I know several of you have them (dzervit -- I know you're one of them).

Can you all give me an update as to how you like your bra and how it's done to this point? Do any of you have VERY up close pictures showing the 'line' left behind after the install? Are you all waxing over the bra? Are there other brands I should consider? Warranty?

Pros? Cons?

Give me the straight skinny here and don't candy kote it with any poop! I'm thinking about a black truck and this is WAY UP AT THE TOP of my first mods list. I don't want a plethora of rock nicks all over the truck.

RP

 

Oh yes dzervit... you have this same question in your email...

If you'd ever check it!

 

my parents and my granparents motorhome's both had the 3M bra on the front. The bugs washed off extremely easily and had no problems with rock chips.

 

I have my F150 partially done with the clear bra. Truck is white and beige. It looks best on the beige bumper. I can see it on the white parts I have covered so far, which is just the fender tops.

I also have the hood on my black Vette done. I'm not sure that I am going to spend the time to do the nose on the Corvette. On black it shows every install error to the smallest speck of dust.

The line is very visible on black. It also scratches fairly easy, which is not noticeable on the white and beige, but on the black it is very obvious.
I wax over mine.

I do plan on completing the truck, overall I am very happy with it on the truck.

On the black car I think I may have been better off putting the money away for re-spraying the hood and nose in a few years.

This site has some info on it. There is one post specifically stating that it does not look good on black made by a pro installer. http://www.tintdude.com/forum/lofive....php/t868.html if I had researched this more before I purchase the kits. I would have waited on ordering the kit for black Vette until I saw it on black in person.

I'm sure that an experienced installer would make allot of difference, but I'm not sure that I would be happy with the material on the black car even if the install was near perfect. A perfect install does not seem too likely after reading the posts on this forum from the full time installers.

I have the 3m materiel on my vehicles. I have found out that there is going to be an improved material released this fall or may already be released by 3m. It is supposed to be easier to install and show less stretching in the adhesive. I am not sure, but I believe it was also supposed to be more resistant to scratching.

 

Great... I'm gonna get my handle changed...

Anywho, I am still extremely pleased with the 3M film. The little lady's bimmer looks good after 25K on Michigan's notorious I-94. It has a couple flaws in it, but I according to the the LL, it was a boulder that made a huge thunk upon impact. The paint underneath is unharmed. Sa-WHEET! Her car is the TiAg and you can't see it or the line. You can see the some of the flaws (one nick on the lower bumper is a little discolored, but she said that was the hot ashfault hunk that dropped from a truck in front of her. I believe it.

Same goes with the Tan Terror. The film is actually easy to spot when you are in the cabin, as it's fairly thick. Outside the truck, not a single person has said anything about it. Perfect! Only one guy that was right ontop of the truck inspecting it asked "What's this?!".

I wax right over it and care for it as I would the paint. Clay included, but make sure it's well lubed!! (Insert naughty comment here) You'll have to bust out the q-tip or toothpick to ensure you get all the clay/wax off from the seam or you'll spot it real easy!

At the bimmer dealer that did both our vehicles, they had a beautiful black 330cic in the show room. The only thing I could see 20ft away was the sticker that said it had the film. Like any other car, you had to be right on top of it to notice! Prolly a testament to the installer, as alsored mentioned his black woes.

Just do your homework on the installer, ensure you see example of his work, especially on dark/black vehicles.

One thing is for sure: I'll buy any vehicle again w/o getting this stuff...


EDIT: Oh yeah, it covers the headlamps, too!! For whatever reason, the bimmers headlamps were not, and they look like total dog sheet.

 

Can you see it?! hee hee.. it's really there!!

 

This shot & lighting makes it show very well....

 

Thanks guys. I don't know if this is something that I want to do on a black truck or not... seems like it's going to show up pretty bad but, the functionality is hard to ignore.

Maybe I'll just take the VERY long way home each day (aka: not the interstate).

RP

 

Do it you candy ****. Like I said, I saw it on a black bimmer and it was flawless. Poke around your area for a good installer and see his work on a black vehicle. It's NOT going to stick out like a terd in a punchbowl. Done deal.

 

It's a thought. Anyway to research installers? Who typically does this type of work? Tinting places?

 

Let your fingers to the walking. Call window tint places, auto accessory places & high-class dealers (Lexus, Infiniti, Lincoln, BMW, Mercedes). Build your list of who does it, ask for examples of the work, then start driving around to check it out!

I haven't found any good online resource to find installers. It's not like there are 'authorized' installers.. it's a free for all!!!

 

Thanks chico.

I'll do some dialing soon if I decide to go that route.

 

Rockpick-
I've had the 3M brand clear bra on the truck now for roughly one year (24K) and I'm very impressed with it. As you probably have surmised from my rig is wedgewood blue. In all honesty, you can see the "line" on the hood where the bra stops but it's very subtle and beyond 10 feet or so, you can't see it. Personally I think that bug deflectors are kind of ugly so a small line that I can only see close up isn't really a concern. Besides that, I've got the additional protection that a deflector can't provide (headlight, upper/lower painted bumpers, front portion of the fenders, etc.) I'm also finding this stuff to be as durable as advertised. I've got two stars on my windshield and have taken numerous shots to the front end from rocks and such, so it's not like the bra hasn't had its share of hits. With the exception of one 1/32" tear on the upper bumper, it is still in perfect shape. Even in the location where the small tear exists, the paint below is still perfect. Simply said, I'll spend the $$ to have this stuff installed on any new vehicle I purchase in the future.

 

Thanks Wedgewood. I appreciate your input.

I'm a little bit leary about the visible line on the paint... I'm going to continue to research this a little.

RP

 

Rockpick-
Just don't wash it and you'll never even see it.