Clearcoat care?

[boxster or briefs]

I'm wondering what the best way is to prevent further damage to the clearcoat and base paint? I am considering 3M front bumber films. However, they do not cover the hood where I am noticing nicks in the paint from FOD (a.k.a. road debris). Has anyone ever tried clearcoat spray from do it yourself car washes, or does it peel away/turn yellow too quickly? Should I just get it resprayed by a detail shop once it gets bad enough? I would buy touch up paint but there are hundreds of < 1 mm nicks on my hood. Plus I'm more interested in preventing further damage vs fixing as I go. Any help would be appreciated.

[FTD]

I am interested in responses to your 3M question. I keep thinking about putting that on.

But the main reason I replied is to ask if you have pics of your floor mats! I have the OE mats, and I don't think the fabric has any durablity to it.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by boxster or briefs

I would buy touch up paint but there are hundreds of < 1 mm nicks on my hood. Plus I'm more interested in preventing further damage vs fixing as I go. Any help would be appreciated.

How did the small knicks get on your hood? Tailgating 18 wheelers and large trucks?

[j.fro]

Have you tried using a clay bar on the paint? I'm in a similar situation (although my car is Arctic silver, which hides everything very well) and the clay bar really brought out the best in the paint to the point where the nicks were less noticeable.

[Perfectlap]

nowadays you can have the entire car covered in 3M clear film.
I've seen this with Ferraris,Carrera GT's and other cars costing several $100K.
So you can definintely do the whole front bumper and hood. You just have to wait a month or two for the paint to fully cure.

I have a partial clear coat on my hood which just covers about a third, just below the hood crest. It helps but I still have to have my hood repainted from some recent damage that can't be touched up.

These guy's are well known in the high end clear bra market.
http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/

[boxster or briefs]

Originally Posted by FTD

I am interested in responses to your 3M question. I keep thinking about putting that on.

But the main reason I replied is to ask if you have pics of your floor mats! I have the OE mats, and I don't think the fabric has any durablity to it.

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond...that work thing and all. At least it pays for the wheels. I will work on getting you some pictures, but you can go to RennTech.com and view their aluminum floor mats. They come in black and, well, aluminum. I got them because my mat was worn out where my heel meets the accelerator/brake sometimes annoying me attempting rev match shifting. Also caring for the mats is a breeze, and they look great. They do not cover under the pedals. A separate aluminum panel is needed. I just cleaned the carpet and scotch gaurded the hell out of it. Hope it helps

Thanks everyone for their responses. I guess I will use touch up paint and then 3M the hood. I used 3M's rubbing compound after several other options failed to produce the results I wanted. Other then the little nicks the paint looks great now and is so smooth. I'm aware of a product called G'ZOX Armor GlazCoat which is supposed to be good for 5 years. It claims you will not need to wax or polish for 5 years too. Anybody use it/feedback would be appreciated?