P1 Chipguard

[David aka Blue7]

I have tried armourfend, ventureshield and Xpel and was about to try another version bodyfence until I came across P1 Chipguard, which is a spray on version (6 coats) and is easy to apply to any type of contour.  If it's good enough for Porsche and Mercedes it can't be bad so I think will give it a go. 

https://www.kinghornbodyshop.co.uk/p1-chipguard/

David

[Jim 123]

How does the price compare with the film based protection products? 

[David aka Blue7]

I haven't had an up to date quote for the film but the P1 will be £200 + vat for both rear wings.  It will also cover the entire wing unlike the last Xpel film which is a kit and just covers almost the front section of the wing, which is actually inadequate because it would be more effective if it at least went to the top of the wing.  The P1 could probably be sourced cheaper but I have chosen a trusted company that I know will do a good job, they have the agency for Porsche, Mercedes and Aston Martin and I have seen Ferraris and Lambos there.

[tbird]

how different is it to using Plastidip clear coat,  5 or 6 coats should give some decent protection

 

[David aka Blue7]

TBH I have never heard of plasti dip but just Googled it and it seems to be a similar product and they do suggest 6 coats.  I am not sure how easy it is to apply and probably best done by someone with experience.  The armourfend / ventureshield / Xpel / film kits that have been applied to my cars have not covered the entire width of the exposed arch to the side of the wing protectors, seemingly because of the difficulty of having to cope with two contours ... although a Detailer I have just spoken to reckons he can cover the whole area with the aid of a heat gun.  I am going to give the P1 a try but that plasti dip does seem an interesting product.

[tbird]

the good thing with Plastidip, and probably P1 is that if you cock it up it can be peeled off with no damage , if it's a bit stubborn WD40 will remove the bits and pieces, Frost's also do a similar product, lots of videos about using plastidip , have a look at this as a start 

[Jim 123]

It would be very interesting to hear how P1 works out on your car. It appears to have a number of claimed virtues.  It is scratch polishable, and has no exposed edges to trap crud or lift; and peels off in one piece if needed.  A number of OEM's have played with opaque  single layer versions of P1 for in-transit protection, but the maths and process issues don't stack up for that type of situation even though the product has performance tested well.

The number of layers (thus material thickness) might give a small colour shift.  Probably not noticeable on the back wings, but you could always ask for a sample to be sprayed on a piece of glass as a pre check.

I'd guess that it needs a booth environment for application in order to avoid small dirt particles being trapped in the dying film as they won't be removable later.  Might be worth asking if they mask around the rear lights or remove them for spraying, just to avoid any surprise if you have to peel the P1 off at any time.

[David aka Blue7]

They actually remove the rear wings and lights for the respray, the paint has to settle for 2 weeks prior to the P1 application.  I can't believe that they remove the wings again for the P1 application but I will check that out.  I saw an AMG that they had just completed and I couldn't detect any colour difference. 

[David aka Blue7]

Very good video tbird.  I was about to comment that the process is the same as wrapping your car until he covered that and commented that plasti coat is far cheaper than wrapping.  All the applications in the video were coloured, I assume that there must be a clear version to apply over normal paintwork.  The guy in the video certainly makes the application look easy, no mention of any pre preparation like sanding down the surface to provide a key so I assume you just need to ensure that the surface is ultra clean and dry and the working environment temperature is suitable.  I wonder if anyone here has tried it?  It looks like an ideal solution to protecting those wing edges.

[tbird]

Yep there is a clear version, i have use black over POR on wishbones, but that's a very different application, where finish maybe not quite so important, having said that it goes on fine even with a brush and smooths out nicely, obviously can't comment on peelability because i didn't take it off :-) ,  and as you remarked, no keying surface prior to application, in fact that's probably the last thing you would want to do as would make it less peelable, just wash and wipe over with IPA  , mask up and spray away :-) you can even get sparkle top coat for it if you want a bit of bling :-) 

 

 

[David aka Blue7]

I have just watched another plastidip video and it seems that unless applied correctly it can leave a textured effect rather than a smooth finish which can be polished

[CharlesElliott]

It seems a bit too good to be true, so will be interested in the results.

£200 is quite a lot though, how much to paint two wings in normal paint?

[elie boone]

Like all those products that promise you it's fantastic it all comes down to experience with the product but even so i think you never can get enough layer thickness with a rattle can to withstand gravel rash. Also in his video he goes with his hand over the body of the blue car and it sound really coarse, therefore i guess that it was applied with something like an undercoat spraygun, this will also give you the layer thickness that you would need. See how this guy struggles with the plasti dip on his wheel