Individual 3M Clear Bra parts

[DoomsdayJesus]

Within a couple months of buying my BRZ and getting the venture shield on the front end, I took a couple rock hits on my rear fender. Small, but they took the paint with them.

Couple questions:
Can you get individual 3M parts like just rear fenders?
And should I pay a body shop to fix this before I apply them?

I was thinking of getting touch-up paint and polishing it down for consistency to save some money, but I really hate to be doing that so early into owning a new car.

Edit: just checked the XPEL site again, fenders are always included with other $300+ kits, but not individually.

[DoomsdayJesus]

Update Bump

Considering the area I'd want covered, I picked up a can of 3M paint defender spray film. Says it lasts for a year, does anyone have any experience with this? Figured I'd use some painter's tape and use it to hit a larger area than the 3M film covers. Those rear fenders are freaking rock magnets.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/lan...der-spray-film

This stuff looks like a great cheap solution, especially for anyone not wanting to shell out half a grand or more for a clear bra.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by DoomsdayJesus

Couple questions:
Can you get individual 3M parts like just rear fenders?
And should I pay a body shop to fix this before I apply them?

Make your own... Amazon sells 6x48" rolls for $20. Search for "3M clear bra"

Originally Posted by DoomsdayJesus

Update Bump

Considering the area I'd want covered, I picked up a can of 3M paint defender spray film. Says it lasts for a year, does anyone have any experience with this? Figured I'd use some painter's tape and use it to hit a larger area than the 3M film covers. Those rear fenders are freaking rock magnets.

Just did the front of my car with Paint Defender. Have leftover orange peel but not bad at all. I was able to clean off 900 miles worth of bugs with quick detailer without any issues. Invisible in direct sunlight, only can see it if you are in shaded areas or at night. However, for $45 ($25 if you only get the can) it's a great investment.

-alex

[DoomsdayJesus]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Make your own... Amazon sells 6x48" rolls for $20. Search for "3M clear bra"




Just did the front of my car with Paint Defender. Have leftover orange peel but not bad at all. I was able to clean off 900 miles worth of bugs with quick detailer without any issues. Invisible in direct sunlight, only can see it if you are in shaded areas or at night. However, for $45 ($25 if you only get the can) it's a great investment.

-alex

Already got the can for $25, all the extra stuff looks unnecessary if you know what you're doing and stop by the paint isle in home depot for plastic wrap.

Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for. In the future, I may get some blank sheets, but accurately cutting two opposing pieces sounds like it could go wrong easily, even with flipping and tracing. Especially with someone like me who's OCD/Type-A when it comes to DIY.

Also, I managed to find these guys last night: http://www.invisiblemask.com/

They have some pretty decent prices for individual pieces, it looks like they just have a library of vehicles and cut/ship individual parts. The fender piece just doesn't look like it has as big an area of protection as I want.

[Fletch124]

Stop by your local Xpel clear bra installer. Stay away from 3m. Your local installer has the ability to do virtually any custom work.

[Obsidiank]

Originally Posted by Fletch124

Stop by your local Xpel clear bra installer. Stay away from 3m. Your local installer has the ability to do virtually any custom work.

I think the goal here is to go cheap. Going to a local installer would not be.

[Spitshine_FR-S]

Originally Posted by DoomsdayJesus

Update Bump

Considering the area I'd want covered, I picked up a can of 3M paint defender spray film. Says it lasts for a year, does anyone have any experience with this? Figured I'd use some painter's tape and use it to hit a larger area than the 3M film covers. Those rear fenders are freaking rock magnets.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/lan...der-spray-film

This stuff looks like a great cheap solution, especially for anyone not wanting to shell out half a grand or more for a clear bra.

Honestly, I have heard a lot more cons to this stuff than pros. Spraying it on is tough for one. I have heard it is hard to get a consistent layer of film. And if you spray a thin coat on and decide it isn't up to your quality it extremely hard to pull it off. A nice thick coat is usually inconsistent and appears wavy so you will want to pull it off. So you will go through a few cans of this stuff before you get an acceptable layer down. But then again this is all from other people and not personal expierence.

[TheSandeman]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Make your own... Amazon sells 6x48" rolls for $20. Search for "3M clear bra"




Just did the front of my car with Paint Defender. Have leftover orange peel but not bad at all. I was able to clean off 900 miles worth of bugs with quick detailer without any issues. Invisible in direct sunlight, only can see it if you are in shaded areas or at night. However, for $45 ($25 if you only get the can) it's a great investment.

-alex

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Spitshine_FR-S

Honestly, I have heard a lot more cons to this stuff than pros. Spraying it on is tough for one. I have heard it is hard to get a consistent layer of film. And if you spray a thin coat on and decide it isn't up to your quality it extremely hard to pull it off. A nice thick coat is usually inconsistent and appears wavy so you will want to pull it off. So you will go through a few cans of this stuff before you get an acceptable layer down. But then again this is all from other people and not personal expierence.

Personal experience:

As is the case with any type of spray, if you don't know what to do you'll get inconsistent results.

As for too thin... I used quick detailer to clean off parts of the front of my car after a long trip. If you rub hard enough the thin plastic will come off.

-alex