2coupes

I've decided after many stonechip repairs to go for the AFTERMARKET front end/mirror plastic overlay such as available from 3-M, and a company called Stongard. A local detailer who sells 3-M quoted me $900+ to do the front end,after I got up and stopped laughing I thought I can do this myself!! Anyone know where to buy this stuff direct for specific models??? I'm not lookin for the factory stuff, Thanks. (p.s.most of these makers want to protect some installer that they franchised

Skip

As I understand it, the application is not easy to get right if you've never done it before. The preparation and application is crucial to long-lasting and good-looking results. That said, it wouldn't be sold to the public if it were TOO hard... otherwise they'd never sell anything, or face getting a very bad reputation.

We do carry the Stongard applications for all Porsches.

Good Luck!

2coupes

Thanks Skip, checked the site and you have exactly what I'm lookin' for..as for the installation I've done MANY large boat graphics/names in the past and never had a problem, used windex to place, and squeegeed out the excess and let dry. Merci'

Skip

Then you sound like a candidate for a Tech-Session article, eh?

Skip

Jason @ Paragon Products

Here's some notes from one of our customers:

The summary is:

Use a water/soap solution to apply it. Use a squeegie and possibly a heat gun (aka hairdrier) to get the bubble out and it smooth. If you have a situation where you need the stongard a bit more sticky (eg it has to go around a corner), then spray that part with the fixing solution which is 2 parts water and 1 part rubbing alchohol.

Thinking about it, the soapy solution is not regular soap because you don't get bubbles. Well maybe it is regular, since the concentration is so small, that might be why it doesn't bubble. I assume the soap is simply to break the surface tension of the water - think back to your physic lab days !


The Stongard instructions say to mix 3 parts isoproponal alcohol =
(rubbing alcohol) to one part water, i.e. 75% alcohol mix. You are =
absolutely right in what you said about the difficulty in using this =
mixture. There is no way to maneuver the material because it is too =
sticky.

I found another site (don't remember which) that said to use 2 parts =
water to 1 part alcohol (i.e. 33% alcohol mix). This was a bit better =
but still not how it could be.

A friend had got the scotchcal from two places, one was Amourfend, I =
don't know the other. Anyway he got instructions that called for a plain =
water mix (32oz) with a few drops of baby soap (I assume to break the =
surface tension of the water). This is then a positioning fluid. Then =
use a 2 part water to one part alcohol (33%) as a fixing liquid. The =
other place sold him a "special" kit that included a "concentrate" that =
you mixed 1 capful of to 32oz of water. I suspect it was just some fancy =
soap :-)

So what you do is spray everywhere (per the Stongard instructions) and =
you'll find that the stongard is incredibly slippery and you can =
position it and reposition it ad nauseum, so long as you keep it wet. =
Then you are meant to use the fixing liquid, lifting the Stongard and =
spraying the fixing liquid. I DIDN'T BOTHER WITH THIS STAGE, didn't use =
the fixing liquid. It didn't seem necessary. Instead, I squeegied out =
the (positioning) liquid and, let it dry for a few minutes, and if it =
wasn't sticking then used a heat gun (i.e. my wife's hair drier) to warm =
it up and then it stuck.

If you rated the degree of difficulty on a scale of 1 (impossible) to 10 =
(piece of cake) of getting a professional finish, then the original =
Stongard solution (75% alcohol) would rate about 1.5 and the method =
described above as a 9.0.

Rog

Hi all,

on the fender ones, I've been through at least one of them twice. My set arrived with no instructions, so I idiotically attempted to apply my first one dry. Had to peel and toss.

A quick phonecall to order a replacement and advice got an apology for the lack of instructions, and a new one on the way (unfortuneately not gratis)

Anyway, I just used plain water the second time, along with a wet-sanding squeege. Worked perfect. No alcohol, and no fixitive.
I'm not saying those might not be useful, especially on surfaces with a lot of angle changes, but on my fender protectors, plain old water did it, and quickly. Easy job once my ignorance was diminished

hth
later
roger

(my problem is now removing the last old one still on my car. Some unhelpful P.O. has sprayed them with clearcoat during a touchup job. !@#$$% Doesn't respond nearly as nicely to a heat gun.

2coupes

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the input.I wondered why the Windex worked so well but it has some soap, alcohol, and water in it so it should, plus it dries fairly quickly and squeegees evenly. I went to the Stongard site where I learned that the Stongard has perfectly cut patterns, whereas the ScotchCal has some V-detents that will eventually snag wash mitts, collect dirt etc. I don't know if this is hype , but it sounds good. Yes, I'd be glad to do a tech report when mine is on.Got to get it first, and this heat gun thing makes me think Jan. in NH is not the time to do it as my garage is not heated.

Skwerl

On my bottle of Windex, it says not to use it on "auto bodies."

2coupes

Wow, just when I thought it was safe to come out of the cave!!! Thanks for reading your windex bottle, I've only used it on fiberglass in the past. The least I can do is buy you a cold one!! Lots cheaper than a new paint job.Nice catch!! Jim H.