Showa

I am planning to have clear bra installed on the front bumper only from the shop. This is my first time doing so and I have some questions.

1). Will the clear bra affect the paint?

2). I hand wash my car once a week. Will the water get inside the clear bra easily?

Any advices, suggestions are welcome.

axhoaxho

I have been having clearbra on my cars for the past six years. I am happy about it, and will do it again in all my beloved cars in the future.

The first and most important lesson that I have learned about clearbra is -- Buy the installer, not the film.

A bad installer, given the best film, can still perform a poor job and even ruin our paint (e.g. razor cuts into the fim during installation.) On the other hand, a good installer can do an amazing job with their labor-of-love (e.g. tug the film behind the edge of panel, so the film is virtually invisible to naked eyes.)

In my area, I have been using one of the best and most reputable installers in the nation (www.premiermobilegroup.com). These are very nice guys, we can visit its website for the clearbra FAQ page (http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/pa...film_faq.shtml), or its gallery page to see how a nice installation job looks like (http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/pa..._gallery.shtml)

As to answer the question -- if the job is done by a 'good and reputable' installer; it will not affect the paint of our cars and the water will not enter the paint after car wash.

Regards,

Showa

Very good info. Thanks.

mis3

I installed the clear bra the 2nd day I took delivery of my w209.
I liked it so much that I went back to add the clear bra to the whole bumper, the 2 side mirrors as well as the front portion on the roof (around the sunroof).

AV1

Interesting topic, I too have wanted to do this but was worried about certain long term side effects.

Have any of you guys got pics of an install on a white coloured vehicle that's had it over a long time ??

I knew a guy who had it on the front bar of his white BMW 135i and after a couple years it yellowed up a bit and some of the edges formed a dark line, it wouldn't be much of a problem on dark duco, but on the white

mis3

My car is silver and the film did get a bit "yellow" after 3-4 years. Also, with a lot of stone chips, I went to the same guy and he replaced all the films for a very good price.

He always uses 3M brand material and he told me about that the newer material would not yellow. He was right because my clear bra is still OK after another few years.

Please note that the film was "yellowed" but not the car. The film is supposed to let the sun to pass through so the color will fade the same as the rest of the car.

I highly recommend these clear bras. Axhoaxoa was right. Find a good installer, the workmanship is crucial.

Showa

So I did it. Clear bra (Venture Shield) on the front bumper, headlights and side mirrors, painted the front grill and warped the lower front bumper / rear spoiler with the 3M mette black.
Overrall, They did pretty good job and I am happy about it. I think I get what I pay for. If you want to check them out, here is the info.

Mike
Elevated Auto Concepts
621 E. Walnut st, Pasadena, ca 91101
(909) 266-4712

Front grill with DuPont satin black paint.


Rear spoiler




The installer Mike and his helper Rick


Rick's M6. Mike painted the front grill in his shop and did the clear bra and 3M warp in my garage.


Finish


Day shot


Evening shot

andrew e coupe

I have purchased a complete kit for my new c coupe and will be personally installing it within the next week.

The following areas will be covered:
hood, fenders, front bumper, mirrors, upper rear bumper, complete rockers, behind rear tires and headlamps.

I have installed clear bras on hundreds of cars since 1998. And all are correct...the results are in the installer.

I will take pics once completed.

Wiggo

Had all the same areas covered, plus behind door handles (fingernail scratches). Completely invisible. When I turned in my leased Lincoln MKS, which had the same coverage, the inspector said that it was money very well spent.

DK23

Looks great Mike, congratulations. Next week mine is getting a clear over the entire front hood and fenders, with wrapped edges. Lower spoiler center area will be black carbon fiber wrap.

andrew e coupe

~ yes and indeed the door cups as well.

grane

Great advice for those who lease or buy. I'm doing a Dr. Colorchip job on the front of our leased buggy before we turn it in that did not have a clear film to avoid overages.

At the NYC Auto Show one of the top detailers said the latest 3M film is his top choice but also likes Ventureshield. He said with the new enviro waterless (?) paints the econazis require one can no longer use even touch less car washes because the chemicals and the "grittiness" of the soaps erode the paint. He felt the S?moniz sealer packages the dealers sell are worthless. They provide no protection against chipping. Finally as others have said it is the installer that makes or breaks the job.

Kevin82

I suggest making sure that your car is free of dirt and clean on the areas that the bra is going to be on BEFORE taking it to get installed unless you are sure that they will clay bar it for you.

Wiggo

Oh, I also had the DRL LEDs covered (in another thread, someone posted a picture of a broken LED from a rock chip).

andrew e coupe

~ the kit i purchased has coverage for the headlights & leds... see pic:



~ pic has been enhanced to show contrast to the film patterns.

cavasotti

nice job man.. I have mine plastidip on the same parts u have blacked out (with paint?) plus the wheels and mirrors. I am afraid of washing the car with the dip so Id guess the tape is better because they can scrub and wash freely right?

accce

What did you pay?

Showa

PM you.

Showa

The installer re-did the clear bra and he did a very decent job.





Mirror


Around the headlight




The 3M mette black tape on the lower spoiler

mis3

[QUOTE=andrew c coupe;5216580]
The following areas will be covered:
hood, fenders, front bumper, mirrors, upper rear bumper, complete rockers, behind rear tires and headlamps.
[QUOTE]

Did you apply the film to the whole hood and fenders?

My installer only installed the film to the front of the hood/fenders; maybe 12-15 inches.

tpick23

That film is tough on a white car. I had a C350 in Arctic white, tried to do a clear bra. The edges would get a small fine dirt line that showed on the white background. It worked great on a black car but the white seemed like it showed where the film was ALOT.

Hopefully this stuff will not happen to yours, great looking coupe!

Showa

[quote=mis3;5241676][quote=andrew c coupe;5216580]
The following areas will be covered:
hood, fenders, front bumper, mirrors, upper rear bumper, complete rockers, behind rear tires and headlamps.
I did not apply the film to the hood or fenders. Only the front bumper, headlight and the mirrors.

We will see what happen, thanks.

bhcubed

Im looking to have a clear bra installed on my C250 coupe. Where have you guys purchased them from? Does anyone know of any reputable installers on the east coast? Preferrrably the DE/NJ/PA/MD area?

accce

This is why you want to have the hood wrapped and not just the 1/2 bra. When they wrap the hood etc they hide the edges under the hood.

andrew e coupe

~ the key is to assure the installer seals the edges down with a heat gun.

most of the installers return the car the same day and don't have the time to finish the job as they should. when i have a customers car, i retain the car for 2 days to assure the edges are secure (heating several times) and will not lift and collect dirt under the edges.

cheers!