Stongard...precut template vs. 100% custom

so i'm doing my research on this 3M film stuff and i kno this is a popular topic, talked about to death. but let me address it from a slightly different angle. some shops are using Stongard's precut templates. it seems consensus that Stongard is superior since it wraps around most edges, thereby eliminating potential wax build up. however, there are some shops that have no templates, they do 100% custom each time. their selling point is that it reduces uncovered spots vs. a template since each car is done individually. i have 2 problems with this statement: 1) for the custom job to cover "more", cars would have to vary in shape and size such that the template sucks. but how different can each car be such that the coverage difference between a template and a custom job is that huge? 2) i took a look at an X5 they were doing, and areas that required a seam were never cut straight. this bothered me. maybe it shouldnt. maybe i shouldn't be such an **** perfectionist...but HEY its nearly $1000 and its a PORSCHE for crying out loud. people's reactions? thanks.

I used computer cut pieces and am very happy. 3.5 hour job..cost $550 and installer came to the house to do the job in my garage under my watchful eye. There are small sections not completely covered but I am satisfied with the quality of the material and the quality of the work.

I would go with your gut feeling. If I were a shop selling custom anything I would have no choice but to market my product as "superior" to pre-fab parts. If it were my choice I would go with the precut pieces. You don't want to mess up a 90k+ car with a hack "custom" job. Good luck with the decision. -Andrew

I usually do hybrids. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> What I mean by that is I buy a pre-cut kit and have that installed, then have some custom pieces done for additional protection in areas not covered by the kit. No amount of edge wrapping is going to stop the line across the hood unless you cover the whole hood which you can't do in one piece anyway. In all the years I've had this stuff on cars (5+) and all the different cars (7) I've never taken a rock hit to an unwrapped edge, so that doesn't really bother me. What does bother me is the quality of the install and that's why I use Alan down in Florida when I want a top-notch job. (He flies worldwide to do this) Not only is he adept at installing the kits, but he is a master of trimming and doing custom work on the car and he is a perfectionist. He is as **** about his installs as we are about our cars. I've also spent a lot of time reviewing different kits from Stongard, Invinc-shield, Xpel, Armorfend, Invisiguard and others as well as material from 3M, Avery and a couple of other smaller companies whose names escape me at the moment. Invinca-shield and Stongard typically have the best coverage, however, Invinca-shield kits are usually easier to install and often cost a little less than the Stongard kits so that's where I usually start. With respect to Porsche noses (Boxster, 996, 996TT) the Invinca-shield kits come in 2 pieces whereas Stongard comes in 1. There are tradeoffs either way. With Stongard you will get some stretching marks and have a higher probability of having some imperfections, bubbles, scratches, etc. because of the difficulty of the install. With Invinca-shield if you don't have a good installer who can seam well you'll end up with a crappy seam line that looks bad and can trap dirt/wax. In sum I guess what I am trying to say is that with any of these there are trade offs and I've found that the installer can make all the difference in the world. If you are interested, Alan's contact info is availabe on my website or I'm happy to send it privately, I don't want to seem like I am plugging him here, no vested interest just a satisfied customer. He usually comes to our town once a year to do installs for local PCA and other car club members. It makes for a fun tech session. Best of luck whichever way you end up going.

I'll second the Invinca-Shield and Alan recommendations. Luckily he only lives an hour drive from me so I didn't need to fly him in. After watching him spend almost 4 hours on the job I'm damned glad I didn't try to install it myself. And I've already contacted him to do my next car when it arrives.