Clear Bra Question - Any ideas?

I have had the clear bra on several cars and there was no problem with waxing over it or any problems with the paint.

I don't know of anyone who has sucessfully removed the decals from the visors without leaving a good deal of residue on the visors. I know they are unsightly but if you ignore them they will just go away. I don't even notice them anymore.

 

I'll let you know when I do.

I bought a 3M clear bra on eBay and have been looking for someone to install it.

I was quoted $385 today (which also included headlights, side trim and bumper protector, all of which I have already bought.) That's $385 for labor only. Guy said it was based on four hours work. Then said it was $45 an hour. Huh? Two guys for over four hours? Math didn't compute and I left.

Looks like I may be trying this myself. But I'll make a few more calls now that I know to look under Auto Detailing in the yellow pages. I spent half the day calling the wrong places, then calling the guys they recommended, and then the ones THEY recommended.

I'm not completely inept. I may just do it myself. I'm certainly not paying $385 just for installation!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DrRey\";p=\"85619)</div>

I had a product call Clear Shield put on. I believe they first use an alcohol product to remove any wax from the paint surface. Once the plastic clear bra is installed all you have to do in the future is wax on top of the clear bra as you would normally wax the paint.

I would also not recommend installing a clear bra yourself. Even the one I had professionally done needs to go back to the installer. Some of the edges from the one on the bumper are rippling. Not sure how they will handle this. I know there is a good warranty.

 

The installer that did mine start to finish was less than 2 hours. It is a little tricky on the front bumper. Cost me $400 total withheadlights/fog lights, door edges and gas flap. Wax over it just like it is paint. No issues at all. Does a great job keeping the front end look new.

 

I found an installer.

I found an installer in San Diego I'm comfortable with. Will be taking the car in this week if I can get an appointment.

It will go in 9 am and I'll have it by 5 pm. Because it's black they need to take longer to make sure the bra doesn't show. The darker colors are harder and take more time. They have a clean interior environment for installation and will periodically take it out in the sun to check for "invisibility". He said they've done a few Prii but mostly do Mercedes and Lexus and the higher end cars. Which was probably why I couldn't find them in my yellow pages wandering.

$350 which is also cheaper than the other place. And they'll do my side trim from Eddie too.

Now I just have to make sure I don't get any scratches or dings before I take it in. I've never taken such pains with a car before, but I love this car and am taking the advice of others on this that it's worth it.

 

When I bought my Prius the 3M bra was a $250 dealer-installed option (hood only - more if you do the bumper as well, which I didn't). That's $250 Canadian. I really like it so far.

 

If that includes the 3M film that is actually very reasonable.

First they have to strip the wax and stuff off your car so it is absolutely clean. They use alcohol.

Then they have to bring the car in to a clean environment with no dust.

It's a wet installation, which also involves some stretching of the film over curved areas. It takes at least two people.

Then they have to allow several hours for the film to dry and periodically check to make sure it will be "invisible" (no bubbles or streaks).

And if you have a dark car (mine is black) it is harder to get it invisible. They had my car overnight. There were chances of rain and the guy didn't want me to drive home on the freeway in case it started raining. Being a wet install he was afraid the rain would get under the edge and it would start to lift.

The guys who did mine took great care and it shows. They also installed my side molding.

The labor was $400. I bought the bra on eBay for $175. So I paid close to what is quoted to you. Make sure it is 3M film. Mine included the bumper, hood, fenders, mirrors and the lights. Lights is 15mm and rest is 8 mm.

 

My advice is to get as many quotes as you can. I had about 5 different quotes, and was able to use the lowest quote (also the farthest away) to get a deal from the closest installer. He happened to use 3M. This guy was great - we were having difficulties finding an install time that worked for both of us. He finally (after asking where I lived and if I garaged my car) suggested that I leave the Prius with him after I got off of work, and drive his personal car (a Trans-Am -- now that's a differerent beastie than the Prius!) home. He then did the ClearBra and window tinting that night, and I picked up the newly protected and tinted Prius in the morning. It's amazing what you can get if you try hard enough! :mrgreen:

The ClearBra is basically UV transparent - the paint fade will be the same under the bra as it is in areas not protected.

