ClearMask AeroGard

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'16 CX-9, '19 GTI
I installed the first part of a ClearMask AeroGard clear bra kit on my '10 MS3 today.

I put an Xpel kit on my '02 VW Passat a few years ago. I loved it b/c it really protected the paint from rock chips. The ClearMask kit offers more edge protection than the Xpel kit did. That's good and bad. Good b/c you have more surface covered, but bad b/c it's more of a PITA to tack down the edges.

The part I installed is the central vertical piece surrounding the Mazda logo on the front. I figure that's one of the panels that are most obviously vulnerable to rocks and bugs. I ended up w/ a few small bubbles. If they don't evaporate through the plastic, I'll have to punch a small hole to release the air. I'd rate the overall installation process as moderately difficult. I watched the included video a couple of times and read the instructions. It's been about 5 years since I did it on the Passat, so it was almost like doing it for the first time. In terms of clearing bubbles, the hardest part was the compound curves surrounding the "M" logo in the center. I'll probably do the rest of the bumper and hood piece-by-piece over the coming weeks. The headlights and rear bumper area will probably be last. I'll keep you apprised of my progress.

Patrick.
 
I'll take some shots later, but there's not much to see, which is the whole point. :)

I couldn't take pics during the install unless I'd recruited my wife, but that wasn't gonna happen.
 
I highly recommend Xpel (Ventureshield), 3M, or a similar clear coat film for the front bumper. I have 20K on mine and have had everything thrown at it. Despite the assault, I have a single 1" mark from a 70 mph impact with a metal shard. The only downside is that the edges become quickly soiled as time passes, which can be noticed on light colors.

Here's mine shortly after the install (09 MS3). The bubbles are almost unavoidable (2nd pic), though many are moisture related and disappear within a week. A syringe works great on any remaining imperfections.

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I've done most of the front end. Wow, that was challenging.

The bumper sheet came in three pieces. The easiest piece is the center panel w/ the "M" logo. Even that wasn't simple because the ClearMask sheets are cut to extend to the very edges of the body panel. While that's good for protection, it makes tacking down the ends of the plastic difficult. I actually prefer the Xpel kit I had on my VW because it left a millimeter or two of the panel uncovered along all of the edges. That made the install easier. On the ClearMask kit, because I wasn't able to fully seat all of the edges, I had to take a razor to trim a few portions that didn't stick properly. Luckily, they're very small pieces (less than 1 mm wide and maybe 1 cm long). See the last pic below.

The other two pieces cover the lower parts and sides of the bumper. They start at the inner edge of the headlight, go around the foglight housing and back to the wheel well, and forward to the middle of the thin painted segment under the grille. With all of the compound curves veering off all over the place, I really had to take it slowly. In fact, shortly after starting the first of the two side pieces, I thought I was not going to be able to get the damn thing to lay flat. I started by tacking down the sheet at the rearmost point of the foglight cut-out. From there, I worked outward stretching and smoothing the sheet down. Due to those compound curves, I had a lot of areas where the edges formed "fingers" that wouldn't stay down, so I had to pull w/ a bit of force to stretch it out and eliminate the fingers. The worst area was back along the wheel well and along the bottom edge in front of the wheel wells. To the credit of the ClearMask kit, it held up very well with no tearing. But as with the center piece, the fact that the sheet went all the way to the very edge of the body panels made it hard to stick down. I have yet to inspect those two pieces post-install, but I suspect I'll have to slice off a few little bits here and there.

The three bumper pieces did not butt up against one another, so there are 1 cm gaps in coverage under the headlights and a 3 cm gap under the grille. It could that a pro installer would have known that and stretched the sheets to make them mate up, but I didn't. In any case, I'm not sweating it.

The hood and fender pieces were relatively easy to install since I did them after the really tough bumper pieces.

As Design said above, it's virtually impossible to eliminate all bubbles, but they should disappear soon enough.

I tried to do the headlights, but it was a no go. They're so freaking contoured that I couldn't get the sheet to lay flat no matter how much stretching I did. The worst part was the protruding vertical ridge in the middle of the lens. Holy crap, that thing screwed me up. So I gave up for the moment. When I get around to it, I'm going to cut the remaining headlight sheet so that it ends at the base of that ridge. I know that'll leave half of the lens exposed, but it'll cover the front-most part. Plus, it's that or nothing.

In addition, I have to install the pieces for the mirrors and the top of the rear bumper. I may trim the mirror pieces so that there's less coverage, but an easier install. I also have to cut little pieces for the fogs because ClearMask didn't have pre-cut film for them.

My previous experience installing an Xpel kit on my VW probably helped. That and I watched the included installation video about three times. I used ClearMask's "Aerogard" film. They also sell a slightly cheaper "ClearMask AR" film, which may lead to a different installation experience, but I don't know. Overall, I'd say it's do-able, but only if you're very patient, you have a secure indoor installation/storage area, and you have lots of time.

Here are some pics. Normally, I'd never post pics of my car looking so dirty (salty), but it does help highlight the edges of the ClearMask film.

In this shot, you can see the trailing edge of the film on the hood and fender. Normally, you couldn't see it so easily, but the salt makes it evident. While there are a few bubbles, almost all of the stuff you see is either salt or a reflection of something in the garage.
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In this pic, you can see that I successfully flattened the sheet along the bottom and back edge of the bumper piece.
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Here, you can see that I sliced off a very small piece of film that wouldn't lay down under the M logo. It's just left of center. You can also see that there's grime along the lower right side of the logo, so I'm going to have to slice that off, too. It looks like there's a ton of bubbles above the M, but all of that is salt except for two bubbles just above the M and to the right.
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I know this is a long post, but I wanted to provide some detail for anyone else thinking about doing this themselves. Let me know if you have any questions.

Patrick.
 
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