Anti-gravel film on a car: reviews of motorists. How to stick a protective film on a car

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

During the road, the car body is exposed to various foreign objects, which now and then fly out from under the wheels of your car or what is moving in front. There is always a huge risk of damaging the body when driving on country roads or suburban highways. A lot of damage is received by cars that have a fairly low landing and a massive front bumper.

There are many ways to protect the body from this. One of them is an anti-gravel film for a car. What is this coating?

This is an innovative product that can reliably protect the car's paintwork from the influence of various negative factors.

The protective film on the car is almost invisible on the body andcan perform not only protective, but also decorative functions. Many manufacturers offer these products in various colors and patterns. However, transparent film is very popular with car owners.

Print Benefits

Wrapping with an anti-gravel film has several significant advantages for any car:

1. The body is reliably protected from minor mechanical damage.
2. Modern film is almost invisible.
3. Adhesive with its special formula makes it easy to apply the film and then just as easy to remove it.
4. Does not chemically attack body paint.
5. No special care required.
6. Easy to apply to any body shape.
7. Has a long service life.

All manufacturers who manufacture these products give a guarantee for a sufficiently long period - this is an important plus. This is a guarantee that during operation the anti-gravel film on the car will not turn yellow and will not exfoliate.

Another major advantage is the free passage of UV rays through the protective coating. What does this mean for the car body? Thus, the color of the paintwork under the film will not have any difference with the color of the coating in those places where it was not pasted.

It is also worth knowing that the protective film on the car does not protect against impacts as such. Its main function is to soften them. The impact force is distributed over the entire surface, thus the body parts will not be damaged. These products are applied where the risk of damage is greatest -these are fenders, optics parts, mirrors, a bumper, and also a hood.

The application of this film guarantees maximum protection against chips, various scratches, gravel and a variety of mechanical damage. These advantages have already been appreciated by car owners.

Types of films

To date, two types of products have received special distribution among motorists. This is a polyurethane protective film for cars and vinyl. There are also carbon and special protective products.

Vinyl films: advantages and disadvantages

This coating is used when it is necessary to protect the entire body. Pebbles can get everywhere - on the side doors, the back and on the roof. Among the advantages of this type of protection, some points can be highlighted.

Thus, the vinyl anti-gravel film on the car, which is made by injection technology, has high flexibility characteristics. Therefore, there is no difficulty in fitting even the tightest curves with it.

Additional feature - maximum surface protection from ultraviolet radiation.

It causes the color to fade after some time. Another advantage is the cost, which is much lower than for polyurethane products.

Among the disadvantages are:

• small thickness (so the strength is not enough);
• in winter, during the period of severe cold, elasticity characteristics are lost;
• thisproducts are more suitable for application on the sides.

In this case, the protection is from gravel and stones that fall on the sidewalls at sharp angles.

Strictly speaking, the function of vinyl is more decorative. Installed vinyl anti-gravel film on the car can only effectively protect against ultraviolet light. So don't expect anything more. Vinyl, unlike polyurethane, tears more easily where the polyurethane only stretches. This, unfortunately, is also one of his characteristics.

Polyurethane products

Polyurethane car protective film comes from military technology used in the United States. The product was tested in the military companies of this country in Iraq. It was supposed to protect helicopter blades from sand. In principle, this is not even a film, but light armor, as experts call it. Ultraviolet passes through the material completely, which allows the body to burn out more evenly.

This protection is glued on bumpers, mirrors, as well as on the front parts of the hood. The high viscosity of the material and the thickness is a huge advantage that allows you to provide complete protection for surfaces. But this is also considered a disadvantage, since there is no way to cover it with spherical body shapes or surfaces with large curves.

This anti-gravel film on a car is not suitable for a bumper. The reviews of those who glued it on such surfaces indicate that, indeed, it cannot completely cover the surface. In any case, there will be space that is notwill be protected.

When compared with vinyl, the polyurethane product retains its shape very poorly. Where the film is bent, there are strong tensions and a cellulite pattern. Its service life is comparable to vinyl. Among the shortcomings, there is one more - the film turns yellow over time.

Carbon

Unlike vinyl, carbon has a three-dimensional texture.

This will allow, in addition to protection, to give the car some individuality. Carbon fiber is produced using special technologies and imitates carbon fiber as much as possible.

In addition to aesthetics, this protective film on a car perfectly fulfills its functions. The thickness of the material can vary from 180 microns to 200. This allows you to completely protect the surface from any impact.

Where to glue?

Pasting a car with an anti-gravel film is carried out in those areas that are most susceptible to the mechanical impact of fine gravel. These are the front parts of the hood. A tape is often glued there, the width of which is from 20 to 90 cm. The film is also glued on the wings at the back and front.

The bumper must be completely pasted over. The rear must be protected on the top. The lower edge is protected from the effect of sandblasting. They also paste over doorways, sills, the area around the door handles, the back of the mirror, subframes and headlights.

The order and technology of application

So, a suitable anti-gravel film for the car has already been bought.

Installing it is a rather complicated process. All work must be done very carefully and as accurately as possible. The technology includes several mandatory steps.

Preparation

To get a quality result, you need to prepare the surface of the body well. If the car is fresh and just left the assembly line, then it will be enough just to wash it well and then degrease it.

If there are shallow scratches, cloudy coating, chips on the body, then all these defects should be carefully cleaned and polished. All this can be done at the service station, or on your own.

Open

The safest and most recognized way by car enthusiasts around the world is cutting using car patterns. But, often in most service stations, the film is cut along the body. This method has some disadvantages.

So, this pattern may be inaccurate. Only high professionalism saves from possible mistakes. They cut the material with a certain margin. Therefore, if the film was purchased without allowance, then it may simply not be enough.

Knife on the body of a car can leave scratches, which will get condensate. And scratches will crack over time. Even experienced craftsmen do not guarantee the absence of damage.

Installation

There is already an anti-gravel film ready for gluing. Its price depends on the material and manufacturer (for a bumper from 1000 rubles). It is important to remember that you should work very carefully, otherwise this process may cost additionalcosts.

The finished pattern is pasted on the corresponding elements.

This must be done with a building hair dryer, or steam. Heating makes the material softer and more elastic. This allows you to stretch and stick the product tightly without air bubbles. Larger sheets may require prolonged heating and more time. But if a high-quality anti-gravel film is purchased for a car, reviews indicate that the better the sticking, the more reliable the protection will be.