jarjoug

I am hoping I can find a good place in Halifax, to install it for me. With all the road constructions, I am sure my car will be perforated in no time.

George

enr1co

I've also the ventureshield product clear bra on tectite grey (dark) E class. To me the line is barely noticible and others only notice it when I point it out.

We had a clear bra applied to a new Mini Cooper and are certainly glad we
did. With the flatter, higher front end, the clear bra looks to have protected the front end very well as indicated by pits and nicks on the plasti-chromed grill. The roads/freeways around seem to always be under construction with
gravel hopper trucks everywhere so the clear bra is piece of mind. Both cars are purchased.

After calling around here in Northern California/ Bay area, the cost quotes I obtained ranged from $550-$800 for the template cut. Both of mine were template cut "full front end" jobs for around $625.

Hope this helps.

dlbello

I'm guessing I'll need to ask them if they can get a template for the C63 first?

and then the product type ect... I'm also thinking the clear bra seem should show less on Black... would you think?

Last Emperor

yea much less on black

do they need a seperate template for every car??
anyone know?

im sure both of these shops have lots of experience with applying this

dlbello

I'm guessing you don't wax over it??? and you don't remover it ever? or can you and then put it back on,,,,

It almost sounds like they use heat to put it on maybe...so its a tight fit?

Last Emperor

yea, its like scotch tape over the car

but obv much better

ARC101

In the NE the clear bra was great and hardly noticable. IN the SE and heavy sun areas I noticed that then tend to yellow after a while. Just my .02...

Arctic White

The following quote from Grandma's Boy best describes my thoughts on clear bra, "Shhiittttss Weeeaaakkkk... Wizzzeeaaak!"

Arctic White

Everybody knows that any clear plastic material eventually looks like ***** after sitting in the sun under UV light all day. Period. That is a fact (especially in the case of clear bra... 3M or otherwise).

Have you ever seen clear bras on a hot rod, show car, or any other supercar for that matter? Obviously there are exceptions, but it is rare to see elite cars with plastic garbage all over cars with beautiful wet sanded finishes and immaculate paint jobs.

The ugly look of a clear bra does not compensate for its price or the intended purpose of proctecting the vehicles paint. I live in a high altitude climate which is harsh on vehicles for most of the year. I have had cars with and without clear bra, and it is honestly not worth the sacrifice in appearance (or price for that matter). If I actually kept a car for longer than five years, I would rather just spend money to have the bumper refinished at a body shop for about the same cost as the ugly clear bra, and it would look better than a car which had a clear bra on it for the past 5 years (without a doubt). This is becuase cars with clear bra get small chips and imperfections from road debris. So either way, you bumper is going to get some degree of wear and tear from normal useage. I see no point in putting a hideous plastic sticker on your car in the meantime. Just refinish the paint after a couple years if need be. I have seen my fair share of clear bras turning yellow, cracking, and flaking off with the paint of bumpers and hoods which ironically defeats the entire purpose of the product. Sure people are going to respond by telling me about their lifetime warranty and the fact that it matters "which" clear bra or "who" put it on, blah, blah.

That brings me to my next point which is that...this is just my two cents (duh, I feel this statement to be redundant). I can also add that I know a couple people who swear by clear bra and insist on putting the stuff on every one of their cars. On the contrary, I think it is a waste of money and looks horrible (especially after a few years). It almost reminds me of Armorall interior grease (which I cringe at the thought of).

Please proceed with the quotes and reasons which are intended to validate money spent on the clear bra to seemingly random forum members. But more importantly, happy motoring everyone

2009c63soon

Actually agree with Arctic. I've never understood the logic of making the car look worse while I own it for it to look better for someone else when is sell it? And, while much better than they used to be, you can still see the lines on these things, they don't wax and shine like the uncovered paint surrounding and you have the aging issue. Now add to that the cost, especially if you do it right?! Not a chance IMHO.

