Car Care: Protect Your Car's Paint

Keep road debris and other debris from damaging your car's paint. A special rubbery film protects the car's hood and mirrors against road debris. You can save by applying it yourself with a little practice or employ a professional service for a guaranteed job.

Apply the protective film. Spray the protective film with the adhesive liner and backing sheet.

The adhesive solution can be used to spray the adhesive. Place the sticky side of the liner onto the prewetted cover. Spray the adhesive on the remaining liner and backer sheets.

Paint chips from road debris can cause paint chips to the aerodynamic side mirrors and low-slung hoods of new cars. Dealers apply a thin, clear, and rubbery paint coating over these surfaces to protect them. Dealers charge around $400 for the film, which reduces paint chip damage.

The film can be purchased online for around $120 and installed yourself within a few hours, depending on how big your vehicle is. Although it's not difficult, it takes practice. You can buy an additional set of film to cover your mirrors so you can practice it first. The hood will be much simpler once you are comfortable with applying the film to your mirror.

Aerogard film can be purchased as a complete set (film, spray bottles, and knife) for the 2011 Ford Flex. Aerogard film is more expensive than some other brands, but it's a bit more flexible and forgiving than others, so it's worth the extra.

To prepare the spray bottles, you will also need to have distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. We learned this the hard way.

Begin by washing the vehicle with bug and tar remover. This will get rid of any crud that may have built up on the hood or mirrors. To remove any dust, wipe the vehicle with a microfiber towel.

Lay the film on the clean hood but not on the floor. Let it relax for 15 minutes. Spray the detergent solution on the hood.

Take off the backer sheet and adhesive liner, and spray the detergent solution on the sticky side. Place the wet film onto the dampened hood. Next, use a squeegee to move the wet film from the center outward. The film can be lifted and retested as many times as necessary, as long as it is rewarmed with soapy water. As there may be many water bubbles, you can leave the bubbles if you are unable to squeeze them out. They will eventually disappear by themselves. However, if air bubbles won't go away, you can pop them with a pin or squeegee.

Apply the film to your mirror.

Squeegee, pull, squeegee, pull

You can wrap the film around any curves.