Paint protection film? Options

[mb911]

Slightly OT but need some advice.. We have too many of the kids cars at the house for the winter(actually all the time) we are trying to spend as little money as possible right now for many reasons(hence selling all my stashed items ).. So the question.. My sons 944 sunroof leaks a bit and I don't want the interior trashed. A all weather car cover for the car to be outside is out (my wife thinks it looks trashy) so thinking a clear square of self adhesive film to cover the sunroof might be a great option? Any thoughts or experience.. Yes sunroof has new seal and it still leaks.. Not idea why..

Let me know what you think might work.

[Jett]

Slightly OT but need some advice.. We have too many of the kids cars at the house for the winter(actually all the time) we are trying to spend as little money as possible right now for many reasons(hence selling all my stashed items ).. So the question.. My sons 944 sunroof leaks a bit and I don't want the interior trashed. A all weather car cover for the car to be outside is out (my wife thinks it looks trashy) so thinking a clear square of self adhesive film to cover the sunroof might be a great option? Any thoughts or experience.. Yes sunroof has new seal and it still leaks.. Not idea why..

Let me know what you think might work.

An adhesive plastic film will work, or remove the headliner and root cause the leak. Or you can try a hybrid tape, like : https://www.amazon.com/Vapor-Barrier-Seam-T...9261&sr=8-4

[mb911]

Slightly OT but need some advice.. We have too many of the kids cars at the house for the winter(actually all the time) we are trying to spend as little money as possible right now for many reasons(hence selling all my stashed items ).. So the question.. My sons 944 sunroof leaks a bit and I don't want the interior trashed. A all weather car cover for the car to be outside is out (my wife thinks it looks trashy) so thinking a clear square of self adhesive film to cover the sunroof might be a great option? Any thoughts or experience.. Yes sunroof has new seal and it still leaks.. Not idea why..

Let me know what you think might work.

An adhesive plastic film will work, or remove the headliner and root cause the leak. Or you can try a hybrid tape, like : https://www.amazon.com/Vapor-Barrier-Seam-T...9261&sr=8-4

The headliner is out and still can't figure out where.. Will check this out though. Thanks

[Superhawk996]

The headliner is out and still can't figure out where.. Will check this out though. Thanks

@mb911

I have experience root causing water leaks during water test in assembly plants. You can get a a great deal of water though the tiniest pin hole and/or weld seam that wasn't sealed properly. Some can be very hard to find when they are tiny. If dealing with a sunroof, I'll assume you've already verified the sunroof drain tubes aren't plugged.

Usual prcedure to root cause is the use negative pressure and a smoke pencil. Very similar to finding leaks in home construction etc.

You're a pretty creative guy so I'll assume you can work out the details. You can use a venturi vacuum generator and/or old blower fan to create negative pressure inside cabin. Need to seal air bag louvers, HVAC intake, tape windows, etc. unless you have a large enough airflow source to overcome more than about 200 CFM of leakage though normal leak sources.

You can buy or make a smoke machine on the cheap - see YouTube (think haloween fog machine) or professional smoke pencil.

The smoke will permeate even the smallest crack between sheet metal flanges or tiny gaps in windshield sealnts, sunroof adhesives, etc.

Good Luck, sometimes they are a real challenge.

[Cairo94507]

Hey Ben - You might want to look into what bodyshops call crash wrap. It is easy to install and sticks quite well. Before Chris @Tygaboy hooked me up with a trailer to bring my car home, I had a flat/open trailer lined up and we were just going to crash wrap my car and haul it. Ended up going enclosed so we did not do the crash wrap. It works and will stay in place for the whole winter however I think I would not leave it on that long. Might be a pain to remove. Absent that, clear bra PPF should be great but might be more costly to do. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mb911]

Thanks guys I am not sure I will spend much time on it but good suggestions.. With all the craziness in my life right now just trying to do the minimum on his car.

[FlacaProductions]

good selection on amazon for crash wrap:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=crash+wrap&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

[DRPHIL914]

i did this with the sun roof on my wife's jaguar. on a heavy rain the drain tubes just cant take all the water and it ends up coming down the pillar and into the driver side rear floor pan , so until the line gets cleaned out or fixed, it could be detached too, i put a sheet of clear PPF over the whole thing . you can buy smaller sheets from a dealer or on Ebay.

in a pinch you can go to home depot and get the clear adhesive plastic roll used during construction to protect carpet or flooring that has been placed down but construction is going on they put it down and pull it up . you can use that but it does not come up as easy, and UV breaks it down so use for short term only. it is hard to remove and get the adhesive off the paint.

[BillC]

Check your drain tubes. The sunroof seals aren't completely waterproof (and aren't intended to be), and you'll get leaks into the car if the drain tubes are clogged.