clear bra :) - Page 2

Mystical_Ice · #16 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 03:15 PM

yeah there's another guy that said $450, but i would've had to travel up to Conroe. plus these guys not only hvae a good rep, but they're walking distance from the office.

rand49er · #17 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 03:32 PM

Three weeks after I got my car, I had full bumper done (upper and lower), plus headlights, hood, mirrors, all four wheel arches, and top of rear bumper ... eight bills. I'd do it again in a nanosecond.

tlevy21 · #18 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 05:29 PM

how do u get the fricken wax off of the clear bra edges??? without scratching paint

Mystical_Ice · #19 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 05:49 PM

actually this only covers the first, like, 8 inches of the hood apparently.

but the rest of the stuff is covered. all front lights, upper/lower bumper, fender flares, mirrors, etc.

Ak Jim · #20 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 09:04 PM

"how do u get the fricken wax off of the clear bra edges??? without scratching paint?"

I would like to know how to do this also!

2004ctsv · #21 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ak Jim

"how do u get the fricken wax off of the clear bra edges??? without scratching paint?"

I would like to know how to do this also!

cotton tips and kerosene - what fun!!

I hate the way the clear bra looks but it does the job of protecting the paint.

rand49er · #22 (**permalink**) 08-22-07, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ak Jim

"how do u get the fricken wax off of the clear bra edges??? without scratching paint?"

I would like to know how to do this also!

Me too!

Mystical_Ice · #23 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 01:23 AM

OK i need help.

the shop that was responsible for touching up the car first (getting rid of the rock dents in the bumper, and some of the surface scratches on the car) was before i took the car to the installers for the clear bra. supposed to be one process, but two shops. shop 1 gets it ready for the clear bra, shop 2 gets the clear bra installed.

anyway i'm not happy at all with what shop 1 did. now it's not waxed, but that's because i didn't want it waxed... from what i've heard, all they do is remove the wax before putting the bra on anyway. all i wanted was the light scratches in the paint removed, in anticipation for the bra install.

here's what i noticed tonight:

see attached pictures.

so it's got the swirls

now i don't want to take it back to the first shop and tell them that i'm not happy with all the swirl marks, if the only way they can get rid of them is by waxing and buffing (it's pretty clear by feeling the finish that there's no wax on the car... is this why the swirls are showing so clearly?). at the same time, if it's true that the clear bra must be applied without the wax, i don't want it applied on top of a swirly finish. that's terrible.

i mean it really is. we went to eat tonight, and when we all came out of the restaurant, everyone i was with was like "DUDE - what happened to your car!?"... and it was only THEN that i really noticed and paid attention.

what should i do...

Oh and ignore the 'smudge' marks in the pictures... those were from me fruitlessly trying to 'rub them away'

Mystical_Ice · #24 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 01:34 AM

just wanted to throw in too, that i'm dumb... i didn't read the thread replies too hard, and thought the talk about the orbital buffer was referring to the process the 3M guys would do as part of the removing the wax process, for the install. i didn't read it enough, and now i've got swirls all over the paint.

this is a professional body shop though, and they have Ford GTs and Vipers going in and out of there on a daily basis... i've got a friend that works there, and that's the reason i picked this place.

what should i do. it's 12:15AM, and i'm going to have to do something on or by 9:00 tomorrow morning. everything needs to happen tomorrow, including the 3M getting put on, because i'm going on a 6 hour road trip on friday, and NEED it on

help plz!

rand49er · #25 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 07:48 AM

I don't know much about orbitals vs whatever, but those are some nasty swirl marks. I wouldn't put any clear bra on top of that ... I'd WANT stones to hit it!

Can you go back to the first shop and say exactly what you've said here and show them? Do they know you're putting a clear bra on?

darkman · #26 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystical_Ice

just wanted to throw in too, that i'm dumb... i didn't read the thread replies too hard, and thought the talk about the orbital buffer was referring to the process the 3M guys would do as part of the removing the wax process, for the install. i didn't read it enough, and now i've got swirls all over the paint.

this is a professional body shop though, and they have Ford GTs and Vipers going in and out of there on a daily basis... i've got a friend that works there, and that's the reason i picked this place.

what should i do. it's 12:15AM, and i'm going to have to do something on or by 9:00 tomorrow morning. everything needs to happen tomorrow, including the 3M getting put on, because i'm going on a 6 hour road trip on friday, and NEED it on

help plz!

First of all, I would postpone the clear bra until the swirl issue is resolved. Your 6 hour road trip is unlikely to make your existing situation much worse. Those swirl makes look to me like they were made with a regular rotary polisher. The only way an orbital would do that much damage is if used in conjunction with some pretty abrasive chemical paste.

I am not an expert on paint, but I suspect you will at least need a fresh coat of clear coat and perhaps new paint. Simply put, the existing "swirled" paint is not worth protecting with an expensive bra.

Superjim · #27 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystical_Ice

just wanted to throw in too, that i'm dumb... i didn't read the thread replies too hard, and thought the talk about the orbital buffer was referring to the process the 3M guys would do as part of the removing the wax process, for the install. i didn't read it enough, and now i've got swirls all over the paint.

this is a professional body shop though, and they have Ford GTs and Vipers going in and out of there on a daily basis... i've got a friend that works there, and that's the reason i picked this place.

what should i do. it's 12:15AM, and i'm going to have to do something on or by 9:00 tomorrow morning. everything needs to happen tomorrow, including the 3M getting put on, because i'm going on a 6 hour road trip on friday, and NEED it on

help plz!

Holy Swirl Marks, Batman

I am really sorry to see your paint that way.

I would be at the body shop when it opens today. Would be talking to SOMEBODY about why my paint was all screwed up. I would forget about putting the clear bra on till I got back.

At this point a little 6 hour trip isn't going to do any more damage than is already done by the body shop.

Now I know why I wax mine by hand.

Jim from Texas

thebigjimsho · #28 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 09:25 AM

That is nasty! When you talk about the dents and scratches they fixed, how bad were they?

You can not do the clear bra now. Reschedule with shop 2 and bring it right back to shop 1 and have them fix it. OR, complain to shop 1 and insist they either fix it NOW or that they pay a body shop whatever it takes to have it done right. That may even need a repaint.

Silver Dollar · #29 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 09:51 AM

I shed a tear for your paint job this morning. Since you have a friend at the place perhaps you can leverage that to have this repaired and done right.

Mystical_Ice · #30 (**permalink**) 08-23-07, 09:54 AM

well the paint on this car was just pristine... it really was. but the first day i got it, a rock jumped up and scratched the paint to the right of the right side foglight. about the size of a dime, and you could see it from a couple feet away. they had to remove the bumper to paint that, and that looks just great, it really does.

the 'scratches' i wanted them to remove were 1 or 2 on the hood, and one on the right fender. the longest was about 3 inches long, and was only visible if you looked at just the right angle. wasn't a deep scratch, you couldn't feel it with your fingernail (you couldn't feel any of them with your fingernail). it's like, i asked them to remove the scratches, but if i'd known that in order to do that they would've had to put millions of tiny scratches on the surface, i would've just lived with them. they really weren't that big a deal, i just didn't want the clear bra going on over the 2 or 3 little scratches. now i would've just lived with it

i didn't sleep much last night.

what i don't want, is to go there, and let them convince me that it's the way it's supposed to be, or to tell me that once i was it all the swirlmarks will go away. looking at the pictures, it's unacceptable, right?