[drjer1]

Upon delivery of the "fridge" (Ibis White S5 w/Tuscan Brown, loaded) I had clear urethane stone guard professionally installed on the front end. This is a must in the winter around Lake Tahoe and the ski areas as they LIBERALLY sand the road (sand=gravel=small rocks!!) I'd rather spend $500 now than $5k to $10k to repaint.
One week later there were so many ripples on the edges that I had it reinstalled (at the installers expense with no arguements). The original materials had to be tossed.
I found that there are so many compound curves around the bumpers and grill that the installer MUST put some small slits around the edges if you want a smooth installation. This does not distract and it is only noticeable if you are less than 1 foot away.
This stuff does work!! On a recent 400 mile trip I hit half the flying insects along the California Eastern Sierras and they all came off in a normal hand wash with no adverse effects.

 

[UpstateS5]

Thanks for the heads up. I live in the sticks and they use lots of sand around where I live. Is there a trade name for the product or did you just have your local body shop do it? Fortunately my car doesn't arrive for another three weeks which is after snow season, I hope.

Enjoy your ride.

 

[drjer1]

UpstateS5
The brand film I have is Clearshield (www.solargard.com). If you list stone guard on Google, it will show you one or two more mfgs. The person I had do it is primarily a window tinter. She cut it herself though some of the manufactures have kits already cut to size. Let me warn you, however, it is not an easy job even though they tell you it is. The pre-cut kits are also quite pricy ($500-$750).

 

[A5inReston]

drjer1
Thanks for the info. Can you clarify what surfaces you had covered? I was going to have just the bumper covered with the Scotchgard treatment and not the hood or fenders. I did not like the demarcation line on those surfaces, besides the bumper is the major frontal area.

I welcome your input.

 

[drjer1]

I had the front bumper, fenders, hood, and headlights covered. The material was applied the bottom of the front bumper up to 2:00 oclock on the right front wheel (10:00 on the left front). It runs across the first 14-16 inches of the hood. A4inReston, I felt the same as you but as long as the car is clean you have to really be close to see the line. Plus most of the films available are guaranteed not to yellow for 5 years. Make sure there are guarantees on both the work and the material itself.