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3M paint protection clear film removal

j.o.y.ride

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I am thinking about wrapping the underside of my sliders to protect against road debris chips with 3M clear in addition to the leading edge of my rear fender flares.

I know it protects well but there's going to be times when I do need to remove it for repainting.

Is anybody having experience with trying to remove it? Is it a serious pain and messy or pretty straightforward?
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Dqban

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It is a pain to remove. Must be pulled relatively slow and as parallel to the surface as possible or you will leave a lot of residue thats a pain to get off.
If you intend to apply and remove frequently you would be better off putting on a coat of plasty dip prior to use or even using 3M vinyl instead. Those two options may not be as strong as the 3M clear but will be dramatically easier to remove.
 

jac04

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My experience with both 3M and Xpel clear PPF is that it is very difficult to remove if the surface is properly cleaned and prepped before application. However, if you apply wax to the surface, it becomes easier to remove. You may want to experiment with different waxes and/or synthetic waxes to find something that allows a reduced level of 'stick' without the film coming off by itself.

Other than that, a combination of warming the clear film along with a little 3M 08984 Adhesive Remover helps quite a bit. Drizzle the adhesive remover on the exposed edge of the film as you are slowly pulling it off.

For the sliders, you could also consider using a bedliner type coating. The factory rock rails on my JKR have some type of thick textured plastic coating on them and the only thing that has caused any damage to it is landing on sharp rocks.
 
 



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