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3m paint protection film


Nathan

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Yes to wax.

 

As far as polishing you'll get a variety of answers. I take care of the PPF on my car with Revive Hand Polish. It's super gentle and I don't have to worry about heat buildup on the film since it's only done by hand. There's people that say to polish film like paint...personally I don't think I'd take it that far and I haven't found the need to do so. The films are pretty forgiving and Hand Polish works well.

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Can I wax and polish over this or will it hurt it?

You can use a polish or wax on your clear film, just keep away from harsher chemical, treat it like your paint and don't use any kind of abrasive products on your clear wraps. I also tell my customers to avoid the edge when clawing, polishing, or waxing to avoid accumulation of product and creating a white line on the edge. I also tell customers the bug juice is very acidic and to clean the clear wraps constantly, I like to keep detail spray in the car for this reason.

 

Hope this helps, Good Luck!

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God I hate that stuff, from a detailers perspective !! It works great to protect the front of the car but I buff out the customers car, and the 3M film just does not have them same clarity etc of the just perfected paint, Annoying !!

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It's okay on dark cars, but the 3M can be a nightmare on light colored cars.  I had it replaced on my Vette last year and learned that 3M had been having so many problems with the tape, that they came out with a whole new formula and that's what I have now. I agree.....no polish.  Wax is fine, but be sure to pay special attention to the edges because it can build up and dirt will settle there and make it black over time. 

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I'm also in the group of I'm not crazy about polishing paint protection film. One of my close friends has a Nissan GTR that had PPF applied back in 2009 by the original owner. It was not maintained well and had acid rain etching and spotting all over the film on the hood and front fenders when he purchased the vehicle. I am not 100% sure of the brand of that particular film used on his vehicle, but I will say that Revive Hand Polish did not play well with that particular PPF. It was difficult to remove and I ended up having to go over it with Brilliant Glaze to remove some of the Revive Hand Polish residue.

 

We then took a White Foam Pad and Finishing Polish to it, using minimal pressure with a Rupes LHR 15ES at speed 4. This worked ok to bring a little more shine to the very dull looking PPF, but it did not remove any of the etching and spotting. The polish wiped off with minimal effort. I then attempted Correcting Polish with an Orange Foam Pad and did not have any noticeable improvement, so I decided to skip trying out the microfiber cutting pad.

 

The only way to fix this particular PPF was to remove it, throw it away, machine polish the hood and fenders, and re-install an all-new pre-cut piece of PPF that the original installer down in Virginia was nice enough to warranty for him. The car looks awesome now and is maintained with H2O Guard & Gloss.

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3M clear bra film is the worst. It doesn't hold up to the elements that well and will fade and yellow over time. I've found Pro-Tect film to be a much higher quality film that is used for bra's and full body coverings. 

After years of experience with different brands over the past years, I'm much happier with the newer generation films that have come to market. I just installed a Pro-Tect fender bra on my wife's black Mercedes Benz. We will see over time how my second Pro-Tect holds out. The first one on my BMW X3 has lasted pretty good with the summer sun here in Las Vegas. I've always kept a coating of Brilliant Glaze on it after every washing. It still is holding it's clarity with no signs of discoloration or drying out and fading. 

 

In the attached photo, the Pro-Tect film is 16" up the hood. You can't even see it.  

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post-15154-0-38120100-1486826998_thumb.jpg

Edited by Geebee
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