Ventureshield

[trincap]

Well, I thought I'd let you guys know how my ventureshield install is going. The installer came very highly reccomended and so I arranged to have him take care of the new R8. He did the full hood, both bumpers and the carbon fiber lip and diffuser as well as the edge of the doors and the CF mirrors. It took him a long time and he worked real hard at it and basically spent almost two days doing it. The venture shield looks real good and sits tight to the car. That being said; the install is terrible. Right away, there was a peel by the rear tire and of course dirt and stuff got put on it. There's bubbles and soap residue on the hood as well as peeling away. There's peeling on both mirrors and already dirt under the peel. The front bumper is peeling and has multiple bubbles. This is after I paid $1700 to have it done. On my M6 or my F430 or my 550 or hell even my old M45, this was NEVER an issue. Sure, i only got the hood done halfway but this job is truly terrible. I called the guy and he's coming on Thu. I mentioned the problem and he's going to redo everything from scratch. He's going to do it in my storage garage where there's less dust but I'm concerned that of the pieces he did, NONE were up to snuff. Essentially I'm going to ride him until he gets it right. I'm tempted to just tell him I want my money back and to go somewhere else.

[Davey_Dee]

That being said; the install is terrible

LOL! Found that funny But being serious now! I'd let him do it again and if you aren't happy give him a kick out of your garage and go elsewhere

[SBFV10]

Mine was done in Seattle and was very well applied. The only problem was the long "sharp" (not really sharp but like 45 degrees) curves at the corners of the lights where the bra lifted up. A fellow from Portland, who was sent over by my original installer and actually seemed very good (and I might use him in the future) needed to make some vertical slits to get it to hold down around the bend. He said he usually uses a much longer wrap in the corners and even at other places. I don't have any other problems yet, but it is only about a month.

Good luck with yours! (Come up here and I'll hook you up with the Portland guy.)

Steve

[KfabR8]

I'm a Venture Shield installer (if you want to call me that - I've done two and a half vehicles over the past 6 months) just because of the same situation.

The install that was done on my car was horrid. Lots of dust under it, many bubbles, edge lines no where near where they should have been, etc.

I called the guy on the shoddy work and asked him to come out and take a look - was told he didn't have time, but would later. He wanted me to wait a week so the moisture underneath could wick out and away. Fair enough.

I ended up waiting about two weeks (we ended up driving to Las Vegas and home) and still had issues. Bubbles, dust, ragged edges that were peeling back.

I kept trying to get him to come out and look - or meet up with him. He kept putting me off.

I finally got to the point that I just wanted his work off my car while trying to deal with him. I would find someone else.

I got back the labor I was charged. That's all I wanted. I didn't feel it fair for him to eat a product that I was not happy with and not willing to let him redo. The guy is one of those "super salesmen" that will tell you what ever it takes to make the sale. I don't like dealing with this sort of person. Tell me straight up what's going on, don't yank my chain.

I found out about a week later that the guy was telling people that I wanted the stuff installed just for my trip out west. That pretty much pissed me off. Not in my wildest dreams had I considered something like that! His questioning of my integrity and stating that I snaked him got me pretty twisted.

So, I looked the stuff up on the internet, found out anybody can order it and you can "become a dealer" for a few bucks. As long as you have access to a die-cutter/plotter, order a roll of the stuff, download the appropriate pattern and you're set.

The stuff goes on fairly easily. I've only done my car, helped w/a 993 and a couple other hood pieces, but it's cool stuff. It stretches an amazing amount - great around contours. It does scratch if you're too rough on the surface when trying to squeegee the water from underneath. The guy that works in my shop has joined me in this little venture - it's his 993.

Prep is of the utmost importance. We turn off the a/c system in the shop to keep any dust that might be flying around to a minimum. We damp mop the entire work area and then some and everything in the area is cleaned.

Cleaning the surface of the car is probably the hardest part. Lots of work... Compressed air, a solution of baby shampoo and water, lint free towels and loads of elbow grease are all needed.

If you can find someone that's extremely anal about their work, that's who you want to do it. Prep is the most important aspect and getting the edges sealed down is right there too - but they won't seal on a dirty surface. Don't use a heat gun either. This is not a heat shrinkable material.

The guys that are really good at it are artists.

[trincap]

The guy had a good review and worked hard.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/transparent-bra-walnut-creek-2
I'll give him one more shot at this. Then I want some money back (I'll give him the dough for the materials but thats it). The thing is, I have 2 other cars for this guy to do if he did a good job and he knew it. I gotta believe that he just had an off day or something. Crossing my fingers for a good job on Thu.

[wedisbrow]

I just finished the Audi Experience at Sonoma today and all their R8's had a clear protective product on the front. You might want to ask them who did it. On the ones I looked at, it looked like someone had done an excellent job.

[09R8]

The guy had a good review and worked hard.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/transparent-bra-walnut-creek-2
I'll give him one more shot at this. Then I want some money back (I'll give him the dough for the materials but thats it). The thing is, I have 2 other cars for this guy to do if he did a good job and he knew it. I gotta believe that he just had an off day or something. Crossing my fingers for a good job on Thu.

Trincap, take it over to Premier. These guys are the best in the biz. I've had a host of my cars done by them and have seen other R8s not done by them and it is a night & day difference. I had them do the full hood and the blades + the usual front end parts. Excellent service as well. Only downside is they are not mobile, but I would imagine for this type of work it wouldn't be ideal to do it on a mobile basis. Their site is: www.premiermobilegroup.com

[trincap]

Wish I saw that site before I hired this guy. I'm going to give him one more shot. Then I'll take it there. Thanks a ton.

[mgrubman]

Why did you chose venture shield?? I had the 3M shield put on my whole front-including hood, headlights and front quarters. It came out great. It all comes down to the installer...Try to get your money back and find a good installer in your area.

[ianerrid]

because I am a perfectionist (and tight as a ducks ass) I wouldn't have paid them anything until I was happy... ;-)