[Eyelise]

Warning,

Installation is a challenge. The first side took me several hours. I had to call Lamin-x for help. They admitted it is one the most difficult installs they have encountered.

That said, I like the product. I got smoke for the front turn signals and clear for the headlights. If the air bubbles and wrinkles work out it will be perfect. I'll let you know.

 

[MattG]

Mine just arrived in the mail today. I wasn't expecting a multi-hour installation challenge...any tips before I tackle this?

 

[eliseowner2b]

Chris, the owner of Lamin-x, put them on Randy's car in under 20 minutes. This was the second car he put them on. There is an easy way to do it but it would be best to just call him before trying. If I see him this weekend Ill have him post instructions back on this thread. The first one, mine, was a learning process but it looks easy once you know the technique.

 

[majorbonr]

Mine just arrived in the mail today. I wasn't expecting a multi-hour installation challenge...any tips before I tackle this?

if it's just the lights, it's FAIRLY simple. but if you are planning on doing the whole car, i suggest you get a pro. if your good with your hands and are a little artistic, then go for it. otherwise, save yourself the headache and let the pro's stress about it. because it WILL stress you out. especially if you get fingerprints or some black lint or something similar underneath the clear-bra, you'll wanna pull your hair out and cry. i was watching the guy who wrapped my m coupe(which is a really difficult car to wrap as well because of the shape.) and thought to myself, i could do this as well as him if not even better. but after watching for a while and seeing how you could make soo many errors, i would no way want to do this and have to re-do the whole car because you left fingerprints.

 

[MattG]

Dan, if you could get him to post instructions that'd be great! I'm in no hurry to install the lens guards, especially since "Sunnyvale" is currently experiencing a freak September rainstorm (ok it's more of a drizzle...) so the Elise is going nowhere.

 

[Eyelise]

The owner, who I spoke to and did Randy's car, mentioned it is one of the most difficult applications he has done.

 

[Eyelise]

The edges of mine are pulling up a bit. I wonder if they sent me the thicker product. Make sure you get the thinner one, it is easier to install. I hope it settles down with time.

 

[MattG]

Elise-specific instructions were included with the lens guards, so maybe I'll just follow those.

 

[daytonaelise]

Ive had Lamin-X put on several cars, and will have it on every car from now on!:bow: :clap:

 

[Midlife]

I had something like that on an S2K and the @#$% things caused heat cracking in the lens and they would not cover it under warranty.... So it was an expensive lesson. Not going to do that again. Hope you have better luck with then than I did.

 

[Ground Loop]

Wow Midlife.. that's pretty scary, especially hearing it first-hand.

Can you tell more about it? Are you sure the coating caused heat that caused cracking, or is it a guess? Have any non-coated lenses cracked in the same way? Is this a common problem with coating headlamps?

I was planning on coating them, but if there are known issues with heat or incompatiblities, I'd like to understand it better.

Thanks!

 

[eliseowner2b]

QUOTE]I had something like that on an S2K and the @#$% things caused heat cracking in the lens and they would not cover it under warranty.... So it was an expensive lesson. Not going to do that again. Hope you have better luck with then than I did.[/QUOTE]

Ive had Lamin-x on the headlights of 4 cars and haven't had a problem with heat cracking. (Audi Allroad, 2 TT's, & Elise) Were you running h-4 bulbs or some very thick laminant?

 

[Midlife]

As I have never seen a S2K with a similar problem I can only assume it was heat related. One of the guys that works for me has them on his F150 Lightning, the headlights are fine but the fog's cracked a few days post install. He also had to ship the entire lamp assembly back to the mfg of the covers and wait. In the end the denied his claim...

I love the 3M bra I have on the Z but am leery of putting thick stuff on the lights. Most car manuals have warnings about putting anything in front of or on the lens because of the heat build up issue. Something to think about I guess. Yep, the lights are big bucks these days, but if the stuff you use to protect them can cause them to fail what is the point????

I know, a bit cynical. But once bitten you know

 

[Lamin-x]

Hey guys. Just thought I'd chime in here. The main reason for the light cracking was due to some vendors using a 40 mil or even an 80 mil thick film. The 80 mil film is almost 1/8" thick!! Sure it's great for rock protection, but it retains just too much heat. Therefore causing the lens to break. You'll notice that company doesn't make kits anymore for many vehicles due to those type of issues. The other vendor who used to run 40 mil film has now changed to a 20 mil or thinner film.

We only use the 40 mil film on selected vehicles and selected lights that do not produce that much heat and have a flat surface. Example: certain VW or BMW lights. All other vehicles get our 20 mil film. Which is thick enough for strong protection against rock chips and sand blasting, but thin enough to make installation on the modern rounded lights easier. Note: We have never received a complaint or claim about heat-cracked lenses with our 20 mil film. Instead, the customers complain that when rear ending someone the tabs of light housing broke, but the lens was completely intact! I've actually heard that numerous times.

About the Elise installation. It was a pain in the arse to determine the installation method needed. Once it was figured out, the install only takes 15 minutes a light. Although, I have done many o' light installs and know my material too.

Just some insider info for ya

 

[Midlife]

Ive had Lamin-x on the headlights of 4 cars and haven't had a problem with heat cracking. (Audi Allroad, 2 TT's, & Elise) Were you running h-4 bulbs or some very thick laminant? [/B]

Hmm, not sure how thick they were... The ones on my S2K were 2-3-4x? thicker than the stuff on the paint... Lights were stock

 

[Eyelise]

Lamin-X thanks for replying. Do you have a 20Mil product as well? I say that because my lens covers seemed very thick. I wondered if I got the right thickness.

 

[daytonaelise]

thanks for the post lamin-X, i never experienced any cracking must have got lucky and got the thin stuff! how can we meet up so you can do my go-cart and 4 wheeler lights!

 

[Lamin-x]

Eyelise you definitely got the 20 mil film. Open up the sample packet of films that we sent you and you find the 40 mil film. Its the one that will make you say "Damn, thats really thick"

daytonaelise make your way up here for a trip to the Dragons Tail and we'll make it happen

 

[Scratchman]

We install clear, smoke, blue and yellow headlamp and fog lamp lense covers. The headlamp lense covers are tricky to install and take a lot more time than most other headlamps require.

 

[babak]

Mine just arrived in the mail today. I wasn't expecting a multi-hour installation challenge...any tips before I tackle this?

I did one with copious soap/water install, another with less. The one with copious fluids was harder but looks better. I did it on a hot day, after I had settled on final resting place for the laminx I waited for it to dry and stretched it till it covered the lens. I trimmed the edge with a scalpel. The one that I had left essentially dry (on recommendation from a pro installer) was a brutal and I had to make a couple of relaxing cuts on the edge to bring the curve around.