We all know the
painful sound of a rock pinging off a freshly painted car.
Unfortunately this is just a fact of life. However, on long road trips
we do have some recourse. A common trick for protecting your paint on
the way to a car meet, or any road trip, is to tape the hood and air
dam with masking tape. Tape sticks to the paint preventing the buffing
effect poor fitting bras are known for. The down side is tape
cannot handle rain, or high temperatures. Enter Dupli-Color's Shields.
Shields is a spray on bra that goes on like thick paint but can be
washed off. The question is does it work? My initial thought was, "I
bet this stuff is awesome".
For this test, I
needed a
good representation of a typical auto-body front end with an OEM
quality paint. I happened to have a mint condition spoiler painted from
the factory. Trashing it on a review did not thrill me, but I think the
benefits justify it. Now armed with a suitable analogue, I came up
with 4 test samples to test against. First as a baseline, the control
is unprotected
freshly waxed paint. The standard we will judge against is masking
tape. The Shields will be tested as both a single and a four coat
layer.
After having a chance to work with the product, I was starting to have
doubts. Even after several layers, the Shields felt more like sticky
felt, than protective armor. The Shields never seems to fully dry
and reminds me of a thin layer of wet velvet or damp tissue even after
5 hours.
With the samples
prepared all that was left was to conduct some accelerated testing. The
rocks and sand used in this test were swept up off the side of the
road. I then constructed a blow gun capable of firing a pre-measured
amount of sand and rock. 5cfm at 110 psi provided the correct velocity
to simulate a highway rock impact. The target test samples were
positioned a distance back that allowed the spray pattern to be
approximately twice the size of the sample target area. The samples not
being tested were protected with a sheet of cardboard.
All 4 samples received
2 bursts of 30 small road rocks and ~7 grams of sand. Once all samples
were washed and re-waxed, pictures were taken off angle to better show
impacts. The sample images below are from an area that was 5"'x5" so on
a higher resolution monitor they should appear approximately life size.
Above is the control
sample which had no protection. You can clearly see several larger rock
impacts along with countless smaller imperfections created by the sand.
Next was the single
layer of Sheilds. There is little to no sand damage, but there are
probably 12-15 small rock chips. For a single application however this
is a significant reduction.
The masking tape layer
provided even more protection. Close up I can find no sand damage and
what looks like 4 maybe 5 rock chips. All chips on this sample were
smaller than the chips in the above Sheilds sample.
Finally the 4 layer
Shields sample. Like the single application and the tape, there was no
sand damage. 6-7 rocks managed to create chips ranking the 4 coat
Sheilds comparable to tape.
Next a new area
was masked off and the test was repeated after 10 minutes under a
garden hose on shower. The ends results were so close to the dry
conditions I have not posted the pictures. I was surprised that the
tape did not soften after being wet allowing more surface damage. Worth
mentioning is the tape post water test was so compromised that it was
able to be blown off with only 50psi compressed air at 1 foot. If you
search the forums you will find several people have had damage from
loose tape flapping and polishing paint.
With the limited number of samples and non-standard testing protocal a
statistical analysis is not possible. However, from a purely visual
cosmetic standpoint, Shields is far and away the winner. Its
amazing how even it can be applied. From the overall durability
perspective, I give the edge to Shields because it is rain
and heat resistant. Overall dry protection goes to masking tape. Clean
up
is a draw. Shields is fairly easy to remove with soap and water and
even after being wet,
the tape is not hard to remove even when exposed to Florida sun for a
short duration. In the future, I may test whether the tape with a
few coats of Shields over it
seals out moisture enough for it to remain firmly attached, for the
ultimate protection.
With that said Dupli-Color Shields can be a worth while product if you
take your time and understand its limitations. I'd reach for a can of
Shields, 10 times out of 10, for a road trip over tape.
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