Wondering whether to buy the clear plastic bra?

Wax is not going to prevent chips. I have 3M product on my Porsche as well as the new Prius. The Proform Kit goes 3/4 way up the hood, goes all around the front bumper, head lights, mirrors and Rob, my installer, threw in a bonus and did the lift gate area of the bumper. Make sure to get a good installer. You get can referrals from your local high end car dealers like Porsche, BMW, etc.

 

I would also do the doors & front fenders and put a black rubber strip across the top of the rear bumper.

 

TK-
Do you recommend your installer for your ClearBra? My 2010 should be here in a few weeks (waiting for the OnStar like ability along with a sunroof) and I definitely want the Clear Bra but am not familiar with local installers. We put it on our 2004 BLACK Prius the day after we took delivery. Had them install on the entire hood rather than a partial, as well as on the bumpers, rear view mirrors and headlights. We lived in So Cal then so the wear was mild. But the Clear Bra has been a saviour for our car since we moved to Denver 2.5 years ago and the winter/spring grit punishes the cars here.

As a testimonial, we had the hood Clear Bra removed in March, as it was looking really weathered, swirled and pocked. (We always waxed it like the rest of the car.) Once the film was removed the paint underneath looked good as new and there were no dings or pits in the paint. As someone who used to show cars, I was really impressed with the film's ability to take the shock of the road debris and not pass it on to the paint below. Now I can resell the 2004 Prius and it looks great.

If anyone has any hesitance on putting a Clear Bra on their car - JUST DO IT! You'll be glad you did.
Tracy

 

After the first trip I took on I95, I had 2 small chips already. I would think anybody that traveled the highway a lot would get chipped up pretty much.

 

I bought my 2004 second hand and had the bonnet resprayed prior to delivery. I have some new chips now, but I have put more than the distance it had on when I bought my Prius. I'll have the bonnet resprayed again in 12 months and every 3 years after that, so limiting stone chips.

 

Hi Pat:

Curious - when you say 'resprayed' do you mean as in painted or something else? If it is painting you are referring to wouldn't it have been in the long run less expensive to put some type of Paint Protection Film on it than having a bodyshop paint it every so often? Thanks for taking the time to answer.

Take care.....

 

Hi Tracy, No, I would not recommend the shop that did mine. This could be because this is my first experience with ClearBra and my expectations are too high.

The guy that did my car is in Northglenn; I found positive referrals for him and he did OK when he applied window tint on my car.

He said he had to piece together the coverage on the front bumper because of the many angles and the sheer volume of the front bumper. With one exception he only covered the front facing surfaces; the exception is the lowest horizontal surface, the lower shelf of the air flow to the lower 1/3 of the radiator. He has a number of lines where he butted two pieces of material together and other areas where there are gaps of about 1/2 inch between the different pieces of the ClearBra material. The visible ClearBra does not seem to have any bubbles or creases, but in the area at the bottom of the bumper, where they are not visible, he has some ruffled edges.

Is what I describe the normal quality of ClearBra application? I suspect it may be common in areas that can't be seen to be less diligent about smoothing out all the material. And, maybe ClearBra only comes in one width so some lines may be necessary. It's just that there are more seams than I expected. Or, my expectations are too high. --TK

 

is ClearBra a generic name or a brand name. All I have found is Invisibra and Invisishield.

 

Edward,

Patsparks may have indeed meant something other than paint when he said "re-sprayed". I don't know if the product still exists, but at least a good 10 years ago I bought a can of aerosol spray that was a clear rubberized compound that looked almost invisible if you only used a few evenly applied coats. I used it with good results, but didn't keep the car long enough to ever need to re-apply it.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

It appears to refer to both a specific product (the term ClearBra is trademarked) and to the general family of paint protection films - kind a like "Kleenex" is both a specific product and a generic term for tissues. Near as I can tell, the two most popular products are 3M Scotchgard and VentureShield (which I believe is now also owned by 3M). I picked up my car today and I'm having the 3M Scotchgard film installed on Friday. Both companies have certified installers. You can find their installers by going to their web sites.

