How To Install Paint Protection

On precut orders that total over $75.00 we include a free professional toolkit and online How-To video that will go over the hood, fender, mirror and bumper installation. It also covers the preparation of the two solutions you will need to use for the installation and some tips to get the best looking results that you will be happy with.

If your order is under $75.00 you can add the installation kit or individual tools (click here) to your cart. We will send you a link to our How-To video with your order.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW OUR DOOR EDGE GUARDS ARE INSTALLED

CLICK HERE TO FOR WINDOW TINT INSTRUCTIONS

 Tools & Materials Recommended 

• Soft Installation Squeegee 
  
• 1 quart spray bottles (quantity: 2)
  
• Baby shampoo 
  
• 70% Isopropyl Rubbing alcohol 
  
• Non Scratch Detailing Cloth

Mixtures for Soap Solution Bottle and Alcohol Solution Bottle

Soap Solution (squirt bottle 1)

Scotchgard Pro:  Add 1-1.5cc of baby shampoo to squirt bottle. Fill with water

ArmorWrap Premium and ArmorWrap Ultra: Add 0.5ccs to 1ccs of baby shampoo to squirt bottle. Fill with water

Alcohol Solution (squirt bottle 2)

Scotchgard Pro:  Add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol to squirt bottle. Fill with water

ArmorWrap Premium and ArmorWrap Ultra: Add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol to squirt bottle. Fill with water

Quick Tips:

1. Setup and work in a dust-free environment with little or no wind, and out of direct sunlight. 
   
2. Be sure the painted surfaces to be covered are both clean, dry and free of wax residue. 
   
3. Pre-mix both the soap solution and the water-alcohol solution before you begin. 
   
4. Don't rush the installation. 
   

General Instructions

1. The optimum environment is a temperature range between 50 and 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) and never apply in inclement or windy weather. (Applying indoors may be advisable here.) If your temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit we suggest using warm water in your squirt bottles and running the car beforehand to get the hood area warm.

2. Above we have specified the mixtures for the soap solution and alcohol solution. The soap solution will be used for the majority of your installation. The alcohol solution is only used on areas that need to stick right away or stubborn areas.

3. By spraying the slip solution onto the intended surface to be covered, and then wiping it off with your gentle cloth, you should have no trouble eliminating any oil, grease, dirt, or any other contaminant. 

4. Before removing the liner, make certain you confirm all part placements and sizes.

5. Once you’re ready to begin, remove all dirt from your hands. If even the tiniest bit of dirt is ignored, this will relocate to the adhesive and cause a very unattractive appearance. It’s also advisable to keep your fingers wet to avoid them from sticking to the adhesive. Never handle the adhesive side unnecessarily. Occasionally, you will need to handle it but it must be done lightly and quickly. Fingerprints will transfer through the material if handled too often or too long.

6. Be certain to remove any wax on the section that your kit will be installed onto since this must not be put onto a vehicle that has been newly waxed. Note: Dishwashing detergents are one method of stripping wax from a painted surface. You can also use "3M Adhesive Remover" or something comparable to remove any wax.

Hood Kit

1. First, use the slip solution to wet the hood completely. Keeping your fingers wet and the material rolled up, carefully separate a small quantity of the shield from the liner on one end. Using one hand to hold the remaining rolled up kit, and the other to gently hold the material you’ve already loosened, place the loosened material onto the area of the hood you want covered. As you slowly, but gently, pull the liner to the opposite side of the hood, the material releases itself naturally onto your hood. Be especially careful not to stretch or rip the material while rolling it onto your hood, particularly if your specific kit includes a relief cut. (Any thin cut-out within the material that departs from the natural hood outline which will help the material to lie smoothly over curves or broadly contoured surfaces, is considered a relief cut.) If necessary, using gentle finger motion, release the liner from the material in and around any relief cut. 

2. Once you have the material placed on the exterior, you’ll want to position it correctly. Therefore, to slide it easily, spray more of the slip solution between the hood and the material by carefully lifting one side at a time. Spray the solution, replace the material, and continue to the other side. Take your time to gently lift and pull the material off of the hood to as not to stretch the material unnecessarily. Also, before attempting to move the kit, you must spray the top of the kit with more slip solution. You don’t want the squeegee to rearrange the position of the kit.

3. Now that you have the material moving freely, you can position the kit without a problem. Center it leaving about 1/8” between the kit and the front edge of the hood.

4. Now that the kit is where you want it, you can be certain that it will stay put by using the squeegee to make a number of small vertical strokes down the center of the hood. Once you have a 3” to 4” wide strip from top to bottom that is now solution free, your shield will be fastened and centered, which won’t allow any shifting.

5. To avoid the material from lifting up on the edges where you have already used the squeegee, and to encourage fast bonding, you’ll need to rinse out any excess slip solution from under the material. You can do this by carefully lifting one end of the material back to where it has begun to bond, and using the alcohol and water solution, spray both the hood and the adhesive sided material. Be sure to rinse out any excess slip solution from between them. Keep in mind that the alcohol solution will dry very quickly.

6. Once that’s done, carefully return the material back onto the hood. Make certain the material is again lying flat and straight, and that the 1/8” gap remains between the kit and the hood’s front edge. It’s also very important that the top surface of the kit be kept wet. You want your squeegee to glide over it easily. Again, you must work quickly at this juncture to avoid the alcohol solution from drying too fast in order to reach your optimum result.

