3m Clear Bra
- Thread starter tavarua88
- Start date
SPEED305 said:
I don't have any pics, and i won't be able to take some until i get home..that'll be sometime later tomorrow afternoon. I'll get some up this week. Besides, ROADTRIP with the Family coming up!!!
Here's their Home Page:
http://www.rockblocker.com/
Here's the link to the Mazda Apps:
http://rockblocker.com/store/30814.htm
Hope this helps!
-J
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I just put a clear bra on my 3 yesterday -- following up to Msugi07's great advice, the one lesson I learned is that you MUST get the soapy water washed out from under the clear bra as you adhere it to your car. I ordered mine from invisiblemask.com and they have excellent instructions on their website and included with the shipment. I only did my hood and front fender edges, not the whole lower bumper, because that looks too complicated!
Their instructions have you use a soap and water solution to position the clear bra, then squeege the center of the bra just enough to make it stick in place. Then they have you lift one side and use an alcohol and water solution to rinse the soap out from underneath, then repeat for the other side. They suggest spraying the alcohol soultion, but I found that literally pouring it over the car and underside of the clear bra works much much better. I did 2 cars this weekend, the first one a black Acura TSX, and it looked horrible because soap was trapped under the surface (not air bubbles, just white soap residue). I then did my car, pouring the alcohol mix rather than spraying it, and it came out great! invisiblemask.com also gives you a great little silicone squeegee which is soft enough to not tear the clear bra - don't use a hard plastic squeegee! If you take your time and use plenty of the water/alcohol solution, you have enough working time to smooth it out nice and you won't have any air bubbles.
And yeah, i ripped the clear bra off the Acura and there was no damage to the paint, just damage to my wallet for wasting $130!!!
Oh, and this is DEFINTELY a two person job.
The trickiest part was the area around the grille, on each side, where the hood dips down to surround the grille. You actually may need to stretch the plastic (just a little bit!) to get around this area. I didn't stretch it quite enough, but I was able to trim the excess with an exacto knife. Also, the ridge line on each side of the hood (which leads to the grille) is a bit tricky since the clear bra doesn't really stick to the car until you squeegee the water out from under it. Keep at it and you'll be able to get over these ridges. Oh, and I used bug and tar remover to clean the area first, because that will remove wax but leave the clearcoat. The surface must be perfectly clean for the clear bra to stick. I hope this helps!!!
Their instructions have you use a soap and water solution to position the clear bra, then squeege the center of the bra just enough to make it stick in place. Then they have you lift one side and use an alcohol and water solution to rinse the soap out from underneath, then repeat for the other side. They suggest spraying the alcohol soultion, but I found that literally pouring it over the car and underside of the clear bra works much much better. I did 2 cars this weekend, the first one a black Acura TSX, and it looked horrible because soap was trapped under the surface (not air bubbles, just white soap residue). I then did my car, pouring the alcohol mix rather than spraying it, and it came out great! invisiblemask.com also gives you a great little silicone squeegee which is soft enough to not tear the clear bra - don't use a hard plastic squeegee! If you take your time and use plenty of the water/alcohol solution, you have enough working time to smooth it out nice and you won't have any air bubbles.
And yeah, i ripped the clear bra off the Acura and there was no damage to the paint, just damage to my wallet for wasting $130!!!
Oh, and this is DEFINTELY a two person job.
The trickiest part was the area around the grille, on each side, where the hood dips down to surround the grille. You actually may need to stretch the plastic (just a little bit!) to get around this area. I didn't stretch it quite enough, but I was able to trim the excess with an exacto knife. Also, the ridge line on each side of the hood (which leads to the grille) is a bit tricky since the clear bra doesn't really stick to the car until you squeegee the water out from under it. Keep at it and you'll be able to get over these ridges. Oh, and I used bug and tar remover to clean the area first, because that will remove wax but leave the clearcoat. The surface must be perfectly clean for the clear bra to stick. I hope this helps!!!
