kerb scraper
Well-known member
- Joined
- 25 May 2012
- Messages
- 395
When I became the custodian in 2001 my 993 already had some paint protection film on the rear of the wheel arches as protection against stone chips. The tyres are very close to the arch so protection is definitely a good idea.
After so many years the film was very scabby at the front:
The rear PU was replaced recently and so had no film hence I wanted to protect the new paint.
I bought 2 metres of 75 mm wide helicopter tape on a well known auction site for all of £9.99. There are many vendors as this is popular with cyclists who use it to protect their frames from chain slap and cable rub etc.
I made a template from the old film by covering it with masking tape, tracing the outline then removing the tape and sticking it to some white plastic film and cutting round the outline. The template was then used to mark out the new paint protection film
The template can be reversed to mark the new film for the other side.
Removing the old film from the fronts was tiresome and it came off reluctantly in small fragments. I used a heat gun very carefully (no more than 20 seconds at the low heat setting
I really went to town on cleaning up the wheel arches using brake cleaner, snow foam, Iron-X, clay bar, tar spot remover, super resin polish and finally brake cleaner again..
The technique to apply the new film is amazing if you haven't done it before as it seems to defy the laws of physics. All you need is a spray bottle of about 500 mls water with 3 drops of washing up liquid (the 'slip solution') and a squeegee of some sort. Ideally rubber but I had to use an applicator (the sort that comes with body filler). A credit card can also be used. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of this bit as needed both hands all the time.
The basic technique is to wet the wheel arch, wet both sides of the film, line up the inside long edge of the film, press into place and then squeegee with lots of pressure from the inside edge to the outside edge until all the slip solution and air bubbles are expelled then wipe down with a microfibre cloth.
If you screw up or dirt gets under the film simply pull it off, spray with slip solution and start again. (you can do this as often as you like!).
There are lots of videos on line showing how it is done.
Here are a front and rear finished articles:
The camera makes the film look darker but in real life it is almost invisible.
Considering the great condition of the paint under the old film I'd say this is well worth doing - especially if you have fresh paint on these areas.
After so many years the film was very scabby at the front:
The rear PU was replaced recently and so had no film hence I wanted to protect the new paint.
I bought 2 metres of 75 mm wide helicopter tape on a well known auction site for all of £9.99. There are many vendors as this is popular with cyclists who use it to protect their frames from chain slap and cable rub etc.
I made a template from the old film by covering it with masking tape, tracing the outline then removing the tape and sticking it to some white plastic film and cutting round the outline. The template was then used to mark out the new paint protection film
The template can be reversed to mark the new film for the other side.
Removing the old film from the fronts was tiresome and it came off reluctantly in small fragments. I used a heat gun very carefully (no more than 20 seconds at the low heat setting
I really went to town on cleaning up the wheel arches using brake cleaner, snow foam, Iron-X, clay bar, tar spot remover, super resin polish and finally brake cleaner again..
The technique to apply the new film is amazing if you haven't done it before as it seems to defy the laws of physics. All you need is a spray bottle of about 500 mls water with 3 drops of washing up liquid (the 'slip solution') and a squeegee of some sort. Ideally rubber but I had to use an applicator (the sort that comes with body filler). A credit card can also be used. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of this bit as needed both hands all the time.
The basic technique is to wet the wheel arch, wet both sides of the film, line up the inside long edge of the film, press into place and then squeegee with lots of pressure from the inside edge to the outside edge until all the slip solution and air bubbles are expelled then wipe down with a microfibre cloth.
If you screw up or dirt gets under the film simply pull it off, spray with slip solution and start again. (you can do this as often as you like!).
There are lots of videos on line showing how it is done.
Here are a front and rear finished articles:
The camera makes the film look darker but in real life it is almost invisible.
Considering the great condition of the paint under the old film I'd say this is well worth doing - especially if you have fresh paint on these areas.