Garth

I'm wondering about the pros/cons of getting the Clear Bra(linked below) applied to my car. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything that I should be concerned about, other than picking a reputable shop that can do the job well?

<a href="http://www.clearbra.net/" target="_blank">Clear Bra Homepage</a>

Thanks,

Randy V

I certainly can think of some good reasons why I'd like this concept to be adopted by women's fashions <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" />

I've seen this type product used to protect glass headlight/foglight lenses, don't see why it wouldn't work on painted surfaces.

Nachtmeister

This essentially looks like the <a href="http://www.stongard.com" target="_blank">stongard products</a>.
As far as I know, most clear bra manufacturers use the same 3M adhesive film for their products.
The 3M stuff is almost invisible after the installation has been done but the job needs to be performed by a trained individual.
The stongard guys can even visit you at home and perform the installation in your own garage.
It works and looks really well on perfectly smooth paint but not so well on a surface that already has some nicks and chips in it.

Dozman

Damn! I thought from the Topic subject, this was gonna be an exciting summer.

<img border="0" alt="[icon107]" title="" src="graemlins/icon107.gif" />

TAREK

I agree with Nachtmeister. I had it installed on my 993 TT. It's ok...not nearly as grand as it's made out to be. Cost me over $1800.00 to install by factory trained technician who could've done a better job. It does peel at the edges no matter how well it was installed. I only have a couple of thousand miles on mine and you could see where it's starting to peel off...and of course, any imperfection in your paint or metal will be accentuated when installing Stongard or like material. They say they give you a lifetime warranty, but they don't have a good reputation with me. I would not spend the money on it again. If you get scratches and dings, just get a new paint job. Cost is comparable.

TAREK

I agree with Nachtmeister. I had it installed on my 993 TT. It's ok...not nearly as grand as it's made out to be. Cost me over $1800.00 to install by factory trained technician who could've done a better job. It does peel at the edges no matter how well it was installed. I only have a couple of thousand miles on mine and you could see where it's starting to peel off...and of course, any imperfection in your paint or metal will be accentuated when installing Stongard or like material. They say they give you a lifetime warranty, but they don't have a good reputation with me. I would not spend the money on it again. If you get scratches and dings, just get a new paint job. Cost is comparable.

Nachtmeister

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Dozman:
<strong>Damn! I thought from the Topic subject, this was gonna be an exciting summer.
<img border="0" alt="[icon107]" title="" src="graemlins/icon107.gif" /> </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I actually thought the exact same thing but kept it to myself and chose to write about something else in order to keep that crucial PG13 rating...
<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Richard Lang

I have it installed on my 2002 Vue and it looks fine but a friend who is trained in it installed it for us. I don't thing I would install over a older paint job. We have 25K since it was installed on the Vue and it still looks good.

Scott G

Garth,

I had a similar film installed on my '00 Audi S4 before I took delivery. The same company also tinted the windows (that is their business). Although it sounded like they hadn't done many protective film installations, the results were good.

I have been very satisfied with the product. The biggest problem is removing wax from the edges. I've had no problems with peeling. Of course, you won't get that deep shine from the film.

Recently, I replaced the front bumper and decided to apply new film myself. While I don't regret it, it was a PITA. I wouldn't recommend that a novice try to apply a full kit.

I'm not sure how it would perform on paint that isn't in very good condition. It would probably be fine as long as surface prep was done carefully. And, if the car has been repainted, I worry that the film might pull off the paint upon removal.

kshipp

I was searching the threads for this topic and basically just found this one, old thread about clear bra's. What's the latest opinions on clear bra's for the 928? I realize the newer P-cars have them on the front, fenders and mirrors. Has anyone put these on your 928?

cobalt

I have it on all my cars and can say it is worth every penny and more. My 94 has had it since new and I had replaced it last year after being on the car for over 10 years. The old version of the 3M film yellowed and was much thicker than the latest version. The new stuff is much more transparent and will not yellow.

I must say I was amazed that after 10 years of having it on the car when we removed it the paint looked factory show room new. Nothing like having clean blemish free original factory paint. Especially since some of these metallic paints are very hard to match and are no longer supplied by the factory.

