Paint damage is a common problem among new vehicle owners. The primary concern is always how to keep the paint job looking just as fresh and flawless as the day it was sprayed. There are a number of waxes and polishes that keep the paint shiny, but when it comes to protection, they offer nothing. The open road can be a dangerous place for a fresh coat of paint. Luckily, there are a range of high-quality paint protection products on the market, leaving you with the challenge of picking out the right one.
To understand these various invisible protection films, think of a clear, plastic sheet applied to the exterior of your car, used to protect the paint from possible damages. Keep in mind that this product does not act as a force field. It will not prevent indentations from collisions. It serves to keep your coat of paint looking fresh, by thwarting chips and scratches.
Clear Bra Paint Protection
This is one of mnay street names for 3M Paint Protection Film. Another is ScotchGuard, or 3M Paint Protection. 3M Paint Protection Film was invented in 1991, to aid the US military in preventing the erosion of the edge of helicopter blades. When first invented, the appearance of the appliance was not a major concern, so although practical, would turn yellow after a few years of use.
For this reason, many people believe that yellowing is still a problem that comes with purchasing 3M protection. Thankfully, 3M have re-engineered their product a number of times, and have succeeded in tackling this problem.
XPEL Paint Protection
XPEL Paint Protection products offer maximum protection to your vehicle, using a similar, transparent, urethane film. XPEL guarantees customers the very best paint protection against rocks, insects and gravel marks simply by applying their product.
Being a small company that is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, XPEL is the opposite of a monolithic materials corporation like 3M. XPEL has been laser-focused on the paint protection market, innovating new films with self-healing properties. XPEL doesn’t manufacture any of the standard solar-protection window films. Although they do offer software to cut patterns for both the paint protection and traditional solar protection markets.
The rugged and durable material used by XPEL has been used by the military, NASCAR, and by auto manufacturers for years.
SolarGard ClearShield
SolarGard has long been one of the giants in the window film industry, blending quality window film products with traditional and strong distributor/dealer relationships. Their offering in the paint protection market is called ClearShield, and pairs a quality protection film with cutting edge pattern cutting program called ComputerCut. This combination has allowed ClearShield to be adopted quickly by film installers across the United States.
The 2011 acquisition of SolarGard by Saint Gobain Performance Plastics does not seem to have affected SolarGard in product quality or staff.
Summary
Each of these three brands of film come come highly recommended, and are highly similar products. If the installer does not use any of these 3 major brands, we advise caution. Quality professional installation often ranges from $500 to $1,000, try getting a paint protection price quote from a dealer near you. If you are the type to like working on cars, consider a ClearShield Kit starting at $99 from SnapTint.
