I am awaiting delivery of a 2012 911 turbo s. I am wondering whether to go naked or get wrap. I don't know what the downside is In terms of paint clarity etc vs road rash. Can you share your experience ?

 

I had it put on before I took delivery: front bumper, 1/4 of the hood, front edges of fenders, mirrors. I have had many sports cars and swore I'd never put it on. I now have 4600 miles on 2011TTS with no rock chips or road rash. The key is to have it installed by quality installer. I will never buy another car without it. Negative is that you can notice it, especially on the film edges and at certain angles/lighting orange peel. To maintain it, I was advised to use plexus, no yellow wax. My brother has it on his 2002 turbo and it still looks good.

 

Reminds me of plastic wrap on the sofa

 

If you get one, get it when the car is new. One of the best protective mods to do IMHO, especially if you track the car.

 

I'd rather re-paint a bumper than have that look 24/7 personally. Ive seen too many yellowing installs that look 10x worse than 4 or 5 rock chips. I dont commute in mine and the freeway would toss up some serious rocks so my car looks pretty good after almost 4 years, only a few nicks I'd have to point out to you.

For a DD then maybe I would change my tune, but I would have a guarantee in place that whatever wrap you use wont yellow.

 

It must have been a while since you had one done. My 05 had one since new and it never yellowed and the new XPEL bras are fantastic. Some colors like Atlas grey, ect would be hard to match 2-3 years down the road to repaint for road rash compared to just slapping a new clear bra on every 5-7 years.

 

If the wrap is done correctly it is nearly invisible. There's a shop locally that has done clear bra for me that I can recommend, about 40 minutes outside of the city. I'll shoot you a PM. Here's a gallery of them doing one of my cars.

http://www.clearbranj.com/portfolio%28M3%29.html

 

Almost all of my 997TT is covered with 3M. I have over 50KM on it and many people think it's almost new. However, you NEED:
1. to have it installed by a true professional (they are dime a dozen to make sure you get a solid recommendation by someone who has actually used this company).
2. have it put on right after delivery of your new P car.
3. Have your detailer take good care of the 3M a couple of times a year (it does require specific care - I forget what I have on mine but it keeps it in good shape with marks easily removed)
4. expect to replace it every 2-3 years as it does tend to "fade" over time.
5. if you do the above, your car will look almost new for many many years to come. And it will be almost invisible.
Enjoy!
K.

 

I did my whole front bumper and my entire hood. That way I have no lines and it is almost impossible to tell it is there. I could still get a chip on my fenders though...

 

Detailing Dynamics on Long Island. As others said, who does it is the most important thing. I've had mine since new (4+ years) and just about 60,000 miles.

 

I got the front hood and some of the sides done. I wish I did the entire car. After a lot of miles there is huge difference between the paint and wrap. Not only that but its so easy to clean with Plexus and way less time then waxing.

 

+1 on Detailing Dynamics. I had my car trucked to them from Pittsburgh to have it wrapped. I could have had it wrapped much closer to me but wanted it done by one of the best.

 

Cover the full hood if you choose in doing so. There is not much point to covering half the especially for a daily driver because over time, due the way the Porsche hood is slanted, you will pick up chips beyond the line....which means you will eventually want to repaint the hood.

 

+1

Also there is nothing more annoying than looking at the line across the hood. My 458 (gone) had the hood partially covered when I bought it and I had them recover it (the hood) with a complete wrap before I picked it up. The line is very noticeable on a partial wrap.

 

I'm a NUT about the condition of my paint. Not looking to start a debate - but a repaint for paint-chips will discount trade-in values. I've been putting a 'Clear Bra' on all my cars for the last 5/7 years. As stated, some Clear Bra's will be full of Orange-Peel or will yellow after a short time.

However - after considerable research, I can tell you that both "E55AMG" and "Quantum" have given you the ONLY two shops in our area that are worthy installers.

I've seen Detailing Dynamic's work and it's very, very good. But I'd still put Todd at ClearBraNJ.com up against anyone in the Tri-State Area. He's done all my sleds and over 4 of my P-Cars. Not only is his work impeccable, but; he'll come to your house if you have a big enough garage, he's trustworthy -- so much so, I have let him have full run of my house for 4 of his 5 installs and he never left the garage except to use the bathroom. (He didn't know it, but the secret security cameras in my house can be accessed at my office, so I had an eye on him ... he's super trustworthy!) He's a married man with 2 kids, so you're not getting some punk-kid who's working off a hangover, that's just an employee for a shop looking to turn a buck.
Ask for "full panel coverage" in one sheet. As for the product, you must DEMAND they use the "Venture Shield" product. Venture Shield has the lowest 'Orange Peel' factor of all of them. In the areas that take a beating (rocker panels and lower rear valance) I went with 3M's heavy duty 10 mil film as the Jersey and NY roads are littered with debris that are the equivalent of sand-blasting those areas - and that extra protection helps a lot. Tell Todd I (Gregory St. James) recommended you and you'll get a discount.

OH - and as long as you "under-wax" most Clear Bras, it won't yellow. Specifically, every time you wax your sled, skip over the areas that have the Clear Bra on them. And don't use "Sealers" either.

Hope this helps.