I picked up the car today. The clear bra they put on seems like it was done in sections over the hood. I am not sure if this is normal. But you can see a horizontal line going right across the center of hood! Is that normal?!? I'm debating on asking them to remove this clear bra. I paid 600+ for this and had no idea it would be that visibile. Also where they put the bra on at the bottom (near the lower grill), the strips aren't even.. the left side is a different shape then the right side.
The dealer tells me the line will disappear overtime. I don't know if this is the case or not. It doesn't look like it will disappear or blend it.

 

The line will not disappear over time... trust me. We have a 3 year old Subaru with the 3M clear bra and the line is even more noticeable now than when we first picked the car up.

It sounds to me like your dealer got a crappy guy to do the job and is trying to pass it off to you. Sorry to day that $600 seems to be more than reasonable to pay for the job. I'd say go back and fight it... don't let them get away with it.

 

Sorry to say, but it sounds like you got punked... The lines will definitely not disappear and like the previous posted stated, they will only become more noticeable as time goes on.

I've been doing a bit of research trying to find a good installer and have learned a lot. I'd ask for a refund ASAP and try to find a reputable installer that will use a good kit to do the install, it sounds like your dealer free handed it...

 

My father had to drive all the way to Miami (we live in Orlando) to find a real pro to do his 3M on his SL, I plan on doing the same soon... Looks amazing and i could even see it till he pointed it out. So just do some research and find fourms like this and ask about the ones in your area.

-Mike

 

I already complained to him. He's going to call me on Monday to let me know what can be done about it. I would rather take my chances and get stone chips in my car than a line across the car. It looks like someone just stratched it.

This is what it looks like.

 

Unfortunately, unless you can get the entire hood covered, you'll always see the line. But based on the other sections, it sounds like they need to re-do your car. Maybe they let the trainee work on yours. My vette had to have the clear bra put on twice. Fortunately for me the dealer offered a lifetime warranty on the clear bra and the window tint so they had to do it for free.

Personally, after my prior vehicle got road rash really bad, I'd rather have the line than the road rash.

 

I saw pics of installation. It looked like a large single sheet being placed on the hood (WOuld result in no line). I have been considering the clear bra but definitely don't want a line across my hood. Is it more apparent in darker colors? I have the Iridium Silver. Good luck getting it taken of and keep us posted.

 

MBfan21 -- unfortunately, you're going to have the line unless your dealer uses the larger sheets that covers the entire hood. The typical installation is to have the bottom 12"-18" or so covered... so there will always be a line. From the picture, it looks similar to the one on my wife's Subaru. I'm disappointed that your dealer did not show you a sample of their work so you know what to expect.

But in any case, it sounds like there are alignment issues with the sheet on the bumper and you should have the dealer fix that for you.

 

MBFan21, Peabers is right, u'll see the line, but only if u look up close, and it is 12" from front tip of the hood, other than that, everything else should be invisible if done professionally. On my side mirrors, I can hardly notice 3M on it. I didn't do below the front grill as my dealer told me it wasn't necessary because its not metal. Plus $600, is quite pricey. Sorry to hear your bad job, hope you get it re-done right.

 

I would take a small little line over rock chips Anyway, like other's have said, i'd argue the other parts.

 

Find the best in your area and get the whole hood covered - it can be done.

 

That pic is kind of confusing since there's not enough in it to establish direction.

If you're saying there's a line going across the hood where the film ends, then yeah that's normal and there's nothing you can do about it. It's either that or rock chips ... or cover the entire hood. And it's more visible on darker cars.

But, it almost looks like that line two sheets of film butting up to each other? That's way not right. The film over the hood should be in one continuous piece.

 

Yes it goes across the hood.. from the left side of the hood all the way across to the right side. So I guess what would be where the film ends. I was under the impression the whole hood would protected... not just the front part.
The dealership agreed to remove it and refund the money. But of course I have to pay for them to remove it... and they say that will take all day. It turns out the dealer didn't even install it. Some other guy did. When I told the salesman about the problem, he said he had to contact their detailing department first and get back to me. I don't even think MB has a detailing department. So they will remove it next week.

 

don't bras take away from the natural brillance of the finished paint job?

i mean, you are putting clear plastic on top of your beautiful paint...

i assume the reduction in clarity and color brilliance is outweighed by the potential to avoid chips?

