Visual Impressions of a clear bra
10-05-2002, 12:34 PM
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Visual Impressions of a clear bra
I've decided to hold off on getting the Xpel kit installed on my Chrome Silver Track for a few reasons. AFAIK The Xpel kit is the only one offered in my area by an experienced installer - Reflex in San Antonio who designed the Xpel kit for the 350Z.
I was able to see the Xpel kit installed on a Maxima, and seeing it in person has given me some concerns about putting it on my car...I believe my concerns however are not Xpel related, but Clear Bras in general. And I do not think any of the concerns I have are to do with the quality of the installation.
Issues I noticed with the clear bra installed on a Maxima SE
Background -
The bra has been on for about 9 months and was put on the car immediatley after purchase - the Maxima was the metalic gold color.
Issues -
1. Dirt and grime build up on and around the seams. Horrific. Car owner said it required nearly daily cleaning with a toothpick or the car looked like it had dirt pinstripes on it..
2. There were places where rocks had hit the film. Now while ther was no damage to the paint, the fact that I COULD TELL that a rock had hit the 3M material is a flaw. Indentations, imperfections in the material, cuts etc were visible.
The owner was dissatisfied with the value the film provided, primarily because there is no way to repair the film, it must be replaced. If it were a few rock chips in the paint, the entire bumber could be repainted for 1/4 the price.
3. The film's presence was more visible in person that I expected it to be, a lot more. This may be due to points #1 and #2 but nonetheless seeing the real thing in person made me very skeptical.
Given what I'm being quoted for the parts+professional installation ($900+) I'm less than sold on the idea. Mine not being a daily driver I'mm not so sure it's a good option. Thoughts?
Chris
I was able to see the Xpel kit installed on a Maxima, and seeing it in person has given me some concerns about putting it on my car...I believe my concerns however are not Xpel related, but Clear Bras in general. And I do not think any of the concerns I have are to do with the quality of the installation.
Issues I noticed with the clear bra installed on a Maxima SE
Background -
The bra has been on for about 9 months and was put on the car immediatley after purchase - the Maxima was the metalic gold color.
Issues -
1. Dirt and grime build up on and around the seams. Horrific. Car owner said it required nearly daily cleaning with a toothpick or the car looked like it had dirt pinstripes on it..
2. There were places where rocks had hit the film. Now while ther was no damage to the paint, the fact that I COULD TELL that a rock had hit the 3M material is a flaw. Indentations, imperfections in the material, cuts etc were visible.
The owner was dissatisfied with the value the film provided, primarily because there is no way to repair the film, it must be replaced. If it were a few rock chips in the paint, the entire bumber could be repainted for 1/4 the price.
3. The film's presence was more visible in person that I expected it to be, a lot more. This may be due to points #1 and #2 but nonetheless seeing the real thing in person made me very skeptical.
Given what I'm being quoted for the parts+professional installation ($900+) I'm less than sold on the idea. Mine not being a daily driver I'mm not so sure it's a good option. Thoughts?
Chris
10-05-2002, 01:27 PM
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I agree it is not perfect and to get the best installation you need someone good but even then you get imperfections not the crystal clear I would have liked for the price, I think you can't get that anyway. Mine isn't a daily driver either but all it takes is one chip to wish you had it.
10-05-2002, 02:55 PM
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Your concerns are valid. I decided to sell this stuff after having it on my truck for one year. All it took was looking at it next to another truck with the same miles.
10-05-2002, 04:54 PM
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Bishop-Tx,
In a perfect world, we should not even consider putting a paint protection film on a new car's paint. If only automotive finish technology provided smooth, durable and environmentally-friendly paint, I wouldn't put 3M Scotchcal on any car I own.
However, the reality is that we have 3 options to protect the front end finish on chip happy paint:
(1) Don't drive the car. (a legitimate option for garage queen, collector cars, like my 1987 Porsche Carrera
)
(2) Traditional vinyl bras. (Sorry, not my cup of tea.)
(3) 3M paint protection film.
Like anything else, attention to detail is what separates a horrible from a fantastic "clear bra" installation. I have the Stongard kit on my 2002 Subaru WRX, and after nearly 2 years the hood piece is perfect. The trailing border or edge is not lifting or collecting dirt. The only maintenance it needs is an occasional Q-tip cleaning of excess wax.
Picture of Stongard on my WRX (That's water collecting on the passenger side fog light. The hood piece is HUGE, but is very difficult to photograph.)
I recently installed Krinkov's (Jeremy) Invisiguard kit on my 350Z Track. Jeremy uses the proprietary Xpel design and the bumper fit is absolutely perfect. It's not something for beginners, but definitely worth the extra complexity.
My advice is to look at excellent, professional Xpel installations. In my opinion, there's something very elegant about a really well done kit with even borders and edges.
The alternative to 3M film is pretty miserable, if you ask me. Take a look at any 2000-2002 Maxima as an example. I've seen a 2002 Majestic blue Maxima with less than 10k miles with literally DOZENS of paint chips on the front bumper and hood. I'd also suggest looking at www.nissanpaint.com for more details.
I hope you don't get the impression that I'm selling or installing this stuff. No, I just happen to be an Ophthalmologist (specifically, a Cornea surgeon) who is pathologically **** retentive about maintaining my cars.
Anyway, enough of the diatribe. In the end, it's YOUR car. Sanblasted paint on the front end doesn't really detract from the car's performance, but it sure does annoy me.
Dean
In a perfect world, we should not even consider putting a paint protection film on a new car's paint. If only automotive finish technology provided smooth, durable and environmentally-friendly paint, I wouldn't put 3M Scotchcal on any car I own.
