Auto Armour Inc

We all love our cars - at least many you reading this. So, it come as no surprise that a percentage of your vehicles have some sort of Paint Protection Film; commonly known as clear bra. For those that don't know much about it, PPF is a urethane film invented in the 70s to protect helicopter blades during the war. The blades are expensive to replace and ship, and were being damaged regularly by debris during takeoff and landing. PPF is designed to help disperse the energy from the blunt force of an impact, similar to how a Kevlar vest works. By the end of the war, it helped save the USA several tens of THOUSANDS of dollars by keeping the replacement costs, shipping costs and downtime to a minimum. But the film was very thick, non-elastic, non-conforming and not really clear...

Fast forward a few decades to today. Technology has improved paint protection films so that they are everything you need to keep your sanity. Now PPF is just the right thickness to protect the paint, but thin enough it can conform to the dips, valleys and body lines of your own war machine. And best of all, it's incredibly clear. In fact, installed by experienced hands, a good PPF install will keep your car looking new every single day, while being nearly invisible. Many of the big manufacturers even have a top coat that will "Self Heal" if you accidentally introduce some minor wash damage or light scratches. Most people have the film installed on the front end of their car and the rocker panels; maybe some other high traffic areas like door cups or the trunk ledge/top of rear bumper. This is great for daily drivers, or your weekend car. Doesn't really matter what type of car, these are the most likely areas of your car to have rock chips. For us, many of our clients choose to have their entire vehicle wrapped in it. Bubble Boy anyone?
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Now that you know what clear bra is, let me tell you about satin clear bra. I am personally in love with Xpel Stealth and what it does. It's the Bee's knees. All of the same paint protection properties you need, but with style. Take this GT3RS. GT Silver is a color synonymous with Porsche. But, no matter how awesome it looks, it's available on the entire Porsche lineup. Seeing this track beast in person will make your lips quiver and your heart beat faster. But if you are at an event with just one other Porsche, the chances of seeing another GT Silver and getting the two confused with each other is a very likely possibility. In comes satin clear bra. It takes whatever color paint you have and changes the finish of it from glossy to satin, while also adding over 8 mils of film engineered to protect the paint from the projectiles that can travel well over 100 MPH.
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Let's get into project "Stealth":
Porsche GT3RS in GT Silver. The car was delivered to us by JP Logistics from Florida. Because the client was not present when the vehicle was delivered, and he had not seen it in person since before it was on the truck, we needed to clean it all up and do an inspection of it. Head to toe. Inside and out.

Here is Wes Walz from Elite Finish Detailing helping us clean up the car.
www.eliteFinishDetailling.com


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After the inspection determined it only had some minor imperfections that were easy to correct, disassembly was the next step. At Auto Armour we have a Master ASE, Porsche factory trained and certified technician that does all of our disassembly and reassembly making sure to use all factory hardware.
The next couple images are a few steps ahead with the hood, roof and doors already wrapped.




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This gives us more room to work, which allows our finished installs to have the fewest visible edges, and the final project looks like paint when it is fully done.






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Passenger fender fully wrapped around the edges





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The majority of the vehicle is done. Next, we break down all the trim pieces in the bumper.


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When we are finished, we like to let the car sit overnight before putting it back together. This gives the film time to settle naturally so there are no edges that can accidentally lift during or after the reassembly.
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After the car was put back together:
3M Crystalline on all the windows: Rear, sides and windshield. we used CR 40 (medium) on the sides and rear and CR 70 (clear-ish) on the windshield. This gave a small amount of privacy while creating a very comfortable experience for all riders in the car. The films we used averaged 99.9% UV rejection, 97% Infrared Rejection and 60% TSER.

ClearPlex Invisible Windshield Skin was applied

The team at Elite Finish coated the exterior and wheels of the RS with Cquartz Professional (previously called CQuartz Finest). And the interior was coated with CQuartz Leather









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Remember, automotive film installation is an art. It takes hundreds of installations to get comfortable with the different products, vehicle surfaces and shapes. There are "best practices' and there are many "wrong' ways. Ultimately, who you have work on your car is, in my opinion, so much more important than what product is going on your car. You should always do your homework and start with the best product you can (hint; Xpel Stealth). But also take the time to research your installer. Take a look at his or her work in person if you can. And when he or she is done, smile, take a deep breath and shake hands with your artist.

Auto Armour Inc

** Image Credit to Romel Tropel of Elite Finish Detailing **



Gorgeous Houndstooth interior

Buteo

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