My free advice for those considering clear film protection

I first posted this as a response in another thread, but since I worked so long writing so much, I thought I would offer it up to others as a new thread.

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First - and this is just my opinion - the basic non-metallic colors look best with graphics, such as Shelby stripes from BigWorm. I just think the primary colors (race red, yellow, grabber, orange, etc.) need to be broken up with something.

And since graphic vinyl is more delicate than your paint's clearcoat, I think it is best to cover the vinyl with the clear film. This is a very important decision. Because should the vinyl fade before the clear film needs replacing, then it is expensive to replace both. However, I ended up replacing some of my stripes soon after first applying them, because I battled Artillery Fungus in the spring, which adheres so strongly that I put some scratches in my stripes. But now I can scrub away because all my stripe sections are covered with self-healing film.

Now, the alternative is to protect your paint with clear film first, and then apply graphics on top of that. Don't like your graphics anymore? Or have they faded and become scratched? Just remove and/or replace them, and the clear film is not touched.

My plan is to try to limit the time the car spends in direct sunlight, since that is what fades vinyl over the years. I actually walk 1/4 mile from a covered parking spot to my office. But I have to say, clear over the stripes actually looks almost like a clear coat sprayed over them!

One more consideration about graphics. When the film covers the vinyl, there will be a small air channel under the film right next to the vinyl's edge. This will appear as a narrow white line. If you have a blue car, and put on black stripes (for example), then you can expect that this thin line will be noticeable in a negative way. But if you have a silver, or white, or yellow car, it is no problem. Conversely, white stripes (or pinstripes) will be fine on a dark car, because then the narrow air channel won't really be visible.

Which leads me to my second bit of advice. When choosing which areas to cover, consider that the upper horizontal surfaces are the ones that need protection more than the vertical surfaces. (With the obvious exception of the front bumper, of course.) In other words, spend your money on covering these surfaces, and put off protecting the sides of your car. Stuff falls on your car from above, and debris hits at a higher angle on your top surfaces. Think about it.

My third piece of advice is to add rock guards, like those from ZL1 (about $70) shown in my Garage. These are very effective, especially after you add wider wheels. I have yet to pick up any rock chips around my wheel wells and I have autocrossed twice.

My fourth piece of advice is to cover full panels out to their edges. In the beginning you conclude that the line going left to right across your hood is barely noticeable. But after I did that, I pulled it off and covered the full hood. It looks SO much better. Same for the roof. Also, I told my installer how to remove my hood vents. He did that on another Mustang first, and then on my car. Now you can't even see the edges bordering my vents! That's because they are under the vents. And he covered the entire vents, too, of course. (This is why you want him to have his own plotter - he can "stretch" the pattern extents so as to wrap under the edges of panels.)

My fifth piece of advice is to pick your installer carefully. This is a situation where the installer's experience and skill is more important than the brand of film he uses. Check around town for quotes, ask about the installer's experience, read online reviews, etc. Oh - one clue is to ask if he has his own film cutter machine - there's your guy!

My last bit of advice is that you can't install film too early, or apply too much. At my installer, some customers literally drive their new Porsches and Vettes from the dealer lot to his shop. Your paint will never be in as good of condition as when you drive off the lot. As for how much? Take your budget and consider doubling it - I'm not kidding.

Here is what is covered on my car (after learning some lessons and having some rework done):
In 9 months I have picked up two rock chips in areas not covered by film. The film has saved my paint when I hit debris on the freeway.

My view is that every dollar put into ceramic sealer is a dollar better spent on film. Just do the sealing yourself maybe twice a year. (I plan to look into the Adam's seal-as-you-dry-your-car thing.)
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