Just put on clearbra material to prevent side sill sandblasting (mit pics)

[ARMORGOD]

After reading about the problems that owners were having with rock chips right behind the tires, I decided to install some "clearbra" type material on my SRT, while it was still relatively new. At only 1000 miles I already had a fair amount of chips under each sill and can only imagine how trashed they would look after 10K.

I decided to go with the XPEL brand, as it is 12mm thick, compared to 3M, with is only 8mm thick. I ordered three pieces that measured 12"x18" for the front sills (third piece was a spare, in case I screwed one of them up). And three 12"x12" sheets for behind the rear tires. That amount of material was $70, including next day delivery.

Here is a pic of everything that I needed to do the job:

I also used a long straight edge and some old phone books to cut the material on top of. Also had to use a marker, so I knew where to cut after the test fit.

The whole job was not very difficult and can be done in about 2-3 hours.

Step 1: Mix water and Isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle (10:1, water to alcohol).

Step 2: Test fit material and use a marker to make dotted lines where you need to cut.

Step 3: Cut out material and test fit again.

Step 4: Spray sill with water/alcohol mix (this will allow you to play around with positioning the material, without the tacky adhesive grabbing hold, until you want it to).

Step 5: Pull adhesive backing off of material and spray the adhesive side of the material with the w/a mix.

Step 6: Position top edge of material on the car and begin smoothing it out, working down to push all the water out. Be very mindful of leaving any air/water bubbles. Use your fingers and a squeegee to ensure that the water is pushed out. Other than cutting the material to an exact fit, this is the hardest part.

Step 7: If you do have any bubbles, then you can carefully "pop" them with the tip of hobby knife and work the water out.

A couple of lessons the I learned:

1. After you peel off the backing from the adhesive side of the material, use it as a jig to cut out the material for the other side of the car. Saves a lot of time.

2. The 18" pieces, for behind the front tires are not quite long enough to cover the area that the chips appear on. A 24" piece would have been better.

3. It is almost impossible to prevent at least a few water bubbles from getting trapped under the material. But, since it is on the bottom side of the car, they are not noticeable at all.

Here are some pics:

This is what a sheet of material looks like. Notice how flexible it is?

This is a close-up of the front.

A close-up of the rear.

Here is the car from a distance. I think that the material is pretty transparent, if you don't know it's there.

If any other owners are interested in doing this, I could trace out a copy of the jigs that I used and mail them to you. It would probably save 40% of the time that it takes to do the job.

 

[Ooomph]

good job did you buy the xpel online or is it available at most hardware/local stores?

 

[ARMORGOD]

good job did you buy the xpel online or is it available at most hardware/local stores?

Oops, forgot that little bit of info: go to xpel.com to order material. They are based out of California, I believe. They have installers in a couple of different states, but Colorado is as far East as they go.

 

[Cleaver]

I, also, recently had xpel put on my '03 srt10. I had a guy in Lancaster, PA install it, for lack of a better word. He used the factory pre cut on the bumper cover, hood, mirrors and headlights. I also wanted the sills covered. This guy did a rough template of the sills, took a picture of it and down loaded it into a CAD software. There he straightened out all the lines and radiuses(I can't spell) and mirror imaged it for the opposite side. I have the entire sill covered from just below the badging at the front wheel to just before the exhaust opening. He also custom fit pieces for behind the rear wheels and door handles. It looks sick, thats if you even notice it. I love it

 

[homesite]

you have the 3m 12mm. 3m makes both the 8mm and the 12mm

 

[Cleaver]

I believe he referred to it as Dupont Scotchgaurd. The backing on the film said Xpel. I am not sure of the thickness. I will find out.

 

[Viper X]

Thanks for the posts. I have been looking into doing this as well. Looks good. My front end is alread a bit rough, for me (I'm picky). I'll probably continue with the "paint at the end of a toothpick" touch up method for now and repair next year by adding the film after re-painting. Does anyone offer a pre-cut version for the fascia or sides?

 

[29OUTLAW]

I came across this old post that talks about installing invisible paint protection.

A few weeks ago I found a small rock chip behind one of the front tires and knew I needed to do something. Below is a link to the 3M kit that I purchased and put on last weekend. I think it went on easily and is going to work great. Air bubbles were not an issue for me – lint was. The passenger side front has one or two pieces of lint stuck under it but that’s OK. I plan on redoing the front when I pull the side sills off for the exhaust install. Until then, at least I’m protected. This is the worst time of the year for paint chips because of all the road sand that’s thrown down for snow. If I had to do it over, I would have had this stuff waiting at home the day I took delivery of my car. Highly recommended.

Lessons learnded:

I decided at first to install it outside for better lighting. This was a mistake because it was the breeze that blew the lint under the passenger side piece. If you install it outside, wind will be your worst enemy.


http://www.autotrimdesign.net/items.jsp?category=18165

 

[RavenFan_94]

Good update for the archives. How long did the install take you. I am assuming you purchased the full kit?

 

[29OUTLAW]

I purchased the 8 piece kit at the bottom of the page. It contains:

Front fenders x 2
Rear fenders x 2
Door Sills x 2
Door handles x 2

The first piece took me about 25 minutes to put on because I was really fighting with the wind-blown lint and dust. By the time I realized wind was going to be an issue, it was too late and I was already committed to that piece. Once I got out of the wind, the other pieces were less than 10 minutes each.

Those front kits for the bumper look really complex and I would call a pro for one of those. The fender kit's really easy because it's all nice and flat.

When I redo my fronts, I'm just going to order the material in bulk and use the patterns from the kit I bought. I'll save a few bucks that way.

 

[TedK]

Good info. Any possibility of some pictures?? I would like to see just how much of the area behind the tires is covered, can't tell on the website. Do you think the coverage is adequate or would you want more area protected?

Thanks

 

[29OUTLAW]

Good info. Any possibility of some pictures?? I would like to see just how much of the area behind the tires is covered, can't tell on the website. Do you think the coverage is adequate or would you want more area protected?

Thanks

I'll try to get some pics but the one in front goes all the way up to the "ridge line" just under the Viper logo and extends just past the beginning of the door. The back one is about the size of the one pictured up above. When I pull of my side sills, I plan on custom cutting my own that extend all the way back to the exhaust outlet.

 

[29OUTLAW]

Here’s some pictures but there’s not much to look at. You can barely see the line on top just under the Viper letters. This front piece follows the curve in the sill cover and ends just behind the point where the door begins. It wraps several inches under the car. The back pieces go up to the body line and wrap back almost to the middle of the taillights.

I’ve never liked to spend money on anything that doesn’t make the car look cooler or go faster but this was a no-brainer. It’s just a shame that I had to endure a chip before I realized it.

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[29OUTLAW]

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[29OUTLAW]

There was a post on here a few days ago about these yellow Vipers and the possibility of there being “different” yellows out there. These 2 pictures I posted show just how much different this yellow can look depending on light.

 

[doctorbob]

I had Ultrashield in Phoenix do my car. I did the nose, part of the hood, and side sills. I would also advise to put the 3M or equivalent on the inner aspect of the wheel well that is painted, since that are will also chip and mine are really(and I mean really) chipped up at 31,000 miles with the car.