My new car with 3M clear film applied

I just picked up my Prius from the place that applied the 3M clear paint protection film. I took pictures this morning (cloudy/foggy) before taking it over there, then I took pictures there this afternoon (sunny) after the application was finished.

The only bummer is I already had a very tiny chip in the front lower bumper. I purchased the car on Thursday evening (no chips, I checked) and took it in before 9 am on Saturday morning. The installer told us that the owner of the place bought his new car just 3 miles down the road and drove it directly to the shop to have the 3M film applied and he already had THREE tiny chips. It just happens.

First picture is BEFORE.
Second picture is AFTER.
Third picture is AFTER (closer view).
Fourth picture is BEFORE.
Fifth picture is AFTER.
Sixth picture is AFTER (extremely close at the "worst" spot for seeing the line).
Seventh picture is AFTER. (I failed to get a "before" of the rear bumper.)

Like everyone has said prior, you can hardly tell unless you are looking for it. From six feet away, it is not noticeable. I've been told white cars are different, but that all other colors are similar in visibility of the "line".

I hope this helps someone.

Karin

 

This was not an inexpensive project. LOL Total price out the door was a flat $700 (no tax...they can work that out on their own), which was $125 off the original quote plus the sales tax. There is more to the story than that, though. There are only two places here in San Diego that I could find that even do this process and I called well over 15 places!

One place is a dealer who uses an outside installer and would charge $600+ for this same work. However, they don't do them very often and I have read and spoken to plenty of people that this is a one-shot deal and it takes experience. The place I used does these frequently on Priuses and all the time on high-end cars (Porsches, Jaguars, etc.) and racing cars. They have experience, plus they could do it right away. The dealer couldn't schedule the appt yet and I called Friday morning and again this morning before going with the other place. Besides, I negotiated $500 off MSRP when I purchased my Prius in order to get this 3M paint protection film applied. (Long story there, too, which I will skip.)

It was a kit with the extended hood (24 inches instead of 18 inches) and I was not too happy he didn't remove the hood emblem for full coverage. That's when I learned it was a kit. I had been led to believe it was custom over the phone, but I never actually asked directly. Lesson learned for me on that one.

Pieces included:
front bumper
24 inches up hood
headlights
front side pieces (name???...from wheel wells forward on both sides)
backs of mirrors
top of rear bumper
two rectangles for Clean Air stickers when they arrive (rear placement spots)

The installer had my car in the sun when we got there to pick it up. The sun was shining on part of the car when I got home, but the sun set shortly thereafter.

 

From what I understand, yes, the lines will be more visible on a white car than any other color. However, I do believe they are talking about the difference of say 4-6 feet away (colors) versus perhaps 6-8 feet away (white) where you cannot see the lines anymore. You'd have to talk to a professional, though, because I am going by what several installer type people told me and have not seen it myself. All I know is I didn't even notice the "lines" today on my car and I was up close and personal at several points. It is clear and it blends in, plus we tend to see what we want to see. I was focused on our young child and not the car.

As a note about the 3M clear film, I am REALLY, REALLY glad I paid the extra money to get the top of the rear bumper done!!! I've owned the car a whopping 3 days and there have been TWO incidents already where that spot could have been chipped/dinged/scratched. It still looks perfect now, thanks to 3M!