• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.

    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

3M Paint Defender

Stewart

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
I wish they came out with this stuff years ago.


My rockers were getting chewed up due to the gravel that is common on the mountain roads in southern california. I had installed mud flaps on the front and rear to slow the damage down and hated everything about them. Mudflaps belong on trucks not sports cars. I figured for 25 bucks I would give it a shot and I'm glad I did.


I started out shooting the rockers behind the rear wheels to get a feel for the product. Once everything was masked off the area was waxed per the instructions and then sprayed. It's very different from paint as you need to spray 3 thick coats without stopping and you only have 10 minutes after spraying for any touch ups and to remove the masking tape. If it's too thin you will end up with orange peel, if it's too thick it will run. I found that if there is an even blueish tint to the coating and it has a orange peel look to it right after spraying you have it right. The left side rocker was perfect the first time. The right side took 3 times to get right. First time I sprayed it too heavy and it ran. Second time I screwed up and touched it while it was still wet and then tried to fix it causing it to run again. If you do screw up like that just let it be and the stuff will level out. 3rd time came out perfect. If you do mess up wait till it dries and it will just peel off. Drying time is less than an hour if left in the sun or a few hours if put back in the garage. It fully cures in 1 to 4 days depending on temperature.


So far I have both rockers coated from the front wheels back using the bottom of the door as the masking point. I figure even after my initial mistakes I still have about a 1/4 of the can left. Unbelievably the advertisements are correct and it's mostly invisible with only a slight line at the masked edge that you can see at certain angles. After it cures its a good idea to wax it as it does seem to attract dust. Pictures below were taken about 1 hour after I finished applying the paint defender.


2013-06-23%2012.37.23a.jpg

2013-06-23%2012.37.39a.jpg

2013-06-23%2012.37.33a.jpg

 
Last edited:
Stewart - Thanks for the product review and application description. I've read of similar results on the BMW forum and your experience seems to echo theirs (and their satisfaction). Sounds as if it's $25 well spent. I definitely plan to give it a try.
 
Stewart,
I think your MGB deserves a wow! I can see why you want to protect the paint.
Tom
 
What size nozzle in the spray gun for this stuff? MIght be great on the front end too because of rocks and bugs.
Jerry
 
Back
Top