[Tmb1]

I just got a 2013 Spider in Volcano Red. I understand that paint chips are not simply a matter of touch up.

Given that, was is the recommended amount of coverage for the clear bra.? I was going to do full hood, bumper, rockers, mirrors and maybe rear deck lid. Thanks

 

[Markjayw]

Here is the recommendation so far, based on reading where people are experiencing road rash:

Full front bumper, carbon lower lip (front splitter), head lights, full hood, full front fenders, full doors (factory piece below doors is not enough) full turning vanes and the painted area inside, full rockers behind doors, and either full rear bumper or a good section running behind rear tires down to the bottom corner of the bumper. Would also do the windshield, not too bad at $350-$500, much cheaper than a new windshield.

Keep in mind that the newer nano self healing films will help, but if you like to tailgate or drive next to trucks instead of passing them quickly, a big rock hit will still go right through the film.

Basically optimum would be everything except the roof and rear hatch. Could do the rear spoiler / air brake, but will not be doing that on my car.

 

[bigmac]

Here is the recommendation so far, based on reading where people are experiencing road rash:

Full front bumper, carbon lower lip (front splitter), head lights, full hood, full front fenders, full doors (factory piece below doors is not enough) full turning vanes and the painted area inside, full rockers behind doors, and either full rear bumper or a good section running behind rear tires down to the bottom corner of the bumper. Would also do the windshield, not too bad at $350-$500, much cheaper than a new windshield.

Keep in mind that the newer nano self healing films will help, but if you like to tailgate or drive next to trucks instead of passing them quickly, a big rock hit will still go right through the film.

Basically optimum would be everything except the roof and rear hatch. Could do the rear spoiler / air brake, but will not be doing that on my car.

LOL. Or you could just leave it parked. It's just a car after all. People get way to carried away with the protection film.

 

[Markjayw]

LOL. Or you could just leave it parked. It's just a car after all. People get way to carried away with the protection film.

You are talking about a 320k plus MSRP car. $4-$5 grand is cheap to keep it looking nice. If someone has so much money that driving one of these is like buying a Toyota Camry for most people, then ok, don't worry about film. But I would say the majority of owner's have 1 to 2 exotics max.

I would listen to the guys with the little "owner" title under their names.

 

[bigmac]

You are talking about a 320k plus MSRP car. $4-$5 grand is cheap to keep it looking nice. If someone has so much money that driving one of these is like buying a Toyota Camry for most people, then ok, don't worry about film. But I would say the majority of owner's have 1 to 2 exotics max.

I would listen to the guys with the little "owner" title under their names.

EVERYTIME I read one if your posts my IQ drops a little. Do you work, or just forum post professionally?

BTW, don't put too much stock in the little sig under people's names, I DO have 12C.

 

[Markjayw]

EVERYTIME I read one if your posts my IQ drops a little. Do you work, or just forum post professionally?

BTW, don't put too much stock in the little sig under people's names, I DO have 12C.

You mean it increases don't you, because you learn something new!

Well give bigmac an owner's label!

 

[Tmb1]

Every car site has one....

 

[Markjayw]

Hey Mark, thanks for the help and the quick reply!

A thank you would have probably been better IMO.

 

[macmadmark]

Tmb1 I have done 5k miles (in 5 months), I have just one chip that seems to have perhaps just cut through the film on the nose. I cannot see any chips anywhere else. I only have what McLaren London put on as a minimum amount of film, turning vanes and lower doors and nose. The film under the doors is all coming off and I will not replace it. It all depends how obsessive you are, and how much you just want to get out and drive. I do try hard not to drive close behind anyone. I had more problems in my Lotus, which seemed to get loads of stone strikes, especially on the windscreen.

 

[Tmb1]

A thank you would have probably been better IMO.

I was not referring to you. Your response was very helpful, as opposed to the other.

 

[Markjayw]

I was not referring to you. Your response was very helpful, as opposed to the other.

Thank you. Thought I was in trouble again!

Here is what I was quoted from McLaren San Francisco with a list of coverage:

Full front bumper
Carbon Splitter
Full Hood
Full fenders
Windshield protection
Full doors
Area behind doors behind turning vanes
Full Turning Vanes
Full rocker panels
Area behind rear tires all the way down to bottom of bumper.

XPEL Ultimate film. $5400

Most likely going forward with this, because I don't want to take the risk of having it driven anymore, or damage during shipping. This is done onsite at the dealership.

 

[Ritesh]

I would highly HIGHLY recommend getting the whole car wraped if you have a Volcano color. Paint matching is virtually impossible on the Elite colors. The only way to protect your car is to have it completely wraped. Thats what I did and don't regret it AT ALL!

 

[Markjayw]

I would highly HIGHLY recommend getting the whole car wraped if you have a Volcano color. Paint matching is virtually impossible on the Elite colors. The only way to protect your car is to have it completely wraped. Thats what I did and don't regret it AT ALL!

What was pricing for complete wrap? What kind of film was used?

 

[Ritesh]

I had 3M Ventureshield installed. It is considered the best in the industry. The most important factor is the installer. Make sure you are using an experienced installer. The guy I used does all the installs for Ferrari of Dallas, Some Porsche dealerships and the McLaren/Maserati/Bentley/RR dealership. Total cost was $6400 for wraping the whole car. The only part that wasn't wrapped was black rear diffuser. Anything that was painted was wraped. It took 2.5 days. Well worth it IMHO.