On a more positive note: I did wax the beast last night and the paint finish is by far the best on any car I've owned. Yes, I know it's new, but you can get a feel for the quality of the job / materials and I was quite impressed. I think the color helps, but it does stand apart from the beemers and MB I've owned before. It's not often referred to, but pain / clear coat technology has advanced hugely over the years.

tecdan01

heres something alot of people done know...

if you have full comprehensive coverage on your car, you can file a rock chip claim and have any rock chip on your vehicle repaired professionally (strip and repaint) and this also includes replacement of headlamps and windshields part the claim...

all you do is pay your deductable and your premiums cannot raise due to comprehensive claims dont go against you....

Typically a rock chip claim goes around 10k when you factor in 2 headlights, foglamps replacement and windshield. Also to strip and reepaint the front of the car, Mirror covers, roofs and blend the doors,....

dlbello

Why do you need to factor in 2 headlights, foglamps replacement and windshield???

shaker

I would like to hear of any one having success in getting all of that on 1 claim. Each chip or breakage counts as a single claim unless you prove that one single event caused all the damage IMHO!

shaker

I did have the clear bra/paint protection shield installed today. Will post pics later. It looks great. BTW: The product comes with a lifetime warranty (as long as you own the car, non-transferable) against chipping, fading/yellowing (UV damage) etc.... so I am very happy with the product.... however only time will tell.

racetested

These parts get damaged as well with tons of tiny chips. After only 3 months the clear bra areas are like new yet my headlights and windshield already have been beaten to death from the mainly freeway driving that I do.

This is my first clear bra car and looking at my wife's 2 year old car and how chipped it is I'd rather deal with a line on the hood any day.

renntechgirl

There is a film owned by 3M called Venture Shield which comes in 55" to 58" rolls. The film is 8mm with a non-slipping clear coat just as traditional 3M but is much clearer in appearance (meaning it has a lack of orange peel). Traditional 3M film has the orange peel effect because it was primarily marketed to all vehicle manufacturers with most of them being domestic vehicles without the paint quality of most European manufacturers. By having the larger film, good installers are able to cover "Full Hood, Full Fenders, Door Panels, etc." which require no patterns and in some cases depending on the software program, a pattern exists for some vehicles. By having the larger film, it eliminates the "line" so that there is entire coverage. The film stretches anywhere from 3-5 inches when necessary. The installs look best when the panels are wrapped inward verses ending at the panel which also prevents dirt and peeling at the edges. I haven't measured the hood on a C-Class but if is close then the film should be able to cover the entire hood.

"I have covered an Entire GMC Denali for the US Secret Service, Corvettes Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 355,430, 599, Enzo, Porsche Carrera GT, Turbo, Maybach, CLK Black Series, Lamborgini's, etc. My installers were proficient in "free handing" most installations. I no longer own the paint protection film company but I do have access to my two best installers and maybe they can provide some assistance to Shaker. As a reference, anyone could call RENNtech, Northern Virginia Corvette Club, Ferrari of Washington, Euro Motorcars Bethesda - Mercedes,Maybach, Rolls Royce, Smart, or BMW of Sterling. We literally did hundreds of vehicles over the past 5 years. I would be willing to discuss issues or answer any questions."

MB_Forever

I'm sorry I missed this thread earlier.....

I've researched this topic thoroughly before I decided to put a clear bra on my car. And to make the long story short, here is my conclusion: if you use a high quality film and more importantly a high quality installer, then the clear bra is a MUST. It will protect the car against paint chips, bug splashes (very damaging due to acid from the bugs' guts), road dirt and grime, UV degredation, swirl marks from excessive washing, and in some cases even from light door dings.

Also, I'd like to shed some lights on a few points mentioned earlier:

• The film itself does not get discolored, but the adhesive being used. Premier uses a very good quality film and adhesive that does not discolor easily (and they provide life-time warranty in case it ever does).
  
• The film will not make the car look dull or shine less. In fact, my car shines better with the film on right now . Just make sure to take care of the film as if it was paint (regular wash and wax).
  
