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who supplies clear polyurethane stone chip film?
I am looking for a suitable Poly Film to cut stone chip body kits from. I know that 3M have a product, but apparently it is not for sale to the general trade in Southern Africa. At least, the guys from VPS (Vehicle Protection System – a South African based franchise for fitment of these kits) told us. I attended a "training course" by these guys in Durban, South Africa, when a former employer bought one of these franchises.
I’m sure that Avery or one of the other manufacturers has a similar product. I’m looking for 1200mm wide rolls.
I think I can make a bit of money from this, since where I live we have enormous sand storms that causes a lot of damage to car paint. The neigbouring town has one of the VPS franchises, but none in Walvis Bay. Since we deal a lot with all the car dealers, I already have a foot in the door when it comes to marketing. ( we currently make their numberplates, as well as vehicle liveries on new commercial vehicles sold) We also have space available to rent in the building we currently occupy. My employer is game with the idea, since I said they can use my application bay do do vehicle wraps in if I’m not using it for my purposes. In exchange they will allow me to market my sideline, receive clients in our reception area, use our company secretary for my sideline etc. A fair deal all round! All I need is reasonable priced Poly Film….
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8 Replies
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Gert, the film is no problem to obtain, not here anyway, what is hard to come by is the software to cut the shapes.
Hexis as well as Johnson window films sell a stone guard material,
It is expensive, but far cheaper than 3m.I personally think it is a "The king has new clothes" product, it was aimed at the top end of the market, and I dont think it has done that well as a way of adding value to a vehicle sale.
The recomended sale price for a kit, say for the front of a medium priced car, far outweighs any advantage in the second hand value of the car after 3 years.
thats my opinion anyway
Peter
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hi
i also had a look in to this whole VPS thing. I do believe that they are conning this whole thing. Dont think it was a very good move by 3M.
We were awarded the franchise from VPS i had a whole metting etc with them for botswana but we eventually decided that we did not have the space in out premisis did not have the extra time.The 3M one is very expensive but im sure avery have a similar one. I think it would be good for you to contact avery direct. in joburg.
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Thanks for the response guys.
Dane, I will give JHB a call. The 3M product (sold via VPS) was in the vicinity of R 600 per metre about 4 years ago. I dont know what they will charge now.
Getting the shapes to cut is no problem. I’m really gifted in the use of Corel in ways not conceived by the creators of the program, (!!) so I will go ahead and make my own vector files. The stuff really sells well on the Namibian Coast, since about 80% of all cars will suffer moderate to severe sandblast damage in the first 5 years of ownership. Also, we have tens of thousands of kilometres very well maintained GRAVEL roads where people drive at 120 – 140 km/h, – you can imagine the damage if a car comes from the front and you drive into his stone spray at that speed…
You should also remember that cars are more expensive here than in the developed world, and products like this film kits sells for much less. ( By way of comparison, we do a FULL vehicle wrap, digi print with overlaminate, for about 700 – 800 Euro) I’m looking at doing a leading edges, bumper, and a third of bonnet type kit for about N$ 3000 – 4000 ( About 300 – 400 Euro) Since even a modest double cab 4×4 pick-up retails at close to N$ 300 000, this represents good value for money.
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Gert,
I have lived in places that have gravel roads and sandstorms, but essentially it is of no financial gain to put protective film over the paintwork,
not saying you shouldn’t do it if the daft sods will pay for it….the initial cost of the car is not important, but the labour cost of a respray, needs to be looked at, as well as the resale value of the vehicle, and like you say, in your country, labour is cheap,
Its only my opinion, if you cant sell the expensive 3m stuff, then the lower end of the market may not want to spend the money either?
The shapes are not as easy as you think to re-create, they do need to fit nicely on the car, so a template will be needed for each bit, which means a fair bit of work, I dont doubt your ability with corel, and I have also made my own templates, but it is only viable if you have lots of repeat work for a particular make/model.Anyway good luck, if there is an opportunity, grab it by the balls.
Peter
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Peter,
A respray in original colour, non-metallic, is about N$ 17000. Repairing sandblast damage ( excluding windscreen) is typically about N$ 4000. We have a lot of people commuting between the towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. The road is flanked by 100 m high sand dunes, the wind blows at up to 100 kmh during "east weather". Damage is GUARANTEED to people who commute daily. Bad "sand days" occur about 10 times per year. It is so bad that you have to pay special excess payments to repair sandblast damage.
Methinks I will grab this one by the testes, if I can find them….
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hi i do think it will work for you.
You can buy templates form sign.com it belongs to the makers of flexi sign SAi.
I know like you do that there are not many cars in the states that are like ours but im sure you will find the luxury cars like BMW 5 series, range rovers , merc etc. to be there.
They are selling paint protection film templates for about $30 i think it could be worth it instead of making application tape templates etc.
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what grates me with VPS as well is that part of the franchise they should supply you with soem template.
I think they really took a shortcut.
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Try Bekaert.
Their paint protection film is called Clearshield.
Their SA agent is listed as
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