toscana said:

Are there parts of your car(s) you actually use that tape on? Bumpers, lower parts of the doors? Or would the seam be too conspicuous? For a large piece, unless you cover the whole thing, wondering if after a couple of years the paint might show a "reverse tan line" from fading where there was no tape.

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No I haven't used any on this car ...yet. I simply haven't felt I need to; I'm not entering and exiting the car in hobnail boots and don't rest things on the top of the rear bumper as I load through the tailgate, and i don't have a dog to scuff the paintwork on the way in or out of the car.
I do however, polish small scratches out using Autoglym Super Resin Polish and follow that up with a couple of coats of Colinite 845 Insulator Wax - a process I use on the rest of the car too.

As for fading I doubt you'd notice much. The tape if exposed to sunlight for ages, can go yellow - but if it's on the door-sills then hardly any direct light will reach it.

Yes you can see the seams slightly, but if you cut the tape out carefully and make the abutted joins neat it's hardly a showstopper.

One other thing Toscana, not related to accessories but I thought I'd veer slightly off-topic and mention it here - the sump-guard.

Mine is a 2014 car. in the UK you may or may not know, in winter we get salt put on the roads to suppress ice forming, which plays havoc with cars. I don't know if this ridiculous practice takes place downunder, but I've noticed my sump-guard is pretty damned rusty.
I would suggest removing it and shot-blasting it and get it properly repainted in two-pack acrylic, and overcoating that in a rubberised anti stone-chip finish such as 3M Stoneguard. Don't be tempted go down the route of powder-coating - chips on powder-coated surfaces allow rust to form under the paint making matters worse.

This is info gleaned from the experience of many years being involved in both vintage and classic car restoration and talking to a lot of people. Always use 2k acrylic.

I'll be removing mine when the weather here warms up again to do the exact same job

Others have already said, but here’s photos to show the genuine Fiat door sill protectors for the 2WD fit the 4x4 perfectly. Not that this is any great surprise as the body shell is identical. For the bumper top-edge guard there are three different versions - because the regular Panda, 4x4 Panda and all the Cross models use a different shape bumper.

I do a lot of outdoor work and found the sills were getting scuffed by muddy wellies and the bumper edge by just about everything! These all came from Fiat dealers via eBay at much reduced prices (bumper guard a bargain £20). They are all actually made by a U.K. company called Reargaurds - they still list the bumper guard but not those for the sills as a stocked item. The rubber mats were a good buy too. Bespoke, shaped specific to the Panda and its floor fixings, and came from EuroCarParts for about £40. Nice raised lip so water (from those muddy wellies) doesn’t run off into the carpet at the edges. (Handy fitting hint for the sill protectors, pull the rubber door seal fully away from the bodywork when fitting them, so they locate fully back against the up stand of the body seam)

I also added a genuine Fiat boot liner. this is a semi-rigid plastic tray with a deep upstand, which again keeps the water from anything wet from running off under the boot floor - https://www.fiat-accessories.com/fiat-panda-boot-protection-liner

Update: sill protectors (for UK readers) listed here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-...460681&hash=item2f1bf221a1:g:SbQAAOSwc~tbQy11

I have the exact same mats and bootliner.

Herts Hillhopper's description about the raised lip on the mats for preventing mud and water flowing off the edge is spot on.

However the floor-fixings on the mats don't match the floor fixings on the driver's side - they're miles out like a different design altogether, and theres no fixings on the passenger side - its no big deal as rubber mats are hardly likely to slide around.

(The carpet mats that I've removed for the winter months fit the floor fixings perfectly so I'm not sure why the rubber ones are so different but Im not too bothered)

Thanks for that eBay link HH although its finished I'll try contacting the vendor

MaxHeadroom said:

I have the exact same mats and bootliner.

Herts Hillhopper's description about the raised lip on the mats for preventing mud and water flowing off the edge is spot on.

However the floor-fixings on the mats don't match the floor fixings on the driver's side - they're miles out like a different design altogether, and theres no fixings on the passenger side - its no big deal as rubber mats are hardly likely to slide around.

(The carpet mats that I've removed for the winter months fit the floor fixings perfectly so I'm not sure why the rubber ones are so different but Im not too bothered)

Thanks for that eBay link HH although its finished I'll try contacting the vendor

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Ah ha - the mats fit correctly on post 2016 or 2017 year (mines a 2018 car), when the pegs on the drivers side moved and are in line with each other, and were fitted to the passenger side too. Before that, the ones on the driver side were offset.

Ah! That will be why, then

The best treatment for underbody steel is grit blasting and hot dipped galvanising. It's not silly expensive. The next best is hot zinc metal spray. It leaves a rough finish so rub over with medium we/dry to remove the larger "nibs" No need to flat it smooth. Then spray with etch primer or better an epoxy primer.
It's used on fishing boat equipment and canal boat hulls so clearly overkill on cars. But the costs are not silly money so why not do the job properly. My rear axle cost just £80 plus some paint to go over the zinc spray.

DaveMcT said:

The best treatment for underbody steel is grit blasting and hot dipped galvanising. It's not silly expensive. The next best is hot zinc metal spray. It leaves a rough finish so rub over with medium we/dry to remove the larger "nibs" No need to flat it smooth. Then spray with etch primer or better an epoxy primer.
It's used on fishing boat equipment and canal boat hulls so clearly overkill on cars. But the costs are not silly money so why not do the job properly. My rear axle cost just £80 plus some paint to go over the zinc spray.

