pefman

About a month ago, I received an allocation for GT4 Euro Delivery for June 2nd! My wife and I are psyched! It is a perfect time to travel through the high passes in the Alps. Turns out landing in Europe on June 1st will be exactly 29 years since we arrived there (with my BMW motorcycle) for our honeymoon. We are even happy that we will have so much more luggage space than we did on the bike. One problem: I would like to get clear paint protection film, and I am worried about getting paint chips while we travel around for 3,000 km or so. Does anyone here have experience getting film installed in Germany? In particular, we are picking up in Leipzig before heading off mostly south.

Thanks for any help you guys can give.

RealityGT

This gent. Speak with him.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-...r-does-ed.html

otisdog

Hmmm...your date is very close to the date I gave up....
I was going to do the same, get my car wrapped immediately - I was wondering how long it takes for the paint to cure?
Have a great trip, you'll love it!

GrantG

You could use this temporary stuff and then get a permanent wrap when you get home:

http://www.tracwrap.com/

http://www.xpel.com/products/tools.asp?product=Tracwrap

matttheboatman

Congrats Pefman on your upcoming Euro Delivery!

My wife and I had an absolute blast this summer and I wish you the same! Please don't hesitate to PM if I can lend any planning assistance based on my recent experience.

What I did was to have some less expensive clear bra material computer cut and installed it (temp only) myself. Ryan at Auto Paint guard In Tampa sells the fully patterned cut sections to other installers and shipped it to me in a cardboard tube. I believe the front and 1/2 hood was about $350. It's a process to install - about 2 hrs in a garage, but doable.

matttheboatman

Delete duplicate

zmon

I went the tack wrap route, and did it in the dealer for my few hour ride home.. but what mattboatman suggested would have been quite a bit easer. i just had strips of two widths..

i did whole front end and in front of and behind rear wheels. plus mirrors and just over windshield (probably overboard).

pefman

Thanks for the tip Matt. Using the the pre cut temp wrap sounds like the way to go -- then get it done professionally after the car arrives back here. How did you find a garage in Germany so you could do the install? Did you also pick up in Leipzig? Is there room in the hotel garage? Do I need to take some special tools? Don't you need water for the install? Sorry for all the questions.

We live in Toronto but will be in SC and Florida in April, so I could have the stuff sent there and bring it back up here before we go to pick up the car. [Int'l customs and duties via mail are crazy!] IN any case, thanks again for the tip.

XPEL

Many of our customers that do European delivery either:

A) Have it installed locally/professionally (but it takes away a day or two from driving on the european roads/vacation)

B) TracWrap: you can apply it outside, it has Air-Release backing/adhesive so it goes on and comes off easily. Plus you can put a 12" x 40' roll in your suitcase and apply it at the factory when you pick the car up it can be applied to the front bumper, hood, a-pillars, impact area behind tires, and mirrors in about an hour or two

otisdog

Xpel, how long do you have to wait after the car has been painted before you can safely apply the film?

XPEL

It depends...

If its from Porsche, Audi, etc the cars are ready to go. There should be no more out-gassing from the paint, as most manufactures bake the paint.

Now on the other hand if its a re-spray, this completely depends on the bodyshop, prep-work, quality of paint, quality of clear, and how its dried/cured. If you can smell chemicals (stick your nose a few inches from the panel that was painted and if it smells/out-gassing, then its too soon)

matttheboatman

The garage at Porsche Leipzig would have been perfect, because it is so awesome. But, we took delivery in the morning and did not have enough time as they do another delivery in the same garage in the afternoon. You can try, but there is a parking garage in town. Everything is so clean in Leipzig. To install, I said it was a process. Watch videos on line. I used an entire spray bottle of soapy water, wet both car and material A LOT. And a hand squeegee.

I do like XPEL's suggestion of track wrap too. Its only temporary.

Suggest you have it mailed to hotel, but no garage at the Steigenberger Grandhotel.

If you are collecting your car in Leipzig, you are in for a real treat. The Hotel great, the Porsche facility is incredible, you get track time with real driver, city is so clean. You will love it!