7. Now, beginning with the section that is slip solution free, you’ll need to use your squeegee to smooth out the rest of the material. Do this by starting from the center of the section that is slip solution free. Make a horizontal pass to the hood’s edge by letting your squeegee glide over it smoothly. Return back to the center, and overlap your first pass with the second. Move your way to the top edge of the hood with short, upward, strokes, overlapping them as you go. Do this until that quarter of the hood is smoothly covered. Following the same procedure, this time using downward strokes, begin again at the center of the solution free section and work to the bottom edge of the hood. Continue to overlap your passes as you work. To avoid leaving air or solution bubbles caught beneath the material, you’ll need to use firm pressure.

8. If the edges insist on lifting back up, simply go over them with your squeegee wrapped in a paper towel. It will collect the extra moisture that is preventing the material from adhering to the surface.

9. Once you have completed the process for one side of your hood, continue to the other side and follow steps 5 through 8.

Mirrors

1. First, use your squeegee to tack down one end of the material.

2. By stretching the material from one side to the other, and then from top to bottom, you will be able to pull out any extra material. This will help to avoid bubbles.

3. After you have the material in place, begin working in the center and squeegee the remaining material to the outside edges.

4. To avoid any edges from lifting back up, use your paper towel wrapped squeegee to smooth out the edges.

Fenders

1. Begin by aligning the fender edge with the upper edge piece. Double check to be sure you leave 1/8” gap both along the upper edge and the front edge. When applying the smaller fender pieces, the alcohol and water solution can be used without the help of the other solution.

2. Now, using your squeegee very gently, begin making a narrow pass on the upper edge of your fender piece. Remember not to press so hard that you move the positioning of your piece. You can begin pressing firmer as the material begins bonding with the paint. Continue until there are no bubbles remaining and all of the alcohol and water solution has been removed from under the upper edge.

3. Now that the material is attached from the top, using your fingers, very carefully slide the bottom edge down. Be certain you’ve thoroughly moistened the adhesive with the alcohol and water solution. While gently pulling the material down with one hand, use the squeegee in the other hand to firmly pass from the top edge completely through it to the bottom edge.

4. Complete your piece by repeating the passes with your squeegee to remove any bubbles or air pockets. When working on vehicles such as the Chevrolet or GMC pickups, that have fenders with extreme contours, you may need to wrap your squeegee with a paper towel to ease out any persistent areas.

Grille (if applicable)

1. Generally, you will find that the painted surfaces you will be applying your pieces to will be larger than the actual pieces themselves. We have designed them this way intentionally. The smaller pieces allow for stretching just the right amount and it also helps the squeegee process to work much more smoothly. The narrow plastic pieces will stretch a little when they are removed from the liner. How it is removed from the liner will determine how much and in what way it will stretch. Since it is much easier to extend the pieces by stretching them into place than it is to cut off any excess, we have designed the pieces shorter for this purpose. To begin, align one end of the kit edge with the edge of the grille. This type of grille kit works best beginning in this way.

2. Now, using just a little pressure, particularly on the narrow sections, stretch the material to the other side. Once again, squeegee the area as you’ve learned to do on the other sections. As the material begins to adhere to the surface, you can continue to add a little more pressure to smooth it out.

Bumper, Spoilers, Airdams

The kits in this category are simple and to the point, therefore no additional instructions are necessary. Because of the particular designs of some bumpers however, there are some more specific techniques that can be applied to improve the convenience of application. The following are examples of these more detailed designs.

• Chevrolet Corvette
  
• GMC Yukon Denali
  
• Porsche Boxster 
  
• Porsche 928
  

1. Due to the unique curvatures of these designs, stretching the material is vital to obtaining a smooth result when using these kits. Wet the surface completely with the soap and water solution. Then, roll the material out onto the surface. 

2. Using the soap and water solution, thoroughly soak both sides of the material. Then, center the material on the upper edge, remembering to leave the 1/8” gap on the bumper’s edged surface. It is typical that the arc from the kit piece and the arc on the bumper edge will be mismatched, so don’t become concerned. We will address that situation further into the instructions. 

3. As in earlier steps, once positioned in place, use your squeegee to make a vertical pass down the middle to adhere the material in place.

4. Once the material is adhering to the surface where you made the center pass, lift the left side and rinse the soap and water solution out with the alcohol and water solution. It’s important however, that you leave a little of the soap and water solution around the farthest left 10” to 15" of the kit between the material and the bumper.

5. After the plastic has been laid back down, use your left palm to hold down the last 10” to 15" as you stretch the material out and up a little. In this way you’ll force the material to follow the arc design of the bumper.

6. While the material is being held in this position, beginning in the middle, use your squeegee, working your way out along the center. Working only on the upper section, continue to use your squeegee until it has adhered to the bumper and is secure. The lower portion will be worked later.

7. Now go back to the left 10” to 15"and lift it up to rinse out any remaining soap and water solution on this side.

8. Once it’s been thoroughly rinsed, put the material back down being sure to align the plastic with the bumper edges. Squeegee it into place. If there are any small “fingers” that have developed or not laid flat, leave them for now.

9. You’re now going to work the lower section. Returning to the middle and using 1” to 2” strokes, squeegee the lower section toward the left side. Continue making the passes from the middle to the left until you’ve reached the bottom.

10. For working the right side, repeat steps 4 through 9.

11. To finish up, use your paper towel wrapped squeegee to double check your work, and to go back over any edges that may have lifted up, or any bubbles or “fingers” you may have missed.