majik

hell i feel you all day... but you know what...we all have permissions to drive (unless our diving priviliges have been revoked...heh heh) and with that ...we make our own decisions....you are fighting a losing battle...he doesnt wanna listen..cool....tell you what...you wanna help someone...get your jr. merit badge..**** help me!! tell me this...if i wanna clear bra my kit i am getting ..isit only applied once...meaning....is it set up against the car...then streatchec or something fantastic four-ish? ...or can it be placed up against the car..unpainted..cut..then laid once it is painted? what about painting...how long after i paint it should i wait to apply....clear coat issues.....and last...waxing? kmon now..you gotta be my bruce lee now!!!

but i feel you on your point man....thats why im not letting dr chapstick to do it...i want dr spock!!

krinkov

On a personal note, Thomas at Secondary exposure is an all around nice guy and passionate about what he does, everyone we've sent out his way has been completely satisfied with his work and his excellent customer service. Also, I know he wouldnt bring it up, but english is his second language, and I can understand what hes trying to say just fine, how many languages can you type in?

jackwhale

krinkov: the 3M work you did on my car was, is and will continue be fabulous. Absolutely no problem. The other cars I've seen that you've done are also perfect.

Did you get a new pup or is just another in your photo series of interesting animals doing interesting things?

krinkov

hey thanks for the good word!

yeah, got a new pup, and yeah, he tries to do alot of "interesting" things to the cat

E-C

I really feel I need to pitch in my 2 cents. I own a shop in California. Elite Coating, and we also provide custom Clear Bra installations.
A previous post mentions that he only uses pre cut kits, and that's fine if that's what he's comfortable with. I feel the same way Thomas does on the subject though, and only do custom installs. I have many reasonts not to use precuts, but there's no need to go into that on this post. Basically I believe this just provides a better product to my customers.
Like you guys, I do take a lot of pride in my work, and I would not be doing this if I didn't totally trust that my customer will be 100% happy with my work.
I see the point that both guys are trying to make. But what the installer that does pre-cut kits might not understand, is the techniques/equipment we use to prevent paint scratches from happening. I can guarantee this won't happen on any of my installs, as I'm sure Thomas also stands behind his work.
I've seen pictures of Thomas' work and have heard good things about his shop. With a properly trained and experienced installer there will not be any scratches on the car, much less one that goes all the way to the metal. Going all the way through the paint to the metal requires a good deal more force than it does to score the film.
Of course, the decision is ultimatly up to the customer. Like you guys, I'm here to help answer any questions customers may have to help them make the right choice for them. But taking personal shots at people is just simply unprofessional.

Humberto
www.elitecoating.com

Car Crafters

Well Krinkov, since you asked. I am fluent in English "obviously", and fluent in Spanish. I would also say I can carry on a very good conversation in German. But that is not important.

However, I do find it VERY INTERESTING that you would suggest to anyone in this forum to make an attempt to even try to install one of these kits, Pre-Cut, or otherwise. I have yet to see one installed successfully by a "Do It Yourselfer".

The Pre-Cut kits are very difficult to install, and you ought to be more careful of suggesting something like that. Every person I ever sold a kit to that attempted to install it on their own wound up calling me to remove their botched job, and re-install a new kit WHICH they had to pay for all over again.

Also, can you provide your customers in writing a 100% guarantee that you WILL NOT cut their paint? Are you properly insured in the event that you do damage someone’s pride and joy?????

I have 1 Million dollars of Liability insurance which costs me a small fortune, and I use Pre-Cut kits. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much you or anyone else that cuts the film right on the cars is paying for Liability insurance. Geeeez!!!!!

Listen, if anyone can show me a way that Guarantees the customer there is now way to damage their car, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know. I would love to learn how it is done.

On the other hand if the only way to learn is with practice, then whose customer’s car are we going to take the blade to???

Lastly SEEX, Please accept my apology if I offended you. Sometimes I just get a little crazy when I hear that someone is bringing a razor near anyone’s paint "I unfortunately have seen one too many cars hacked up by amateurs".

I am sure you are very good at your craft, and perhaps one day I will stop at the Junk Yard, and pick up an old hood from a Corvette or something and you can show me how it is done. Good Luck to you in your venture!!!


Krinkov, I love that damn dog of yours. I have two pups as well. A Chinese Sharpei, and a Peek A Poo "basically a Puntable". How old is the Pug??? Male or Female??? I am actually considering adding a Pug to the family, how do you like the breed??? Oh, and Good Luck to you as well in your venture!

krinkov

Hmm, I dont recall suggesting that anyone actually try to install a pre-cut kit themselves, I did say though that invica-shield made their kits in multiple pieces to make it easier for the DIY installer because, frankly, they do. Why else would they come here and other forums I go to trying to sell forum members uninstalled kits and have a DIY instruction page with instructional video on the Invica-shield website?

But I do agree with you, and I have told members of this forum before, I have never seen anyone install a kit correctly the first time(myself included! )


Actually, we're kit installers also, and dont do custom installs on anyones car. But yes, we have very good general liability insurance

Hes about 9 months old now, I think thet're great little dogs! Cant keep anything out of his mouth though, You should get one just to see what Pug/Sharpei puppies will look like!

