Hey all, just got my bike back from paint. Before I had it painted there was a rub mark on tshe rear fender where the stock seat rubbed through the clear coat. Anyone ever use the 3m paint protector film to help with this?

If now what if anything are you using...



Thanks for your help!

RJ

 

I am. ordered it off the fleabay in a big sheet and cut my own patterns. put it everywhere my seat was rubbing. works great

 

I put it on the rear fender, and small section of the tank where the hammock seat rubs, as well as the lids, can't see it. Need to do some more

 

Manufacturers use it for this very same reason, so I think your idea is sound.

 

Funny you should mention this. I just got done applying it in all the areas the seat contacts this past weekend. Also on the part of the chrome tank console that comes into contact with the foremost part of the seat. I just switched out the stock seat for a new heated Mustang seat and the stock seat had scratched and scuffed the crap out of everything it contacted.

I had to take the orbital buffer to the tank, fender and side panels. Unfortunately, the scratches in the chrome console can't be buffed out. I tried but ended up going through the thin chrome layer and into the nickle beneath. I replaced the console.

So, as a preemptive measure I applied the 3m film to all areas the new seat contacts. I used blue painters tape applied to all the contact areas before putting the seat on. Then I traced the edges of the contact areas and used that to cut patterns. Laid the tape on the 3m film and cut it out. Then applied it to those areas on the bike.

This is my first time working with this stuff. If you really want to get fancy you can lay it on wet with a spray bottle containing distilled water and a drop or two of dish liquid. That allows you to move it around rather than an instant it's stuck where you put it. You then squeegee the water out. Since these were small areas I just laid it on dry and used a heat gun to get it to shrink and conform to curves.

It's not exactly beautiful but you really don't see it anyway as it's pretty much under the seat. What I will say is be real careful not to touch the sticky side unless you want to preserve your fingerprints for all time. Overall, it's way better than scratches and rubbed off paint.

 

Keep this in mind: I had a customer come to me with a Mercedes SUV she had just purchased. The front of the vehicle had the paint protector applied to the front of the hood and fenders and had dried out and cracked into about a million pieces. She wanted me to get it off. The only way to get that mess off was to sand and repaint.