Invisible Patterns

Find a Professional Installer in the USA 3M US paint protection film films clear bra bras shield shields stone stones rock rocks chip chips guard guards protect protects install installs apply applies put puts on attach attaches

 

No, your description is not the norm. There are two ways to install the 3M Clear Braâ„¢:

1. 3M has precut patterns for individual cars. Using these gives a better fit. However, in the case of the Prius, the fit on the bumper in particular does not cover edge to edge. It is not pieced together as you described, rather it is one or two pieces depending on the talent of the installer.

2. Have an experienced installer make a custom cut for your car. This is what we had installed. While the precut pattern has the film on about the lower 1/3 of the hood, we had the entire hood covered. If your installer is worth his salt, the edges will be wrapped and will only be noticeable upon very close inspection.

The place in LA we originally had install the film had done an amazing jobs on some BMWs and Lamborghinis. A good installation should barely be noticeable. Seeing prior work is the best way to choose a shop. I cannot emphasize that enough.

I did find a Denver installer who says he is an authorized 3M teacher for the installation. I plan to see his work this week to see if he is all he says he is.

BTW, when I went to replace the Clear Bra we removed here in Denver, the new installation was terrible & included "ruffling" as you described. I went back and asked for a refund due to the poor workmanship. They gave me back my money.

 

Went on a trip down to the States this past weekend, a week after getting the Prius, 1000 mile trip
Wash the car last night and found stone chips
Have to find a place to get it done

 

I might give this a try myself. Is there anything in particular to be careful about other than have another person helping?

 

I had the 3M clear bra installed by the dealer when I got (leased) the 2006 Prius.

I also did the headlights, fog lights, both mirrors (the portion facing forward) and the bottom sides.

Not a single chip anywhere after three years. Best 300$ investment ever.

 

I have done the hood kit on the front half of the hood and the smaller pieces for the fenders without any problems. The mirrors however due to the complex curvature were beyond my level of patience. I didn't buy the full bumper kit, but did cover the flat front surface with a piece of bulk material.

From my experience, the more complex the curved surface is the harder the install. Its easy to cover a surface that curves in only one direction like a cylinder, but hard to cover a surface curved in more than one direction like a sphere. Also the tighter the radius the tougher to install.

I used invisiblemask Invisimask film this time on the Prius and the 3M product previously on my Solara.

Paint Protection and 3M Clear Bra for your vehicle. Also known as Rock Guard.

 

Does anyone have pictures and costs (what you paid for the stuff, and installed price)???

 

FWIW, price here is $699 (inclusive of 7% sales tax) for 3M film installed by a certified 3M installer and training facility. This is a 'kit" installation where the pieces are precut for the specific car model. Approximately 24" up the hood, fenders, front bumper, mirrors, door edge guards. They say they have tested for coverage in a wind tunnel and this level of coverage is sufficient. Edges are wrapped and back edges are tapered. Full hood and greater fender coverage would add another $125. Minnesota apparently hasn't yet specifically approved covering lights with anything (although some installers will do it anyway).

I think this is a pretty typical price. I got quotes that were more expensive than this as well. Estimated time for install is 4 hours.

 

I got two prices that were the same. A local car shop is $350 the same as the dealer is charging with a third party doing the work. I'm betting that is the 1/2 hood and no headlights.

I'll get more specific information when I sit down with them and get serious about getting it done in about two weeks.

 

Is that for the full front bumper too? Other posters have indicated that the standard dealer paint protection film package only covers the leading edge of the hood, up about 6 inches, and the fenders. Not the bumper, mirrors or door edges. Ask specifically about what is covered for the price. It varies widely. I was quoted hood, fender, mirror and door edge guards for $399. The entire front end of the car for $699 (includes mirrors and door edge guards). I've seen similar types of packages at other installers. The bumper, which is huge, raises the price substantially, but that's where you are likely to get the most dings IMHO. Here's a representation of the pattern my installer uses.