And just to reiterate!! I certainly hope you feel no ill towards my reply!! As I said in my first post, I know there are people who love this product, and it's COOL with me!!! Honest!!! Really!! Cheers!

 

In my experience I can spot cars with the thick protective film at 65 m.p.h., at night, in the rain. A peculiar "prismatic shift" is consistently introduced into the reflection and it's easy to spot, in my experience.
Perhaps the solution is a traditional car bra temporarily installed on the vehicle if taking a long highway trip where rocks and flying debris might be more likely? I tend to just wax very frequently and hope for the best.

 

Hi Blue Jays,

Ok, phew, I'm not the only one who can see these things! I'm with you in the wax crew!

 

Given the thickness of the protective film, I'm sure it does a spectacular job protecting against sand buffeting and things like that. The car will look nice someday when the owner removes the film.
The unfortunate aspect is I can be walking through a mall parking lot, glance at a car quickly, and ascertain they have it applied.
If one has a very clean A3 parked, passersby aren't going to notice or care about tiny marks around the headlights.
Like I said, I'm sure it works precisely as designed and just not my cup of tea. My preference is to rely upon lots of wax and employ careful driving practices to hopefully avoid stone chips...

 

Sorry guys, as I can understand my response as being rude. Of course it is a subjective opinion and I totally respect that. I think what it really comes down to is the eniviornment you live in and the type of driving you do. For me I live in a part of Canada that we see5 months of snow and winter driving where lots of sand and stonechips are constantly used and I do alot of highway driving. Keeping a clean car and unchipped windshield can be a task at the best of time. There would be nothing more to give me pleasure if I did not need it but for where I live it will give some good protection to give the front some good life. Hope you keep enjoying your ride as much as mine.

 

If my home was in a remote and snow-filled section of Canada then I would absolutely consider the path you've taken.
An area blanketed with ice, cinders, sand, rocksalt, and gravel for nearly 50% of the year demands urgent measures, especially with frequent highway driving.
Your technique is definitely more understandable given the environmental challenges...

 

I think they are talking about toughguard, it is like a wax that lasts for 3-5 years, so they say, it is a protective coat that infuses in the paint and fills all the pores, so dirt and such can get in. everyone in the u.s is very skeptical of products like it, but in europe people swear by these kinds of protections, saying thatit keeps their paint jobs looking new for years and years, without the constant waxing.

 

Wyldman,

No worries on the apology! As a Canadian and A3 owner, you have at least 2 things going for you in my books!

I'm Canadian too. I solved my winter car issues by moving to a semi-tropical climate where we have "cold weather" warnings if the temperature goes below 12 degrees celcius! Keeping a car clean and protected in a Canadian winter certainly demands different solutions from the conditions here!

Peace to all!