Clear cover for front bumper...and lights - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Pdwight · 05-20-2014, 11:13 PM

This has probably been done to death......but;

I get my Boxster out of the shop on Friday (fingers crossed)...two new headlights, bumper (front) repainted and hood. Would you go with a clear rock guard on the front bumper ?

Also on the lights, a 3M clear cover or laminX ...if you are not using over wattage bulbs (I use Sylvania Silverstars) will it trap enough heat to cause problems ?

Also do the clear light covers have UV protection so the lens will not turn from sunlight ??

Thanks in advance

Dwight

Nine8Six · 05-21-2014, 01:12 AM

New front end coming your way! Hope your wallet won't get hit as bad as those two dears at the end :/

Clear covers on headlights just never look right. They are thick (thickness), looks less-expansive and unless you have a very-special-way to apply them to perfection, trapped air bubs will be unavoidable. They are not cheap to mess up during install well :/

Your headlight comes with factory uv protective film. The lens, on the bosch units anyway. The bosch only requires periodic maintenance using a reputable commercial polishing and protective product. Well maintained there is no reason why they shouldn't keep up with the car

Pdwight · 05-21-2014, 03:36 AM

I appreciate this, and it is about what I thought. I have never liked bras on a car and I probably wouldn't like this either. As for the cost, I simply have to meet my deductible ....the lizard is paying for the rest.

amagalla · 05-21-2014, 07:06 AM

I disagree. I have the 3m (I believe) and you can hardly see it. Plus, I can tell it's working because any chipping of the front end starts above the where the shield ends. and there are no bubbles. I don't know who put it on, but they did a great job. I guess it depends on the product and the installer (as always).

Fintro11 · 05-21-2014, 07:09 AM

my car came with a clear protective strip, it is thin. if you are going to get one i would pay a bit more get the 3m and have the full panels done. a friend had his new booster done and the wrap it around the edges so you can't even tell there is a film on there.

don't expect it to stop every rock chip.... it will stop a lot but there will be still some that get through. here are some pictures of what mine look like, you can tell the edges when you do a HDR photo

Pdwight · 05-21-2014, 08:18 AM

Those do look good....now undecided

Porsche9 · 05-21-2014, 02:41 PM

Got Laminx on my headlights and you can't even tell. They do take some patience to install and about a week for all the water from application to dry.

Dave S. · 05-21-2014, 04:14 PM

I live in Colorado where they spread tiny rocks on the road to melt the snow and ice and you get to replace your windshield annually on most cars because of all the stone chips. Cars without clear bras get sandblasted on their entire leading edges and also tend to crack headlight/fog light lenses.

I always have a professional install 3M clear bra on all my cars. On my Boxster I covered the entrie front bumper, headlights and fog light lenses, front 18 inches of hood that also wraps around the front edges of the fenders, a small area behind the wheel wells, the rim of the wheel wells, the side mirrors and the entire windshield frame. You can't even tell it's on there and it does an awesome job of protecting the paint.

If you have conditions similar to what we have out here, it is a no-brainer to protect your car's finish and lenses.

Nine8Six · 05-21-2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave S.

I live in Colorado where they spread tiny rocks on the road to melt the snow and ice and you get to replace your windshield annually on most cars because of all the stone chips. Cars without clear bras get sandblasted on their entire leading edges and also tend to crack headlight/fog light lenses.

I always have a professional install 3M clear bra on all my cars. On my Boxster I covered the entrie front bumper, headlights and fog light lenses, front 18 inches of hood that also wraps around the front edges of the fenders, a small area behind the wheel wells, the rim of the wheel wells, the side mirrors and the entire windshield frame. You can't even tell it's on there and it does an awesome job of protecting the paint.

If you have conditions similar to what we have out here, it is a no-brainer to protect your car's finish and lenses.

^ It could be worst, they use heavy salts in Canada. Makes any good Porsche car melt almost as quick as ice :/

Had a go at the 3M film a few months back onto a friend car (not a Porsche). Horrible..... no luck with that stuff.

Guessing you need to be a real pro to install those thing and I'm never going to try that again. Bubbles the size of an eye ball, thick stuff.... and looked 'wavy' in the shadows, etc etc

Coaster · 05-22-2014, 11:35 AM

I put Xpel paint protection film on mine after I got it. Did the front bumper, full hood, both fenders back to the doors and the mirror caps. It's wrapped around the edges so you can't see any lines except on the mirror caps where it doesn't cover the cap completely. It was an expensive mod and doesn't fix any blemishes that are already on the 11 year old car but I drive it on a toll road with lots of semi-trucks and wanted the extra layer of protection. I don't think you can tell it's there unless you are looking for it (why I had it done all the way back to the doors).