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

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by 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?

Steam, 3M (or equivalent) adhesive remover, a plastic razor, and patients!

[Turbo95eg6]

Originally Posted by GhostShield

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.

How many have you actually removed, and what would you say the success rate is? I understand there are benefits of different brands, how easy some are to install than others, but they never bring up the fact how hard these things can be to remove. Sure the car looks nice for a while, but when it's time to sell the last thing I want is to put harsh chemicals or objects to scrape gunk off my paint.

Say I take perfect care of the car, would you say the clear bra would last around 2-3 years where I could still remove and have the surface look like it was never there? I will probably keep it on for a few years, if any longer I have a feeling it would be nearly impossible to remove. I've been doing some research, and many people realize after going through the ordeal to take it off, they wish that they never had it installed.

Pretty much, I want to avoid my car to look like this.

[Pacific Auto]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

How many have you actually removed, and what would you say the success rate is? I understand there are benefits of different brands, how easy some are to install than others, but they never bring up the fact how hard these things can be to remove. Sure the car looks nice for a while, but when it's time to sell the last thing I want is to put harsh chemicals or objects to scrape gunk off my paint.

Say I take perfect care of the car, would you say the clear bra would last around 2-3 years where I could still remove and have the surface look like it was never there? I will probably keep it on for a few years, if any longer I have a feeling it would be nearly impossible to remove. I've been doing some research, and many people realize after going through the ordeal to take it off, they wish that they never had it installed.

Pretty much, I want to avoid my car to look like this.

I agree with you,

In my experience old 3M film can be hell to remove.

I once spent two days removing 10 year old 3M off a Porsche. The film was cracked so bad you had to scrap it off.

On the other hand, I have removed many 5 year old VentureShield with no problems. Also tons of 3 years old Xpel and Suntek.

The films are being improved every year that most of the bad qualities of 3M are non existent.

[FRSKEV]

It looks like that because they didn't heat it up before they took it off, they don't know how to pull on it properly or its cheap shitty film. Like others have said, I've removed 5+ year old film with no problem and very minimal residue with the paint looking brand new underneath.

[Turbo95eg6]

Originally Posted by FRSKEV

It looks like that because they didn't heat it up before they took it off, they don't know how to pull on it properly or its cheap shitty film. Like others have said, I've removed 5+ year old film with no problem and very minimal residue with the paint looking brand new underneath.

Good to know… Thanks

[Skurj]

Getting mine done this weekend with opticoat. I was a little surprised to hear the guy say that the bra will go on first and then opticoat over top. Maybe not the most ideal if the bra needs to be replaced at any time.

thoughts?

[MysteryMachine]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

How many have you actually removed, and what would you say the success rate is? I understand there are benefits of different brands, how easy some are to install than others, but they never bring up the fact how hard these things can be to remove. Sure the car looks nice for a while, but when it's time to sell the last thing I want is to put harsh chemicals or objects to scrape gunk off my paint.

Say I take perfect care of the car, would you say the clear bra would last around 2-3 years where I could still remove and have the surface look like it was never there? I will probably keep it on for a few years, if any longer I have a feeling it would be nearly impossible to remove. I've been doing some research, and many people realize after going through the ordeal to take it off, they wish that they never had it installed.

Pretty much, I want to avoid my car to look like this.

Xpel ultimate or stealth comes with 10 yr warranty.. Films today should last way longer than "2-3 years"

Sent from my Moto X via Tapatalk

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Skurj

Getting mine done this weekend with opticoat. I was a little surprised to hear the guy say that the bra will go on first and then opticoat over top. Maybe not the most ideal if the bra needs to be replaced at any time.

thoughts?

You need the Opticoat on the clear bra, otherwise it's not doing anything. If you have to replace the clear bra for whatever reason, you would need a new application of Opticoat.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

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?

All I can say is good help is very hard to find...I'm not just talking cars, but doctors, etc...

I don't have experience with wraps...just hear from industry people and reading the forums when it comes to wraps. Even tint shop uses razors and sometimes razor your interior. Just got to go by word of mouth and hope for the best... even detailers... luckily I found a guy that did my car and he cares about what he does.

I'm going to wrap my mountain bike and then see if it's worth my time to learn to wrap my car. Pre cut kits can help, but they don't fully cover the edges...at least some of the kits I've seen. I'm going to find a way to lay something underneath the PPF when it comes to edges and see if I can cut the film and then lift the lift and remove the material used to protect the paint while cutting and then lay the film back down. I'll try it on my mountain bike and see...

