rss997

Why not just leave your cars in the garage all the time....No stone chips or rock chips will occur...........

I have yet to see a clear bra that does not look bad on a P car...Seal Grey is the only color that kind of hides it....

Speedlingere.com sells old school bra which is good enough on a road trip....

Sorry........

CO997

rss,
I have Seal Grey and it does not completely hide it, but it does a pretty good job. In my opinion, I'd rather "Maybe" see a line on my hood, if it's in the correct light and you're looking for it, then I would to see a bunch of rock chips in the paint all over the front of the car. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinion, and for me it's a smart move. I also plan on continuing to drive my car as much as possible so every little bit of protection will help. The nice thing about the thin film bras over the old concentional bras is that with the film your paint will "fade" at the same rate. I had an older conventional bra on an car I had a while ago and if I left the bra on for an extended period of time I could definately see a difference in color from what was covered to what wasn't. With this film that should not happen.
Just my thoughts....

raffi

I basically had envisage do what OCben got plus the stone guards and wheel wells, I would not drive another new car without the clear bra. my original stone guards were already looking yellow and out of place straight from the factory. EDL took those off and did a custom install with the aerospace 3m and now there is only a barely noticeable line from the top edge, the other edges are hidden in the door and wheel well. so not only is the front bra hardly visible, now i have eliminated the very visible original stoneguard (I think porsche uses the cheaper thicker 3m material).

Premier

The problem with clear bras today is in part due to orange peel texture with two major film manufacturers - 3M and Clearshield. Although these films will do the job of protecting the car from minor road debris, it is more noticeable on darker colored vehicles. In addition, installation is truly the key to making a clear bra installation less noticeable. If it is the seams that's bothering some, then the entire hood could be covered to eliminate that line across the center. However, heavy stretch marks, silvering, and other installation flaws will make the film more noticeable on any color.....especially black.

Although, some may say both installation and film does not make a difference, it is quite the contrary. Installation and film clarity makes a world or a difference in whether or not it is visible. The standard in the industry is to step away for 5-10ft and the film disappears. We've raised this bar up to about 6"s to find the seam on a custom bumper and full hood / panels.

Below are some pics of a Gallardo we just wrapped. The entire front hood with film tucked, whole fenders with film tucked, and one pc front bumper w/ all seams hidden and tucked. This Gallardo had it redone twice before getting to us from an out-of-state installer. First time, it was multiple heavy stretch marks and scratches and 2nd time around, there were some issues w/ scratches and the orange peel bothered this customer. Keep in mind, scratches and swirls occur on paint protection film that has clear coat over it (Avery / 3M). The bumper kit previously installed was also multiple pieces due to the extreme bend on the bumper, which also made the film more noticeable.

Notice the orange peel texture of the 3M film vs. the stock paint....this is more noticeable on black as many of you could already see. On the front bumper, we wrapped it in one pc w/ the grill removed so that all film can be hidden. Although, most installers cannot install this in one piece, being able to find a custom applicator will make a world of a difference in whether or not the film is visible.

For those interested in our services, our company will be touring the San Diego area between the 14-18

mooty

Although, some may say both installation and film does not make a difference, it is quite the contrary.
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sam at premier is absolutely right.
i have had over 8 clear bras on various cars.
if you are anywhere near sam's mobile service, get him to do your car. he's reasonably priced and does incredible job. he wrapped my elise. when the off season comes around , i will have him wrap my gt3 as well.

mooty

i read the thread again.
here are my two cents.
some think that clear bra last forever??? no, they will yellow, but it takes a few years to yellow. i track my car so much that the bra is tore up in two years or so, i just replace them.

they don't prevent chips, if you drive fast enough, you will get chips. but they do lessen the amount of hits to the nose, hood, etc. without the clear bra, i need to paint the nose every 6 moths. that's how much hits i get on the front.

Leader

There was a black 997 Carrera S coupe at the Ventura Show this weekend with the "invisible bra" on it. It was invisible in name only. To me it was completely "visible" and the top seam across the entire width of the hood had a nice (almost white) residue line presumably from detailing.

I think the concept of the 3M product is good; for me the application of the film, no matter how professional the installation, is where it just doesn't work. It's a big distraction on the face of a beautiful car.

If I get a lot of "road rash," I think I'll opt for a front-end repaint.

fontaines911

I'm in the process from getting a ClearBra installed here in So. Cal. I have a GT silver S and I picked up a brutal stone chip in the front bumper 5 inches below the Porsche crest in the first WEEK! Talk about bad luck. Now I had the car professionally touched up and am going ahead with the ClearBra custom install. I will probably do just the front bumper up to the hood so as to minimize any "line" issues. I know that the front of the hood will be exposed but I'll take my chances. I will also do the mirrors and a sliver under the door handles. I am not sure what film they use but now will ask. Thanks for the info.

996toomey

Yes I need to see a good install in person fully detailed. I would like to see how the film takes wax and the reflection of the car in sunlight with the bra on. If the covered area looks as good as far as shine and reflection and if it was just the seam issue I would tend to lean towards it. But on the other hand if the covered area doesn't look as good as the uncovered I would almost rather chance some road chips. Point is if it doesn't look good on whats the point.

Premier

What many people complain about is the orange peel texture particularly with 3M. There are clearer films on the market such as Venture, Madico, & Llumar. However, the downsides to these films is the excellent clarity doesn't hide installation flaws. These films are actually more difficult to install and takes a seasoned installer to make it come out looking clear. 3M's orange peel texture hides many installation flaws. Again, if the film tucked and hidden, the bra really isn't noticeable as long as the film doesn't exhibit orange peel texture.

We are currently using Venture / Madico, which offers excellent clarity w/o the orange peel. Again installation is the key when it comes to installing the clearer films especially when entire panels, hoods, and bumpers are wrapped with the film tucked for a more seamless application.

mooty

well, obvioulsy invisible bra is just a marketing name. if you aren't blind, you will see the bra.
yes, one can repaint the bumpers periodically. but if you really want to paint it well, you have to blend the hood and fenders. my was done very well and it cost me 4k just to do front bumper, hood, and fender blend.

i get more rash than you can possibly imagine in 3 month. litterally no paint left on my sideskirt in 6 months. so i use premier's bra install such that i re-bra every year and repaint every 3-4 years instead of every 3 months. now if i actually kept my cars longer than 24 months, i'll let you know if my strategy actually works.

996toomey

Mooty:

Why do you get so much rash in the Bay area?

Premier

Ok John...it's been almost a yr now. What's your next toy?

996toomey - mooty tracks his car very often.........

mooty

Why do you get so much rash in the Bay area?
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the car sees 5000 track miles every year.



Ok John...it's been almost a yr now. What's your next toy?
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ah, you haven't heard.
the elise was sold not long after you clear bra'd it.
GT3 will need bra soon. if i am not in tawian dec-jan, i will buzz you.
my film is "yellow" now.

Premier

who did the bra on for you previously? What brand was it?