Clear Bra! The best thing you can do for your 86

[adwordandi]

Surface protection film becomes a necessity of today. It's a nice way to protect your investment.

[Turbo95eg6]

Originally Posted by Boxer486

Yes, nice coat of sealant to fill in the gap before the dirt does.

Wouldn't it be more ideal to put sealant on before the wax? I'd have to work backwards after instal then. Are you saying to just apply some on the bra/paint after install?

Sounds like I'm better off just doing the full hood.

Originally Posted by billwot

Question about paint protection film/clear bra?:

I just bought a '13 FR-S...9K miles, asphalt. During the test drive (the salesman let me take it by myself) I parked it and inspected it very carefully. I noticed there were maybe 10 places on the hood with small irregular blemishes in the "paint"...looked like acid rain, or maybe salt damage. I pointed it out to the salesguy (you had to look pretty close to see them). He said he would have their detail shop try to correct it, and call me. I'm a fairly car-savvy guy, and I really thought they would just buff out. (I didn't know about paint film/clear bras)

DO NOT have the dealer correct any kind of blemishes on the car! I 100% guarantee they will only temporarily mask the solution, as the blemishes will reappear with most likely a hologram effect in the clear coat.

[Turbo95eg6]

Originally Posted by imom

The other pitfalls is running into a shop that does wraps or PPF clear and razor the fuck out of your car. Forget about protecting the paint...they just fucked the owner's paint. I'm not saying your shop does this...just saying there are downside...of course there are downside with a bad detailer that burns the paint while prepping for opti coat.

Damn, I was wondering about his also. Would experience help for them not to cut up the car, or is it considered just a normal process to get nicks on the car during install?

[Boxer486]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

Are you saying to just apply some on the bra/paint after install?

Sounds like I'm better off just doing the full hood.

Yes and yes.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by GhostShield

Plus got an NRA circle membership small sticker on the rear window.



What do you guys think of the

I think I want to give you my business

[SirBrass]

Opti-coat and cquart are both micron-thin permanent coatings, much like the clear coat part of the paint coat, once they've had time to cure properly.

That said, I'd want both the cquartz (I'm told it looks better on dark paints than optiguard) then also the clear bra. Clear bra for the added rock chip protection, and just the cquartz for the rest of the car's protection as well.

[GhostShield]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

@GhostShield

A few questions:

Interested in only getting bumper/partial of the hood/fenders. I heard people using a toothpick to remove dirt from the line, but I don't want drag a pointy wooden object across my clear coat. Are there other options?

My friend only installs 3M so I can get a discount. If I do get a partial protection, will I see a fade after taking it off after a few years? Is 3M UV resistant enough to not cause a line?

My paint is getting corrected before instal, but would also like it waxed. Would the wax affect the clear bra, or will it be removed anyway during install? Should I not wax the front end? They just wash to prep the car, correct? What kind of solution do they spray on the car to adhere the film?

I'm also getting some chips repaired before the bra. Is there anything I should know, as far as how long to wait after getting them touched up? Will the bra take out the touch up paint if I ever take it off?

The best bet as far as wax and dirt building up on the edges of the film is to use spray wax on a micro fiber rag wrapped around your finger tip and gently work the wax/build up off the edge.

Problem with 3m is you can't use alcohol on it. If it were Suntek or XPEL I'd still use the micro fiber on my finger but alcohol would take the build up off the edge twice as fast and with less rubbing.

I def would not use the tooth pick!! No no no haha as installers after an install we do use an insulin needle to suck out any small bubbles we might have missed.

As far as fading of the paint that's not covered, it's all going to come down to how well you maintain those surfaces and how much sun your car sees. I have seen fading on cars where I remove an old PPF kit and that paint looks great but the rest is faded. Those people though DID NOT maintain their car worth a crap! So it's all in your hands.
Just wash her regularly and wax often.

As far as waxing the clear bra or putting any sealers on it, I don't on my frs and don't tell customers to. I just recommend spray waxing the clear bra after every wash. Leaves it slick and shinny.

