Hey everyone. I've been around this site ever since I got my TL in '99, but this is the first time I am posting, and unfortunately it's not a good one. My girlfriend thought she'd be sweet, so for Christmas she decided she'd buy me something for my car. Now, if any of y'all are like me... you love your Acura more than many things in this world, and you are extremely picky. Knowing this she went out and bought a front face mask for my '99 3.2 TL. I have the aero kit (aka underbody spoiler kit, ground effects, skirt, or whatever you please). I didn;t ask for it, but she put some thought down, and I guess I appreciate it. Only problem is I had the damn thing installed (afraid I would scratch her) and when I went to pick it up, the damn mask doesn't look, in my opinion, like it fit. On the bottom corners of either side there's about a 1 to two inch margin of white. around the license plate and on the hood the mask looks pretty sweet, but then u get down low, and all of a sudden there is a noticeable amount of white paint exposed. I always thought these masks were supposed to wrap around the whole thing. Turns out she bought it from this site. I'm trying to post pics of it, but I'm having some trouble, so they'll be up soon. Anybody heard or have a problem like this before? Any body have anyu suggestions or anything?

 

I had the full nose mask and had it on my car before I got my body kit. It fits TIGHT! I mean I had to use a lot of force to get the last clip around the last corner. But it was worth it b/c it protected the car from rock chips on the highway and it looked nice b/c it fit so well. There was no paint showing, except in the fake fog holes. But there nothing they could of done about that (with the mask). Knowing how tight it is, I don't know how in the world you (or who ever installed it) got the mask around the bottom lip. Either you stretched it BIG TIME, or modified the clip to extend past the lower lip. I'm thinking what happened was the second which would explain the paint showing.

 

it wont fit properly with the body kit

 

Also a warning...have a lot of fun with these two, straight from the mouth of the Acura body shop manager I was talking to:

If you get any kind of protective mask, get Xpel, the 3M stuff...because with a material nose mask you will have
1) grit and mud catching underneath the mask, and it, along with even a clean mask by itself, will scratch up whatever it's laying on top of...long thin scratches to the parts where it's not tensioned on (top and bottom of hood), and short narrow deep grooves where it's tensioned on (edges and corners of hood).
2) the beating on the paint of the mask will eventually wear down the hood and will cause a noticeable difference in the paint. The paint where the mask was will be easier to scratch, duller, and most likely lose most of the clearcoat protecting it.

Hence after I get a repaint on a few rock marks, and my front bumper sanded/replaced, and after I put about 500 coats of Zaino on it I'm getting the Xpel kit...

Austin519

 

If I am thinking about the same 3m stuff, it is awesome. 3M makes this clear vinyl stuff that they apply and it has a warranty of five years. Only problem is that they recommend professional installation because it goes on kind of like window tint.

 

aepiua:
I believe that is it. And yeah I can't wait to get mine...but definitely it'll be done professionally.

Austin519