Repainting, Xpel protective covering application dilemma??

[firebird1999us]

So my yaris has 230k miles at present and I do LOADS of highway driving so the front bumper gets hit pretty hard by road debris, rocks, and fallout from all the construction areas I go through. I had the front end repainted after some bumper damage last July and it's already in rough shape again...

I've been reading about the 3m clear bras and looked into other companies like Xpel for clear front end coverage.. Xpel seems to have come a long way and their product looks pretty impressive.

My dilemma is this - I want to have the front end of my jolt yellow yaris repainted but from my understanding I'll need to allow the fresh paint to cure before application of a clear bra. But that means 1-2 months of the paint exposed to the commute which will likely result in a stone chip bonanza!?!

So my solution is buying a second hood and front bumper on the cheap, having them repainted, waiting for them to outgas/cure, and then having them wrapped with Xpel and installing them. I can probably grab the bumper and hood on the cheap locally and just go from there....

Any suggestions for how else to approach this?

[aspro]

Originally Posted by firebird1999us

So my yaris has 230k miles at present and I do LOADS of highway driving so the front bumper gets hit pretty hard by road debris, rocks, and fallout from all the construction areas I go through. I had the front end repainted after some bumper damage last July and it's already in rough shape again...

I've been reading about the 3m clear bras and looked into other companies like Xpel for clear front end coverage.. Xpel seems to have come a long way and their product looks pretty impressive.

My dilemma is this - I want to have the front end of my jolt yellow yaris repainted but from my understanding I'll need to allow the fresh paint to cure before application of a clear bra. But that means 1-2 months of the paint exposed to the commute which will likely result in a stone chip bonanza!?!

So my solution is buying a second hood and front bumper on the cheap, having them repainted, waiting for them to outgas/cure, and then having them wrapped with Xpel and installing them. I can probably grab the bumper and hood on the cheap locally and just go from there....

Any suggestions for how else to approach this?

Drive without a hood and bumper! That would be awesome, although, your rad might get chewed up :p

[firebird1999us]

Originally Posted by aspro

Drive without a hood and bumper! That would be awesome, although, your rad might get chewed up :p

Not feasible for like 2000-4000 miles of driving! Not to mention my wife would likely start questioning my sanity more than she does now!

Randomly - anyone have any experience with Martins Auto Parts on ebay? They have loads of parts for the Yaris super cheap... Looks like I could do the hood and bumper for like $210-220 combined with free shipping and free returns!

[paulge3]

Factory paint is baked at a higher temperature for a longer period of time while local body shops do it at a lower temperature for a shorter time, so repainting your hood needs some time to fully cured. The recommend waiting time is 30 days.

[firebird1999us]

Originally Posted by paulge3

Factory paint is baked at a higher temperature for a longer period of time while local body shops do it at a lower temperature for a shorter time, so repainting your hood needs some time to fully cured. The recommend waiting time is 30 days.

Yep that's my dilemma... I've been looking at replacement hood and front bumper from a place called Martins on ebay (new non factory replacment panels) and also through car-parts.com (salvage yard replacement parts)... I'll be having whichever I get repainted, then allow it to cure, then installing xpel after like 2 months in storage at my house... I'll fit the parts to make sure they match up correctly first as well;)