However, the reality is that we have 3 options to protect the front end finish on chip happy paint:
(1) Don't drive the car. (a legitimate option for garage queen, collector cars, like my 1987 Porsche Carrera
)(2) Traditional vinyl bras. (Sorry, not my cup of tea.)
(3) 3M paint protection film.
Like anything else, attention to detail is what separates a horrible from a fantastic "clear bra" installation. I have the Stongard kit on my 2002 Subaru WRX, and after nearly 2 years the hood piece is perfect. The trailing border or edge is not lifting or collecting dirt. The only maintenance it needs is an occasional Q-tip cleaning of excess wax.
Picture of Stongard on my WRX (That's water collecting on the passenger side fog light. The hood piece is HUGE, but is very difficult to photograph.)
I recently installed Krinkov's (Jeremy) Invisiguard kit on my 350Z Track. Jeremy uses the proprietary Xpel design and the bumper fit is absolutely perfect. It's not something for beginners, but definitely worth the extra complexity.
My advice is to look at excellent, professional Xpel installations. In my opinion, there's something very elegant about a really well done kit with even borders and edges.
The alternative to 3M film is pretty miserable, if you ask me. Take a look at any 2000-2002 Maxima as an example. I've seen a 2002 Majestic blue Maxima with less than 10k miles with literally DOZENS of paint chips on the front bumper and hood. I'd also suggest looking at www.nissanpaint.com for more details.
I hope you don't get the impression that I'm selling or installing this stuff. No, I just happen to be an Ophthalmologist (specifically, a Cornea surgeon) who is pathologically **** retentive about maintaining my cars.
Anyway, enough of the diatribe. In the end, it's YOUR car. Sanblasted paint on the front end doesn't really detract from the car's performance, but it sure does annoy me.
Dean
10-05-2002, 04:56 PM
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just got back from san antonio (570 miles round trip). i had my clear bra redone by the best installer of XPEL... the Vice president, mike.
it fuggin rocks!!! it looks sooo good. i will be taking pics this coming up week, after my zaino days. also, the audio install will be done by then... i will have pics of that also!
m
it fuggin rocks!!! it looks sooo good. i will be taking pics this coming up week, after my zaino days. also, the audio install will be done by then... i will have pics of that also!
m
10-05-2002, 07:49 PM
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articfury,
No, I haven't seen any impact marks on the 3M film. For several weeks after the installation, you'll often see a "cracked mud" texture to the 3M film when looking at a certain angle. This invariably goes away, leaving a smooth finish.
Several things that won't go away with a "sloppy" install:
Large air bubbles.
Fingerprints
ANY foreign body material trapped between the paint and film
Relief or "custom" cuts made on the film.
Dean
No, I haven't seen any impact marks on the 3M film. For several weeks after the installation, you'll often see a "cracked mud" texture to the 3M film when looking at a certain angle. This invariably goes away, leaving a smooth finish.
Several things that won't go away with a "sloppy" install:
Large air bubbles.
Fingerprints
ANY foreign body material trapped between the paint and film
Relief or "custom" cuts made on the film.
Dean
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10-06-2002, 01:03 AM
#8
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Bishop,
Yes the film is visible on close inspection, more so obviously if its edges are dirty. Im not sure what kind of enviornment hes driving his car in, but the ones out here do not need constant attention or cleaning. The wax/dirt build-up is no more than that of any other gap/edge. Newer cars dont have the miles of chrome and moulding and gaps that older cars had, so many of us have fogotten what it was like to have to run softened toothpics along edges after waxing, but in this case it works just fine. It still will be visible under scrutiny even under the best conditions, remember, its put on your car to protect, not to beautify, but in this case the trade off in ultimate finish versus a huge degree of protection is marginal. I was at the Bay Area meet last night and there were 5 cars there that we installed Invisiguard on and I had to point it out to everybody else that was there!
As far as the choice between PPF or repainting, besides the hassle of sending you car to a body shop for days, how often do you plan to do it? Every year? every two years? like you said, he got the film on his car 9 months ago, without the film it sounds like he would be about ready for another paint job about now, what about nine months after that when his paint is trashed again? Even if you can see a rock mark on the PPF, it will still last and protect for years to come for the one time installation cost. Also, as for 1/4 the cost, maybe its different out there, but there arent any body shops around here that would bill less than $500 for painting the front of a car except for Macco/Miracle hack jobs
Yes the film is visible on close inspection, more so obviously if its edges are dirty. Im not sure what kind of enviornment hes driving his car in, but the ones out here do not need constant attention or cleaning. The wax/dirt build-up is no more than that of any other gap/edge. Newer cars dont have the miles of chrome and moulding and gaps that older cars had, so many of us have fogotten what it was like to have to run softened toothpics along edges after waxing, but in this case it works just fine. It still will be visible under scrutiny even under the best conditions, remember, its put on your car to protect, not to beautify, but in this case the trade off in ultimate finish versus a huge degree of protection is marginal. I was at the Bay Area meet last night and there were 5 cars there that we installed Invisiguard on and I had to point it out to everybody else that was there!
As far as the choice between PPF or repainting, besides the hassle of sending you car to a body shop for days, how often do you plan to do it? Every year? every two years? like you said, he got the film on his car 9 months ago, without the film it sounds like he would be about ready for another paint job about now, what about nine months after that when his paint is trashed again? Even if you can see a rock mark on the PPF, it will still last and protect for years to come for the one time installation cost. Also, as for 1/4 the cost, maybe its different out there, but there arent any body shops around here that would bill less than $500 for painting the front of a car except for Macco/Miracle hack jobs
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