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BoostThat3
Member
Loose said:
I don't see a clear bra! (attn)
BoostThat3
Member
Loose said:
Lol, I'm just messing with you guys. Kindof an oxy moron.. I don't see the clear bra..
anyways, $348 is a bit pricey.. i'll have to save for that
PS - nice bike
BoostThat3
Member
Loose said:
haha okay Mr. Borat. VARRRNIIIICE
What i did learn from my brother is to use that blue masking tape and mask up the region you want protected ... Once you get to your destination simply remove the blue tape and you don't have to deal with spending so much money on a clear bra or a regular bra ... Yes your car may look funny while you're driving but hey ... It's cheaper and you won't get a front end full of bugs and rock chips
I got the 3M film installed at a detailing shop but I had the dealer pay for it since they can get a better deal since they do a lot of business with the shop already. As far as I know, if you get the 3M film you can't get it in sheets and then cut it to fit your car. If you have it done at a shop, they'll order the kit from 3M for your specific model and install it. There's no cut-to-fit. I didn't want to risk screwing up the job if I did it myself since I have no experience with it. To me the price would be worth it even if I did have to pay for it to be installed because I definitely don't want pay a lot more to get my bumper, hood, etc. repainted.
i just put the mazdaspeed bra on and let me suggest that you and your friend/family member play tug-o-war for a few days before putting it on. It took me 2 hours alone to stretch, pull and stretch some more to finally put it on. anyhow if i have some time before i head out i'll put up some pics.
RockBlocker
Member
The installation of the clear bra is not the easiest of things to tackle and better left to the professionals. We do roughly 20-30 a month on the 3 right now.
Some info
3M film is called ScotchGard
It is 8 mil thick but sold as 5 06 mil since 3M doesnt recognize the adhesive when selling the bulk film
There are a ton of companies out there some good and some bad. Especially on Ebay the stuff on there is very poor and bad. Most people fail with those poorly designed kits.
The design is everything whenyou are talking pre-cut kits.
We are one of the only ones that offers the front leading edge of the hood wrapped.
The film has a clear coat on the film to make it shine. So WASH AND WAX it.
3M offers a 5 year warranty for cracking, fading and or yellowing
The installation is on the installer not 3M. Dont let anyone tell you any different. Ask them what they guarantee.
The cost might seem expensive but when you think about it what does it cost for you to repaint all those areas. Will your paint match. How long would you be without car for repaint. How much do you think the resale value would be with or without it?? With you can add $250-500 easily over the car next to without it. How much peace of mind do you get from knowing you dont have chips that look like connect the dots or measles on your bumper.
Once you talk to someone with it, seen it or experienced it you will never want to NOT have one again. It has saved my car so many times I cant begin to tell you.
If anyone has any clear bra questions please feel free to let us know. We are the only authorized vendor on here!
Good luck with whatever you do.
Some info
3M film is called ScotchGard
It is 8 mil thick but sold as 5 06 mil since 3M doesnt recognize the adhesive when selling the bulk film
There are a ton of companies out there some good and some bad. Especially on Ebay the stuff on there is very poor and bad. Most people fail with those poorly designed kits.
The design is everything whenyou are talking pre-cut kits.
We are one of the only ones that offers the front leading edge of the hood wrapped.
The film has a clear coat on the film to make it shine. So WASH AND WAX it.
3M offers a 5 year warranty for cracking, fading and or yellowing
The installation is on the installer not 3M. Dont let anyone tell you any different. Ask them what they guarantee.
The cost might seem expensive but when you think about it what does it cost for you to repaint all those areas. Will your paint match. How long would you be without car for repaint. How much do you think the resale value would be with or without it?? With you can add $250-500 easily over the car next to without it. How much peace of mind do you get from knowing you dont have chips that look like connect the dots or measles on your bumper.
Once you talk to someone with it, seen it or experienced it you will never want to NOT have one again. It has saved my car so many times I cant begin to tell you.
If anyone has any clear bra questions please feel free to let us know. We are the only authorized vendor on here!
Good luck with whatever you do.
I would like to add that everyone that is using a leather bra to research before putting it on. It can cause damage to your car when you think it is there to help.
*also for all that are attempting to put the clear bra on themselves. You wash the car first, then with the alcohol/water solution rub the car down to clean the car of bugs and deep dirt. Then use the soap/water slip solution to put the bra on!
Note - you only need a few drops to every few ounces of water.
*also for all that are attempting to put the clear bra on themselves. You wash the car first, then with the alcohol/water solution rub the car down to clean the car of bugs and deep dirt. Then use the soap/water slip solution to put the bra on!
Note - you only need a few drops to every few ounces of water.
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Suppressor
Member
- :
- Red Mazdaspeed3
What do you guys think of this? Is it good quality?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=220091022135&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=220091022135&rd=1
