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Anyone else here installed a clear bra?

J

jtvang125

Diamond Member
So for I've only got the hood, front corner of the fenders, the area underneath the door handles and bottom of the front lip spoiler done. I ordered 10ft of bulk 3m film but that wasn't enough to finish the whole bumper and rest of lip spoiler. Instead of going all bulk film again I've decided to get the precut kit for the bumper and a few more feet of bulk to finish the lip and the side mirrors as well.

Although the hood was relatively flat it still took a while to smooth out the film at the edges. I had to heat it up with a hair dryer to soften up the film to help it stick. I already know the bumper is going to be a PITA to do. Just gotta have a lot of patience.
 
the pre-cut film is the only way to go...I have installed it in a civic, a CX-9 & a Mazdaspeed3...take your time and follow the directions.
 
That 3M stuff is strong. I've never done it on a car but I put it on all of my Mp3 players and smart phones.. screen and back or any other area's I choose to protect.
 
I had it done for $375 and worth it. It's been a year now, and when I see dings or nicks in the film, I breath a sigh of relief.
 
We paid about $500 to have half the hood, bumper, fender edges, mirrors, under door handles, and rear bumper flat area by trunk done.

Took the guy a good 4hrs at least and no way could I do the edges and cut out he did on the bumper.
 
Some cars come with this stuff from the factory. Not a whole 'bra,' but little bits behind the wheel wells or whatever section they thought might be prone to rock chips.

Barely noticeable and never seems to peel off.

But I've seen dealer-installed stuff that was freakin' awful.

I think it's all in the application. I would think it's quite hard to do large curved surfaces well, i.e. many modern car hoods. Bumpers would have to be done in pieces.
 
Adding it all up, I spent approximately $13,000 on clear bra type products on four of my current cars. For the most part, I'm okay with them. I did not know that they would stain so easily though. In some ways, they are harder to maintain than paint. I switched over to Xpel Ultimate though on my last car. It's supposed to be self-healing.
 
Had one on my 7, it started cracking and looked like crap. Was a real pain to remove. Not sure what brand I had, but i'd make sure that a good (5+ year) warranty is included with what you buy.
 
My car had one when I bought it. It ended up looking worse than the paint would have and the paint was severely damaged underneath when I removed it. I will never have it installed on another car that I own.
 
For $500, a good body shop can make your paint look like new and get rid of rock chips and scratches after a few winters. I'd save my money. And what does this do to the paint underneath? How in the hell do you wax/wash?
 
Go for xpell ultimate. That's the best thing out there for paint protection. Look up youtube videos for the self healing thingy this offers
 
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