Finished my clear bra
09-04-2013, 06:18 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Finished my clear bra
After a fairly long wait for the replacement piece (front bumper) that I ruined the first time around, here are some pics of the clear bra on my '09 C2. I purchased this from Invisiblemask.com.
Here is a shot of the passenger fender and hood. Everything you see here is wrapped: the hood, the front several inches of the fender, the entire front fascia including the depression in front of the headlights where the washer is. That piece, by the way, was a full-on mother-F()&*er to apply. Just that piece alone took me three hours from start to finish.
A closer pic of the hood. The edges are not ragged as the picture implies. That's just reflections off of orange peel in the paint--it's much smoother than it looks, for some reason.
A close up of the passenger side mirror.
You can see that this is not a professional wrap that covers vast amounts of sheetmetal and wraps around the edges of each panel. These are pre-cut pieces that closely fit the body panel and require some stretching and alot of manipulating to fit around body contours (especially on the 997--my wife's angular E550 will be a breeze compared to this one).
Started with a wash with Dawn. Then clay barred the whole car. Then washed with Zaino wash. Then applied a coat of Z2 with ZFX, then several coats of Z5. Then applied the bra. Then another coat of Z2 with ZFX.
I still need to clean up the edges a bit where some wax residue make the cutlines more obvious and since this is the car's first day in the sun for three weeks, some air bubbles are appearing (very few) that will need to be popped and pressed down.
Things I would do differently? I would have paid extra for the full hood wrap, not the half-wrap.
Otherwise, I'm pleased with the results and look forward to a nick-free front end for awhile.
I am NOT looking forward to going through this again with the wife's car, but I promised... . I may photo-document that application for a sticky how-to.
Here is a shot of the passenger fender and hood. Everything you see here is wrapped: the hood, the front several inches of the fender, the entire front fascia including the depression in front of the headlights where the washer is. That piece, by the way, was a full-on mother-F()&*er to apply. Just that piece alone took me three hours from start to finish.
A closer pic of the hood. The edges are not ragged as the picture implies. That's just reflections off of orange peel in the paint--it's much smoother than it looks, for some reason.
A close up of the passenger side mirror.
You can see that this is not a professional wrap that covers vast amounts of sheetmetal and wraps around the edges of each panel. These are pre-cut pieces that closely fit the body panel and require some stretching and alot of manipulating to fit around body contours (especially on the 997--my wife's angular E550 will be a breeze compared to this one).
Started with a wash with Dawn. Then clay barred the whole car. Then washed with Zaino wash. Then applied a coat of Z2 with ZFX, then several coats of Z5. Then applied the bra. Then another coat of Z2 with ZFX.
I still need to clean up the edges a bit where some wax residue make the cutlines more obvious and since this is the car's first day in the sun for three weeks, some air bubbles are appearing (very few) that will need to be popped and pressed down.
Things I would do differently? I would have paid extra for the full hood wrap, not the half-wrap.
Otherwise, I'm pleased with the results and look forward to a nick-free front end for awhile.
I am NOT looking forward to going through this again with the wife's car, but I promised... . I may photo-document that application for a sticky how-to.
09-04-2013, 09:50 PM
#2
I'm impressed, iceter! It looks like you did a really great job on the installation. I just had a clear bra professionally installed and it's clearly a process that takes a lot of skill not to mention patience and attention to detail. Now go pour yourself a beer and sit back and admire your work. Nicely done, sir!
09-05-2013, 09:15 PM
#6
Bravo! Just received a full set of XPel protection film...not looking forward to this one. May I ask how you ruined the first bumper? If you have more pics, please post. Congratulations, you must feel as though you conquered a mountain.
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09-05-2013, 10:13 PM
#8
Nice job. Have heard that the front end of a Porsche is one of the hardest to apply clear bra to due to the number of compound curves. Did the same to my car within a few weeks of ownership and it has held up better than I had expected. In need of a refresh at this point but material is still clear in appearance. As for the full hood, I have the partial hood wrap just like yours and while it has taken a few hits nothing above it has. Material has been on the car since May of 2008. Well worth the investment of time and money to put it on whether you DIY it or pay to have it done. I have no paint damage on any of the covered areas.
09-06-2013, 12:43 PM
#9
Drifting
Thread Starter
Thanks for the compliments.
Honestly, I have no idea how I ruined the piece--it never touched the car. I was preparing myself for applying it and somehow part of it folded over and dragged on the floor. It picked up some dirt off the floor and while I was trying to clean it, the opposite end folded in on itself and at that point, I got so angry that I just stuffed the whole piece into the trash. It wasn't the film or the piece, it was my carelessness.
This is 3M film. The company sells 3M and a different brand but I chose 3M as they are both priced the same.
I've done this job on three or four other cars and this was the hardest bumper to do so far. Convex curves are not a problem, concave areas are much harder. The most difficult part to me was the area in front of each headlight. The film really wanted to lift off of that area.
The biggest problem with that piece is just how large and floppy it is. It's almost unmanageable as a single piece. If you could hide seams better, you'd be tempted to cut it into smaller, manageable pieces.
Now, almost a week later, I have one area on it that I don't like. After application, I was pushing out some air bubbles and didn't have enough lube (soapy water) on the surface. The squeegee caught the film and wrinkled it. Hopefully, the sun will smooth it out a bit but for now, there are a couple wrinkly areas in a line about two inches long and a quarter inch wide that I can see in just the right light.
Live and learn.
