Hello Prius owners, I am considering getting one of those 3M Ultrashield clear bras installed on my vehicle. Anyone have one on their Prius? I heard over time (especially during the heat of the summer), the clear film cures well and essentially becomes invisible. I've also heard that cars with paint colors like mine (magnetic grey metallic) blend even better with these clear film bras. What has been your observation? Do you think it's worth the $500-$600 that some installers are asking for? Thanks!
Wait. You want a bra for your car? I mean, the Prius is pretty sexy, but I think a brassiere is a bit extreme.
I installed one on mine. Looks great because you cant really see it. If you get one I do recommend that you get a pro to install it because these are a real PITA to install.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theforce @ Mar 15 2007, 10:53 PM) [snapback]406544[/snapback]</div> They are nice, but, they won't help if a stone get's thrown up by a semi. You'll still get a small dent.
And if a brick falls off a truck, it won't stop that either... Clear paint protection film is great and will keep your car looking new for years. It won't stop anything that can dent your car, but it will stop all those gravel pits. For some unknown reason, Toyota seems to put a light primer under dark paint and dark primer under light, maybe to make sure the primer gets covered. If you don't want to see little white specks where gravel had hit your magnetic gray (magnetic because it attracts gravel?), get the clear paint protection professionally installed. Well worth it, IMHO.
I have the VentureShield paint protection, and am very satisfied. West Virginia has a nasty habit of throwing gravel all over the road when it snows, so my vehicles have always ended up with dozens of little paint chips on the front end after every Winter...Hopefully the film will prevent this from happening on my Prius.
I had a 3M film on my Audi for 30K+ miles and it looked great, I waxed it everyonce and a while. I now have it on my Prius. its perfect for the winter months when gravel on the interstate is a real issue.
Thanks for the replies, everyone. Sounds like it would be a worthwhile investment for me, since I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time (had my Honda Civic for 14 years before I sold it and bought the Prius). My only concern now is what the hood and fender will look like in 6-7 years or so, when this clear bra needs to be removed & replaced. As you know, the clear bra does not cover the entire hood or fender surface. Therefore, even with excellent care & maintenance of the "unprotected" portions of the hood & fender, there's probably still going to be some noticeable difference between the protected and unprotected areas. In theory, I would think the two surfaces will fade/oxidize at an equal rate, since both will be exposed to the sun.
They can easily remove the vinyl and reinstall a new treatment. You will not see the difference. I put it on both my vehicles below when I got them. I hit a large sharp rock on the highway with the RX-7, and it tore a small hole in the vinyl, but didn't damage the paint or dint the metal. The rock was about 1" dia. Only drawback is you will see wax buildup at the edge if you aren't careful to clean it out (I use my fingernail behind a cleaning cloth). I use Zaino on both vehicles and it has no problems with the vinyl. They (3M) also make a thicker product to protect headlamps etc. I put it on the anti-Prius headlamp assys ($250 each to replace if cracked). I also put a strip down both sides to protect against door dings in parking lots. Works great.
I bought a piece big enough to cover the entire hood. That obviously protects more of the hood and eliminates the line and any uneven fading concerns as well.
