Gino

has anyone gone for that urethane protective tape treatment on the nose of a 911 or 930 that "Armafend" (see Pano/Excellence issues) promotes as the clear solution to rock chips?

I don't know about the other areas of the country, but New England roads suck... even in the nice weather sand, gravel, huge bugs, etc. have always done a number on my past cars' front noses and even windscreens.

this stuff is the same as the black colored shield for the rear fenders, but glossy and clear. I have some experience with the 3M 8672 tape marketed to the aircraft industry as the protective material for helicopter blades, so this stuff must work OK as a "bra"

anyone speak with experience? does it stay glossy? does one just wax it along with the rest of the car?

John from WA

It is the same as "helicopter tape". I have it on my silver 930 and it looks good. It shows a bit more on the darker cars. No chips since installing it.

I bought mine from Stongard in Bellevue, WA.

Gino

John-
thanks for vote of confidence... has it weathered well as Washington State is close to New England type weather? if so, I plan to install as soon as it gets over freezing, or a heated garage comes available.
also, I noted your mods from my930.com... how has that R&P set (8/39) held up as EVERYONE i've chatted with says no way will it hold up to the output of the 930. my threads around gearing has lead me to contemplate new 1-4 gears with GT Trannie to improve the response, quickness, driveability and "streetness" of the 930 rather than a quick R&P change.
tell me more...

John from WA

It has held up fine. So has the R&P (and I am up to 450hp). It looks nearly identical to the factory part and comes from Andial (sourced in Germany). I haven't heard of any problems with them, so long as they are properly installed (this is important or they wear out in a day, same for any r&p).

However, if you are chasing hp like I did don't change the r&p until after you have the hp. The stock setup may be just fine (or better). I run out of gear awfully fast.

Paul '87 Slant

IMHO the clear bra is the only way to go. Mine has had it on for 5 years and it still looks great. Here is Denver, they drop rock on the roads in winter, which is good for a new windshield every year and a lot of rock chips.

The bra has help up excellently and can hardly be noticed. The nice thing that we did on mine was take off the black fender protectors on the rears and put clear there as well.

In post, I think you indicated that you were going to be doing this yourself? Don't even think about it, if that is the case. My buddy owns a shop that does this and it is not easy to do well. I have watched the guys put on a lot of these and I wouldn't even think about it. The mask has to be cut properly, without cutting you paint, layed out correctly, etc. Leave it to the pros and you will be very happy.

Bill Gregory

I have Armourfend on the front bumper, about half way up the front hood, in the area between the headlamps and hood, around the headlamp trim rings, on the rear quarters just after the door, on the lower trim under the door, and behind the mirrors. I don't polish it, just use Formula 409 to take track rubber off it. Has been on a year and has held up well. For the larger pieces, like front bumper and hood, I'd recomend having someone used to applying the material do it - I watched the installers and they really work to get those pieces on well. For smaller areas, I'd get Stoneguard and apply it myself.

Gino

Paul-
how did you remove the black stone guard on the rear fender? used a hairdryer to help peel it back w/o affecting the paint? I've seen it with the clear tape and it does look nicer.
Bill-
appreciate your concern on installation, but I've done it twice before on my 951. (first time: my 3M buddy sent be black, and after templating-applying in my garage for 3 hours I drove out into the sunlight, and damn-it...not all blacks ARE black. I ripped it right off. second time: I got smarter... he sent me clear)
it's not easy, but making a good paper template before you start is the key. I just followed the 3M instructions on the 8672 tape data page about the water/soap mixture and squeegee technique. I do not cut on the car to avoid the paint scrapping temptation.

BTW- how do I post pitures? do I need a website where they are resident and call them out with the icon on the "posting" page? why can't I just insert or copy-paste?

Bill Gregory

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva"><strong>how do I post pitures? do I need a website where they are resident...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Yes, you need to post them to a website, then using the image button below the posts you can enter the picture's URL.

Paul '87 Slant

Gino

The shop that I have it done at uses a steamer to get any adhesive material off the car. Also, you should be able to remove just about anything with adhesive off of a car that has original paint.

If it is a re-paint, you will most likely take the paint with you.

I would re-iterate again to those thinking of doing this and I would not suggest you do this yourself. You may save a few buck, but if you screw up and take paint off, it will be a lot more than the couple of hundred you would pay a pro.