Car Crafters

Hey Krinkov,

This ought to be funny as hell. My Sharpei is a Female, so even if I did get a male Pug, he would need a mighty tall step ladder to .....Ahem......Perform the dirty deed......

Did you get your pug from a breeder??? How much???

krinkov

Got him from a friend who has raised pugs her whole life, the wife already wants a girl, guess we're goingto be pug ranchers, ha!

swilso12

iTrader: (2)

I am getting ready to have my dealer install the clear bra on my new 350 and just wanted to see unbiased accounts of the quality of the product. I noticed that one of the previous comments indicated that his dealer told him that the bra could not be installed on the bumper because it was plastic. Is this true? My dealer indicates that he intends to install on the entire front bumber and about 4 inches up from the leading edge of the hood. by the way, my z is a 2004 touring model. comments?

AndyB

I got my clear bra at XX tuning. They did a great job. They did cover the front bumper and it looks awesome. (ie, you can't see it). There is no reason you can't cover the bumper.

The person who didn't cover the front bumper said "You can just repaint it." I guess that is true, but some dings are deep enough to mar the bumper itself. Besides you can pay now (clear bra) or pay later (paint). With the clear bra you don't live with the paint chip look while waiting for your next repaint. (just my opinion of course).

XX Tuning uses the avery plastic. (They have a box of 3M clear bra removed from customer cars that had already started to yellow. ) They used a machine (like aplotter with a knife) to pre-cut the pieces from the material. He never used a blade on the car and it looks great.

XX Tuning recommends against wrapping the edges. They say that the wrapped edge makes it more likely the edges will lift over time. I can't comment for sure if this is true for all patterns, but I decided to go with no wrap based on my experience with other coatings and laminates at work. (sharp bends near an edge do tend to be the first failure point)

They covered
The hood (to the back of the headlights)
The side mirrors (top and front and sides)
The headlights (this is important)
The fenders (to the top of the headlights)
And the front bumper

The front bumper took longer than all the other pieces combined.

I like that the headlights are protected. They can't be repainted, and they are expensive. My car had only 2K miles on it and the headlights already had a couple of dings.


AndyB

swilso12

iTrader: (2)

thanks for the response. you mentioned that the 3m product yellowed. my dealer is providing a 3 year warranty on the product but i do not know if it is 3m or not. I will call him tomorrow. do you have any idea of how long the avery should last before it yellows or how long the 3m lasts before it start to yellow?

krinkov

3M tends to begin yellowing after a year or so on white or close to white colors. On medium or darker its just fine. Avery and Venture resist yellowing much better than 3M(Venture now gives a lifetime warranty for it) but do not look as good on black or very dark colors as 3M. Without getting too technical, yellowing is not as much a matter to do just with 3M as it is with plasticiser evaporating from urethane, Avery and Venture just resist it better. In any case, Venture and Avery should last many years on the lighter colors without any noticalbe yellowing, on medium colors any film is fine, and on darkers, we always use 3M. BTW, everything looks good on red

afr0puff

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm... I'm not sure if I agree with what's going on in that picture. Ok... you have a fu!cking ferrari! Why would you want to kill the shine / feel? If it was just the bumper, then I don't think I would have a problem with it. Protecting your investment... I guess... but I would want an unadulterated ENZO!!!!!!!

MSGarrett1

Who resurrected this thread? Anyway . . . any of yall out there looking to get a clear bra . . . check out this link. No yellowing . . . pre-cut . . . local installer finder: http://www.xpel.com/

AndyB

Hey thanks for the details! The guys at XX Tuning didn't get in to this level of detail.

krinkov

Heh, well Afro you might also be the type of person that would keep the Enzo locked in a climate controled garage and put 5 miles on it a year(Im sure most of them will be!) but our customer Mike who bought it intends to put many happy miles on it and I would too. Mike averaged a Ferrari a month last year and we wraped them all(you might remember him from the $3 million dollar Ferrari I posted last year) In fact this Enzo is about %90 covered with a seamless install that went straight to the SF auto show, heres a pic from the show, nobody could even tell

afr0puff

iTrader: (1)

Is that because no one was allowed within 15 feet of it? Thats how it was with a Diablo a couple of years ago at the NY auto show. I see your point that this guy is gonna drive it well. I just remember my first Enzo experience was at Ferarri meet and the one dude with the Enzo refused to track it. Boo!

krinkov

well actually you could get almost 5 feet from it heres a few more pics https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....0&pagenumber=1

well Im sure you know if you walk right up to it and are looking for it your gonna see it, still for as long as I stood by it listening to people talk about it not a single person I heard noticed it, good stuff! He will definitly have it out during Ferrari club events out here at Infineon and Laguna Seca, thats what happened to his old F-50

se-ex

yea, one of my customer got into a BIG accident and he CRACKED the bumper in 3 different places. But the clear bra on the bumper didn't rip, so it held the bumper together when it should be in 4 pieces