ajh Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Does anyone have experience with the latest offerings in the paint and windscreen protection film market? With the flat windscreen on the Defender having a protective film applied to the outside to minimize the chance of stone-cracks just seems like a really good idea and I'll be doing this for certain (and I'm getting a bit annoyed by the face that the windscreen on my D2 just cannot be made clear, the outside seems to be grit blasted from road debris/sand and I can only see it getting worse with time.) since it will probably make the difference in having a large rock come through the screen vs a small pit-mark and it can be changed as it wears out like a tear-off with a whole lot less effort than getting a new windscreen. Something even more important if you've forked out for the heated screen (I went clear, non-green for the best visibility, I also find the heater wires in the D2 windscreen to be quite distracting and reduce night vision quite a bit.) The paint films however seem new, and given the long-term issues with moisture seeping through the paint and causing paint to bubble, etc, a urethane layer would really seal the paint vs having to wax regularly and they seem to be quite invisible when applied. That and more importantly, after doing a part-by-part full restoration and painting on every body panel (and my gods was it expensive and I did a lot of the prep work, but I'll be doing a whole lot more next time for sure.) It would be nice to be able to go do some local moderate trails (this 110 is more intended for expedition/shows/DD than for hard-core offroading) without having to worry about the shrubs detailing the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 The bodywork films have been around for a long time. The biggest supplier is 3M with their Scotchgard film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 not sure any film would stand up to outside on the windscreen. If the glass is pitted whats "plastic" going to be like? I bet even the wipers scratch it and then you'll get terrible glare at night. Inside would work for safty and security and they smake security film specifically for this reason. Better not drive it again, only way to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Neill, you're clearly not familiar with security films, it's also why windscreens have a laminated layer of plastic in them it makes them a LOT safer. You might want to look at some of the demonstration videos. A local company does it for residential/commercial windows called ACE Clear Defence and it makes a window quite difficult to break, you basically have to knock the pane out of the surround and that takes a whole lot of force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethepilot Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Are those legal in UK to be installed in the windshield and for the front side windows? You can´t put even a clear film for those in here... And what comes to those security and safety films used in armoured or rally cars, they are always installed inside to prevent shattering, and they are illegal in the civilian traffic. Just thinking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Actually i am familiar with quite a few films and none would be suilable for external windsreen use. As pete said they are for use mostly inside. It seems to be you who's getting this wrong. Lamitnate windscreens have glass on the outside (never plastic) with possibly mutiple layers but almost always glass on both sides. The film coatings used in building highrise are mostly inside and rarely outside. I can think of a few coatings for external use but none would withstand external vehicle windscreen applications. To be honset you're talking rubbish. There are no commercailly avaiable films that are suitable for external windsreen use. Prove me wrong. BTW. I worked in security systems for quite a few years and know what lamitate, secuirty, bullet proof, balistic and armoured glass looks like and how its made. In fact i've fired quite a few bullets at it ! Even taken a sledge hammer to it on numerous occasions. The films avaiable for retrofit are mostly exclusively internal. The ones for vehicles are internal. The one i'm fitting to my 110 is internal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 http://www.clearplex.com/?about would be a new thing then, which is why I asked if anyone had tried it. I'm sick of my D2 windscreen looking like someone etched the outside of it. Even if it had to be replaced regularly, if the overall cost is reasonable then why not it would keep the glass nice and optically clear and provide the anti-chip protection I'm looking for. Any small rock damage is fairly easy to repair with the high-pressure acrylic injection system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethepilot Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Hi! That http://www.clearplex.com/?about sound´s like a good idea, especially in Defenders, whose windshields are very upright and prone to stone chipping. I have my doubts about the price though...and I think that your windshield should probably be in very much like new condition before application. I probably would go for that depending about the price of course and only if that would be legal here. I think that you will be ok with legality there? In the second hand you propably can´t notice it when installed... Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Try the Dealer Locator for non-USA locations. http://www.clearplex.com/?dealerlocator Have fun. I have seen the OP is in Canada, not the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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