Car Protection

If you’ve just brought a nice new car you will obviously want to keep it looking shiny and clean. To help with maintaining a healthy looking exterior we have listed a number of various ways in which you can do this…

Paint Protection:

Paint Protection Film (PPF) is a thermoplastic urethane film applied to painted surfaces of a new or used car in order to protect the paint from stone chips, bug splatters, and minor abrasions. This film is also used on airplanes, RVs, cell phones, electronics, screens, motorcycles and many other areas.
Paint protection film is frequently installed by manufacturers on various pieces of cars at the factory (e.g. the rear arches of Porsches). The film is generally installed by certified trained professionals who receive supplies from outside distributors and dealers. Some tinting and detail shops also offer this service. Today’s automotive PPF is highly-conformable and optically clear and is available in a variety of thicknesses and colours.
In addition to installations performed in situ at the factory or by certified shops and dealerships, there are also a select number of vendors who sell pre-cut and vehicle specific paint protection kits, as well as individuals who sell these kits on online auction sites or other markets.

Wrapping:

Wrap advertising or a vehicle wrap describe the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping a vehicle in an advertisement or livery. The result of this process is essentially a mobile billboard. Wrap advertising can be achieved by painting a vehicle’s outer surface, but an increasingly ubiquitous practice in the 21st century involves the use of large vinyl sheets as “decals”. The vinyl sheets can later be removed with relative ease, drastically reducing the costs associated with changing advertisements. While vehicles with large, flat surfaces (such as buses and light-rail carriages) are often used, automobiles can also serve as hosts for wrap advertising, despite consisting of more curved surfaces.

Advancements in plastics have led to new types of vinyl designed specifically for wrap advertising, including vinyl sheets that feature bubble-preventing air channels. The vinyl is heated with a heat gun or torch for the purpose of molding the material around objects.
Decals can be made to cover side and rear windows on a vehicle, but for safety reasons, the front windows used by the driver are not covered. The decals on side windows are typically perforated, so that it is still possible for passengers to look outside.

Wrapping is also sometimes used instead of paint as a less-permanent way of applying its operator’s standard livery. This has become particularly common in the UK where, since the privatisation of British Rail, it has become quite frequent for trains to be transferred from one company to another, requiring many changes of livery. Wrapping can also be used for vehicle customisation, and race cars often get vehicle wraps as they are lighter than paint.
Bonnet cover:

A front-end bra (car bra, bonnet bra, front-end cover) is a stretchy type of vinyl (usually black) that attaches to the front of a car or other vehicle to protect the bumper, hood, and sides of the fender from scratches, although not everyone agrees: it is argued that car bras can cause damage by retaining moisture, catch air (reducing aerodynamics and causing the fabric to vibrate), and cause scratches in paintwork, paint chipping, and other minor damage from rocks, gravel, and other road debris.

The inside of the bra is lined with a feltlike material. Car bras are considered a ‘fashion accessory’ to vehicles as their utility is debated and some owners consider that they improve the look of their cars. Others use a car bra as a way to cover-up light front-end scrapes and damage to their vehicle.

There are several types of car bras, including full, sport, and T-style. The ‘sport’ car bra covers less of the front of the vehicle (displaying more of the car’s original looks) than the ‘full’.

• The ‘T-style’ car bra is generally intended for trucks, SUVs and similar. Car bras are most commonly black in color, but are available in other colours to match the colour of the vehicle.
• The ‘clear’ car bra is actually a stick-on, transparent, protective film that can extend from the front end over the entire car body.
• Some automobile manufacturers use larger bras together with disguising panels, plastic and/or tape to cover an entire vehicle (or certain parts of it) to conceal its design when developing and road-testing.

These ideas above are the most common for,s of bodywork protection but there are many others out there that you may want to explore, we hope this has helped.