mc222

Anyone in the Philadelphia area know where I can go to get a clear bra installed???

Thanks in advance!

~Mike

Starter

Good luck. I've been trying to find someone in the Balto. area with no success (for less than an option on my first born). I've found 3 places all REAL expensive.

Kalin

Out of curiosity what is 'real' expensive on the east coast? In Oregon, the 3M brands are around $400 for the front kit and ClearBra is $695 for 1/3 the hood, full bumper, side mirrors, door handles, door edges and headlights. To me that's not a bad investment.

Also with ClearBra you may do the whole car if you choose. Now that's expensive. Thousands.

Starter

REAL expensive would be $450 - $600. The dealer quotes $499 and they always mark their cost up 100%. They have a contractor do it, so that means he does it for $250 and has a nice profit in that price or he wouldn't do it.

I'd be willing to pay $300 tops.

Kalin

I bet the dealer is contracting it out to someone who uses the 3M pre fab cuts. Worlds difference in material and craftsmanship when compared to ClearBra, which is custom cut.

Ask around at the dealership and see who does it for them. Shouldn't be that hard to discover.

Rips CL

Guys,

UltraShield is a better product then a clear bra, plus the cost is less. Check out there site and give them a call and they can probably give you someone in your area that will install it. I am the dealer for Arizona and it is a great product.

http://www.ultra-shield.com/

Kalin

How do you figure? 4mil seem kind of thin. Heck, even the 3M material is 8mil. But at least US is PVC like ClearBra.

Rips CL

Dude,

Did you even go to thier website. Where in the hell did you get 4mil? They use the 3M 8mil product on cars and thicker on planes. It's right there on there website. ClearBra is an overpriced by-product of UltraShield. UltraShield has been around longer and someone has lead you in the wrong direction. I have been doing this since 1994, so I believe I'm an expert in this area. But if you want to pay more for a lessor product, go right ahead....

Rips CL

There is no difference in material between the pre-cut and clearbra. They both use 3M 8mil. You will get a better fitting bra with the pre-cut (computer generated to fit exact) then you will from an installer trying to cut it himself. I've put on hundreds of pre-kits and I have also cut for hundreds of high-end cars that don't have kits and I must say, I make more money when I cut the kit, but the pre-kits work and look just as good. If the installer is cutting and he doesn't know what to do, he can cut your paint and make the 3M product look like crap. Why take a chance, if your car has a pre-kit for it, use it! Don't tell these guys false information.

Kalin

And in the spirit of things, did you even check out the ClearBra website? I am not talking about the 3M Scotchcal stuff that people call clear bra. Take a trip to the website I posted earlier in the thread. Here, I'll give it to you again. ClearBra.

What do you notice? ClearBra is a 12mil material. It is NOT a remarketing of just 3M Scotchcal 8mil film (such as Ultra Shield, XPel, etc). I goofed on the 4mil thing (not sure where I got that), but since you are supposed to be the "expert" get your facts straight.

And please explain how I would be paying more for a lesser product if they were both 3M Scotchcal cuts? I would agree on the price aspect but 3M Scotchcal is 3M Scotchcal. You still have not told us how Ultra Shield is a better product than the other 3M remarkets.

Out of curiosity, what compelled you to go with Ultra Shield as your brand of choice? Did you try others and not like them?

Rips CL

First, I never said ClearBra was 8mil, I just didn't want to confuse people on here with a long history of ClearBra, but I guess I'm going to have too.

I started 10 years ago when ClearBra wasn't around. I have worked with companies that have designed programs for the benefit of the consumer. Here is a brother company of UltraShield, check out the site.

http://www.xpel.com/

What happened is ClearBra came alone and thought that putting on 12mil Scotchcal would show that there product is better....WRONG! Research has showing that there is no benefit going to the 12mil product on a car. Only on high speed applications, such as an airplane. That's exactly what I use when I do the leading edges of planes. 3M even recommends using 8mil on cars, saying the 12 mil is to diffecult to work with on corners and won't adhere to the paint as good as the 8mil. Also, 3M says that the true luster of your vehicle will be demenished by putting on the thicker mil products.

Also, If ClearBra had the ability to pre-cut there kits they would, but they don't have the money, knowledge and expertise to make that happen. Do you think that software package was cheap to design?

The reason I said you had a lessor product is because you rely on the installer to much. The 3M product is great, but if the installer is a boob, your application isi going to be horrible. I hope if you ever take your bra off, you don't find cuts all the way through your paint. You lose that factor with a pre-cut kit.

When all is said and done, I can get a pre-cut kit in 12mil, the cost diffrence is minimal, but I always tell may customers what I have found to be true with the 12mil thickness. If you are happy with your ClearBra, thats great. Any product that protects your frontend is great, and I'm sure yours does that. I just wanted the guys on here to know that they have another choice. That other choice can save them money, and will do the job just as good.

Starter

OK Rips CL, Thanks for the info.

As an installer, what is a fair price for the kit? Realizing that the installer needs to make a buck, but not too many of them of course. I'd love to have you do it, but it's a long drive to Arizona from here.

Kalin

Actually that explanation would have been better in the first place.

It'd be tedious to get into the research that shows that 12mil is no more effective at rejecting rocks etc than 8mil material, but when you break it down more seems better. Perhaps it is more difficult to adhere to the car, but if you have a good installer then it's moot. And for a $30k+ car, what's an extra few bucks for peace of mind. Same concept as AEM bypass filters.

From discussions with other 3M applicators locally, the parent company developed the software and each reseller buys a license. Somewhere around $4k. Not that big of an investment considering the return. I think the marketing direction ClearBra took is value-adding work... to differentiate themselves. People see value in human work rather than computer generated patterns.

To be honest, I trust the people that own and operate the local ClearBra shop to work on my car 10x more than the other 3M installers. And with an exacto knife to boot. The other shops are also tint places, and they can't even do that right. So the extra bucks is well worth it in my opinion. But of course judge your local venues individually.

The power is with the buyer. If the ClearBra application looks like booty, tell them to redo it. If they cut the paint, the car will be fixed at their expense. I wanted some extra protection that the pre-cut kits could not offer. Decide what your own requirements are.

Thanks Rip.

Rips CL

If you give me your zip code, I may be able to find someone in your area that can do the install. Depending on what you decide to do, the price can range from $200 to $450 installed. Let me know if I can help.

Rips CL

Great discussion that we had, I appreciate all the input. Which ever choice someone makes, they will love the protection of the 3M product.

Kalin

My true test will be in September when I drive from Portland, OR to Pensacola, FL. This trip alone will give me full return on my investment.

De03CLS

I have found a clearbra installer in the philadelphia area, it is in Newark, DE...just about 30 min south of Philly...

check out my post in the detailing section


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