Stone Chips!!....What the f***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Discussion
LOL, Welcome to the painful world of TVR ownership 
I think we have all gone through the same, mine was the same last year, after only a few weeks after having a front end respray (stonechips) - stones seem to love our cars, I think it's a combination of fibre glass made cars being more prone to chips, and the low ride height.
I spent almost £1K last year getting mine to look like new, but it doesn't take long at all for the chips to re-appear, especially if you like to drive briskly! I will get my front end done again early next year, and enjoy the forthcoming summer months before then
I think we have all gone through the same, mine was the same last year, after only a few weeks after having a front end respray (stonechips) - stones seem to love our cars, I think it's a combination of fibre glass made cars being more prone to chips, and the low ride height.
I spent almost £1K last year getting mine to look like new, but it doesn't take long at all for the chips to re-appear, especially if you like to drive briskly! I will get my front end done again early next year, and enjoy the forthcoming summer months before then
Hi mate.... Take the car along to a paint repair specialists and they can measure the paint thickness. They will also be able to tell under magnification if the paint is flaking or too britle..... Finding the cause may be easier than stumping up for a proper re spray however.!!!If the car is only months old it should be done under warranty if the dealers will play ball.Good luck. Steve. 
jo5eph said:
Thanks lads, theres a product out there that prevents these chips. Cant recall what its called any ideas?
The paint should be fine, in 4 years the car had done 7k miles with 3 stone chips. I have put 800 miles on it in 6 wks for 30 chips.
J
Theres a stone chip film guard called Armafend (Sp?), that quite a few owners have, and seem to be happy with it.
Hi Joe,
Its www.armourfend.com/ that you want. They stick a protective plastic film over the exposed parts of paint I believe. Quite a few guys on here have got it.
I got a quote from them to do the frontend, can't quite remember how much it was but will try and find it + send it on to you.
Common prob seems to be wax building up on the seam of the plastic film and the paint.
Comes down to choice I guess.
How have you enjoyed your 800 miles so far?
Its www.armourfend.com/ that you want. They stick a protective plastic film over the exposed parts of paint I believe. Quite a few guys on here have got it.
I got a quote from them to do the frontend, can't quite remember how much it was but will try and find it + send it on to you.
Common prob seems to be wax building up on the seam of the plastic film and the paint.
Comes down to choice I guess.
How have you enjoyed your 800 miles so far?
Not dissagreeing with any of the above but you might want to consider the total cost. I had Armourfend on my Tuscan but chose not to do it on the T350. Reason being although AF does a reasonable job it does not stop chips-it reduces the number and restricts them to the heavier impacts.This is not a problem if you can live with it-but if you want to remove chips from an AF'd car you have to remove the protection first and then replace after-which adds cost to a relatively simple job.
I got my front clam repaired on the T350( one rock ,one tow hook mark) and resprayed for £600 which sounds like a lot but without the repair work which was principally the time needed to repair a cracked front nearside lip the respray would have been cheaper.
All I am suggesting is you cost up a respray on an AF'd car before you take the plunge.
P.S. The Armoufend trim line shows up when you wax the car as well-bit of a sod to get rid of the line-depends how fussy you are.
I got my front clam repaired on the T350( one rock ,one tow hook mark) and resprayed for £600 which sounds like a lot but without the repair work which was principally the time needed to repair a cracked front nearside lip the respray would have been cheaper.
All I am suggesting is you cost up a respray on an AF'd car before you take the plunge.
P.S. The Armoufend trim line shows up when you wax the car as well-bit of a sod to get rid of the line-depends how fussy you are.
thanks sideways, i think youve made up my mind.
JIMMYT - hey bud how are u? Whats happenin with your tam? life after 800 miles has been exactly how you described. lots and lots of smiles, with a few little niggles. Tvr has far far exceeded my expectations i cant believe how good they are. You know i actualy fancy a t350 too but think thats getting too greedy.
Now how about that plate and those alloys of yours CMON lets do some business.
JIMMYT - hey bud how are u? Whats happenin with your tam? life after 800 miles has been exactly how you described. lots and lots of smiles, with a few little niggles. Tvr has far far exceeded my expectations i cant believe how good they are. You know i actualy fancy a t350 too but think thats getting too greedy.
Now how about that plate and those alloys of yours CMON lets do some business.
The paint protection film that is approved by the factory is PIANTSHIELD, not Armourfend.
Had my T350t fitted with full kit yesterday, would recommend it. Also had my Tam fitted with a full kit previously, after 8k miles not a sign of any damage or deterioration from stones etc.....