Mark I would use these guys if I was u:

http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/index.shtml

 

[Markjayw]

I had 3M Ventureshield installed. It is considered the best in the industry. The most important factor is the installer. Make sure you are using an experienced installer. The guy I used does all the installs for Ferrari of Dallas, Some Porsche dealerships and the McLaren/Maserati/Bentley/RR dealership. Total cost was $6400 for wraping the whole car. The only part that wasn't wrapped was black rear diffuser. Anything that was painted was wraped. It took 2.5 days. Well worth it IMHO.

Mark I would use these guys if I was u:

http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/index.shtml

Yes Premier is very good, but Alessandro's company is a mobil company, as well as has their own shop. I don't want the car driven 20 miles to the shop risking damage. I have Yelp'ed the shop McLaren S.F. uses, and they have very good reviews, and have done many 12C's for S.F. They also use Xpel Ultimate which I prefer. Ventureshield is good, but it will not resist scratches / swirls. You need to be very careful with Ventureshield and pre-soak your car before you wash it. Elite can do the job at McLaren S.F.

Also another option for me is to ship my car to Portland and use an independent guy that does Ron Tonkin's work. I have seen his work, he is extremely meticulous, but the problem / issue would be that I am 3.5 hours away from Portland, and would not be able to see the car when it arrived. Price is good though, $3500 for Ventureshield in the same areas I specified in a previous post. But then I would have to drive 220 miles in another car with my wife, and go pick up the car. A pain in the butt!

I don't know if Tonkin wants me shipping a McLaren to them either.

 

[LimeyBloke]

I would highly HIGHLY recommend getting the whole car wraped if you have a Volcano color. Paint matching is virtually impossible on the Elite colors. The only way to protect your car is to have it completely wraped. Thats what I did and don't regret it AT ALL!

But, I've seen wrapped cars where a stone 'pecked' right through the wrap material; so you still would need a "touch-up". With Tri-stage type paints it's difficult to match the 'flop'.... but, a real expert can do it pretty well..
I use a place where they do work on some of the highest value cars/paint work in the U.S.. They also work on some of the most spectacular hot rod paint jobs (Coddington, Foose, etc) you've ever seen. Let's face it, McLarens do not have (in my opinion) the most flawless paint work I've ever laid eyes on, so let's not even compare it to a (plus) $30,000 paint job by the custom builders mentioned above.

 

[Markjayw]

But, I've seen wrapped cars where a stone 'pecked' right through the wrap material; so you still would need a "touch-up". With Tri-stage type paints it's difficult to match the 'flop'.... but, a real expert can do it pretty well..
I use a place where they do work on some of the highest value cars/paint work in the U.S.. They also work on some of the most spectacular hot rod paint jobs (Coddington, Foose, etc) you've ever seen. Let's face it, McLarens do not have (in my opinion) the most flawless paint work I've ever laid eyes on, so let's not even compare it to a (plus) $30,000 paint job by the custom builders mentioned above.

That's why I mentioned above that even with a clear bra, you still can't be tailgating cement mixer trucks!

 

[Markjayw]

Yes Premier is very good, but Alessandro's company is a mobil company, as well as has their own shop. I don't want the car driven 20 miles to the shop risking damage. I have Yelp'ed the shop McLaren S.F. uses, and they have very good reviews, and have done many 12C's for S.F. They also use Xpel Ultimate which I prefer. Ventureshield is good, but it will not resist scratches / swirls. You need to be very careful with Ventureshield and pre-soak your car before you wash it. Elite can do the job at McLaren S.F.

Also another option for me is to ship my car to Portland and use an independent guy that does Ron Tonkin's work. I have seen his work, he is extremely meticulous, but the problem / issue would be that I am 3.5 hours away from Portland, and would not be able to see the car when it arrived. Price is good though, $3500 for Ventureshield in the same areas I specified in a previous post. But then I would have to drive 220 miles in another car with my wife, and go pick up the car. A pain in the butt!

I don't know if Tonkin wants me shipping a McLaren to them either.

Well surpisingly Ron Tonkin said they would help anyway they can. However, the shop in Portland does not do windshield protection! So savings would be $1900 plus cheaper shipping rate of $400, $2300, minus $500 to get the windshield done somewhere else, plus my time and gas down and back, $2.00 / mile on the McLaren driving back, plus the risk of someone damaging the car, and then you have the he said she said fiasco. Not worth the $1000 bucks. Will just get it done in S.F.

 

[LimeyBloke]

That's why I mentioned above that even with a clear bra, you still can't be tailgating cement mixer trucks!

Cement or gravel trucks .....
Our worst nightmare !

 

[Markjayw]

Cement or gravel trucks .....
Our worst nightmare !

We should chat about Lotus Esprit's, had a 2002, but until I fixed all the stuff Lotus of Atlanta screwed up, it was my worst nightmare!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT5rfcUWZ9Y


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry-UmYfUC7Y

This is what the 12C should sound like with Sport Exhaust IMO.