I picked up my 2005 Blue Chip/Grey SRX yesterday and it looks so beautiful. I want too keep it this way. I've searched the forum and discovered a few of you have looked into the clear protection - has anyone installed the invinca-shield product? I'd like to protect the front of the car, rear bumper and door sills. Is there a better product out there? How about body side molding??

Also looking for cargo mat. I can't find anything on the Cadillac site. Looks like accessories for the SRX are few and far between.

I got the weathertech cargo mat. It is available numerous places on-line. It is kind of pricey but fits well and seems well made. The gray color matches our gray interior well. There are other brands available as well.

I did not get the weathertech mats for the footwells as they are not custom fit. I got another cheaper brand for those (but that are custom fit). They have worked well and it is important considering it is my wife's car and we have two little kids.

I too have the BlueChip (Neutral interior). Waited 3 months to wax, and put LaVernier's Custom (like Liquid Glass) on it. It shines brightly now! This is a very hard color to keep looking clean!

I purchased a custom set of Husky liners from eBay for about $35 even before I got the car--works great.

The Invinca Shield is the 3M product right? I chose the Llumar product instead because it's optically clear (not clouded like 3M), has a smoother finish, and has no UV protection (you don't want UV protection otherwise the paint under the "bra" will fade less than the rest of the car over time and will not look good whenever the bra is removed).

Getting it installed next week, really looking forward to it - I've been leary about driving it too much without protection!

Good move John C. I just went to my local Llumar guy and bought a kit. (They pre-cut all the pieces for each veicle off of a pattern application on a plotter). I will be putting it on piece by piece over the next few days/weeks when I feel the rare need to do something tangible.

By the way, the place where I went charges an additional $100 or more when they install on a very dark colored vehicle.

I am only saving $350 by doing this. I think I am doing it myself more out of curiosity than anything else. I have already had a little experience with the product when I experimented with covering the door sills.

I looked, but, according to the Weathertech site they only sell a product for SRX with 3rd seat option.

My dealer stated that I should not wax my SRX because it would alter the clear coat, is that truely the case?

timmyt,

You should wait 2-3 months for the paint to cure. After that you're good to go.

Tell your dealer he's "full of it"!

My dealer stated that I should not wax my SRX because it would alter the clear coat, is that truely the case?

Only if you were to use a polish like the old abrasive cleaners we used to use. I have done only the hood using Turtlewax Ultra Gloss and it appeared to remove some swirl marks that may have been caused by dusting the hood while it was on the showroom floor.

My car came with a lot of swirl marks right off the truck, so less than 48 hours after bringing it home, I was hand waxing it (which, by the way is a great way to get to know your new car) - you shouldn't have to worry about curing with modern finishes, besides they've probably been painted for months before you bring them home.

Used the new Eagle One nano wax and it did a great job with the swirl marks. I keep it "spit shined" with the Turtlewax Ultra Gloss spray and a micro-fiber towel... really nice.

My dealer also said he would never wax a clearcoat, but couldn't give me reasons why. Waxed it is so much more shiny and smooth and easier to wash, there's just no comparison.

I looked, but, according to the Weathertech site they only sell a product for SRX with 3rd seat option.

We have the 3rd row seat so I had not noticed that. However, I believe the size and shape of the load floor behind the second row seat is the same whether or not you have the 3rd row seat. I imagine that their point is that you can't use the cargo organizer with the mat in place. That also is true of the 3rd row seat. You just have to roll it up if you want to use the 3rd row seat -- we need that seat only rarely. It's a nice, well constructed mat but a little overpriced I think.

My car came with a lot of swirl marks right off the truck, so less than 48 hours after bringing it home, I was hand waxing it (which, by the way is a great way to get to know your new car) - you shouldn't have to worry about curing with modern finishes, besides they've probably been painted for months before you bring them home.

Used the new Eagle One nano wax and it did a great job with the swirl marks. I keep it "spit shined" with the Turtlewax Ultra Gloss spray and a micro-fiber towel... really nice.

My dealer also said he would never wax a clearcoat, but couldn't give me reasons why. Waxed it is so much more shiny and smooth and easier to wash, there's just no comparison.

