IronGuard

excuse my crappy pictures; it's a 6 year old camera. these are pics of my 3M installation. i need to know if these gaps and misalignment are normal. thanks.

on the hood





the mirrors are not completely covered



the line from the hood does not meet up with the fender

HamstersG

iTrader: (5)

Doesn't look good, but hard to tell with those pics.

Also, a good installer can wrap the hood so there is not gap on the hood.

IronGuard

yeah it doesnt look good to me either. however, isnt the wrap under the hood only for ventureshield? i thought 3M was 'pre-cut' so there is no need to cut the film on the car.

btw, i read your thread and it was very informative. made me think how poor my installment was after reading all the comments.

Blackjack

iTrader: (3)

3M typically doesn't get wrapped. there are some misalignments. i'd contact your installer to see if he'd fix it, especially the hood and fenders not aligning. that's definitely not right.

HamstersG

iTrader: (5)

I am not the expert, but the second person that did mine showed me the program they used to cut the film patterns and there was different patterns for wrap or no-wrap. And it did not matter if it was 3M or Ventureshield. I just had a crappy installer on the G first time around.

IronGuard

thanks - i wasnt sure if a misalignment was considered an issue.

when i ask for a redo, i will see if they can wrap it. i would think if they could wrap under the hood they would do it everytime since consumers want the least amount of lines. we'll see.

IronGuard

Blackjack,

do you know what is an 'acceptable' gap for 3M? i haven't been able to find a reliable source of information regarding this. i have seen various pictures on the net of various cars with gaps so i know it's common. but then i read HTP Autoworks saying there should be NO gaps.

for $750, should i expect NO gaps with 3M?

CHI-TOWN G37

There is a gap with the 3M, but your photos are not really very clear to see what's going on. You can see my gap in these photos because of the wax film before I cleaned it off. The gap is very consistent and around 1/8" everywhere. If the fender does not line up with the hood then a redo is in order. Good luck

Blackjack

iTrader: (3)

I don't know if there is an 'acceptable' gap and honestly there is no right way. The perfection of an installer is all with the experience of the installer. I'd say my gap is around a sixteenth.

I've had 3M (now using Xpel) installed both way... wrapped and not wrapped. Currently not wrapped around the hood edges and I prefer it this way. When it was wrapped, I had more problems as the 3M material tended to uncurl and come off the edge as it aged (2+ years). I'm perfectly happy with the way my installer did mine. I remember he told me why he doesn't recommend wrapping because I asked him, but I can't remember his reasoning. Feel free to reach out to him to discuss as a neutral party... tell him Brian with the white G37 mentioned him. He'll talk to you even if you aren't in the Atlanta Area.

Derek @ Atlanta Protective Films
www.atlantaprotectivefilms.com

IronGuard

thx, that is very helpful. so i guess 3/16" on the right side and totally flush on the left side means it is misaligned?

also, do you have a huge gap on your side mirrors like i do?

and is anyone else experiencing a really slow connection tonight?

g37musings

My hood is wrapped, but your alignment does not look good to me.

I would request that they match up the fenders and hood. I prefer mine wrapped around the hood. Running it for 3 years on my Miata that way with no problems.

IronGuard

that's great info. it's good to know the rationale behind not-wrapping. i just wish my gaps were 1/16" like yours.

also, is the border on the inside corner of your headlight covered? there's a section where it's not covered right where the horizontal line meets the vertical.

Blackjack

iTrader: (3)

Yeah... I think his rationale behind not wrapping was because those that wrap do a custom install and not via a pre-cut kit and are using exacto-knives near your paint. I definitley don't want a knife anywhere near my paint. I'm sure there are more reasons though.

Not sure about the headlight... Not sure I understand what you mean, but mine are 100% covered. You can't even tell they are covered because it covers it so so good.

Blackjack

iTrader: (3)

I can take pics of my install on Friday when I get home... Unfortunately, I'm out of town now.

IronGuard

thanks. ill see what i can do tomorrow with the installer, see if he can fix it. i have problems with just about every section, but hey thats not my fault. and now i know how it should be properly done, so my thanks to everyone.