3m Clear Bra
- Thread starter tavarua88
- Start date
Clear Bra - Install cost
I contacted two different recommended installers for the 3m clear bra and the cost is very expensive. Not sure I would want to tackle a project with $275 worth of product and no experience. Both installers wanted over $800 for the 3m film and installation ($525 for installation alone). Some of the drawbacks are that any type of water must be removed before it dries or it will leave permanent spots - rain, sprinklers, car washes and puddles.
To rich for my taste.
Peter
I contacted two different recommended installers for the 3m clear bra and the cost is very expensive. Not sure I would want to tackle a project with $275 worth of product and no experience. Both installers wanted over $800 for the 3m film and installation ($525 for installation alone). Some of the drawbacks are that any type of water must be removed before it dries or it will leave permanent spots - rain, sprinklers, car washes and puddles.
To rich for my taste.
Peter
yea, a local shop i go to for this stuff quoted me $600, i've seen a whole kit on ebay w/instructions for around $280, hence i was a bit concerned on DIY when I could just screw the whole thing up. searched and couldn't find any posts about people doing it themselves.
I purchased some of the raw material with the intention of covering a few of the most vulnerable places. I did the door edges, the faces of the door handles, and the side rocker panels. This stuff is not easy to deal with. My rocker panels have a few bubbles that I still need to deal with; the other places look fine, but they are relatively small pieces. I have enough material left to do the front of the hood, but have not yet gotten up the courage to try it.tavarua88 said:
Boosted03MSP
Member
- :
- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege Black Mica #928
Take it off after the trip of say by to your paint....over time....
Ya, I got 2 upcoming road trips myself. Funny cuz I just looked into the 3M stuff myself today. I'mma just buy the factory bra from Protegegarage and take it off after each trip. Gonna put a couple of coats of sealant on the front before I actually put the bra on though. Might get the rockblockers too.
That's the point. It's 8mils of clear teflon adhesive. It completely works and the kit comes complete with sections for the kick panels and mirrors. I will say one thing however, wash the bugs off in a timely manner or they will be a b**** to get off.SPEED305 said:
Hey everyone
Let me start off by saying that I'm a new Mazda owner and this is my first post. Not that it matters... Anyways, about the bra. I had the clear bra put on my Denali a while back and it cost me bank! When I got my Mazda I felt that it was a great product and needed to have it on the car as well. The only problem was that I was not going to put out 800 bucks to do so. I looked around and found some sites that sell the stuff and went ahead and bought it. It is not hard to put on I promise. My wife helped me out and she knows nothing about the stuff at all. So... here is what you need to do. I would say that you need two people to do this! If you have never done this before make sure to read up on it a little before you try it. I'm going to go step by step on what I did to put this on.
First: I cleaned the car. I pressure washed the front end of the car to make sure that there was no lose dirt. I then washed the front using a soap and water and then dry.
Second: use a spray bottle and put 1/3 70% rubbing alcohol and the other 2/3 water. Spray on to 100% lint free cotton towel and spray onto front end. (This is to make sure that all wax and bugs are off the car). Wash the car again with soap and water and dry.
Third: I say get TWO clean spray bottles (one for you and the second person, trust me you do not want to try to go back and forth with one spray bottle). Fill the bottles up with water, (I used bottle water just to make sure that the water was nice and clean) and you going to add about four drop of Johnsons baby shampoo. This well be your slip solution. The Johnsons shampoo is in a yellow bottle and it has a red water drop on the front. DO NOT use any other brand or try different soaps. I picked up a small bottle of it at Target for $.99
*Also make sure to grab a squeegee while you are there, if you can find one a credit card will work, but I would try to but a rubber squeegee.
Fourth: Before you peel the strips off of the paper hold it up to make sure that it well fit. I had to send the bumper part back on the first kit I got because it was made for a Mazda 3 i, and I guess I have a Mazda 3 s. No not a mazdaspeed 3, they just call it a Mazda 3 s. (My model for my car is a Mazda 3 s grand touring, I guess that is where the s comes in.) I know that the bumpers are different so watch out for this.
Fifth: make sure that you spray and keep on a lot of the slip solution on you fingers to make sure that you do not leave finger prints behind on the film. It is better to over spray then under. You can never have too much. Spray the car and the film really good and continue to do so as you are putting the film on. The slip solution will allow you to lift the film up just be careful when doing so. As you are putting on the film, I worked from the center out. The film does require that you pull the ends to make a good fit. So make sure the center is aligned right and is squeegee good to allow you to stretch the end of the fill for a right fit.
