Clear Bra or Clear Bra Paint Protection Film

[MWS]

Has anyone put Clear Bra or Clear Bra Paint Protection Film on their car?

I put the clear bra on my C4S a week after I bought the car. I had it placed on the entire hood, front bumper, front air dam, both entire front fenders, fuel filler door, both outside rear view mirrors, windshield pillars, the leading 8 inches of the roof, and the edges of the doors.

It was applied about the 1st of May. So far so good. It has not yellowed, it has remained firmly attached to the car, and I can't see that it has in any way damaged the paint. The car has 12,000 miles on it now and I have not seen any damage to the clear film or the paint job. It has stood up to many hand washings and I have even waxed it. I would do it again the next time I buy a new car.

I had it done at a place that the clear film came in very large sheets and was cut by computer from a stencil that was specific for the Carrera. Each section of the car covered with Clear Bra was cut from a single sheet of clear film

Another shop was going to hand cut each piece and in larger areas (the hood and fenders) they were going to have to use two pieces of clear film to cover it.

The fellow that applied the clear bra did the job by himself. I dropped the car off with him at about 9:00 am and he was just finishing at about 5:00 pm when I returned to pick it up.

[Kirk501]

Good Stuff MWS, just what I wanted to hear.

[01vdpsc]

How much did you pay? What type of shop. Computer??? More info please. I would like to get this done and wold like to know what to ask for. I am in west Michigan.

[MWS]

How much did you pay? What type of shop. Computer??? More info please. I would like to get this done and wold like to know what to ask for. I am in west Michigan.

I had it done at a shop that specialized in "ding" repair and Clear Bras. Something similar to a window-tinting shop. In fact I have seen window tinting places that advertise that they apply Clear Bras. The website for the place I went to is listed below:

http://www.thedingcompany.com/company/

The cost to do the entire front end on my C4S was $1400.

I think having the pieces of clear film cut by computer from a single sheet of material using a professionally created template is the best way to go.

Compare this to having a couple of guys make their own templates by laying tracing paper on your car and then outlining the hood, bumpers, fenders, etc, is a recipe for a huge mess.

My clear bra fits correctly. Unless you get within a few inches of the car you can't tell it is there. There are no air bubbles, wrinkles, or places where it is peeling back.

MWS

Love those hips

Edited September 22, 2009 by MWS

[SA321]

How much did you pay? What type of shop. Computer??? More info please. I would like to get this done and wold like to know what to ask for. I am in west Michigan.

The cost to do the entire front end on my C4S was $1400.

Love those hips

wouldnt new front cost about that much? :)

[MWS]

You have a valid point about the cost of the Clear Bra vs the Cost of painting the front end of the car.

Yeah a new front paint job might cost as much as the Clear Bra or perhaps more, but at what point do you decide when to get it painted? 1 paint chip? 10? 100? 1000? Also can the paint shop really match the new paint on the front end to the "old" paint on the rear fenders etc?

I drive a lot and my previous vehicle had a bunch of paint chips in the hood, fenders, roof, bumper, mirrors, etc. Not to mention lots of insects that became permanently bonded to the clearcoat finish. Touch-up paint just isn't satisfactory and no amount of bug and tar remover ever seemed to remove all the bug guts.

My C4S has over 12,000 miles on it now and I think there is only one paint chip on the hood that occurred before I had the Clear Bra applied.

The only time I want to have my vehicle painted is when there is body repair work being done which hopefully will be never!

To each his own on this issue.

Good question!

MWS

[myfirst63356]

Troops!  And I use that salutation 'cause I bought my first Porsche (356B) while I was a young frog Army officer in, then, West Germany.... Last May I bought an '09 Carrera S from a fellow in CA.  It had 'bout 25,000 miles on it over a 3 1/2 year period; I've had it for another year +, and it now has 35,000 miles -- all in Tucson, AZ.  He had XPEL (I assume similar to Clear Bra) applied at purchase and then reapplied at 20,000 miles.  I couldn't be more impressed.  Except for touching (it has an almost rubbery give to it) I wouldn't have know it was there.  You may have noticed from weather reports that Tucson can be warmish.  No problems with yellowing or any other discoloration.  Very protective vis-a-vis rocks, slow bugs, tumble weeds, et al.  I never would have put on any kind of film myself due primarily to my ignorance on how far that niche industry has evolved.  And XPEL will even sell you a quality wax (probably just a good synthetic) that works on their film as well as paint/clear coat.  An old dog can learn new tricks.

