I'll be driving a new car from Longwood FL to NC in a few days and would like to avoid damage to paint from bugs,road debris, etc. on the trip.
I've used blue painter's tape on my cars when I've tracked them but I've also seen products mentioned that are specificaly for this purpose,such as tracwrap, roadwarrior film etc. Have you had experience with these products? Good or bad? Or should I jut stick with the painters tape?
You often see new cars on transporters being delivered to dealers with some sort of white plastic covering the nose and other vulnerable parts - I've wondered if that stuff can be reused after it's been peeled off. I'm sure they just throw it in the trash when they prep new cars, maybe it would be worth checking with local dealers to see if they have any of it out back in their dumpster.
I drove from Fl to California and used some sort of saran wrap like product that I got at Advance Auto. It was better than the painters tape as it did not peel off as easy while driving and its wide so only two strips are needed. I will try and see if I find the brand.
These pics are crappy but its all I have:
Painters tape works as well, but its a pain to apply. When I picked up my mom's new car in DC and drove it back to FL:
what do they cover boats with for the winter , the white plastic ?
can you shrink "Wrap" it on the nose with a hair dryer ?
In reply to californiamilleghia :
That stuff shrinks in a big way via propane torch.
I'd smear bacon fat all over the front end. It's a broad X cicada year. When you arrive at the destination drop them into hot cast iron and you'll have bacon fat fried cicadas and you will have gotten to enjoy several pounds of bacon before your trip. Rinse with hot water and the bacon fat will come off cleanly from the vehicle. It's a little known fact that it's how Guy Fieri keeps the front of the Camaro convertible clean while traveling for Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (a disappointing name as I'm yet to see him utilize a drive in).
I can't recommend Road Warrior Plus highly enough.
I had a track day this past weekend, and it held up great. There was no chance of it lifting and flapping in the wind (like tape would). I put it on the bumper, hood, fenders and mirrors, as well as behind the rear wheels. It protected the paint perfectly. It held up to 103* temps with no problems. It gives the paint a matte finish.
I'm in the process of pealing it off, and it is coming of in one big sheet. Its amazing how dirty it is too.
When you apply it, you can mask the seams, so it doesn't drip through. Then, like plasti-dip, you need to apply at least 3 thick coats. The first takes more product, the second two coats need less. If necessary it can be power washed off, but so far, I don't think I'll need to.
I have a couple of pics, and a short video of the removal if you want to see.
I hope this helps
In reply to Jderiansf :
If you're going to do it often, get this:
It's the same thing, but in gallon size, so costs more to start, but cheaper in the long run.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
Yours is the best suggestion except for the chance of also collecting the famous Florida Love Bugs. They don't taste very good and are small enough to be a pain to pick out of the cicadas.
RoadWarrior looks like a good alternative with the disadvantge of having to apply 3 coats & wait between coats and maybe not being so good in heavy rain and I seem to always run into a stretch of heavy rain on every road trip.
I've ordered Trakktape and will report back in a couple of weeks
I suspect the painted on products would require the paint to be cleaned of any wax, right?
In reply to aircooled :
IIRC paint doesn't have to cleaned of wax.
aircooled said:I suspect the painted on products would require the paint to be cleaned of any wax, right?
Actually, the having a good, clean waxed surface doesn't affect adhesion and helps with removal.
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