SoCal Paint Protective Film info thread

[Kimgt]

Hey guys I know most of us have Starsheild already installed but for those that don't I wanted to create a thread that is hopefully helpful to those out there needing some type of paint protective film or replacing existing ones.
This thread is also going to follow the process of my car getting paint protective film applied.

Starting with a little history I bought my car back in the May '12, Phantom Black Exige with no starsheild. This put me on the fence about buying it, but it was a very clean '06 with low mi. I plastered the front end with blue painters tape for the drive home. This is about the condition I brought it home in.



protective arch was added on by me.


Once I brought it home I looked around my immediate area and found some local places. One was extreme autowerks in Cerritos, I met with the guys they had a very clean and professional shop and did great work. Unfortunately I think their prices were too high. In my opinion it seemed like I got sized up because of the car. for all around coverage just like the original starsheild I was quoted well into the 4 figures, on top of that they recommended me to have the car resprayed or at least repaired with touch up. They seemed like good guys and have the reviews to back it up but I just couldn't afford all that.

Extreme-Autowerks | Paintless Dent Removal- Car Window Tinting- Vehicle Wraps

I kept the online searches going and checked out a shop in El Monte, Impressive Wrap. Things were going good until I came across this little gem. Appearently they charged an Audi owner $2300 for a clear bra wrap and then got caught joyriding it out to Pomona. They were out.

FW: IMPRESSIVE WRAP joyrides my car, I get surprise letter/ticket weeks later!!! - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com

That left a bad taste in my mouth so I stopped the search for a few months. Until I found a local mobile installer in Long Beach, Crystal Autosheild who runs a mobile operation and has a nice turn around time. This was BIG for me since they could come to me and I dont have to leave my baby with a stranger. They also use Xpel film which is basically the industry top of the line film. I talked with Koosha and he gave me a quick demo on how it "heals" from scratches, pretty cool. He also came out to me at work and quoted me a very good price.

Crystal Auto Shield Clear Bra Paint Protection Specialist

Looking on LT, I found a local installer in Orange, TJ wallace, who has been in the game probably longer than anyone else and offers many other services such as paint chip repair and paint restoration (polishing, buff, wax) all in one. I had reseached him but alot of his work is in his past rep. Only problem was that he needs the car until Friday and I felt uncomfortable leaving it with someone I didn't really know. In the end going with Koosha from crystal autosheild would have been cheaper and more comfortable but I would have always looked at the chips underneath the film and regretted not getting everything done at once. TJ made me a great offer for everything and was ready last night so I left him the car and will check tonight how its going. pics will follow.

The Clear Bra - Paint Protection

Also anyone with experience please contribute.

[Heavyweight]

cant wait to see how it turns out. so you will have the car back for saturday?

[Kimgt]

I'm really trying. TJ says Friday night, but I don't want him to rush.

Honestly it was getting to the point where I just hated driving the car and would obsess over any new chips. On that fwy drive to the mountains I instantly hated anyone (and their children) who got infront of me. Once this whole thing is done, and looks great (hopefully) I can relax and drive the car like it was meant to be driven.

[Heavyweight]

good

[451]

Looking forward to the pics too! Or seeing it on Saturday at the meet, I hope the weather holds out.

[Im_Not_In_San_Fran]

Good searching!

[R4Racin]

I appreciate this thread and the timing is very apropos as I just sacraficed a small portion of my Starshield and am contemplating replacement of that and additional areas soon.
Additionally though, I am wondering what sources people have for pre-cut ordering so we can apply ourselves and not have to bring the car somewhere and also perhaps be able to replace one or two pieces onll.

[t955152]

wow that's a crazy story about impressive wrap! i know these guys personally but didn't know they'd do something like that... that's why i dont like leaving my car in any shops over night, but if i do, i always record the mileage just in case

[Kimgt]

Originally Posted by t955152

wow that's a crazy story about impressive wrap! i know these guys personally but didn't know they'd do something like that... that's why i dont like leaving my car in any shops over night, but if i do, i always record the mileage just in case

Absolutely, its a scary thing to have the car out of your sight. I was honestly surprised about it happening but I'm glad it did since it was a great way to bring up the fact that I don't want my car moving without sounding like a paranoid freak.

[Elige]

I'll be watching this closely, as I need to get my front wrapped after I get it resprayed here soon.

