It's almost impossible to stop the scratches.
With the height of the B, you have to make a concentrated effort each time you enter or exit the B.(with children, that's impossible)
The clear plastic will definitely help and can be changed (hopefully) as needed.
Derek
I do intend to either use some scratch remover, or polish or some rubbing compound before applying the stone guard. Will post some pics.
Cheers,
Martman,
Another posting explained that a black felt marker covers scratches very well on a black car.
Simply apply on the scratch and wipe off the excess before it dries and then apply the clear plastic.
Good luck and then lets see the pics , because many of us will probably try it also.
Derek
I probably won't be getting to this till this weekend. I promise to take pics and post accordingly. Thanks for all your suggestions. Derek, I may try at least one sill with the suggested felt marker. Hadn't thought of that.
So, I finally found the time today, and together with the nice, sunny weather, got the car washed.
First, washed the sills and thoroughly dried the areas to be protected.
Used a fine rubbing compound in the badly scratched sill area. A little elbow grease is necessary to blend out the deeper scratches.
Cut the clear protectors and dry test fitted into the sill area.
Mixed a soap solution (1:10) into a spray bottle.
Sprayed a generous amount in the sill area as well as on the film itself - after removing the protective backing. Make sure your hands are free of dirt, and grease, and hold only the corners of the film.
The soap solution allows you to 'float' the film on the sill, and allows you to position the film.
Taking a small squeegee (or in my case, I used my membership card to Rogers Video) squeegee out the excess water starting from the top and with even pressure, going down ward.
Ensure that there are no air bubbles as you 'stroke' out the excess water.
Job takes about 10 - 15 minutes per sill at first, but I got quicker and got a system going by the second, third and fourth sill.
Because it is such a thin, clear film, it applies virtually invisible onto the sills.
A pretty easy job, really. Now, I plan on 'protecting' the door handle area (where finger nail scratches inevitably start appearing) I just need to create some sort of template and figure out how to handle the curvature in the area behind the handle itself.
Looks like you did a nice job and you have convinced me to get some plastic and do mine too.
I particularly want to cover the top of the rear bumper as my dog will scratch it if I don't.
Seems like a fairly easy DIY that is inexpensive insurance for the paint.
Thanks for the photos.
It is actually a very easy DIY. Fairly inexpensive too considering the (virtually) invisible protection to your paint in certain strategic areas.
One word of advice: When working around curves, you may need to either cut slits in certain areas, or, allow the film to stretch a little bit to conform to the curvature of the area you are protecting. The sills I worked on were very straightforward with hardly any curves.
Let me know if you need help with anything. Will also try to post some pics of when I do the door handle recess. Might actually work on that project tomorrow.
Looks great and seems easy to apply. Have no scratches yet,,, but an ounce of protection. I think that I may pick some of the film up when out Martman's way. Seems like cheap insurance indeed.
What was the price of the OEM bumper protectors for your rear.
Hmmm, I do like the look of Keith's chrome protectors as well. The chrome looks tasteful and robust so maybe the solution is chrome with the film over it.
I'll check out the price of the chrome sills, but will get some film either way.
Looks great and seems easy to apply. Have no scratches yet,,, but an ounce of protection. I think that I may pick some of the film up when out Martman's way. Seems like cheap insurance indeed.
What was the price of the OEM bumper protectors for your rear.
Hmmm, I do like the look of Keith's chrome protectors as well. The chrome looks tasteful and robust so maybe the solution is chrome with the film over it.
I'll check out the price of the chrome sills, but will get some film either way.
Thanks for the photos guys
Bill
Hey Bill,
If you are looking for the OEM rear protector, I know MB dealerships sell them for around $75 - $80.
As I was mentioning to BeeClass, the clear protector application is extremely easy. Just make sure you squeegee out all the water, and make sure no dust particles get onto the film. Especially on a darker coloured car, air/dust bubbles will easily show up when it dries. I used the same techniques my window tint guy had suggested from making my own soap solution, to the techniques I used to apply the film.
Great pictures & instructions , martman, this sort of information is what this forum is all about, genuine hands on experience with members doing the work & posting the results.
Bill (from sunny Surrey ) my sill protectors are stainless steel and are therefore a bit more robust than chrome.
In the months I have had them on there is only a faint trace of any form of scuffing (and I mean very faint on the angled edge) which is not enough to detract from the look of the protectors in fact on opening the door you would probably need to have it pointed out to you to see it.
If you did want to remove them prior to sale you could do so (they are affixed with thin double sided tape) and your sills would look pristine once you had removed the double sided tape residue.
You could probably order them from either my dealer in the UK or from the manufacturers in Germany, but you may find them available in Canada (or US) either as a generic sill protector or for another make of vehicle.
They are just thin angular stainless steel & as long as they are approx. 45mm x 10mm x 550-600mm long for the fronts & about 250-300mm for the rears & ones for any make of car should do.
instead of the car and in your mummified state 
, you have been unable to post photos? 
) my sill protectors are stainless steel and are therefore a bit more robust than chrome. 
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