Now the down side. If you have stone chips, they do show up under the film. If they have been touched up and are raised they can look worse than without the film. I recommend sanding them down flush and buffing them out before applying the film. I also found that the kits for the 928 using the 3M film are not cut right. They are difficult to apply and leave a lot to be desired over the kits for the newer cars. The headlight sections are cut too close to the top of the opening and it is almost impossible to get the line straight. The film also needs to be stretched to fit properly and in doing so it creates an orange peal effect. Depending on the installer and the color will determine how much of this you will see.

Even with the list of cons I highly recommend it. It will save your paint more times than you realize and the best part is you can always remove it if you decide you no longer like it.

TAREK

I didn't think you could remove it without damaging the paint

deliriousga

I'm with Tarek. They look great when they are put on, but over time parts of it look pretty bad. But it still looks better than a regular bra. In fact, it looks good enough I may have to suggest it for the wife.

We have the heavier mil 3M product on the Boxster. It is on the front bumper, fenders, hood, mirrors, side intakes and headlights. The installation was great. The template the guy used wrapped around the back of the sections by about 1/4" so it would not pull up as easily as if it ended at the edges of the sections. He isntalled it at my house and used a heat gun and lights to stretch it properly. It still pulls up around the tight curves, like the air intakes, but you really can't see that because it's down in the bumper. It also does it around the mirrors, but probably wouldn't do that on the 928 unless you have the aero style mirrors. It's that tight ,curved area that gives it trouble. The other problem is when you do get hit by that inevitable rock. We had a big one hit the hood. The cover did its' job and the hood did not dent, but the paint got scratched because the cover tore. Not knocking the cover itself, it was a pretty big rock and I'd hate to have it hit without the cover. The problem with mine is the entire hood is covered so now I have a hole in the cover and I don't know how to take that part off without damaging the paint.

All of that said, I'd do it again on the bumper and will whenever I get the 928 repainted it will be a darker color. For the hood, I'll go with the regular size cover that goes up the hood about 1/3 of the way. Then I can pull it off if it is damaged and re-apply that part. I won't get the mirrors done. They look better with the regular bras on them than with the clear stuff peeling up with dirt getting under it. I'm not sure about the fenders yet because of the inset headlights.

It definitely looks better on a darker color car. There is a line along the fenders where the plastic ends. Dirt sticks to the glue on that line and stands out on lighter cars unless you clean it constantly.

BTW...If you get it, you can wax it just like the car and clean it with Plexus.

deliriousga

Anthony - How do you get the plastic off without damaging the paint?

I'd like to take it off of the Boxster hood and put on the short sheet since I have a chunk knocked out of the current cover.

cobalt

When you remove the film you need to apply some heat. (heat gun on low or a hair drier) This helps loosen the bond the glue has. The most important thing is not to allow the film to be lifted more than an inch or so away from the surface. I like to roll the film on itself keeping the film close to the paint as I remove it. This prevents the film from pulling the paint up with it. Don't forget the film is only good for the one use so you can start to lift it up around the scratch and cut the film away, it will make it easier to pull the rest of it off without worrying about it pealing your paint off.

You may find that some impacts have loosen small chips under the film and when removed the paint will lift off with the film. From my experience if this is the case the film saved the paint. If it was not present then the chip would have been much larger. It takes a very large hard impact to damage the paint through the film. If it made a scratch i guarantee it would have been devastating without it.

How old is the film? The new film came out about a year or so ago and it is so much better than the previous versions. I find the P21 wax works best with the film. You can use it over the seams and it never shows. A fine tooth brush along the edges cleans any dirt. If it is applied properly it will not lift. The older stuff used to leave little gaps around the curves of the mirror and dirt would stick to the adhesive. The new stuff sits flush and is almost imposable to tell it is there.

I have the stuff on the doors of my Cayenne and although it has been damaged several times by careless people it has always saved the paint. If the plastic wasn't there it would have left unsightly scratches instead I just pay my guy $60 or so to replace the film instead of a few hundred to have the door resprayed and blended.