I'm going to be taking delivery of my 2010 LS in a few weeks and am researching paint protection which it seems is a must (at least for me). I've read some things about 3M, VentureShield, and am wondering how they compare to the Lexus paint protection you can get at the dealer. I assume Lex doesn't actually try and manufacture their own film. Is it actually 3M? How thick is it? 8mil? What's the warranty on it?

Also, has anyone had any experience with clearbumper? They have a 14mil product for bumpers which looks interesting. I love my town (NYC) but the very occasional street parking I may do scares the !*@#$?! out of me. Bumper parking is just too common around here.

Any thoughts/input would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Who your dealer uses is up to them, and the films well, it could be 3M. Ask your dealer. Mine pulled out a book from a shop that used 3M precuts. In Canada, the LS is supplied with a 3M film applied at the dock. That covers the leading edge of the hood only. I was quoted about $600 to do the bumper and some other frontal elements like the mirrors, etc... Yours may be a little higher, hard to guess.

If you are a reasonably good DIY guy, then you might consider a 3M precut kit that can be purchased on Ebay for about $220 or so. The 2010 bumper is different, so be alert for that.

 

3m more orange peel effect but more durable clear coat

venture tape less likely to yellow, flatter surface, but clear coat not as durable imho.

lexus i don't know what they use, but for sure it's 3rd party stuff

 

I found out some additional stuff after talking to some installers and the Lex of Manhattan dealer. Lex of Man uses a local installer and they only use 8.5mil 3M stuff. I asked about putting 14mil on the bumpers and the sales guys said the installer said the 14mil was too tough to stretch or work with and further, added little if any real extra protection.

Spoke to a few different installers and most confirmed what rominl said: 3M may not look quite as smooth but has the longevity edge over Ventureshield. One of them said that the 3M glue is not that good and VS is better.

 

i have had both 3m and ventureshield on my cars before so i was able to do quite a lot of comparisons between them. like what you have been told, the thickness spec is there, but trust me, it doesn't make that much difference. even the thin one, it will help you protect against rock chips or flying tires, etc... already. if it's something that will still penetrate and peel the clear bra, the 14mil won't help much neither.

to me i definitely like the look of ventureshield more, but at the same time, definitely more up keep

good luck!!