Paintshield and Milltek Exhaust - answer please!

[R20 VXR]

Hi folks,
A couple of questions.... Having spent my weekend fastidiously repairing a number of stone chips after only 2500 miles (Bl**dy work of art I'll tell you!) , I was intrigued to read Louise's (aka the famous Miss VXR) message on another board advocating the virtues of paintshield. It seems to me that the whole bonnet and front wings would have to be done to avoid those nasty (wax collecting) joints. Once applied, what's the score with keeping it clean and like the real thing? Perhaps more importantly; a) how much is this gonna cost me; b) any recommendations of suppliers close to the West Midlands and c) what do you guys think?
Second question... if my lovely wife doesn't throw a wobbly and I invest in the full milltek...what's it gonna do to my insurance and to what extent does it affect the MPG? I understand that as its Vauxhall recommended there are no warranty issues.
Looking forward to evidenced answers from those out there who've been there done it.
Thanks

[Aussie]

milltek, i havent noticed any major changes in my fuel economy
if sitting on motorway 75mph cruise on average 33mpg
anything else and it comes down to my driving habit on the day
insurance, i paid an extra £20
paintshield i noticed doesnt cover the entire bonnet and the higher parts im having trouble with stonr chips plus the windscreen more so then my bumper

[S3 VXR]

Not been without the milltek from day one, much prefer the sound, mpg is unnaffected, Insurance company were uninterested with Sports exhaust as long as it did not add a further 10% to overall power, neither the cat back nor the full system will do this, I am with Churchill.
I am not suffering too badly from stone chips, but during cleaning yesterday noticed I have a cracked fog lamp glass, where do you end the protection of the front of your car ? How will you then protect your protection ? I would stick with the artwork.
As for the Wife throwing a Wobbly, go outside, sit in your car, and providing you lock yourself in quick you wont be able to hear her over the miltek anyway !

[M40COO]

When I enquired about the exhaust affecting insurance, I described it as an option on the car (which it is, becaus eyou can get it from vauxhall) they were not interested...so no extra cost.
Paintshield..... I'd be concerned about fade and match....
i.e. rest of bodywork fades, and you have to polish it up to match the protected stuf.....
or on the other foot...is the protected stuff is'nt up to scratch you'll never match the two.. ???
Oh, and yes 3 stone chips
S3...how can you say you prefer the sound of the milltek, if you have not had the car without it ????

[S3 VXR]

S3...how can you say you prefer the sound of the milltek, if you have not had the car without it ????

I have heard many with it including my own, it was delivered to the dealers with the original in place as it is a dealer fit option, it reminded me of the sound of a Morris 1100/1300 from the late 60s early 70s whilst idling and its sound on the move I just found a little to hight pitch, much prefer the lower pitch of the Miltek

[Insignia VXR]

PAINTSHIELD

I rang Paintshield for some more info on their product.
Their website www.paintshield.co.uk has diagrams of the 4 different sets they have available for the VXR. Front valence, front splitter, bonnet&mirrors and side sills.
Non starter for me because as soon as I asked how visible the plastic was they asked what colour car I had; when I specified Black they went quiet and got a bit non-responsive.
They want £450.00 for the 3 forward sections but like Aussie said the bonnet section doesnt cover were its really needed.
I think Polish build up on the edges would be inevitable so not a product for me.
Ive always used GS27 Titanium Polish on the front parts of the car to help protect the paint.

[paintshield]

Re: PAINTSHIELD

I rang Paintshield for some more info on their product.
Their website www.paintshield.co.uk has diagrams of the 4 different sets they have available for the VXR. Front valence, front splitter, bonnet&mirrors and side sills.
Non starter for me because as soon as I asked how visible the plastic was they asked what colour car I had; when I specified Black they went quiet and got a bit non-responsive.
They want £450.00 for the 3 forward sections but like Aussie said the bonnet section doesnt cover were its really needed.
I think Polish build up on the edges would be inevitable so not a product for me.
Ive always used GS27 Titanium Polish on the front parts of the car to help protect the paint.

