2Many Cars

If you are doing the hood, around the headlights and the upper half of the bumper it's not hard. The mirrors and lower bumper are much harder, at least they were for me. The trick that the pros know is how much you can stretch or shrink the film to make it fit compound curves. In my case i got most of it right but really botched the mirrors. The other trick is to look it over really carefully before it all dries. I did my application in my garage but when I got it outside a day later I could see some bits of dust under the film inspite of my attempts to get it perfectly clean. Eventually I couldn't live with it so off it came. A good learning experience I guess.

Mike M.

So....dropped the Porsche off at Mariano's house early this morning and headed back to my house on foot (about 2 miles away, nice early morning workout, hehe). He stated that he would work on it between his errands (we both had a pretty busy day today). Checked back with him at the house about half an hour ago, and he's still working on it. He's got the hood wrapped, the mirrors pretty much done, fenders done, and was proceeding to stretch the film over the front bumper as I dropped by. So far from the stuff he's accomplished, I'm pretty impressed, and feel good about the decision. This is no standard pre made kit by any means. When all is said and done (may be a bit late by the time I pick it up tonight, and it's off to my hectic work week tomorrow), I think some close up pics in some good light will help show the end result.

More to follow....

Rick Lee

Yeah, mirrors are tough. That's why I got the leather mirror bras.

dave morris

Maybe a little hyperbole? $600 can get a very nice job done.

allill

Mike,

have you gotten the car back yet? If so, photos?

Mike M.

Hahaha, I know, I know, Jeff....I've been somewhat "active" on the forum this afternoon. However, I'm at the office right now, and I took the Audi for the weekend commute.

Going to get some pictures up as soon as possible, but by the time I get home, it's garage lighting at best, and to some extent, it doesn't help in portraying the finish. I'm going to try and take pictures of detailed items including the side mirrors (one of my favorite shapes of the vehicle, with all curved angles, and how he formed to it), the hood with Porsche logo, as well as how he formed at the headlight washer, and maybe the wrapping around the lower grille work. From what I guaged in my limited time, the general consensus from some of the installers is that aside from the standard kit, this is by no means an easy car to do (same is said with G35's).

I ended up going with something beyond the standard kit with Mariano (ie more $$$), and I'm glad I did. He still came in lower than a few of my quotes, but the "kit" he made for me was pretty much custom, with more protection at the hood, the fenders, and some other details. I'm going to take it back to Mariano to get a couple small items redone (I'm a stickler on items), but for a bumper that I'd say was about a 8.5 out of 10 for previous condition, it definitely came out well.

allill

Can you disclose the cost? PM me if you need to. Also, when he cut the vinyl, I assume he cut the pieces before peeling the backs off, right? Or did he use a blade while the pieces were on the car?

Mike M.

Some pics finally taken....Maybe it's a testament to the clear bra, but one may barely be able to see it in these pics (one can make out the clear bra lines if one looks closely enough). The last pic, based on my commute, shows that it's already been working....

DFC4S

Mike,
Curious why they didn't do the fenders in one piece as there appears to be a seam at your headlamp washers? Premiere does this with one piece w/o a seam. It's purely asthetic... but premiere also ends their film closer to the panel edges on the bumper and the side mirrors.

Mike M.

Good questions. Mariano did mention that he was going to have a seam at the headlight beforehand, so it may just be up to the installer's and customer's own style. As for the mirror, I will talk to Mariano about this, but the bumper line is actually a "reinforcement strip" of more clear bra material so that the other material underneath doesn't pull away from the bumper seam. It does run pretty much to the seam line on the bumper, if you are talking about what I think you are talking about.

If you have some pics of Premier's work, definitely show it. I'm curious to see how their work comes out as well.

DFC4S

Mike, here are some pics of my car. I did the full hood (no edge visible), hopefully the photos show up okay... flim on fenders, bumper, turbo s ducts, etc... Film is the VentureShield product.

mooty

not a hyperbole. $600 will not get you a good clear bra here in SF, CA.

mooty

correct, 3m didn't change, but venture did.
as long as car isn't white, you wont tell yellow much.
the film is for protection, not beauty contest. they are meant to be replaced periodically. you got the right idea.

cobalt

We had to use the Venture film on my GTS because the 3M would not stretch properly. The venture film seems to stretch more than the other brands. The 3m kept on pulling when working around the headlight buckets of the 928. Probably the same reason your guy was able to get a clean install on your turbo S ducts.

Mike M.

Looks real good, Derek. From what it appears to be, yours seems to be part kit, part custom, which is along the lines of what Premiere was quoting for my 993 as well. I believe the kitted, pre cut film for the headlight surrounds and top of fenders have no seams whatsoever. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I told Mariano that I wanted a bit more protection, but didn't feel it necessary to completely wrap the fender, so he also went with a custom deal. Though different from Premiere's quote, this also entailed a little bit beyond an extended type of precut kit. According to him, he also puts in his trademark stuff, like the reinforcement strip at the bumper seam, the angle cuts at the fenders, rather than straight over (tough to explain, better to visualize). It also does seem like the 3M stuff is a PITA to put on, but like what some others say, the products themselves continue to update.

Mooty is right. Upon my quest for film quotes, $600 may just get one a standard pre fabbed kit and "basic" install. At least around here, the custom stuff, or quality workmanship, will cost more $$$.