[Mijostyn]

Hey 63356, I just picked up a 2014 911 Turbo S and I had the whole front of the car, hood, fenders, lights and mirrors covered in Xpel.

Not one single person including my mechanic has realized it was covered until I told them. The surface quality and clarity of the film are superior to 3M products. There are two down sides. It is more expensive than 3M film because the film costs 1/2 again as much and it is harder to install. When you cut a line into regular polyurethane film you can not tear the film beyond the cut. Xpel will not stop. It will keep tearing along a line of stress like paper. It is much easier to ruin a piece of expensive film during installation thus the price is increased to cover the added cost. Even the best installer will ruin a piece on occasion.

I watched my car being done and the installer, Leonardo (no kidding) is a real artist. Autobahn obviously sends him to do the custom installs on cars like this. I do not think I could ever be as good at it. Leonardo cut everything free hand! I have never seen a steadier hand with a knife.

Anyway, Xpel is much better looking than Clear Bra (3M), You can cover whole panels thus no lines. It is just as protective which takes a lot of the stress out of driving these beautiful cars. It is worth every cent. Over the life of the car it will save me hundreds of hours of work repairing chips and the car will hold its value better. Anyone buying a new 911 or a used one in excellent condition or reprinted is nuts not to have the car covered in this stuff. This is most definitely what I call a premier product. There is none better.

Oh, and I use Rejex on the whole car Xpel included. This is the toughest most slippery, shiny, water repellent paint sealant I have ever used. It treats the Xpel just like the rest of the car. I do not see any reason why all of the paint sealant/ waxes would not work on Xpel but everyone should try Rejex. The only trick to Rejex is that once you wipe it on you do not want to let it sit more than a couple of minutes. It starts polymerizing immediately making it tough to rub out if you let it sit too long. You just do a section at a time. If you want the wax look just put the wax on over the Rejex.

[car-erra]

My 997.2 2S has full-front Xpel and whole-car opticoat. Highly recommend this combo. Installer was against Xpel on headlights. He had no reservations installing xpel on headlights of other than porsche and audi cars. 

 

Here's some smoke. May be there is fire as well.

Edited July 16, 2014 by car-erra

[XLR82XS]

My 997.2 2S has full-front Xpel and whole-car opticoat. Highly recommend this combo. Installer was against Xpel on headlights. He had no reservations installing xpel on headlights of other than porsche and audi cars. 

 

Here's some smoke. May be there is fire as well.

I have the entire front end of my 996TT in Xpel Ultimate and it is the bomb! Fantastic film and fantastic warranty.

[jamesanderson84]

fwiw - I bought a 2009 black 911C4S last year which had the front end covered with film (I think it was 3M) and it was quite badly dulled/yellowed after four or so years.

 

It was bad enough that I had it removed by the dealer as a condition of purchase.

[sp-design]

the question to consider is - have you ever taken old film off of a car.   the film on my previous cayman s started to look bad, gray spots and lines.  it is a major league PITA to remove.  i found it best to start by heating it with a hair dryer, then peel one of the corner of the hood loose, then wrap it around a 3/4" wood dowel ... pull evenly and wrap it around the dowel and keep pulling.   that way its a lot easier on your hands and tends to keep it from breaking / tearing into smaller pieces.  didn't spend the money to put it on my 997 when i bought it. 

 

[Mijostyn]

sp-design you just park it in the hot sun for an hour and the film comes right off. James, yes the old 3M stuff degrades over time. The Xpel is supposed to be better but up here in the north it is going to take a lot of abuse from stones and such which is the point. Better to mess up your film than your paint. the film on my speed yellow 06 C4S is looking pretty ratty. If I do not sell it next year I will have it done in Xpel. Clean paint increases the market value of the car so you get the money back in the end.

 

 

 

fwiw - I bought a 2009 black 911C4S last year which had the front end covered with film (I think it was 3M) and it was quite badly dulled/yellowed after four or so years.

 

It was bad enough that I had it removed by the dealer as a condition of purchase.

 

the question to consider is - have you ever taken old film off of a car.   the film on my previous cayman s started to look bad, gray spots and lines.  it is a major league PITA to remove.  i found it best to start by heating it with a hair dryer, then peel one of the corner of the hood loose, then wrap it around a 3/4" wood dowel ... pull evenly and wrap it around the dowel and keep pulling.   that way its a lot easier on your hands and tends to keep it from breaking / tearing into smaller pieces.  didn't spend the money to put it on my 997 when i bought it.