Allow 48 hour to dry and make sure that all of the corners are down. THAT"S IT. I took me about two hours with the help of my wife and it was the first car that we did.
I have no pictures of this sorry, but I can assure you that it is not as difficult as it seems. Just make sure to READ, READ, and READ before putting the film on. Picture would not help anyways because you can't see the damn film in them.
Here are some shops that sell the film.
Xpel:
http://xpel.com/products/configurat...07&make=25&model=805&submodel=2286&series=502
Invisiblemask:
http://www.invisiblemask.com/cgi-bi...07&make=25&model=805&submodel=2286&series=502
Ebay does sell the stuff also, but make sure you know what you are buying. Ask lots of questions.
Hope this helps!
Let me start off by saying that I'm a new Mazda owner and this is my first post. Not that it matters... Anyways, about the bra. I had the clear bra put on my Denali a while back and it cost me bank! When I got my Mazda I felt that it was a great product and needed to have it on the car as well. The only problem was that I was not going to put out 800 bucks to do so. I looked around and found some sites that sell the stuff and went ahead and bought it. It is not hard to put on I promise. My wife helped me out and she knows nothing about the stuff at all. So... here is what you need to do. I would say that you need two people to do this! If you have never done this before make sure to read up on it a little before you try it. I'm going to go step by step on what I did to put this on.
First: I cleaned the car. I pressure washed the front end of the car to make sure that there was no lose dirt. I then washed the front using a soap and water and then dry.
Second: use a spray bottle and put 1/3 70% rubbing alcohol and the other 2/3 water. Spray on to 100% lint free cotton towel and spray onto front end. (This is to make sure that all wax and bugs are off the car). Wash the car again with soap and water and dry.
Third: I say get TWO clean spray bottles (one for you and the second person, trust me you do not want to try to go back and forth with one spray bottle). Fill the bottles up with water, (I used bottle water just to make sure that the water was nice and clean) and you going to add about four drop of Johnsons baby shampoo. This well be your slip solution. The Johnsons shampoo is in a yellow bottle and it has a red water drop on the front. DO NOT use any other brand or try different soaps. I picked up a small bottle of it at Target for $.99
*Also make sure to grab a squeegee while you are there, if you can find one a credit card will work, but I would try to but a rubber squeegee.
Fourth: Before you peel the strips off of the paper hold it up to make sure that it well fit. I had to send the bumper part back on the first kit I got because it was made for a Mazda 3 i, and I guess I have a Mazda 3 s. No not a mazdaspeed 3, they just call it a Mazda 3 s. (My model for my car is a Mazda 3 s grand touring, I guess that is where the s comes in.) I know that the bumpers are different so watch out for this.
Fifth: make sure that you spray and keep on a lot of the slip solution on you fingers to make sure that you do not leave finger prints behind on the film. It is better to over spray then under. You can never have too much. Spray the car and the film really good and continue to do so as you are putting the film on. The slip solution will allow you to lift the film up just be careful when doing so. As you are putting on the film, I worked from the center out. The film does require that you pull the ends to make a good fit. So make sure the center is aligned right and is squeegee good to allow you to stretch the end of the fill for a right fit.
Allow 48 hour to dry and make sure that all of the corners are down. THAT"S IT. I took me about two hours with the help of my wife and it was the first car that we did.
I have no pictures of this sorry, but I can assure you that it is not as difficult as it seems. Just make sure to READ, READ, and READ before putting the film on. Picture would not help anyways because you can't see the damn film in them.
Here are some shops that sell the film.
Xpel:
http://xpel.com/products/configurat...07&make=25&model=805&submodel=2286&series=502
Invisiblemask:
http://www.invisiblemask.com/cgi-bi...07&make=25&model=805&submodel=2286&series=502
Ebay does sell the stuff also, but make sure you know what you are buying. Ask lots of questions.
Hope this helps!
got the bra from the dealer, 100 some odd bux. for what it's worth, it helps protect your car. and it looks good IMO. From experience, i'd use the armor all protectant/cleaner before hitting the road. It helps take the bugs and their internals off easier.
the clear stuff is too steap for me. maybe when i hit the lotto one day.
I got the rockblocker film for the 3's headlights. I didn't want those HIDs to end up like my focus' headlights. all scratched and fogged looking. Besides, the blue hue goes with the silver...hehe. easy to install, worth the money for the headlights, and fogs.
-J
the clear stuff is too steap for me. maybe when i hit the lotto one day.
I got the rockblocker film for the 3's headlights. I didn't want those HIDs to end up like my focus' headlights. all scratched and fogged looking. Besides, the blue hue goes with the silver...hehe. easy to install, worth the money for the headlights, and fogs.
-J
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