Tired of paint chips

While getting my tonneau ready for the Spring, I was worried that having it on the car while driving might cause abrasion of the paint where it touches the car. The guy doing the mods to the tonneau suggested a clear film like Armor Glove - that's the stuff that can be applied to the nose or headlights of your car to ward off stone dings.

There is a company headquartered in the Boston area called Venture Tape ( www.venturetape.com/final/index.htm ) that produces such a product which I'm considering for the areas where the tonneau touches, but also for the nose leading surface and headlights. They have a PDF spec sheet available on the site at:

www.venturetape.com/final/new_products.htm

I've seen this on the leading edges of the fenders of a 34 Chevy here, and it looks really good. I should have pricing and delivery info tomorrow, but is anyone else out there interested? I may be able to get a volume discount worked out for our group. I would think the most interesting versions would be a roll of 36" wide (for the nose) and sets of headlight covers to fit our lights. I need a roll of 2" or 3" wide for the tonneau area but don't know if anyone else would be interested in that.

Gordon

Gordon,
You might want to investigate "clear bra," which is a clear covering that is custom-fitted to the vulnerable areas of your car's front. It protects against stone chips, bugs and other forms of road rash. And you won't have to drive around with an unsightly fabric "bra" messing up the classic lines of your car.
I don't think "clear bra" is a do-it-yourself item, but I've seen a few cars at shows with it installed and if you didn't know it was there, you'd probably never see it.
Naturally, these folks have a website - www.clearbra.net/

Gordon/John,

I checked both sites and neither lists their prices, nor info on care or washing. Do either of you know if these are short- or long-term application, or if the they can be cleaned?

Thanks,

Mike McSween

The "clear bra" product is a clear thin vinyl(?) that is heated as it's applied directly to your paint. The heating process fits it to the body contours perfectly and removes all air bubbles. When installed it's nearly invisible - and it's designed to stay on the car semi-permanently. It stays on the car through car washings, etc. Obviously, it can be removed, but not put back on. I think it's also marketed as "invisibra."

Venture Tape is a distributor for the 3M poly-vinyl tape used by "Clear Bra", "Armor Glove" and others. They essentially take bulk amounts of the stuff and provide it in more user-friendly dimensions. It is a 10 - 20 mil adhesive-backed film that, once applied, lasts for years and can be washed as usual, including through automated car washes with no problems (like to see that with a no-top speedster!!!) It is seen on some mid and upper range luxo-cruisers (Jags, Audi's, BMW's and so forth) and more frequently now on high buck Street Rods.

"Clear Bra", Armor Glove" and others have networks of "dealers" who have franchise-approved templates (Armor Glove calls them "schematics" - don't know why) for various popular cars, allowing the installer to cut the stuff more-or-less to shape before application. Once cut, the adhesive-backed film is carefully applied with a low-wattage heat gun to remove wrinkles and bubbles. Once installed, it becomes virtually invisible and provides great paint protection.

You would have to develop your own template for a Speedster, but there's not a lot to get around so it would be pretty easy. I measured my car, and a depending on how high you want to go up the hood, a roll 24" - 36" wide would wrap the front, and that width 5 feet long would wrap a standard speedster nose, and 6 feet long would wrap a flared fendered version (neither including headlights - they have separate product for headlights, a good idea).

I figured it would be a MUCH harder job to put a narrow strip of this stuff along the tonneau touch area than wrapping the front of the car - the nose should be relatively easy.

Once I get info on pricing and availability I'll post it here and we can decide if it's a good deal.

Gordon

Dale and I saw a car at Henry's on Friday that had this on. It is kind of invisible, until you see it. Then you can't not see it. This was on a silver car, and the underlying color surely makes a difference, but it looked ever so slightly yellow. What catches your eye first is the edges. This stuff has some thickness, and it shows. I have considered it for my car in the past, but now that I've seen it, I would never put it on my car.

To me, this is the question: If your car is mint, you just messed that up by putting this film on it. If it's not mint, then what's the point of putting it on? Just my opinionated 2 cents worth.

It's a replica so drive it, can't do that with the real one! Sounds a little wacky I know but bras on these cars look silly and that clear stuff will yellow with sun exposure. If you have a black car you can rub the front end out with shoe polish and 90% of those scratches will be gone.

J-P

Drive it, drive it, drive it. Paint chips happens...shit happens. When it gets too bad, get the front repainted, then drive it, drive it.....Bras are for old ladies with flabby tits.
Ron