Great thing about Suntek and XPEL to is you can clay bar it if any fallout developes on the clear bra.

As far as your paint prep, I think your right on the money. Let the touch up paint cure for a day. And during the install the installer needs to be careful not to lift the film back up on an area where the touch up is. Once he squeegees that down it needs to stay down. Because yes the film will possibly lift the touch up paint out of the chips.

Again just kinda goes back to why I stress getting clear bras on new cars ASAP or before they are even driven at all. I love having my frs full wrapped

[GhostShield]

Wax will not affect the clear bra install. The installer should wash the car very well and blast out all the cracks and crevices in the bumper. Then he should prep with a degreaser or rubbing alcohol on a micro fiber.

[GhostShield]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sparkle

What the car feels like doesn't matter. Opti-Coat is not slick like wax. there is no way that alcohol or a degreaser is removing opti-coat. that alcohol or degreaser may leave something behind which then temporarily changes the sheeting / beading properties but the coating is there regardless

and Ive installed Xpel film over Opti-Coat with no sticking issues because its bonded to the paint permanently (unlike a coat of wax).

we will have to agree to disagree

I see what you guys are saying about opti. It's just my personal opinion that it's not worth it. I like the slick feeling waxes or a good sealer like shine supply's daddy-o will provide.

Check out www.shinesupply.com and chemical guys if you guys haven't already. Both have great products!

Shine supply is made locally here in Ventura county California

[GhostShield]

Just wanna say thanks again for the love guys! I greatly appreciate it.
Sorry I was absent for a few days. Been busy at the shop, wrenching on my frs, spending time with my family and old lady and of course chillen with the guys enjoying some cold ones!

[GhostShield]

Originally Posted by jeepmor

@GhostShield - nice post, convinced me about the clear bra products and which to use. Thanks.

Not a fan of that camo on that car, and I love camo, just not on my rigs. Very informative thread, thanks for fielding all the haters and keep on keepin on answering the questions.

I'm just a redneck livin in the wrong state man.
She's gunna be getting more camo real soon haha :/
Gunna do a single main camo stripe on the hood and front bumper, on the front of the roof start as a single stripe then split into a dual stripe before the antenna on the roof then continue over the trunk and rear bumper as two stripes. All of it will be outlined with a matte black stripe on each side of the camo.

I think it'll be sick and differant.

[Turbo95eg6]

Originally Posted by GhostShield

Wax will not affect the clear bra install. The installer should wash the car very well and blast out all the cracks and crevices in the bumper. Then he should prep with a degreaser or rubbing alcohol on a micro fiber.

This scares me a bit… After spending $500 for a color correction I'd prefer not to let someone wash incorrectly and wipe down my clear coat with a towel and rubbing alcohol. Maybe they will let me wash it for them. Thanks for the replies.

Originally Posted by GhostShield

Again just kinda goes back to why I stress getting clear bras on new cars ASAP or before they are even driven at all. I love having my frs full wrapped

This is the reason why I'm leaning more towards opticoat since I already have chips in the car. I guess I'll have a week to decide.

[GhostShield]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

This scares me a bit… After spending $500 for a color correction I'd prefer not to let someone wash incorrectly and wipe down my clear coat with a towel and rubbing alcohol. Maybe they will let me wash it for them. Thanks for the replies.



This is the reason why I'm leaning more towards opticoat since I already have chips in the car. I guess I'll have a week to decide.

Nah don't be scared about a clear bra guy prepping the paint for the install. It's all done with micro fibers, just look into the reputation of the installer you in trust your car to.
Ask him questions. And yeah you can wash the car yourself, make sure you get any bug guts off, since your doing paint correction you shouldn't need to clay it. Blast out all the cracks of the bumper while washing it.

I like it when a customer brings me a decently washed car haha save me time

Even with the chips it's still worth it to PPF. Chips are just plain ugly to look at, why be susceptible to more.

[dnieves]

When it's time to remove the film (due to wear & tear), what's the best correct way to do it without causing any damage?