mutant_matt

Chaps,

Who's had Amourfend and what's your opinions? I'll explain. I was deffo going to get AF for my new Scoob to combat the dreaded stone chips, and for this, it's obviously good.

Now I was chatting to a friend who had had it on his car and he said that due to the UV protection the film also offers, the rest of the paint fades over time but the AF covered stuff doesn't and you end up with a two tone car.

Anybody got any experience of this? I've got a Black Scoob BTW.

Any help, most appreciated....

Cheers,

Matt

Boom

Matt your friend was wright to a certian degree but most modern cars are painted useing a base coat and laquer system this eliminates a certian degree off UV damage so unless your car is about twenty years old and painted with celulose I dont think this is gonna be a problem for you, so do it cos its worth it but be carefull applying AF use an adhesion promoter and a heat gun cos it dusnt go round corners to well ie windolene is good you just need to squidge out all the bubbles, and be carefull with that heat gun. Happy AFing

Rasher

Hi Matt,
I have recently had Armourfend fitted to the front of my car. It was fitted in about two and a half hours by someone from the company. They will send it you to fit yourself, but I don't recommend this as I was with the guy who fitted it and even he needed an extra pair of hands when he had to stretch a piece of the film arond the front spoiler!
It definitely works though. The trip back from Donnington the flies etc just wiped off and not a single stone chip.

Hope this helps.

Rasher..

Boom

Guys an alternitave source if youre brave enough to do it youreself is 3M automotive, go to your local body shop and ask for a number for a local 3M rep or ask if they can supply you. you may find it a for cheaper option.
and its realy not that dificult you just need patience, clean hands and a mate.

Shark

Matt

Forget the AF, just get that rear plate straightened up



David

mutant_matt

Thanks Guys.

Dave, FU

Anyone got experience of having it on a car for a couple of years to give it time to fade (or not)????

Matt

Boom

IT WONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rob barron

Hi Matt,

I’ve had Armourfend on P1 for nearly 2 years & 36K mostly motorway miles, and there is no evidence of the two tone paint effect your friend mentioned.
The Armourfend has done a great job of protecting the paintwork.
OK, you can see where a few of the larger stones have hit the Armourfend but the paintwork underneath is still undamaged.

Cheers,

Rob
P1 Web Owners Club
www.P1woc.co.uk

mutant_matt

Thanks guys. I'm wondering if it's something to do with the paint that my friend had on his EVO (the car in question). I've also put a mail into Mark Underwood (as he seems to know a lot about paint ) before I make my final descision.

Cheers,

Matt

PSI3

Matt, i had it fitted to my STi7 recently, to early to tell about the fading but so far no stone chips (3000 miles). I also spoke to Mark before i had it fitted and he recomended it.

simon

Neil Smalley

Some people can take armourfend a little too far...

geoff_clio172

I had it fitted to my W-reg Fiesta Zetec-S and it was nothing but problems for me. I had to go back twice to have the whole front reapplied as it had lifted on both occasions and it had grit underneath. So that was a total of 3 fittings for the whole front. 3 months passed and the front stayed stuck down but the headlight protectors lifted and I had the same problem there. I couldn't be bothered to pay Armourfend another visit so I pulled them off and removed the glue from the lights.

I wouldn't use them again simply becuase of hassle factor. I decided not to bother with it for my 172 and after nearly 11000 miles I have a few chips but nothing major yet!

mutant_matt

I have spoken to Mark and he has explained, in his usual in depth, helpful and technical way why this will not be a problem on the Impreza paint, particularly in my colour.

So, AF is ordered and should be fitted on Thursday

Thanks guys,

Matt

S111ONF

I have amourfend on my Elise. I would highly recommend it and its supposed to be 'light-fast' (i think it is) - i.e. the paint fades in the same way as if it were not there.

I know Lotus themsleves use a different supplier - their stuff goes yellow and does affect the paint fading - so beware immitations :-)

After a few runs and seeing the stone chips others have it is worth the cost IMO

Simon

Mark Underwood

The paint that your friend had on his old car was red and what we call a flat paint.
That is a paint without lacquer or otherwise called a straight paint.

A straight red paint is the worst no matter the make of vehicle. The problem
with red paint is that it lies at a certain point within the chromatic
spectrum and is very susceptible to fading. This is because red paints "soak
up" UV rays and this dries the oils within the paint.

The problem also happens with very light blue paints without a lacquer coat
as used once by Ford, Rover etc like Wedgwood Blue.

Both the reds and these blues take a whitish hue after some years exposure
and often accelerated by using solvent based products on the paints as well
as using detergents. Solvent and detergents strip these paints of their
valuable oils and the more that they are used the greater the leaching
effect.

Another phenomena of Cem's car and indeed all straight/flat paints is that
when AF is applied it has a tendency to "apparently deepen the gloss effect"
of such paints. This is easily demonstrated by placing some cling film over
something that is red and you'll easily see what I mean.

Straight paints are a rarity these days and even the likes of |BMW no use a
clearcoat to cover the pigmented paint and BMW Zinnobar red is now had a
name change and is a pure red paint but with the addition of lacquer. This
is primarily due to BMW using water based paints which are softer and less
resilient than older solvent based paints. The paint on Cem's old Makinen
was also water based.

Irrespective of Cem's views I still recommend AF treatments 100% and I
always think it is far better to have it applied rather than having parts of
the car resprayed at regular intervals. I have seen some Scooby's that have
had cheap blow over on the front and the evidence of this has been easily
visible when opening the bonnet. On resale such performance cars are always
looked at critically by the potential buyer. The evidence of overspray etc
in or around the engine bay means that the buyer assumes accident damage
and then becomes even more critical of the car that they intend to buy. My
choice is AF everytime and leave it on for the new purchaser to see. They
then see the car in original condition and can either remove the AF or leave
or replaced the peppered AF accordingly.

AF will carry the peppering effect rather than the paint...this is what it
is designed for. Some folk believe that it should always be smooth and
remain in as new condition..it will if you keep replacing the peppered bits
at some cost.

When I come to do your car and I have no idea what make or colour you are
getting I will apply a treatment similar to DiamondBrite?Supaguard etc. This
will seal the paint surface for you with what is known as a fluoro polymer
resin and result in a high gloss. The gloss effect will be magnified by the
use of the wax in your kit. Wax will become and always remain the
sacrificial lamb and therefore needs to be regularly re-applied once a
month. The wax application you'll see when I come to do the car is very much
easier than before as it is applied to the whole car and then buffed even if
it is next day!!!

In summary....go for AF.

mutant_matt

Mark,

I seem to have a strong case of Deja vu

Thanks once again,

Matt