[Tepr05]

A couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and decided to be one of the early adopter 'beta' testers of the 3M Paint Defender product.

I chose to only spray on my bumper and forego the hood or mirrors. I was afraid I might not like the look on the hood so I figured I'd try the bumper. I bought 1 can and the prep kit, total was $36. I was apprehensive about the prep kit being overpriced, but it turned out the plastic film and tape was worth the convenience. I chose not to buy the spray nozzle and had no trouble with the can.

Long story short, it took about 2.5 hours to prep, and 10 minutes to spray. I read a lot of stories about it not being installed thick enough and people ending up with an orange look. So naturally I sprayed it too thick in a few places, with the worst part shown in the pic below. The directions say you can't reapply after 10 minutes (basically once it's started drying). It started running about 20 minutes after application unfortunately so I tried to stop the running with a hair dryer. I was very mad at the time and assumed I'd be peeling the stuff off as soon as it dried. I slept on it and decided to leave it on. 3M says it will last a year so I figured I'd put up with the imperfection and see if it prevents some chips.

One thing I failed to realize was that it can't get wet while it's curing (2-4 days), even though it dries in 4-8 hours. Rode my bike to work in the rain and had fun explaining that to everyone, lol.

Overall I'm happy with the look- can't notice it whatsoever (besides the run) and it feels thick and like it will protect from the smaller rocks. I waxed it yesterday and now the feel is almost identical to the non-sprayed parts of the car.

[fenixxishot]

Thank you for the write up I will be using this on my next car. Even if it saves a few rock chips it's worth it.

[ken1137]

Thanks for taking the plunge! I have yet to get to it. FYI...I was at Pep Boys the other day and it looks like Armour All has a similar product but they said it may only lasts a few months and should be only used for long trips I have to find another store with the 3M product.

[magungo]

nice pictures. i bought a can but haven't had time to get ready for the prep. are you going to try to apply it to your hood?

[inline6ix]

I wonder if spraying a small part of the hood as a "bra" would look good, my car had the clear bra on it before but there was still a visible line halfway up the hood with it on. As long as it actually protects from rock chips and stuff it seems like it might be worth it.

[Tepr05]

I'm still undecided about the hood. I'm not sure how the edge would hold up or if I'd be able to get it straight enough for my liking. The instructions and videos actually all assume you are spraying the first 8-12 inches of your hood so there shouldn't be much worry that its out of the ordinary.

[Fortyb]

I tried it on my Black car and it did not look good.. i could tell the difference from my cars shine to a dull look on the bumper.. Took me about 45 min to get the stuff off.. It looks good on your car..But on dark color cars i would not install this.

[JaysBlueE92]

interesting..

[yarviinn]

Originally Posted by Tepr05

Rode my bike to work in the rain and had fun explaining that to everyone, lol.

[SwissCheeseHead]

Originally Posted by Fortyb

I tried it on my Black car and it did not look good.. i could tell the difference from my cars shine to a dull look on the bumper.. Took me about 45 min to get the stuff off.. It looks good on your car..But on dark color cars i would not install this.

How do you get it off? Does it peel off like Plastidip?

[Fortyb]

Originally Posted by SwissCheeseHead

How do you get it off? Does it peel off like Plastidip?

Yes it peels off.. But it was a pain in the Ass because it would keep tearing apart everytime i tried to peel it as a whole..