[Kimgt]

OK, Just got back from TJ's place. So far the polish and paint touch-up phase are complete. Waiting for the paint to dry before final wipe down of certain areas and PPF (paint protective film) is installed. Here are some progress pictures, now again I opted to have chips filled in and you can still see its NOT perfect, but it looks better. Also since the previous owner had the car polished once by some goober the paint was a bit thin and couldn't be cut enough to eliminate all swirls.

some close ups on the paint




Rocker panels were littered with chips, TJ put a liberal amount of paint that still needs to dry and be cut/wiped down.



Full shots of the car:

[Notorious]

Good show... but you know what... you drive the car, it's going to get chipped and dinged... at the Vandenberg show, I was looking at the Ferrambos and they all had tons of chips and stuff, but those were the ones being enjoyed and not garage queened. I paid too much for my car to not enjoy it.

[imstillonjava]

The OE Starshield on my aspen white was all yellowed out. TJ @ the clearbra just finished wrapping my car a couple weeks ago. Did the front with a full xpel ultimate film, perfect job. rockers and custom cut rear panels to cover a bit more than the OE stuff with Ventureshield.

it'll turn out great!

[Notorious]

Might have to go there to get some touch up and extra pieces done by TJ. I'll have to check it out on Saturday.

[plastique999]

Just to add another option. I myself need paint protection film for my DBS. I've been looking all around.
I wanted to go with Premier, but they closed their SoCal office. Went to C&C about a month ago and saw a McLaren and Aventador wrapped by a guy who owns Protective Film Solutions. The wraps looked amazing - Aventador was going to SEMA.
Anyhow long story short, he does a lot of paint protective film and I will be taking my DBS to him. Shop is in Costa Mesa and a nose takes around 4-6 hrs.
http://www.protectivefilmsolutions.com/



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[plastique999]

Originally Posted by plastique999

Just to add another option. I myself need paint protection film for my DBS. I've been looking all around.
I wanted to go with Premier, but they closed their SoCal office. Went to C&C about a month ago and saw a McLaren and Aventador wrapped by a guy who owns Protective Film Solutions. The wraps looked amazing - Aventador was going to SEMA.
Anyhow long story short, he does a lot of paint protective film and I will be taking my DBS to him. Shop is in Costa Mesa and a nose takes around 4-6 hrs.
http://www.protectivefilmsolutions.com/



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[Kimgt]

Will - I get what you're saying, battle scars are cool but 75% of the pitting and stuff was just from DD stuff. And I'm just one of those guys thats just way too anal about things like that .

Imstillonjava - I'm so glad another member has some good things to say, most of TJ's work is not too highly publicized. He is a good guy though and so far has been doing good work.

Plastique999 - Thanks for the input, I wish I had found these guys and checked them out too but from the website they look really expensive. my budget was closer to 500-800.

[Notorious]

Originally Posted by Kimgt

Will - I get what you're saying, battle scars are cool but 75% of the pitting and stuff was just from DD stuff. And I'm just one of those guys thats just way too anal about things like that.

Not what I meant... I was backing up what you are doing by saying, drive the heck out of it and then respray and re-shield as needed. That's what enjoying it is all about. When you spread out the cost over the time it takes before you need to do it again, it's negligible.

Don't sweat the small stuff. You got a great car. Enjoy it.

[Kimgt]

oh I see, haha thanks. I was always too crucial about the paint chips which killed me. Hopefully I can enjoy it more now. Just got it back!! see you at lunch buddy!

[Kimgt]

Got the car back, it looks great! TJ did a great job with the paint chips and the polish really brought back that deep black. The coverage of Paint protective film was the whole front clam with access panels, Headlamps, the side rockers/door sills and the lowest rear quarter behind the tires. The film is damn near impossible be to see on the rear and the rocker panels, that's how great of job he did hiding the rock chips and covering the panel. The Front end looks great, but does have a few bubbles and kinks in the film but TJ says they will work themselves out in the sun. the only way you can tell the front clam has PPF is that there is a seam where two part were joined to achieve the full coverage. The only things I've found wrong was there is a small mosquito that was accidentely wrapped into the film right on the passenger side blinker and some large bubbles on the passenger rear bumper and drivers side headlamp.

Overall I've very happy with the results, and would highly recommend TJ to anyone.