5000 miles and no chips anywhere for me yet, just giant dinosaur bugs that love to fly into my sports grill

 

Not if they use good film and apply it correctly. I saw a couple used cars are the dealer that had it on there and both had fairly dramatic 'orange peel' effect and that was certainly noticeable even from a distance. But also some a really good install and couldn't even tell it was there, same brilliance, even from a distance.

 

Not where I live. They sand at the first hint of freezing temps, and there's a ton of road construction. My last car was black, and at 2yrs, 24k miles the front end was so peppered with chips that it looked gray in the sunlight instead of black. Literally, there was not a square inch that didn't look like somebody'd taken a sand blaster to it ... and driving 70+ mph on our freeways that's exactly what I was doing to it.

I'd gladly take the dullness of the film, which isn't visible past 3ft away, any day over the rock chips.

 

line stays, but check the bottom of the bumper, it should be all one piece, i got the same s... but they cutted the thing in 300 pieces, looks like **** and has some bubbles, they are ordering me a new kit and will be replacaed, it's not done right, make sure you get what u paid for and believe, it's not cheap!!!!

 

The other thing I have noticed with clearbras is... they tend to yellow over time... and the paint oxidizes at different rates so over time, the paint under the bra will still be brand new and the other will be slightly off.

 

If you get the right film it shouldn't yellow or stain. In fact 3M warranties their film not to yellow or stain. IMO 3M is the best film out there. I've had it on 3 cars now, and when properly installed, they're barely noticeable. I just had another one installed on my new Palladium C300 by a company in Mission Viejo, and it looks great! I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

California freeways are the worst for paint. I'll never own a car without the ClearBra again.

 

paint protection film has become quite popular in the past few years. Road construction is ongoing and will not cease so even with Bentley / MB's ceramiclear, it is still not tough enough for the roads ahead. With the industry growing at a rapid pace, there will naturally be more and more installers adding it to their business or new ones popping up left / right. Make sure the installer has been doing it for a long time....experience counts here. Certifications for the most part do not mean very much, years of business and references is the key here. Good luck to all and happy holidays!

 

I think they line is ok considering the protection that it gives you. i have a white car & plan on getting it soon, it may yellow a litle bit but its over all a good product.

 

First of all, $600 is a great great deal. Here in SoCal, the lowest price I could find is in 700s range, the Mercedes with AMG package would cost more, due to the difficulty of lining the bumper (too many lines). Just make sure you do research on quality of the shop, and the film. Most film nowadays are quite good though. Most came w/ lifetime warranty (no bubble, crack, nor yellow). You can still wash & wax the film just as with paint, and they look glossy just as the oncovered part.

If you find the job quality to be lousy, then you should ask them to redo it. Nevertheless, you will always see the line, and no, they will not turn yellow over time. I know one shop who's really good at this, and they don't recommend covering the whole hood, though they could, for one simple reason: heat. I personally don't have problem with the line, if you stand more than 3-5 ft from the car, I don't think you'll notice it, unless you really focus on it.

Due to rock chip & road dirt, I have to repaint the hood & bumper of my previous Benz TWICE, cost me $1500-2000 all together. And the bumper & hood only look good for couple month after repaint, then back to be bombarded with dents & chips again. When I bought my latest car, I have the film put on the headlight (to prevent dull & yellow) and hood & bumper & mirror within a week. I can drive through all sort of road w/o worrying about rock chip again. It's been 20K mile since the film put in, the hood & bumper look as good as new.

I would rather have a line running across than having the hood & bumper covered with chip & dent. Repainted ? it's easy say than done (car never look the same !!), and if your car is black like mine, one rock chip is enough to annoy the crap out of it.

I think the film is one of the best investment I put on the car, beside the V1 radar detector. Both help out great on my long commute & lot of long trips.

If you look at pix of my car, you can notice the line at the front of the fender, due to angle of light reflection, not much noticeable line on the hood at all.

 

^ The place that did your clear bra seems very good. I can't see the line at all on yours. I wonder if up close though you can see it on yours. If I am to get a clear bra in time, I don't want that place who originally did mine to do it again. No way. But I just can't stand the line. It was too noticable.

None the less, I had it removed. They did such a poor job on it in my opinion. Even the manager said it was a crappy job.

 

Installation is really important. There are film grades that have more orange peel while others that are quite clear. The films with orange peel help to hide installation flaws (stretch marks, dimples, lift lines, dust, etc.). Here are some pictures of what it should look like when the entire panel is covered