New Paint Came Up with Clear Bra Removal - Damn!
08-15-2006, 04:44 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
New Paint Came Up with Clear Bra Removal - Damn!
I just put on a new euro turbo front bumper. When I had it painted I later went ahead and told the body guy to repaint the hood as there were some chips on it and I wanted everything to be perfect when I had the clear bra installed.
The way the timing of things worked out, the bumper was done quickly and then cured over a month by sitting outside while the hood was done when I brought the car in to have he bumper installed. When I told the body guy I would be putting a clear bra on and I was concerned about the hood, he said he put heat lamps on it and that metal cured much faster than the plastic bumper.
I had the clear bra installed within a day or two of picking it up from the body shop. When I got it back, the 3M clear bra on the hood was marked. Marked up in that it looked like someone had scratched it with their fingernails or the squeegee he used to apply it. The clear bra guy said the 3M film was flawed and 3M would pay to have it replaced. However, he said if the car was out in the sun a lot over the next month or so, the scatches may smooth out. After a month there was no improvement so I took it back to have the hood’s clear bra replaced.
And you can guess what happened - the paint on the hood lifted with the removal of the clear bra. I called the body shop guy and he tempered his original commitment that the paint would hold, but said to bring it back. He thought the hood would now have to be stripped to the metal to ensure adhesion. He and I are in for a battle – I see it coming.
I made two mistakes: 1) I should have let the hood cure despite what the body guy said; and 2) if I didn’t do #1 I should not have replaced the hood’s clear bra and just lived with the scratches – they were only noticeable if you saw them at the right angle/light.
Damn!
The way the timing of things worked out, the bumper was done quickly and then cured over a month by sitting outside while the hood was done when I brought the car in to have he bumper installed. When I told the body guy I would be putting a clear bra on and I was concerned about the hood, he said he put heat lamps on it and that metal cured much faster than the plastic bumper.
I had the clear bra installed within a day or two of picking it up from the body shop. When I got it back, the 3M clear bra on the hood was marked. Marked up in that it looked like someone had scratched it with their fingernails or the squeegee he used to apply it. The clear bra guy said the 3M film was flawed and 3M would pay to have it replaced. However, he said if the car was out in the sun a lot over the next month or so, the scatches may smooth out. After a month there was no improvement so I took it back to have the hood’s clear bra replaced.
And you can guess what happened - the paint on the hood lifted with the removal of the clear bra. I called the body shop guy and he tempered his original commitment that the paint would hold, but said to bring it back. He thought the hood would now have to be stripped to the metal to ensure adhesion. He and I are in for a battle – I see it coming.
I made two mistakes: 1) I should have let the hood cure despite what the body guy said; and 2) if I didn’t do #1 I should not have replaced the hood’s clear bra and just lived with the scratches – they were only noticeable if you saw them at the right angle/light.
Damn!
08-15-2006, 04:54 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Originally Posted by pegasis0066
I just put on a new euro turbo front bumper. When I had it painted I later went ahead and told the body guy to repaint the hood as there were some chips on it and I wanted everything to be perfect when I had the clear bra installed.
The way the timing of things worked out, the bumper was done quickly and then cured over a month by sitting outside while the hood was done when I brought the car in to have he bumper installed. When I told the body guy I would be putting a clear bra on and I was concerned about the hood, he said he put heat lamps on it and that metal cured much faster than the plastic bumper.
I had the clear bra installed within a day or two of picking it up from the body shop. When I got it back, the 3M clear bra on the hood was marked. Marked up in that it looked like someone had scratched it with their fingernails or the squeegee he used to apply it. The clear bra guy said the 3M film was flawed and 3M would pay to have it replaced. However, he said if the car was out in the sun a lot over the next month or so, the scatches may smooth out. After a month there was no improvement so I took it back to have the hood’s clear bra replaced.
And you can guess what happened - the paint on the hood lifted with the removal of the clear bra. I called the body shop guy and he tempered his original commitment that the paint would hold, but said to bring it back. He thought the hood would now have to be stripped to the metal to ensure adhesion. He and I are in for a battle – I see it coming.
I made two mistakes: 1) I should have let the hood cure despite what the body guy said; and 2) if I didn’t do #1 I should not have replaced the hood’s clear bra and just lived with the scratches – they were only noticeable if you saw them at the right angle/light.
Damn!
The way the timing of things worked out, the bumper was done quickly and then cured over a month by sitting outside while the hood was done when I brought the car in to have he bumper installed. When I told the body guy I would be putting a clear bra on and I was concerned about the hood, he said he put heat lamps on it and that metal cured much faster than the plastic bumper.
I had the clear bra installed within a day or two of picking it up from the body shop. When I got it back, the 3M clear bra on the hood was marked. Marked up in that it looked like someone had scratched it with their fingernails or the squeegee he used to apply it. The clear bra guy said the 3M film was flawed and 3M would pay to have it replaced. However, he said if the car was out in the sun a lot over the next month or so, the scatches may smooth out. After a month there was no improvement so I took it back to have the hood’s clear bra replaced.
And you can guess what happened - the paint on the hood lifted with the removal of the clear bra. I called the body shop guy and he tempered his original commitment that the paint would hold, but said to bring it back. He thought the hood would now have to be stripped to the metal to ensure adhesion. He and I are in for a battle – I see it coming.
I made two mistakes: 1) I should have let the hood cure despite what the body guy said; and 2) if I didn’t do #1 I should not have replaced the hood’s clear bra and just lived with the scratches – they were only noticeable if you saw them at the right angle/light.
Damn!
but what's done is done. How you 'repair' the situation (metaphorically speaking) is entirely up to you ...just try NOT to get TOTALLY bent out of shape about it or cause you to vent your frustration in the direction of your spouse, sig. other etc. G.
07-06-2011, 03:26 PM
#3
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Fort Worth
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Sorry to hear that. Waiting 30 days is a rule of thumb for most experienced installers. I woud never apply film on a car sooner than that unless the body shop wanted to put their product in writing. One other thing to note is 3M has a very agressive adhesive so its a little stronger than other films. I am sure that had a little to do with it. Also in the future is you get scratches in the 3M film, I have heard from numerous installers that isopropyl alchohol works wonders on it. I do not install 3M for many reasons but maybe that will help save you some heart ache in case it happens again.
07-06-2011, 04:29 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
If you waited any longer to respond I might have been dead!
07-06-2011, 05:28 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
I can't remember!
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07-06-2011, 06:51 PM
#11
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Thread Starter
The subject car.....
07-06-2011, 08:21 PM
#14
A fellow 993 owner gave me some sage advice when it comes to clear bra:
"Rock chips are visible with or without clear bra. Forget clear bra, just repaint your bumper and hood for close to the same price whenever you need to."
"Rock chips are visible with or without clear bra. Forget clear bra, just repaint your bumper and hood for close to the same price whenever you need to."
