whoddoo

New RDX owner considering having the Xzilon and 3M Clear Paint Protection products applied. Anyone with experience with these products and what price did you pay. I can get exterior Xzilon and 3M for $1,695. Worth it?

Pacer

I am also in the market for this. From what I've read in earlier posts (if you search the forum for 3M you can probably locate them), it is a good investment. The counterpoint is to save your money and have your hood repainted for less when the dings get too bad to stomach. I'm already on my 3rd or 4th blemish in <2k miles, I observe posted speed limits, etc. So I'm a little bummed and am very seriously considering this. I got a bid for about $1200 for one of the two 3M products although it was about a month ago and now I'm not sure which one it was -- IIRC one is better than the other. (My estimate does not even say 3M on it, hmm; it just says P1224, P1224B, P1224C and P1224D.)

Anyway, for hood, fender, mirror extended covereage: $344
Upper bumper kit: $435
Lower bumper without lic plate: $345

Total: ~$1125 + tax

Infamous425

3M yellows over time. find a ventureshield installer instead

Lrpba300

REALLY???When did you have that happen. I've had it on many cars & NEVER seen that? Is that a personal experience or just a story you heard? If 3M is installed by an authorized dealer, he can replace it under warrantee for yellowing.................

whoddoo

Did some additional research and found exact and similar products for considerably less than the amount quoted by the dealer,...imagine that. Best quote so far is $599 for front, lights, mirrors, and protruding handles. Think this is the route I will go.

Did some research into Xzilon as well and decided not to pay over $500 for what is essentially a wax job. Will check local detailers and see what they have to offer first.

I figure I gave the dealer enough profit when I bought the car.

Infamous425

i check out many car forums. theres a lot of people who have 3M clear bras and say after 3-4 yrs it starts to yellow a bit

2Sxy4YoMama

I have it on my 01-CLS and it begin to turn yellow and crack. Also, on one of headlight, the film is slowing peeling off and I got stuff underneath it.

Chas2

Remember that 3M only supplies the raw materials. Other companies, such as XPEL, sell the finished product. These middlemen design the patterns, laser cut and ship them to installers. For high volume installers, who have bought the cutting machines and software, companies like XPEL have the pattern available for download, and the patterns are cut on site.

There are other competing suppliers, like Bekaert Films, a Belgian company, that supplies ClearShield. ClearShield is actually made in San Diego, CA, by a firm that Bekeart bought, and that manufacturer also supplies the laser cut patterns or the soft copy for high volume subscribers.

Doing a search you will find other manufacturers, usually pattern makers like XPEL, called StoneGuard, Clearmask, etc. Yellowing was supposed to be a problem with the first version of the 3M films, and they are supposedly reformulated to prevent that. They have a five year warranty.

The part numbers are XPEL part numbers, look on their site. Typical installation for 3M stuff is very high, usually $1000 at the dealer for a full frontal set, many times 4 kits, including the headlamps and fogs, mirrors, front of hood and fenders, front bumper. You may be able to find it for several hundred less at local window tinting shops, but make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Very often, not always, the cheaper installation cost for XPEL are because they are not giving you all four kits. Look at the XPEL website for your kit numbers. In my experience, not much, but calling around, the window tinters will undercut the dealers by about $150-200 for the full set of kits.

ClearShield is typically much less expensive, usually less than half of XPEL, and is installed by individual local window tinting shops. They have equivalent coverage, although the very brief research I did for my car, not an RDX, was that XPEL had greater hood and fender coverage, and is the product I eventually went with XPEL for the higher level of coverage, and there was definitely the hassle factor. I knew I was getting ripped off by the dealer, but saving $200, driving to another place, waiting for 4 hours or having someone pick me up and drop me off was not worth it to me. Now others, not in the DC area, more like Ohio, have gotten pricing on full XPEL kits for $400 less. That would be worth it.

Only had it since November, on black car, so I doubt I will ever be able to comment on yellowing.

If you live in the DC area, PM me, and I can tell you about a deal on ClearShield from a MD vendor.

Infamous425

i still recommend ventureshield over 3M material because it has lifetime warranty against yellowing

Lrpba300

I didn't go by others on forums, I was going by personal experience. Never had that problem.

2Sxy4YoMama...Sorry to hear that. If I ever have a problem, I take it back to the installer & he fixes it, under warranty whenever possible. I didn't like yhe Xpel type. I've always gone to a dealer who cuts the pieces from a large roll of product & does excellent work.

whoddoo

To close this out here is what I decided. Located a local installer who will do the 3M paint protector for $600 with a 5 year warranty. Recommended by high end auto owners in the area.

Did a little research on Xzilon and it appears to be a legitimate product that offers some value in reducing exterior maintenance, leather care and spill resistance. Don't want the high cost of installation to get full warranty so I purchased the bundle on eBay for $$40 and will install myself.

Thanks again for all the posts.

Lrpba300

Congrats! I think you made a good choice. I have always loved the 3M material on certain areas to help protect them. A good install job is important, so I hope you picked a good install company.

Chas2

Yes, good choice, 3M paint protection film. Who cuts the pattern, and how much coverage did you opt for?

I wish I could have found someone that did it in that price range for an XPEL cut pattern in my area, but could not. I figured the dealer got a lot of profit out of me, but the convenience and time savings ended up being worth it to me given the travelling I had to do.

whoddoo

Chas2, the pattern was cut by the local shop and they did an excellant job with the install. They are used by the local high end car dealers and came highly recommended. Coverage included lights, mirrors, bumper and the leading portion of the hood. Overall I'm very satisfied with the results.

trovan

i have had clear bra on all my cars. it is worth every penny. i wipe off little dirt marks on the porsche which i know could've become a chip if wasn't for the protection.

a lot of people bad mouth 3M because it is very difficult to apply. you will always have more complications if the installer is not top notch. the place i got had done 3M on all high end cars and never any complaints. i think many installer push for venture product because it's very easy to install.

anyway, just got my new RDX done today, feel much safer now!

porsherules911

how much did it cost?

trovan

for 1/3 of hood, all front bumper, under spoiler, mirrors and door edges was 650. this is a pre-cut kit. not custom, which is cut on the spot. but it would cost 3x!

thekash

Hey,

I'm new here... i tried msg you but i couldn't get to the user info page... i was looking into the clearshield for my car as well, i'm in MD was wondering if you still had that info you could pass along to me? thekash at hotmail dot com, unless you can send me a pm here... thanks a million man!