J
jo5eph said:Just drive it and not worry about stone chips - why waste your time - leave in the garage if you do not want any - does it make driving it any less fun!?
When i bought my tam 6 weeks ago, it had 3 very small stone chips on. A valet today has revealed at least 30. What is going on? Too many in just 6 weeks surely?
Anything i can do to prevent?
Cheers
j
Paintshield and Armourfend are supposed to use the same 3M self-adhesive film. Some Lotus owners have commented that the Paintshield product peels at the edges after a short period of time (~6-12 months) and can yellow (sunlight exposure). No known problems with Armourfend. The Armourfend guy who fitted my front clam protection said he hates working on TVR's and Nobles because the paint can be so thin that during the alignment stage the paint can be pulled away from the shell 
Maybe a good reason for TVR approving Paintshield
Maybe a good reason for TVR approving Paintshield
Armourend is heavy, yellows and is visible. When removed, it removes the paint. THere was talk, not too long ago, that applictaion of this product would invalidate any TVR paint warranty.
Paintshield is a much more advanced product thta does not suffer form any of the armourfend traits. It also comes witha 4 year warranty that covers the repainting of any damage to paint caused by a breach in the film.
All TVRs chip, some worse than others. The more paint you appply with constatnt repainting, I suspect the worse it will get.
For what its worth, I dont think many manufacturers will warrant paint against stone chips unless you can demonstate that the paint was badly applied. I've had both products - IMHO Paintshield is far superior.
Paintshield is a much more advanced product thta does not suffer form any of the armourfend traits. It also comes witha 4 year warranty that covers the repainting of any damage to paint caused by a breach in the film.
All TVRs chip, some worse than others. The more paint you appply with constatnt repainting, I suspect the worse it will get.
For what its worth, I dont think many manufacturers will warrant paint against stone chips unless you can demonstate that the paint was badly applied. I've had both products - IMHO Paintshield is far superior.
All these paint shielding products are great ... until you get a stone chip halfway up the bonnet. On my T350 I have a few chips on the raised lip at the rearmost end of the bonnet - unless you cover the whole car in protective material there will always be somewhere that gets it.
IMO, places like behind the wheels (where mudflaps go in a normal car) definitely need more protection. But I'd rather pay 1,000 pounds every 3 years for a nose respray than have film all over my car's nose. Get a chip just outside the protected area and you'll need to remove the film, have the bonnet (or whatever) resprayed and the film reapplied. Bit daft really.
All IMHO.
IMO, places like behind the wheels (where mudflaps go in a normal car) definitely need more protection. But I'd rather pay 1,000 pounds every 3 years for a nose respray than have film all over my car's nose. Get a chip just outside the protected area and you'll need to remove the film, have the bonnet (or whatever) resprayed and the film reapplied. Bit daft really.
All IMHO.
Never understood the "I want my car looking perfect" attitude.
If it looks too clean it aint being driven enough and frankly you gotta have a lot more dosh then me if you can afford to have £30,£40,£50k of motor stood around doing bugger all!
Personally I think "perfect" for a clean car is freshly washed n polished with a proud splattering of stone chips around the front. It says "Im driven, Im used, Im still washed properly and Ive had all/most of my initial bugs already solved/driven out of me."
Stuff that looks too perfect usually is too perfect.
If it looks too clean it aint being driven enough and frankly you gotta have a lot more dosh then me if you can afford to have £30,£40,£50k of motor stood around doing bugger all!
Personally I think "perfect" for a clean car is freshly washed n polished with a proud splattering of stone chips around the front. It says "Im driven, Im used, Im still washed properly and Ive had all/most of my initial bugs already solved/driven out of me."
Stuff that looks too perfect usually is too perfect.
and I thought it was only my Tamora.. Actually it is all cars, even my father-in-law's Jag. He often moans about stone chips but I do agree some cars seem to attraact it more than others. My Elise was minor considered to the Tamora, oh well....
I am of the feeling of doing a respray every 3 or so years rather than use protection systems. Hey if you want to be really sad then use those black 'blankets' they use in the states.
The car does not need to be perfect all the time, in fact I was watching a used car show recently and the reporter said; 'beware of cars with no stone chips, they have either never been driven or been in an accident'. Maybe a little harsh but you can see the point.
regards
Steven
I am of the feeling of doing a respray every 3 or so years rather than use protection systems. Hey if you want to be really sad then use those black 'blankets' they use in the states.
The car does not need to be perfect all the time, in fact I was watching a used car show recently and the reporter said; 'beware of cars with no stone chips, they have either never been driven or been in an accident'. Maybe a little harsh but you can see the point.
regards
Steven
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