You should really polish the car, then wax it. Polish will fill in the irregularities in the surface and provide the deep shine. Wax will protect that shine while adding more shine and gloss. From the fanatical Corvette guys, it seems most like the Meguiars products, while the other half like the mail/web order only Zaino. The Zaino is a more labor/time intensive and process and expensive product. I have used the new Meguiars NXT wax. It was easy to put on and take off. Plus I got a enough free samples to last me 2 more years. I rarely wax or wash my weekend show car but I do buy the final detail from Meguiars in 1/2 gal bottles. ;)

Unfortunately waxes and polishes are like religion. Everyone has their favorite.

I am in the process of applying Llumar on my SRX. Just doing one or 2 pieces every couple of days or so. The product is supposed to be waxed often. Anybody have any experience with waxes on paint films?

Thanks

I recently waxed my black SRX for the first time, using Meguire's Gold Gloss. Being fanatically anal, it took me nearly four hours. This has the added benefit of bonding you to your formerly inanimate objet. The soothing effect of rubbing your hands over the Caddy's sensual form...... oh, I'd better not go there :coolgleam

Anyway, it seems to have removed the swirl marks, and looks terrific to my eye. I have an 18" strip of 3M clear bra on the hood, fenders, and also across the roof where it meets the windshield. I remember asking the guy who applied the clear bra about waxing, and her replied that the clear bra should get waxed, so that any UV effects are evened out, so to speak. So, the clear bra got waxed too.

Now, about those bugs on the front :banghead:

John Caddy, did you get your Llumar film applied? Tell me how it came out! Can you give us an idea of the cost involved and what parts you had installed?
Thanks for the feedback.

John Caddy, did you get your Llumar film applied? Tell me how it came out! Can you give us an idea of the cost involved and what parts you had installed?
Thanks for the feedback.

I did Dripps and I have mixed emotions about the experience and the product.

First let me tell you what is covered with Llumar: The hood from the front edge (including UNDER the chrome strip) to about 8 inches back, most of the rest of the front end except the grill itself, both mirrors, and I also had my installer cut sections to cover the overhanging sills on all four doors (Mack1a's idea, thanks Mack!).

With the exception of the sills, all the pieces came precut from Llumar directly to my installer.

The hood piece, the mirrors (with one exception I'll describe below) and the sill covers are wonderful! they are nearly flawless and from most angles are completely invisible. There are plenty of scuff marks on the particular doorsill where my six year old daughter climbs in and out most often and all the marks are on the film and easily wiped off.

(By the way, I treated everything with kid gloves for the first week until I felt they were cured, then I washed put a good coat of Eagle One wax on all of them which removed all tackyness and makes them super easy to wipe clean)

The front of the car came in three sections. After installing the hood piece, my installer went to do the middle section (bordered on each side by the headlights) - when he peeled the backing off, the adhesive came with it (i.e. it was worthless) - he called Llumar who promised a new piece would be overnighted.

When he got back to my car later in the day for the lower piece, that one had the same problem. My installer is as big a detail freak as I am, maybe more, he blew his top with Llumar when they said it was too late to get another piece out in the day's overnight deliveries. He argued and the net of it is Llumar had the piece hand delivered from Virginia to PA the next morning by an installer employed by Llumar who would not only bring the piece, but would handle my install.

Despite being 'professionally' installed by one of Llumar's own, the product did not adhere well to the inside curve above the bumper and below the grill, they got out most of the bubbles, but the 2 ends wouldn't lay down. And in the lower corners, the product didn't stretch as promised and bunched up (also a problem with the right mirror, although to a much lesser extent).

To make a long story short (I know... too late) based on the problems with the film, and the end result having a few flaws, I just ended up paying for the materials ($190) instead of the total estimate of $740. After curing, I carefull took a razor blade to the problem areas and trimmed them, then washed and waxed. If you get close, you can see some flaws and the evidence of my less than perfectly steady hand with the blade, but you really have to look hard.

Thanks:
JC

I have watched a guy who can make it stick to any curve combination. He cheats. He uses very low heat from a hair dryer which Llumar expressly forbids and he uses an alcohol water mixture to quick set difficult areas.

There is paobably a Cadillac mechanic somewhere who can get the fenders lined up without causing the door to crunch the fender. He probably cheats also.