Last June/July, I had my car completely repainted. The shop that did the work showed me some samples of a product called ArmorCoat. It's more/less a thicker, more durable clear coat that is applied just like regular automotive paint. It serves a similar purpose as the 3M protective film but it conforms to all of the compound curves minimizing edges and areas that are left unprotected.

My car had about 60k miles on it when it was repainted and the front bumper, fenders and rear bumper were beaten with rock chips. I chose to have the entire front bumper, the lower parts of the fenders/rear bumper, and rocker panels ArmorCoat'd.

Today, a co-worker informed me he backed into the front of my car. With my car being a custom color, I expected the worst walking out to the parking lot. The front of the car was covered in bugs from this weekend so I couldn't really assess the damage without cleaning it. I grabbed some quick detailer and went to work. Much to my surprise... the ArmorCoat resisted the impact completely!

In 20k miles, I also don't have a single rock chip on any of the ArmorCoat'd panels!


PS. I'm in no way affiliated with ArmorCoat.

 

Thanks for the information. Glad your Vette was spared damage. I never heard of the product, however will certainly look into it when the time comes.

At first, I thought this was a new Armor-all product.

 

http://armorcoatusa.com/

 

Interesting. They have redesigned their website since last year. Their old website had more videos.

 

What maintenance does it need? Do you still wax it after it's applied?

 

As far as I know, zero. I haven't waxed it and it's still crystal clear.

 

Very interesting. maybe when I paint my car I'll have this done. Can you tell us how much you paid for yours? And did you do the whole car?

 

The price is comparable to the 3M film. I had the entire front bumper shot (no lines anywhere), the rockers and behind all 4 wheel openings. Here is a picture from last year when it was completed...



When you walk up to the car, you can see faint lines behind the tires. However, most people (car nuts included) don't notice it until I point it out.

 

This ArmorCoat stuff has sparked my interest......

 

Interesting. I wonder what it'd cost to do the entire car. I get a lot of knuckle-heads out here that do stupid things around cars in parking lots. It'd be nice to protect the entire car.

I wonder how resistant it is to keying. I've been keyed already and I've only had the car since March.

 

I was watching the video and cringed when I saw that they have to wet sand your clearcoat to apply it. That is a deal breaker for me. I have used 3M and didn't like it, but it was reversable, just peel off. I recently found cleartastic film to be pretty nice and has a nice shine to it. I did my bumper and hood on my C5Z. Looks good, has a nice shine, and can come off when I want.

 

Thanks for the info, I hadn't heard of that product.

 

of course they have to rough up the clear coat ..

how else would you xpect " paint " to adhere ..??

 

Wow. Sounds like some neat stuff. I am thinking I might have to get this done. I want to get the nose repainted anyway. Is it expensive? Thanks.

 

THanks for the info. I'm considering several products and will add this to my research.

 

Interesting!! Thanks for the info!!

 

Thanks for the info. Will keep the name of the company on file for possible future use.

 

I wouldn't want it to "adhere", I would want it to protect, yet be reversible. This product is a marriage. When it gets cruddy looking your stuck w/ it or a respray. I had 3m and it got marked up, but it protected well. 2 yrs in I just put it in the sun and then pulled it off. I traded the car that week and it was as new. With this product I would have had to go in for a removal and spray. That's all I was pointing out was the differences in the products.

 

Correct. ArmorCoat is permanent. However, I don't think it's fair to say "when" it gets cruddy. The product is designed to last as long, or longer than the factory clear coat. Why did you remove the 3m film before trading the car in?

 

I'm no fan of 3m having used it twice. Both on black cars. I live in FL, and it is a harsh environment w/ the sun and getting sandblasted. There are 2 grades of 3m and I went w/ the better one the second time which had a shiny clear finish. It scratched and got marred up easily. having black I'm sure it showed worse. I removed it to look better for my trade value, and if I had to respray that would have been an expense on a car I was trading. My tint installer recommended Cleartastic and I have found it to be much better, doesn't scratch easily and had a nice shine. I did my whole hood and no one catches it unless I point it out.