Winter Protection

[Carrg]

Thanks for the info P_G.

[P_G]

Easy chief!

I'm curious as I wonder what happens after 2 or 3 years. Does it still come off, does it peel, does it bring the paint off.....that's my curiosity!

Yes; no; no.

[doodlebug]

Easy chief!

I'm curious as I wonder what happens after 2 or 3 years. Does it still come off, does it peel, does it bring the paint off.....that's my curiosity!

Yes; no; no.

[gangstarrrrr]

For reference I also got a quote from Paintshield in Peterborough who do the Xpel coating who wanted in excess of £1500 for the same coverage and for me to drive the car to Peterborough plus the cost of fuel and overnight accommodation whilst they applied it. Xpel is touted as being better than 3M but in reality the Xpel coating and Xpel people are ex Ventureshield staff anyway prior to 3M's acquisition of the brand so it is not that different, certainly not for the price differential.

.

I looked into the xpel. The cost is silly money, 1500 notes for the front, 3k for the whole lot. Ventureshield sounds more respectable. Any ideas if its self healing? Xpel is touted as self healing from chips and I've read anecdotal evidence confirming this. Also curious about colour differentials in the paint.

[P_G]

Ventureshield does have self healing properties yes but they tend not to advertise it like Xpel. If scratched leaving it in sunlight or applying heat with a hairdryer will accelerate the film to heal but I suspect like anything it will only work in the same place so many times. Xpel came from Ventureshield. As for the colour change it is very subtle; if you are OCD about your paint then you'll know when your face is 10-20cm away from it but if walking towards your car you won't notice the difference, expecially if you apply a sealant and LSP on top which most people do anyway. It can be clayed and machine polished just like paint except perhaps not with extreme cutting compounds / pads as you don't need to.

[dbm]

I had Paintshield on my ice silver TTS, it was four years old and had done over 90k miles when I sold it on. The film had gone a little milky, but I managed to clean it up fairly well by following the Paintshield agent advice. I've had it put on my RS3 and the new stuff is visibly superior to the product from four years ago - it's practically invisible on my car.

I didn't try to take the film off - as long as it remains an acceptable visual level then it stays on the car. With over 90k miles on the clock my car's paint was perfect.