Cadillac Owners Forum banner

Clear bra

6K views 40 replies 17 participants last post by  SoCalCTSV 
#1 ·
Was thinking of doing this, but would like to know of the pros and cons from anyone who has or who has had it and what you all think of this product?
 
#4 ·
I will no longer have any car without one. I am a fan of the 3M product. I had it on my 08 Yukon Denali for 4 years and it held up VERY well. Actually saw stones bounce off the hood but the mark on the film just disappeared when I wiped it with my finger. The film is almost invisible on my wife's gold Enclave but it shows more on my black V.

Only negative I have heard is you have to be careful what products you use on the film. My installer said NEVER to use any petroleum based products or it can cloud the film. I use Zaino on the whole car including the film and it looks great and holds up great. I have also used Plexus on the film. I am convinced it has saved me from a pockmarked hood.
 
#5 ·
I agree as my past 4 cars have all had clear bra's applied. If you drive your car, it is subject to stones being thrown by other cars in front of you. This is the only prevention from dings or paint chips on the hood or grill area of the V. I too apply zaino over the complete car including the clear bra. A well worth $500 to $600 spent. It is also removable if the next person buying your car does not want it.
 
#9 ·
I love my clear bra and it has certainly protected the bumper, hood and fenders from a lot of damage. My 300SRT8 was so pock-marked in the front, it looked like a customer polka-dot paint job. The only thing I would do different (and I recommend doing) is doing the ENTIRE hood and fenders. If your car is white, it's probably OK to go halfway up, but you can clearly see the line on my Thunder Gray V. I definitely would do the entire hood and fenders next time.
 
#13 ·
The Chevrolet dealer that I spoke with about it suggested that he would not use it personally. He stated that infact it left tons of crows feet on the car when it was removed, thus necessitating a complete front-end respray.

I would be curious to know if anyone here has owned their car long enough to go through at least 1 re-application due to age or condition of the material.

I also need to figure out if pre-existing chips from waiting too long will be a problem with the install. I've tried to be careful and wait until I can get a flex to polish the car-wash scratches out before I put the bra on, but it's 6,000 miles old and counting.
 
#14 ·
Preexisting chips may be a problem since it will leave an air bubble under the film. Not sure if you could fill in the chips to smooth before the film but I probably try.

As far as removing, I have not personally removed one but I have seen a vehicle that had the 3M removed after 5 years. It looked a little rough when it first came off but some solvent took off any residual adhesive and a light polish took out anything you could see. At least in ONE case it seems to come off ok.
 
#19 ·
They do bake it, but the paint still needs to cure. Not as much with the poly's they use nowadays, but it is best to let them go for a couple weeks. From the factory, there is enough time for it to cure from the time it is painted to the time it is delivered to the dealer.
 
#27 ·
Before I took delivery of my 03 Turbo back in 2003, me and a friend of mine was at the dealership taking up the entire front of the car with painter's tape since the installer was booked and couldn't come and clearbra the car pre-delivery.

If they can't do it pre-delivery, and if you really really are anal about paint (like me), do that, and then don't drive it until you get it clearbra'ed.
 
#28 ·
Just dropped off my V Coupe at installer for the bumper, rear bumper (top) and hood. Also doing tint and remove CTS emblem.

Question - how far up the hood are your clear bras going up? Mine will be 23 inches from the center. Also, mine isnt not going to be straight across but a "bikini" style that will follow the curves of the front of the hood.
 
#31 ·
A good installer can custom wrap the entire hood.

My M5 had the entire car covered, which means they wrapped the entire hood, no seams anywhere.

Did you ask them to do the whole hood or are they not capable of it? The incremental cost of doing the entire hood is not that much more, and there is no line.
 
#29 ·
If/when I get one I want to do the entire hood. I have a black car so my fear is that I would see the line if they don't do the entire hood.

I saw a black V2 with a partial hood clear bra at my dealership this past weekend. It looked freakin awful and almost scared me away from clear bras altogether. I have no idea what they did wrong. It appears the owner didn't keep it up or something. The covered parts were so obvious and dirty/hazy looking compared to the rest of the car that looked pristine.
 
#33 ·
Again, it's not the product, but the incompetent fools that pass them off as installers.

Do a search on Premier on Porsche and Ferrari forums.

A properly installed clearbra is invisible. And you shouldn't be able to see ANY seams. When my M5 was totalled the adjuster did not even notice it the first time he came out. That is the quality you should expect. Anything less than that you should tell the "installer" to stick to matchbox toys.

And yes, I feel very strongly about this because my GT2 had nice razor marks from "an installer that does a lot of cars for a Porsche dealership up north."
 
#30 ·
I saw a dark grey BMW M5 with a clear bra at the shop and didnt even notice the bra until owner pointed it out. The place I am doing it at does cars for the dealerships and do mainly high end cars. I am apprehensive but I know its a compromise of protection and appearance.
 
#32 ·
Did you look up Premier at all?

It doesn't matter that they do "a lot of cars for dealership."

My GT2 had clearbra done by an installer that "does a lot of cars for a Porsche dealership up north." Incompetent fool left some nice razor cuts because like I said before, most installers should stick to putting stickers on their kids matchbox cars.
 
#35 ·
Here are some pictures of the clearbra install, as well as what it should look like after the install by a comptent installer.

Note the area I circled. A non matchbox sticker installer should be able to cover your entire hood and tuck the excess film on the sides of the hood, so that when you close the hood, even if you get your nose right up to the surface of the hood, you cannot tell that there is clearbra.

If an installer cannot cover the entire hood even if you ask them to, then they are simply using the precut kits, which is pretty sad.

This is the quality you should expect from your clearbra installer.
 

Attachments

#36 ·
I think I will try to get this done and do the whole front end and fenders. The problem I currently have is that the paint is 6,000 miles old(so a few rock chips already), and the idiots at the dealership put a million micro-scratches all over the vehicle from running it through a car-- so the front-end needs to be corrected before throwing the bra on.
 
#37 ·
You can also buy a touchup paint stick (at least all German brands sell them) and have a good bodyshop touch them up. Wait 30 days, don't drive the car much, then have a good detailer do a paint correction.

If a detailer doesn't own a paint meter, run, do not walk, out of there. Any good detailer should be able to tell you how much clear they are going to take off as part of the correction process. Then you can find a good clearbra installer and have them wrap the entire hood, fender and bumper.

It's a pain but your car will look brand new after this forever, barring any accident.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top