Nice job. Have heard that the front end of a Porsche is one of the hardest to apply clear bra to due to the number of compound curves. Did the same to my car within a few weeks of ownership and it has held up better than I had expected. In need of a refresh at this point but material is still clear in appearance. As for the full hood, I have the partial hood wrap just like yours and while it has taken a few hits nothing above it has. Material has been on the car since May of 2008. Well worth the investment of time and money to put it on whether you DIY it or pay to have it done. I have no paint damage on any of the covered areas.
The biggest problem with that piece is just how large and floppy it is. It's almost unmanageable as a single piece. If you could hide seams better, you'd be tempted to cut it into smaller, manageable pieces.
Now, almost a week later, I have one area on it that I don't like. After application, I was pushing out some air bubbles and didn't have enough lube (soapy water) on the surface. The squeegee caught the film and wrinkled it. Hopefully, the sun will smooth it out a bit but for now, there are a couple wrinkly areas in a line about two inches long and a quarter inch wide that I can see in just the right light.
Live and learn.
09-06-2013, 05:32 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
props for being willing to tackle that job yourself! There's a ton of margin on that hood wrap. That would drive me crazy.
09-06-2013, 06:33 PM
#11
Drifting
Thread Starter
Plus, I may have alluded to this in previous posts but my car isn't spotless. I intentionally bought a car that was cosmetically imperfect because it is my daily driver. Next to some of my scratches, the wrap is an improvement.
09-09-2013, 02:58 PM
#14
Drifting
Thread Starter
Several reasons I wanted to do this myself:
1. I'm cheap.
2. I really, really don't like to have other people touch my stuff.
3. A lack of local references for someone to do it for me.
4. My lack of faith in others to do a job as well as I do (inability to delegate).
5. My love for spending time in my garage with the stereo and the beer fridge.
6. The fact that my car is not perfect, so I didn't feel it was worthy of spending the extra time and $$ to find a pro and pay them to apply a clear bra over imperfect paint.
and...
7. As I get older (I'm 44) and find myself in a higher tax bracket, I find myself paying people to do things that, as a younger man, I would have done myself. Occasionally, I take on a project like this to prove to myself that I haven't become a fat, useless member of the bourgeoisie.
It's kind of silly, really. I know I can do these things (clean my gutters, paint my house, trim my bushes), but I find myself doing them every once in awhile just to reaffirm my manhood. I guess other guys might find themselves taking on a mistress or taking flight lessons or joining a fight club. I get my testosterone boost from banging around in the garage for awhile.
1. I'm cheap.
2. I really, really don't like to have other people touch my stuff.
3. A lack of local references for someone to do it for me.
4. My lack of faith in others to do a job as well as I do (inability to delegate).
5. My love for spending time in my garage with the stereo and the beer fridge.
6. The fact that my car is not perfect, so I didn't feel it was worthy of spending the extra time and $$ to find a pro and pay them to apply a clear bra over imperfect paint.
and...
7. As I get older (I'm 44) and find myself in a higher tax bracket, I find myself paying people to do things that, as a younger man, I would have done myself. Occasionally, I take on a project like this to prove to myself that I haven't become a fat, useless member of the bourgeoisie.
It's kind of silly, really. I know I can do these things (clean my gutters, paint my house, trim my bushes), but I find myself doing them every once in awhile just to reaffirm my manhood. I guess other guys might find themselves taking on a mistress or taking flight lessons or joining a fight club. I get my testosterone boost from banging around in the garage for awhile.
09-09-2013, 03:06 PM
#15
Three Wheelin'
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: North Carolina, '12 cls63 '14 S550V4, 07TT-gone, 07Targa4S-gone
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Several reasons I wanted to do this myself:
1. I'm cheap.
2. I really, really don't like to have other people touch my stuff.
3. A lack of local references for someone to do it for me.
4. My lack of faith in others to do a job as well as I do (inability to delegate).
5. My love for spending time in my garage with the stereo and the beer fridge.
6. The fact that my car is not perfect, so I didn't feel it was worthy of spending the extra time and $$ to find a pro and pay them to apply a clear bra over imperfect paint.
and...
7. As I get older (I'm 44) and find myself in a higher tax bracket, I find myself paying people to do things that, as a younger man, I would have done myself. Occasionally, I take on a project like this to prove to myself that I haven't become a fat, useless member of the bourgeoisie.
It's kind of silly, really. I know I can do these things (clean my gutters, paint my house, trim my bushes), but I find myself doing them every once in awhile just to reaffirm my manhood. I guess other guys might find themselves taking on a mistress or taking flight lessons or joining a fight club. I get my testosterone boost from banging around in the garage for awhile.
1. I'm cheap.
2. I really, really don't like to have other people touch my stuff.
3. A lack of local references for someone to do it for me.
4. My lack of faith in others to do a job as well as I do (inability to delegate).
5. My love for spending time in my garage with the stereo and the beer fridge.
6. The fact that my car is not perfect, so I didn't feel it was worthy of spending the extra time and $$ to find a pro and pay them to apply a clear bra over imperfect paint.
and...
7. As I get older (I'm 44) and find myself in a higher tax bracket, I find myself paying people to do things that, as a younger man, I would have done myself. Occasionally, I take on a project like this to prove to myself that I haven't become a fat, useless member of the bourgeoisie.
It's kind of silly, really. I know I can do these things (clean my gutters, paint my house, trim my bushes), but I find myself doing them every once in awhile just to reaffirm my manhood. I guess other guys might find themselves taking on a mistress or taking flight lessons or joining a fight club. I get my testosterone boost from banging around in the garage for awhile.
and the job on your car looks great.....I have one; it's coming off in a few places but does not bother me enough to do anything about it......
I wish I would have done my E550.......guess I could still have my AMG done......sigh......
nice work!
did you attend the C&C this past Saturday? I heard the Porsche crew was in the upper lot......never made it up there