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Thank you for the tips. I'll have to ask around to see if someone here does that. Small town in the Alps. They do use salt on the roads so it sounds like a great thing to do before the first big snowfalls.

MaxHeadroom said:

No! This is known as 'blade-tape' or 'heli-tape'.

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Hi Max, in your opinion does it need to be the 3M heli tape, or can I get any vinyl tape from China off Ebay?

Herts Hillhopper said:

bumper guard(…) are all actually made by a U.K. company called Reargaurds
(…)
sill protectors (for UK readers) listed here

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Hi Herts,
- Contacting RGM to see if they'll ship the rearguard to France.
- Regarding the door sills, since the Ebay listing expired, will also ask RGM although as you pointed out they're no longer on their website…

DaveMcT said:

The best treatment for underbody steel is grit blasting and hot dipped galvanising.

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Hi Dave,
Will look around for people who do that kind of work after the car comes in, normally next Friday.
Which specific parts from the underbody should I ask them to treat, and do they need to remove them to do so, or can this all be done from under a bridge?

Big thanks, everyone!

I've bought blade-tape off eBay and not had a problem with it but I can't remember if it 'claimed' to be 3M or not. I'm sure there will be a lot of tape out there that isn't actually 3M. Unfortunately eBay no longer store your purchase history for as long so I can't see whom I bought it from.
Just check the feedback of the supplier - that should give a clue as to whether they're selling crap or not.

We only used genuine 3M stuff on the helicopter blades. That was when I managed to acquire much of it from work, but have used it all up now, hence need to buy more which I got from eBay. I just know its not that cheap however you try to procure it.

Sorry my answer isn't a lot of help, I know.

Picked it up yesterday. Drove about 200kms to take it home, mix of freeway and mountain roads. Loving it so far.

Gorgeous little car. Hesitated between this toscana green and the colosseo gray, but all doubts have vanished.

This morning we had the first frost — there was a decent coat of it on the front windshield. Turned on the heated window then took a moment to look something up in the manual. When I looked back, everything had melted. Hope that magic still works when the ice is thick.

Knew it wasn't a speed beast, which suits my driving style and insurance needs: the insurer sent me a spying device that plugs into the OBD port. At the end of each month the insurer refunds you up to 50% depending on how you drive. Needed that as I don't have a driving record in France. On their website you can lookup your grades on each of your drives — both fun and spooky I guess.

Will post other picture once the wingbars are mounted. Wishing you all a fun weekend.

Ooh, that's shiny!! Looks right at home in those surroundings, too. Enjoy!

Green is the best colour

If it was mine, I'd spend a few days (literally) getting several layers of quality wax on ALL of the paintwork while its new. Even getting it into areas such as under the doors; around the door shuts; under the bonnet; around the engine bay. ...everywhere - no stone left unturned!

Its a boring and slow job, but it's always worth it.


I signed up in the Detailing World forums. There's a mass of information and techniques to keep cars looking mint some of it is a bit OTT and be warned, it can become a bit addictive!

Personally I find car cleaning very therapeutic :shrug:

I clean mine occasionally - even waxed it once. But it’s a 4x4 and gets used in the countryside, where the added mud looks more ‘right’... under the paint, most of it (all the body) is galvanised and I’ve not yet seen a rusty one

Herts Hillhopper said:

I it’s a 4x4 and gets used in the countryside, where the added mud looks more ‘right

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My Jimny was always kept in mint condition, but on the occasions I took it offroading, the mud remained on it as a 'badge of honour'

When I did eventually clean it (including the underside of it), I was astonished at the amount of earth clods that came off the bottom of it!

MaxHeadroom said:

My Jimny was always kept in mint condition, but on the occasions I took it offroading, the mud remained on it as a 'badge of honour'

When I did eventually clean it (including the underside of it), I was astonished at the amount of earth clods that came off the bottom of it!

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I do hose throughly underneath if it’s been very muddy, and during and at the end of winter. This keeps mud and salt out of the crevices and helps prevent things like the suspension arms from rusting.

It's the salt rather than the mud that I hate; I can almost hear it eating away at the metal

I've a pressure washer with a 90° head on it to regularly wash the underside down with fresh water. The biggest pain is getting the pressure washer out and all set up - but I feel it has to be worth it ultimately!

Your new car looks great. I am amazed at how quickly you got yours after ordering it. I have just ordered a a new Cross and have been told it will be a three month wait as it is a factory order!

It'll be a lot longer than that if the kung flu hysteria closes the factory again.

Identical to the one we've just bought! Did you get a response from RGM regarding posting to France?

Regarding the cleaning underneath I have a Karcher chassis cleaner that I use, also bought an Undercarriage Pressure Washer Cleaner from Amazon which pretty much does the same thing. You can also use the patio washer that sometimes comes with the Karchers, just turn it upside down. To reduce rust I also use the Bilt Hamber Atom Mac Migratory Contact Corrosion Inhibitor which has good reviews.

Where are you in France btw? We've a house in the Allier (Dept 03). Hopefully moving out there permanently in the next 12-18 months.

- Colin