So I was dead set on going to King Tint - San Bruno, CA to get my car tinted. They quoted me $250 for 9 windows with 3M Color Stable tint. Seemed like a pretty good price. Then i came across Quality Auto Glass & Tint - Santa Clara, CA. They have a special going on where 3M Color Stable tints are completely free with the installation of a $650 Deluxe Clear Bra Package. The coverage is half hood, fenders, and full bumper. I forgot to ask what brand protective film they use, but I assume its 3M. I never really considered having a clear bra put on my car nor have I ever had it on any of my cars. How much protection do they acually provide. Is $650 a good price for what Im getting? Should I be concerned about the film yellowing on my Blizzard Pearl? Thanks in advance, Danny
I paid $750+tax for clearbra half-hood, front bumper, door edges, mirrors and top of the back bumper tailgate in WA state on our 2012. Tinting was $200 more. The Clearbra was Scotchgard/3M
Understand the desire to use a good tint shop. Your $250 is the same I am quoted by a respected shop in my area. And like you I never had a bra (clear or otherwise) on any car. I have lived with the chips and such with touchup paint. More upset with door dings
I see that you're somewhat local. There's no reason to go to either of those shops when Premier Protective Films is in your area. They are one of the top installers nationwide and I had my car done by them. Their work is well-known throughout the internet for being the best in the business, just google them. I paid $850 for mine last year, but the price may have gone up. The 3m film is the most durable film on the market since it has an actual clear coat, but the clarity is not up to par with other films on the market. Premier used Prestige ClearGuardX on my car, which has held up very well in the last 30k and the clarity is excellent. On a white car, regardless of which film, there's a good chance that you will see some amount of yellowing overtime. Cleaning and sealing the film with the XPEL cleaner and sealant is your best/only defense. For tint I would go with either Matt at Rocky Mountain Tint in Livermore (Formula 1 dealer), Automall Tint Specialist in Fremont, or Premier. My car was tinted by Automall Tint Specialist in Fremont with Huper Optik for around $500.
You get what you pay for. I paid an old classmate $500 to do the clear bra with 3M Ventureshield Ultra and ended up tearing it all off within a few months due to dissatisfaction with the quality of the installation. The quality of the work varies widely with clear bra installers and the Prius is not the easiest car to do.
I decided to go with Quality Auto Glass & Tint - Santa Clara, CA and I gotta say, I am very happy with the outcome! Tints: 3M Color Stable, ~29% all around - Didn't see any bubbles or missed edges. Couldn't be any happier with the tints. Clear Bra: 3M Scotchgard, 24" hood, 1/4 fender, full bumper - Cuts were fairly clean. The underside of the front lip wasn't superb, but I can imagine how tough it was to get under there so I'm not really complaining. If it becomes a problem, I'll take it back and have them redo that part. I've never noticed this before, but what are those red lines on the back right quarter panel and top hatch window?
Looks very nice, too bad I live on the east coast where there are not as many people tinting and using the clear bras. I don't see many shops that advertise those services. Does the other side have the same issue with the scrunched up 3M covering? I think I would ask them to fix it if the other side did not have the same issue (but I doubt that you will see that unless you are lying on the ground?)
Eh, that is not a very good quality job, I would take it back. Also, i'm going to guess that was the 3M pattern for the bumper and not the xpel pattern, which is why there's the huge seam down the middle.
My god, you guys have good eyes. I didn't even notice that seam until you mention it. Just curious, if you have the Clear bra on, if you need to use the tow clips (or whatever you call that thing that looks like a giant eyelet screw), I guess you need to peel the bra back?
The template has cut-outs for those tow hook covers, plus individual pieces for the individual covers. So, the tow hooks would function normally.
Tint looks good but I wouldn't trust anyone else for ppf except for Premier. Buddy that clear bra job is ugh.
wow, I would not be happy with the bra you got there. I guess you get what you pay for. I also use Premier and never had any issues
Thought I'd share some pics of the bra Nearly invisible The lower painted surface has the clear bra on it as well, however, the black painted section there was no template for that, strange as its a painted surface, but no matter…
