Make Your Own "Invisible Shield"

[+user13371]

I just bought 2 square feet of this material:

 

http://www.stickercity.com/store/home.php?cat=2228

 

which I first read about in another thread here, suggesting it as an alternative to Invisible Shield screen protectors. It's around $6/square foot, but the shipping was over $8 - so the delivered price was just over $20.

 

That's enough money buy two Invisible Shield, but to make DOZENS of them. But that's not really what I bought it for. I wanted to cover the lid, palm-rest, and mouse button of my new white MacBook - bit of a clean-freak I am. I figured 2 feet (pretty much the minimum order) would be plenty, with enough left over for a GPS screen protector, my wife's iPod, some scratch-prone areas on my bike - whatever.

 

The material comes in a roll and gives with instructions for applying it as either a tail-light cover or a bra installation (for the nose of a car? why call it a bra?). Depending on the application, you either use a mix of rubbing alcohol in water, and/or a mix of soap and water, and squeegee it into place.

 

Since I had quite a bit to experiment with, I first cut a small piece the size of my MacBook's mouse button, and applied it dry. The material is a bit stretchy and seems very forgiving - I was able to appky, peel, reposition, and re-apply dry without a problem. Ditto on the palm rests either side of the mouse button.

 

I also tried to cover the touch-pad itself. It worked, but reduced the sensitivity of the pad to fine motions (just a little bit, but I could notice). So I took it off.

 

Next, I did a screen protector for my Explorist GPS. The hardest part was cutting a small (but exactly right) sized piece using a pair of scissors. But after a couple of minutes (and a progressively growing pile of slivers of trimmed edges on my kitchen table), I got it just right. A drop of dish soap in a cup of water, wet the screen and the film, squeegee out the air bubbles with my driver's license - and it's perfect! I can hardly see it, and it presents no more glare than the bare screen did.

 

I've had an Invisible Shield product on a different GPS, and I think the Sticker City material is better. It feels a little thicker, stretchier, and seems more forgiving at application time. I don't have the old GPS with the Invisible Shield anymore, so I can't be sure - but ithe Sticker City material also seems optically a bit clearer on the GPS screen. I could be wrong about that, or maybe I just did a better application this time around.

 

The ONLY problems I see with using this stuff instead of Invisible Shield are:

 

-- It smells a bit funny. The sticky side is an acrylic adhesive, and I'm pretty sure that's the smell.

 

-- You have to cut it to fit whatever your application is. Easy enough but fiddling, time consuming work.

 

-- You have to buy at least 2 square feet - about $12 worth, and the minimum shipping charge is around $8. So you end up with a LOT of material - and start looking around the house for things to apply it to -- your wife, kids, and dog will probably run and hide

 

 

But if you look at what Shield Zone and other charge for a few inches of material, Sticker City is offering a heck of a deal!

Edited May 26, 2007 by lee_rimar

[+Sputnik 57]

Nice review of the material, lee. Thanks.

[freeday]

>>but it also seems optically a bit clearer on the GPS screen.

Sorry. Which Shield was clearer?

[+user13371]

>>but it also seems optically a bit clearer on the GPS screen.

Sorry. Which Shield was clearer?

Sorry The Sticker City product seems clearer to me.

 

Edited the original post to clarify, thanks.

Edited May 26, 2007 by lee_rimar

[+Bus36]

>>but it also seems optically a bit clearer on the GPS screen.

Sorry. Which Shield was clearer?

Sorry The Sticker City product seems clearer to me.

 

Edited the original post to clarify, thanks.

How about a field test?? Maybe drag it across a few rocks or take it bushwacking??

[+user13371]

...field test?? Maybe drag it across a few rocks or take it bushwacking?

 

Nyet - or maybe with YOUR equipment, tovarisch

 

If I can find a piece of scrap perspex or similar to play with, I might do a scratch test though.

[-Oz-]

I seem to drop and drag mine across a lot of rock (60csx, invisible shield)

[+NitroxDM]

Is the film from: http://www.stickercity.com/store/home.php?cat=2228 gas permeable?

 

If not it most likely yellow the plastic screen on your GPSr.

 

Have you had any (not just yellowing) problems with your install?

Edited June 3, 2007 by NitroxDM

[+user13371]

Have you had any (not just yellowing) problems with your install?

No problem with the install at all on my GPS. I gave up on trying to cover the lid of my laptop though. After doing the palm rests and mouse button - I didn't feel like wetting and applying squeegee pressure to that much larger surface. So I still have a big piece of film left to play with.

 

While the product description doesn't mention gas permeability, it is specifically advertised/promoted in a way that makes me believe it's safe for plastics and yellowing shouldn't be a problem:

 

You can use this stuff on cars, bikes, airplanes, boats, rv's, skiis, snow boards, cabinets, laptops, cell phones etc... Primarily for use on vulnerable leading surfaces, and areas of likely contact, such as hoods, edges of doors, bumpers, side mirrors, rocker panels and body contour projections. - Crystal clear, high gloss, non-yellowing urethane film - Aggressive, weather resistant, ultra transparent, acrylic adhesive - Clings tenaciously, yet removes cleanly, without residue, from fully cured paint surfaces - Extremely flexible, to conform with no wrinkle or creep - Highly resistant to UV, oils and chemicals - Virtually invisible, VentureShield does not alter the aesthetics of the vehicle or its factory finish.

 

Sorry for the longish blurb from their website... seemed easier than trying to excerpt. I don't sell the stuff, I'm just passing the info along

Edited June 4, 2007 by lee_rimar

[rwsmith123]

I also got some. I made a shield for my 60CSx. At first it looked great, but after a couple of weeks a small weird bubble appeared causing a little distortion around that area. I think that happened after leaving it in the hot car for a while.

 

I also made one for my iQue 3600. The materal is a little "grabby" when using the stylus. Sometimes it's worse than at other times. I think it may be related to the humidity.

 

For the PDA I'm going to stick with the boxwave screen protector, but for other devices that don't use a touchscreen I'll use this. It is very tough I wasn't able to pierce it with a ballpoint pen.