shumax

Ok---after 1 week and 500 miles I already have a nice stone chip on my hood

My car is what so the idea of a black hood bra is not an option, nor is a black acrylic hood protector you would see on a truck. What I want is a clear acrylic hood protector that I can paint the back side of white so it matches my car. I know these exist as my dad has one onm his F150 and my neighbor has one on his Ram---both of which were clear and then painted the color of the car to match.

So, can this be had on the P5 by some aftermarket company? I don't care about it being the color of my car---I can paint it myself. I just need to be able to find a clear one---anyone?

Thanks,
Curt B. Shumaker

P5 Rollin

Why not just go and get some of that 3M Rock Guard suff put on? I think that's what it's called. It's a layer or plastic film (like tint only clear) that is put on the front of the car, usually the front of the hood and sometimes on the front part of the quarter panels. You should be able to get this put on at any tint shop and maybe even at an auto detailer. Once it's on (if the installer did a good job) it shouldn't be noticable since it's clear and the paint shows through. You may notice a small edge at the top across the hood where the film ends, but it's not that noticable. It's supposed to be pretty durrable.

shumax

I have never heard of this--but it sounds good. You have a link I can check out?

Thanks!
Curt B. Shumaker

TexP5

It's Stongard...Stongard.com

Someone has posted pictures. I think it's probably a cool product but something like $500 for the whole front end kit.

NegatiZE

$500 for some clear plastic? DAMN!

MPChi

Those Stongard stuff looks pretty good. I recently bought a used yellow MP3 and it came with it. Looks very clear without any milky plasticy look. The 3M material is very reflective looking, like about 90% as shiny as your paint. The only main thing you'll notice is where the edges of the pieces are. The edges are almost invisible when its new, but dirt and wax build-up will make them more noticable over time. But still, when you step back like 10 feet from your car, you won't even see them. The price is pretty steep, and I don't know how long it'll last other than the info from the Stongard site. But if you really want the clean look without any extra bra or deflector, this may be the way to go.

Couple things though. Some people say they don't look as nice on dark color cars. Also, they may be quite tricky to put on if you want do it yourself. I would suggest finding a place that can do it for you, and probably just get the hood, fenders, and maybe the side mirrors covered. They seem to get damaged the most, while the bumper can take a lot more hit since its flexible. Save yourself quite a bit if you skip the bumper piece.

Hope it helps, and search around as someone posted some nice closeup pics on his red P5 with the stuff before.

P5 Rollin

I didn't know it came pre-cut. I thought they put it on similar to tint and trimmed it? Is this pre-cut thing somewhat new? I could have swore that when I saw my friend do this (he's a tint installer) it wasn't pre-cut. Am I way off base here?

nramsey

I had the Stongard installed on my car. $650 including the entire front end, mirrors, door handle cups, door edges, lights, foglights etc installed. Pics and thoughts here:

www.nramsey.net Go to the Protege5 section then scroll down a bit.

I am very happy with the product and the cost was certainly worth it to me since in a few years I won't have the "sandblasted" look.

The kit is all precut, but install appears to be VERY difficult. I wouldn't try installing it myself...installer skill I would guess is VERY important to the appearance of the product after install.

More info... www.stongard.com