• The film is fully reversible. Any professional installer can remove it and or re-apply it in case anything happens.
  
• Although a high quality install is a little more expensive than others, in the long run, you save a lot of money and tons of headaches.

Here is the link to my review of Premier and pictures of my car post-clear-bra.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/233626-premier-mobile-group-clear-protective-film-review-feedback.html

Frankster

MB_Forever, I believe it was your post that made me go with premer. I was initially looking at two other places that was about 10% within their price and several mobile guys that were anywhere from 35%-45% under! I did a lot of research before getting it, so I became somewhat a "expert" in my opinion since I'm a geek for knowledge. I've used premier since and have been very happy with their bra installation and also their follow up service.

motorcop71

I had the local Boston venture shield installer put it on my brand new black 2008 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Edition. What a mistake!!!!!

The guy's name is Dave Diminico and he works out of Rockland Ma. I called him and had his company put venture shield on my 1 week old brand new 2008 Escalade Platinum Edition. Within 2 hours the covering was bubbling and peeling. I immediately texted Dave pics of the problem. Dave did not stand behind his work or his product and had the gall to accuse me of causing the problem. I asked him to explain the reasoning for me to ruin a $500.00 job I just had done on an $80K vehicle. Of course he couldn't think of a logical reason, but still denied doing anything wrong.

I told him that since he was not willing to stand behind his product or it's installation, I wanted the venture shield removed and he came to do that 2 days later.
When Dave finally looked at the job, he finally admitted that there were some "installation issues". Then when he removed the venture shield, it exposed all the deep razor cuts that were put into the paint of my brand new black car during the installation his company did.

Prior to the installation Dave had touted venture shield as being better than all the other competitor's products because the pieces were pre-cut and didn't need to be cut on the car. They probably figured I would never have the shield removed, and therefore would never see the damage they caused.

After removing the venture shield, Dave jumped in his car and took off as fast as he could. I called him on his cell phone several times as he was driving away, and he wouldn't answer. I even text messaged him once. I pleaded with him to come back and inspect the damage on my vehicle. Dave did not return and did not return any of my messages. Instead he had his father Tom call me an hour later to stick up for him. Tom Diminico told me to sue them because "at the most, they were looking at a small-claims court case".

I contacted the better business bureau, the state's Attorney General's office, and an attorney. I am going to sue them in court to hold them responsible for ruining my brand new vehicle.

I can't stress enough how terrible my experience with dealing with venture shield and Dave and Tom Diminico has been. In my experience, one would be very wise to stay clear of the Diminico's, their company, their products, and their "services". If anyone would like to see photos of the damage the Diminico's company did to my new car, PM me and I will send them to you via email.

hawtheric1

Please post a photo right here for all to see. Im sorry about your car. hopefully you will get compensated.

ladevil

Shaker, Let me know where you are getting yours installed. I am going to pick up my 09 White/Black today. See you around DFW!

shaker

I had the clear bra installed at Allcraft. They were recommended by my salesman at ParkPlace. They are located in Euless. Ask for Doug (owner) 817-545-8468.
They did a great job even the film had to be cghanged out because of a defect. I watched them remove the first film and install the second, there were no markings on the paint etc.
Doug also did the window tints on my car.

qship5

Shaker,

Did they do the full hood or is it a partial? Also, if you don't mind sharing, what was the cost?

Mike

shaker

Mike
It was a partial hood, in line with where the bumper line finsihes. Complete bumber , hood (about 10-12"), and mirrors for $850.
I am going to go back and get the headlights done as well.

paulGT3

I had the rockers mirror and headlights done with the partial hood done on my black one done for 1000 bucks.
On a black car its a must.
As far as Artic Whites comments I guess he doesnt hang around with any Ferrari Porsche or anyother high end cars. They all have clear bra now.
The reason a show car does not is because a show car is not driven on real roads and doesnt pick up chips.