 

Lance (Orange county, CA) did my Clear
ClearBra this morning. I only had the hood done at this time. From watching the instaIl would advise anyone trying it themselves to not. And to clarify the often asked question, does the line show on a white Prius. My answer is it most certainly does....if you are close up and you are looking for it. Otherwise nope!

I'll give another eval after enjoying it for a few weeks. I'm alredy thinking of doing the bumper, headlights and mirrors. all it will take is another nick and I'll have Lance on the phone.

If you are in Orange County and you're on the fence I'd say hop off and call Lance....great prices and excellent work.

Happy trails all
Roger

 

If anyone has had this 3m clear bra put on their prius, could they take some close ups of this? (shcu as seams/edges, etc) This would be especially helpful if you have had this doen on an 06 Barcelon red as that is what I am getting and I am very iffiy about seeing how noticeable it will be (descriptions are great but I have never seen such a thing as a clear bra and never even hear of one before I started lurking here). Thank You!!!!

 

Picked up my 06 Barcelona Red at the end of February and had ClearShield installed during first two weeks. Cost for me was $380 for hood, bumper, mirrors, fenders. I also had them tint the windows for another $180 since it gets hot here in Texas. Sun Tint in Austin did a great job. After they had put it on they found a material problem with the hood piece and cut a new one and reinstalled it. It is invisible. They also had me come back in about 5 days later for a quick check to make sure it was 100% and I saw them adjust one piece. Very happy with material and labor. I can have it parked and tell someone standing in front of it that it is installed. They still can't see it until I point out the seam that is barely seen which is about 3/4s up the hood.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bgdrewsif @ Mar 29 2006, 12:03 AM) [snapback]231721[/snapback]</div>

I have put the 3m clear bra on my mirrors so far and you cant see it 3 feet away. Up close it looks like what clear tape would look like but a little thicker. I tried taking pictures but my camera just wont show the detail very well and I have a 8MP camera! I know you want a pic but for me thats going to be hard and im pretty good at close up shots. Its hard to get a picture of clear stuff. The best thing to do is find someone in yout area that has it and see for your self. You might want to check out some tinting places to see if they have an example.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theforce @ Mar 29 2006, 03:45 PM) [snapback]231911[/snapback]</div>

I'll second that. Find a place that does it and ask them if you can look at one right after they've finished it. Even ask them to call you sometime shortly before they're done.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Roger3125 @ Mar 28 2006, 07:37 PM) [snapback]231707[/snapback]</div>

Do you mind saying how much you paid for hood-only? I'd like to do it.

 

OK its finally sunny AND warm out today so I tried to take some more pictues. Some you can see the clear bra and some its very hard. I did have a little dust on the car and tried to wipe it off but it just got stuck near the seam. Normally it would be much harder to see on a clean car but this should give you a good idea on what it looks like. I installed it on the mirrors myself. I have had experience with vinyl lettering and its not much diffrent than doing that. Its easy for me but I hate doing it. Takes a lot of time.

Pics in order left to right.

1. Close view of mirror. Cant really see it.
2. Really close view of mirror. Almost can see it.
3. Another angle. you can see it pretty well.
4. Yet another angle. Almost disappears.
5. My beautiful Barcelona Red Prius. The red really stands out this time of day.


[attachmentid=2771] [attachmentid=2772] [attachmentid=2773] [attachmentid=2774] [attachmentid=2775]

 

I've had clear bra on my 2006 Prius since December. It's great, but I just noticed that the plastic that is over the small fog lights is darkend like it's seriously scorched...could this become a fire hazard? Shall I pull the plastic off of these lights?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DrRey @ Apr 22 2005, 08:58 AM) [snapback]83440[/snapback]</div>

My understanding is that the first thing the people installing the clear bra do is to wipe the area down with a non-abrasive cleaner that removes wax, etc. down to the clearcoat. (Maybe liquid dawn dishwashing soap?)

I've been thinking about having a clearbra installed on my Prius and when I asked around that is what I was told. I understand that once it is installed you can apply wax over the top of the clear bra and you should end up okay. (This info comes from the people at Zaino.)