[GhostShield]

Hey guys sorry been busy at the shop lately.

As far removal 3m is terrible! Complete crap, avoid that film.

Suntek and XPEL remove very easily, I've removed 3 year old Suntek and get it off leaving little to no adhesive, then I'll use "stoners" "tarminator", similar to goo gone and pretty much whipe the adhesive off again if there's any!

I removed tons of film and honestly only have had about 5 3m horror story removals. All of which the film looked like complete shit. As described by another poster here, yellow and cracked. One was on a class A bus motorhome front end! Imagine that fun ha ha

But like I said as far as XPEL and Suntek, they come off like butter. Better then any film.

To the poster that said venture shield was easy to, you sit are correct. It takes 2nd behind Suntek and XPEL.

As far as opti before or after, IMO it doesn't matter and doesn't effect the clear bra install.
You can opti coat the clear bra as it doesn't "hurt it" but in my experience I've seen it under the 1,000s of lumens of light in my shop make the clear bra have a simmer/funky look to the surface. So I don't recommend it to our customers. XPEL and Suntek have a sealant for clear bra. If your dead set on putting something on the bra I'd say use that. Again all I do and have ever done to my 3 vehicles that I've had clear bra on is spray wax and wax. And I never had stains or any fading, even with venture shield!

It's all how you maintain your car, a car doesn't just magically stay perfect

Also, excercise some common sense, if something on your paint starts looking weird have it removed before it's a worst case scenario.

) will be back soon guys

Later

[GhostShield]

Rock chips and scratches just really suck and look like crap

[Turbo95eg6]

Got some of my front end done yesterday. My friend did an amazing job with the instal, hooked me up with bumper, partial hood and fenders, mirrors, gas lid and the edge of the spoiler where I shut the trunk for $500. He tucked the film on edges where possible, very detailed and precise. Here is my input:

-3M was the only product he uses unfortunately, and there is a noticeable difference in paint/film. The 3M definitely has the orange peel effect, and looks like it can scratch easily. I plan to just use Optimum spray wax on it with the paint, unless told otherwise.

-I decided on partial hood just to try it out, but the full hood/fenders is definitely a better option. The line is not very noticeable from the front, but looking from the back it is very noticeable. I plan on getting just the full hood eventually, I'll see how long it takes and if it bothers me. The lines on the bumper and mirrors are not as noticeable, if not fully invisible.

-I would recommend getting the headlights protected. I already had a nasty chip on the plastic, so I passed but something to consider.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the instal, and looking forward to taking road trips without worrying about road rashes.

[GhostShield]

Originally Posted by Turbo95eg6

Got some of my front end done yesterday. My friend did an amazing job with the instal, hooked me up with bumper, partial hood and fenders, mirrors, gas lid and the edge of the spoiler where I shut the trunk for $500. He tucked the film on edges where possible, very detailed and precise. Here is my input:

-3M was the only product he uses unfortunately, and there is a noticeable difference in paint/film. The 3M definitely has the orange peel effect, and looks like it can scratch easily. I plan to just use Optimum spray wax on it with the paint, unless told otherwise.

-I decided on partial hood just to try it out, but the full hood/fenders is definitely a better option. The line is not very noticeable from the front, but looking from the back it is very noticeable. I plan on getting just the full hood eventually, I'll see how long it takes and if it bothers me. The lines on the bumper and mirrors are not as noticeable, if not fully invisible.

-I would recommend getting the headlights protected. I already had a nasty chip on the plastic, so I passed but something to consider.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the instal, and looking forward to taking road trips without worrying about road rashes.

Rock on man! That's a solid price for what he covered! Glad your happy and now like you said bring on the road trips without a worry!!
Trust me, you won't regret it. I feel like a broken record but you will not regret preserving your factory paint!

Congrats again man!

[imom]

Hey Ghost,
I'm thinking of wrapping the car myself...how do you apply the emblem back on over the PPF of the front bumper. Also how hard is it to do the BRZ trunk...do you have to remove the rear spoiler? Appreciate some pointers if you don't mind.

For the rest of the folks...after having opti coat done on my car... I would say it's better to invest in PPF if you can afford it or had to pick one or the other. Rocks and gravel on the freeway suck.

My detailer did a great job with the color correction, but OC still have issues with protecting from bird poop and the orange and yellow spots...still gets eaten away. It's a nice to have...but PPF is the way to go if you can afford it or do it yourself. For cutting the PPF don't use a razor...go knifeless.