How many of you have the clear bra? How much did you pay? Was it worth it?

I have one - and I have used Zaino on it and the rest of my car - but for some reason water spots stay on the clearbra and don't come off when I wash the car. Any idea why?

 

I have not had a chance to wax it yet, so I do not know about the spotting. I have the 3M clear shield and it cost me around $900. I had the front (bumper, front of hood), side mirrors, a-pillars and above the front windshield done. So far it has been worth it.

 

I had the 3M Scotchguard Paint Protection Film installed on the front fascia, front 24" of hood, mirrors, A-pillars, roof in front of sunroof, door edges, and entire rear bumper (running from rear wheel to rear wheel). This was $1000, for all of it. Great installation, very clean. The installer recommended using 303 Protectant rather than wax on the 3M film, however, I only did that for the first month or so, until I did my first full Zaino treatment on the entire car. Now I just Zaino the 3M film like the rest of the car.

I like the 3M film so much that I have it protecting my Motorola RAZR, and my 30GB "video" iPod. There is a company that sells small, custom sheets of the 3M film...

http://www.theinvisibleshield.com/

Randy

 

I never thought about doing the a-pillars or the roof of the car. I didn't even think about the edge of the door. I had them put the film behind the door handle so people with nails won't scratch the paint behind it.

 

I feel this must be the most overpriced sheet of plastic sold anywhere. I considered it for about 2 nanoseconds for my NSX, but there is just no way I'm going to pay $1,000 for a sheet of plastic to protect a few rock chips on my paint. I have two on my NSX and one on the RL as of today

 

Really? You are the first one that I have heard speak out against it. Most people are just neutral or love it. About time I heard another side to this!

 

I have 12 inches up on hood, plus back of side mirrors. $170.

 

The cost for the front and rear bumper, front head lights, rearview mirrors, door edges, rear side running board, and rear of the tires (where your mud guards would go) cost me $665. The installer charged me the same price for my 2004 TL he did about a year ago.

 

Curious, any new members want to vote?

 

I did the Hood, Fenders, Mirrors, Headlights and Fog lights, and Front Bumper for about $650.00 installed - was $900.00 total with 35% window tint all around I had done at the same time. There was a white pearl RL on the floor of the dealer with the 3M product done on it and it just looked terrible. Rippled surface like orange peel and REAL yellow. Mine was done by a different shop and was massively better in finish and installation. Very smooth and barely detectable when the car is clean. Easier to hide on my Carbon Gray Pearl finish than the lighter colors, BTW. My previous car had film over the headlights as well, which most people miss, and it made a huge difference in resilience and eliminating road rash pitting on plastic lenses.

 

Where did you get yours done? I am looking for somebody to do the new RX330 when we get it.

 

I had it done on my car, but the installer cutted the films on the car and damaged the paint. I will not do it again because of the bad experience.

 

That is unfortunate. I had it done on the RL and the FX35 and neither of them damaged the paint.

 

Mine was done by Jason at Fade to Black. (248) 224-7624. Great guy, beautiful work. And it looks like I was wrong about the 3M film. I just went to the website for the first time and they list 3M as the film they use for the bra. So it must have been his installation that made it look so much cleaner than the one on the showroom floor.
BTW: I had multiple car dealer salesmen recommend this guy for the work when I was car shopping.

Good luck!

http://www.fadetoblacktinting.com

 

He did my tints. He had done it on my FX35 and the other guys in his shop did my RL.

 

OUCH! I used to have a high-end car audio and tint shop in Seattle area many moons ago, but I have never heard of such a thing like this. What a moron!
Used to see some window tinters actually use a razor blade to cut the film at the base of the inside window and slice the rubber seal along with it though. Nasty!

If you see my post and go to: http://www.fadetoblacktinting.com/pa...ectionfilm.cfm

...you can see this stuff is supplied as a pre-cut kit. I know this because mine had to be special ordered because I did the front bumper as well and this is not always done.

Sorry about your car though...

 

Pure jackassery, sorry to hear about that. Did you at least have them pay to fix it?

 

I really regret not getting the clear bra done when we purchased the car. I was concerned with the 'yellow-ness' of the clear bra on our white pearl so I had decided it'd be best to wait as I had heard that 3M were to be introducing a totally clear version later this year.

Last week during the ice storm here in the north east, the wife had parked the car on a hill in front of her mom's house. At 11PM, a neighbor came by and asked if she owned a white Acura, and that all the cars parked on the hill had slid down to the bottom.

She went outside and low and behold, our 3500lb Acura was bumper to bumper with a dozen or so other vehicles. After a few hours of salting and waking neighbors up to move their vehicles, she noticed a long 6" horizontal scratch on the front bumper.

Fast forward to that morning when everything turned into rain and wind.. she was driving to work and a small tree branch broke off from a tree and landed on the hood leaving a nice dent right along the crease in the center front of the hood (3" behind the grill).

I've got an appointment at dent wizards after the new year, and I've also ordered some touch up paint. The dent concerns me as the paint has cracked.. this may require body work, but I've covered the crack with clear coat so it doesnt get any bigger.

Ugh.

 

Thanks. I specifically asked the guy if he was using pre-cutted kits. He said yes, but would not allow me to stay to watch. I also found this moron via a kit supplier's website. Worst yet, after the instance the owner of the company said that the installer was not affliated with his company, even throught I went to the company's listed locating with its sign hanging on the door! It was a bunch of low life.

 

I stopped the check I paid him, but wasn't able to get further compensation.

 

I paid $500 for the large kit from Xcel (3M) after much research. I have the front bumper, the mirror backs, fenders, half the hood, the door sills where your foot drags, and the shelf on top of the back bumper. I have had it for almost 2 years and no problems, no chips. I use Zaino on it just like the rest of the car.

Warning: Don't Zaino your car BEFORE you get the bra because it is a bitch to get off and the bra won't stick good on the edges. Mine had to be re-done.