M retailers sell "clear bra DIY "kits", after watching DeBever apply Auto Armor to my car, I agree with 3M and Transhine: it's definitely a job a DIY needs to carefully consider. Unless you have the correct tools, proper cleaning solutions and experience applying adhesive films to surfaces with complex shapes; I'd leave installing paint protection film to professionals. Proper pre-installation cleaning is absolutely critical. Application to small-radius curves and compound curves is difficult. If you make a mistake, repositioning the Scotchcal is impossible unless done soon after the initial installation and, even then, special measures must be taken prior to installation to facilitate any repositioning. Once the adhesive has begun to cure, removal in an attempt at repositioning damages the Scotchcal.
Obviously, a successful product like Scotchcal has imitators, notably "Venture Shield" which began as a lower cost competing brand but was eventually purchased by 3M as a way to sell a cheaper version of PPF. While it is not as expensive, Venture Shield is not as smooth and, because it only has two-layers, it is less durable. Indeed, it is more pliable making it less costly to install, but Scotchcal knock-offs are penny-wise but pound-foolish. Considering it's near impossible to see, is affixed semi-permanently to the car, fades less than a fabric bra, won't rot, won't flap in the wind, protects as well or better than a fabric bra and lasts five ears or longer, Scotchcal Paint Protection film is well-worth its price .
Auto Armor in die-cut form is available from Transhine for the C4s, C5s and C6es. Bras for older Corvettes are available in custom-made form going right back to the 1953 cars. For more information, contact Transhine Auto Detailing, 15130 E. Whittier Bl., Whittier CA 90603. 562-693-5619 www.transhine.com
|
|
Keywords:
|
PPF paint protection film clear bra 3M
|
|
|
Technical Writer for Internet & Print Media
|
|
|
|
|
|
Registered: January 2001
Location: Southern California