HI Guys
I just picked up on this thread so I thought I would come on and address some of the misunderstandings that seem to have arisen hopefully some of you will know me from the Vx220 club (where we have done dozens of cars for members)
Firstly on Black cars the product is no more or less visible on a black car than any other car indeed the scotchgard new SGH film (released in december last year), was designed to offer enhanced clarity and looks fine on a black car. Where issues with black cars creep in has more to do with the quality of installation than the nature of the product. It is true that black cars WILL show any defect in installation more easily than other colours. The solution to this is simple dont screw up the installation As for the non responsiveness I must admit I was listening to the conversation and I did raise with Ann that I felt that she had not addressed the colour question fully, so I can see how you would draw that conclusion I guess she was having an off day
As for the wax at the edges thing, this really is something of an old chestnut and its like an urban myth now We get asked this on every third enquiry and the answer should be the same IT DOESNT HAPPEN, in the thousands of cars we have done and we have advised customers how to do this, I have had not one single customer come back and complain about this (no BS not one). IMHO where this has happened in the past, the cause has almost always been as a result of cutting on the car. This leaves a gouge in the paint and wax residue can then build up in the cutmark adjacent to the film and hey presto wax line. Where this has not been done I have yet to see it.
IF you wax your car with a decent non powdering product and use the cloth to polish with remaining residue along the edge (rather than running large amounts of wax along there then this WILL NOT OCCUR.
AS for Bonnet section not covering where its really needed if you haven't had it on the car and do not know the depth how can you say that? We can do full bonnets indeed the customer who had her VXR done can verify where called upon we can do the whole front of a car!! We have a tech demonstrator celica which has the whole front done forward of the wing mirrors all on pre-cut parts (an industry first I believe). We could do this to any car, however most customers wont pay the cost of doing this. From Memory I seem to remember our VXR bonnet goes a considerable way up the bonnet and is based on the widest currently available film sizes.
However if you want a full frontal wrap and are prepared to pay for it hey who are we to argue
Nice board by the way although figuring out how to register stretched my meagre braincells a bit
Cheers
Tom

[paintshield]

When I enquired about the exhaust affecting insurance, I described it as an option on the car (which it is, becaus eyou can get it from vauxhall) they were not interested...so no extra cost.
Paintshield..... I'd be concerned about fade and match....
i.e. rest of bodywork fades, and you have to polish it up to match the protected stuf.....
or on the other foot...is the protected stuff is'nt up to scratch you'll never match the two.. ???
Oh, and yes 3 stone chips
S3...how can you say you prefer the sound of the milltek, if you have not had the car without it ????

Hi I would like to takle the fading issue firstly there is no differential fading under the film (its actually guaranteed NOT to do this) what you will see after 3-4 years should you choose to remove it, is a slight difference in surface lustre due to the fact that the rest of the car has been waxed for many years and the paint under the film is as it was when first applied. Solution "wax the car" this levels out the lustre "job done"
As for the film matching the lustre of the rest of the bodywork if you wax the film at the same time as the rest of the car then it will have the same surface appearance as the rest of the car
Hope This helps
Cheers
Tom

[Sparky]

How much does this cost to add the film to the bumper?

[paintshield]

How much does this cost to add the film to the bumper?

HI Even though you are a mod I will not sell on forums as I know we get spanked for that
Give me a call on 01476 592777 and I will happy to let you have a price
Best Wishes
Tom :P

[paintshield]

Hi Guys

Just wanted to address the full Kit Question we can now do full Bonnets (and wings if required) on the VXR would post a Pic of a full bonnet we did recently but not sure how to do a direct upload on here (if possible).

Cheers

Tom[/img]

[Aussie]

use www.photobucket.com to host pics them copy and past the link

im gonna need a bonnet and bumper respray before doing anything else

[M40COO]

Painshield fitted pics from Tom @ Paintshield:





This Car Has Full Bonnet and Bumper and wing ends (Not full wings) as well as Mirrors and rear load area protection etc.

[Dvader]

Are there any Paintshield places in Scotland?

[In a state]

I think there's someone up here now...best conatct Tom at Paintshield and he'll point you in the right direction.