w00tPORSCHE

Ray those are the O.Z racing wheels which serves as snow shoes for the 997.2. I really like them.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...All&sort=Brand

x038F

My '88 (which has VERY, VERY good paint with only 34K miles and my babying of it) had clear film installed in 1999 (Stongard brand).

By 2005 it had ABSOLUTELY started to yellow. In 2009 I had it removed and replaced (which led to this project). This time around I decided to cover the entire hood with 3M. Previously I had only gone just above the crest. Only the most ****-retentive can tell the hood his covered (the judges didn't notice).

So it WILL yellow over time. And if your car has been repainted you want to make sure you are VERY careful in removing it or it CAN pull up paint: that's why I had to remove the bumper.

Eharrison

Two things.

1. I think that it's great that you view the aircooled's paint in the same respect as the 997.

2. I've been eyeing those wheels for my A4 for quite some time. I reayly like those shoes!

w00tPORSCHE

Nice to know that I am not to only crazy person on this planet

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=76429

Andy Kay

May have missed this but how much should one budget to clear bra ones hood?
My hood was repainted 18 months ago and has a few chips already.
Any installer suggestions in the DFW area? Thanks

w00tPORSCHE

Andy, if you care about your paint clear-bra is the only way to go unless your car is not a daily driver and you only drive on the back roads and not freeways. Our cars height (or lack thereof) and the angle on the hood makes it so susceptible to rock chips and road rash leave alone the scratches from the exoskeletons of the bugs with death wish rubbing on the paint. Pre-cut kits are less expensive (around 500 to 700 dollars) but you will see some edges. Dirt can collect in those creases/edges of the clear bra over time which is never an issue with custom install as the film is neatly tucked inside. Downside is the expense. I had the entire front bumper, front fenders, full hood front of side mirrors and rear wheel arches done for $1600.00. Having said that pre-cut coverage is not bad at all. It is just that I am very **** when it comes to paint protection.

I am not sure if they have patterns for pre-88 911's but you can call them. Here is the link. http://asp.invisiblepatterns.com/pat....asp#ModelYear

Beware on the installer. Experience is key, do not just go buy the price. There are several guys out there who would charge half the price but beware of poor coverage, unsightly stretch marks, razor cuts on the paint etc. Go with a 3M, ventureshield or Xpel film. I personally like the latter two companies. Film is more flexible, soft and offer lifetime warranty against yellowing. I do not know much about 3M which is also a very good film, some say it is actually a little more hardy which could have pros and cons.

My installer has a certified 4 star rating on the ventureshield website, the only one with that high rating in WA. In TX, you may want to go with http://www.enprodistributing.com/ who have a 4-star rating and looks like they have a DFW location. If you want to go with Xpel (which is also a top notch film) then here is the link
http://www.xpel.com/products/dealers...&submit=Submit. You can also PM xpel who have posted on this thread and ask them for thier suggestion.

If you pay by cash, you may be able to get a better discount. Business is hurting in this economy so prices may have come down.

On a final note Eharrison thank you for that nice comment. I do have a special place for my 3.2. Even with a sizable number of rock chips on the hood when I got her, I decided to wrap her up to prevent further injury just to preserve the original paint. Each time I see the rock chips I just view it as the battle scars on my baby for having been on this planet for such a long time.

talane

Amar,
That looks fantastic. Good job and thanks for sharing your experience.

w00tPORSCHE

Thanks Talane and Andy. I see absolutely no issues to wrap it on repainted areas. If the PPF (paint protection film) needs to be removed for some reason it can easily be done by the installer using a heat gun without any damage to the paint. In fact my installer removes PPF on quite a few occasions. Typically a customer is not happy with an outside job (there are some inexperienced installers out there) and the customer wants their car re-wrapped. Yours is a red color, if you take decent care of the clearbra it will not show any yellowing. Only issue is for a white colored car. Even with meticulous upkeep it would show some yellowing on a white car. Ventureshield (and if I am not mistaken) xpel offer lifetime warranty against yellowing.

Andy Kay

Amar,

THANKS!!!!!!!! Today I met Jayson Jones, President of M.A.R.S. International Inc. He's a licensed XPEL dealer in Grand Prairie. Your post 54 took me to the XPEL website that says he is the largest volume dealer in the DFW area. According to Jayson, he started the company with his Dad over 20 years ago and has trained more than 200 installers. The facility is HUGE!

Dallas/Ft. Worth Porsche owners: M.A.R.S. in located at Hwy 360 and Post & Paddock-just south of DFW airport. Jayson's cell is 817.233.0582. My hood will get an XPEL clear bra next Friday. They will also repair my bumper which was attacked by a black snake (scrap of tire) two weeks ago on the way to Boxstoberfest.

I still can't post pics (user error) but I'll let you know how the project turns out. I'm stoked -thanks Amar!

w00tPORSCHE

Andy, it's high time you have your car xpel'd You will love it, trust me their film's optical clarity is just fantastic. Several of my friends have xpel on thier cars and they say that it is even better than 3M and ventureshield (mine has ventureshield). Please try to post some pics after the install. I have never seen an xpel film wrap and would love to see your '79's before and after. Just do not use plexus to clean the film as it will yellow the film over time. Ask Jayson on some tips for long term care. I am very excited for you/your car. Here are some videos that might be of interest to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uHXe4DgMgU

They even have a matte finish paint protection film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ01Sb2IqlA

RutgersU

Does your warranty still apply on non-manufacturer repaints? I know I have read of situations where the paint peeled off (with the clear) when trying to remove the material when a 911 was repainted.

Ed Hughes

It probably came from Victory Motorcars...

Andy Kay

My 911 got XPEL'd Friday. Baked it in the sun on Saturday. Sunday morning and its looking good!
Will start a new thread w/ pics.

XPEL

Our warranty is for 7 years on the film to ensure against cracking, peeling, bubbling etc. Venture's new warranty is 5 years. We do warranty on anything else but the film itself unless our extended road hazard warranty has been purchased from a dealership.

tr4guy

Did you ever try to remove this stuff. I had an '84 944 that had the protective pieces behind the wheels and in front of the rear wheel well. They were old and deteriorating and I purchased new ones. The plastic comes off fairly easily, but as the glue gets old, IT WILL NOT LET GO OF THE CAR. I tried several commercial glue removers given to me by body men and eventaully ended up just forcibly rubbing the glue off with my fingers. It would roll up into itself with a lot of encouragement and sore thumbs. They eventually came off but not without a lot of pushing and a few choice swear words along the way. Hopefully you won't have to do this with the entire front end....But what if you do get the "God Forbid" fenderbender???? What then? I think an occasional paint touchup would be more logical.