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Have any of you had the "Clear Bra" Paint Protection Film installed on your vehicles?  We are considering it and wondered what your experience has been with it.  We have contacted a company called Clear Solutions in St. Peters, MO, has anybody used them for installation? They seem pretty good but wanted some info before doing it.  This stuff is supposed to be pretty good...prevents rock chips and bug marks.

 Thanks!

Krista

I have the Venture Shield stuff (essentially the same thing) on my '03 Z.  Fairly hard to see except in direct sunlight sometimes and very tough.  Not a single rock chip on my car after a full summer of driving to autox events and one track event at Hallett. 

Only had it on for about a year, but so far no problems.  Most people I asked had positive responses back when I was considering it also.

This is my old thread,

http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/172276.aspx

Chris Ramey was the only person that chimed in with problems.  The dealer that installed mine did say there are some bugs that can stain the material, which is similar to what happened to Chris. 

So far I've had no problems, although I will say that it is harder to remove bugs and cone marks from the material than just the paint on the car.  The 3M stuff might be better in this regard as it is clear coated, where the Venture Shield stuff I have is not.

Dave G.
 

*Disclaimer - I work for XPEL, a company that powers a huge percentage of the paint protection film industry. XPEL provides patterns, software, training and support to the PPF (paint protection film) dealers. I put my first kit on in 1996 and have used nearly every film under the sun.

First off, film. Lots of makers, but before we go there, let's start with the types of films. There are two BASIC types of film, coated and non-coated. NONcoated is just a basic urethane film and those are very susceptible to debris and contaminints discoloring or staining them (love bugs, bird poo, etc) and they also tend to discolor on thier own over time (atmospheric conditions, pollution, etc play a big role here). Some will yellow in months, others in years. COATED films are those with some type of clear coat or top coat that seals the film and greatly increases the lifespan and 'clear coat' (blends in with the majority of factory paint jobs) look of the film.

The major players:

Avery = (like the labels!) = they have TWO films, a top-coated and a non-top-coated. Use the non for short term use and the top-coated if you are looking for long term durability. Their topcoated has only been out about a year so not a ton of long-term data but some results have been promising. A good number of XPEL dealers use Avery (with the topcoat)

Venture = Have two types of film, both the brand new coated and the older non-coated. The new coated is really new (SEMA) and I have played with it but have not seen long-term testing yet. Ditto with the avery, go with the coated for long-term use but you can get away with non-coated if you are just needing short term coverage. We have quite a few Venture guys on XPEL, and most use the new stuff.

3M = Technically they have a LOT of PPF films for many types of uses, but only one for automobiles and that is a clear coated film called 'scotchgard'(tm). They make NONcoated films for aerospace, industrial and marine, and they are typical non-coated films that you don't want long-term. 3M started ppf and the scotchgard is probably the most widely used, but some shops use other 3M film claiming it is better, but it isn't (hint: just becasue it states the product is for an airplane does not mean it is what you should use to fight off rock chips, cone marks or love bugs. How often does the radome of an airplane get rock chips????). The brand most used by XPEL dealers is 3M.

There are also Baekert (clearshield), Llumar, Aegis, Madico, etc, but I'm only talking about the ones I've played with recently.

Installation: This product is ALL ABOUT installation. The NONcoated films are all easier to install than the coated ones. Some companies have been caught 'switching' as far as what goes on the car and what they told the customer they were buying. Just like window tint, they SAY they use 'brand X', but you really get 'brand Y'. Since not many folks can tell the difference once it is installed, you may not know what you have. Buyer beware, do your research, deal with shops you trust! XPEL has a 5 day 'basic' traning class to get across the installation basics (with pre-cuts) and then later the techs can attend a 2day advanced class to work on speed and prettiness. It takes a great candidate and then lots of practice to have a great installer.

Getting it on the car: is done either by bulk or by kit. Bulk means they stretch bulk film on the car to get it tight and no 'fingers' and then they cut (with a knife, olfa/x-acto/etc) around the headlights/grill/edges to give a 'custom' fit. While this is still done in a lot of places, a huge number of folks are against it (me and XPEL included). A small slip and your paint is cut and then it begins to rust and you end up repainting even though you just put PPF on your paint to protect it! Lots and lots of those installers claim they never cut the paint but personally I would not risk it unless I absolutely had to. I shave the same face every day and occasionally I cut myself...whose to say the guy isnt going to slip? There is even a 'special' knife that only cuts 'x' depth, but the problem is when you stretch the film it gets thinner and so your blade depth setting just went to crap. That being said, if there is not a kit available for your car or your custom airdam and you want ppf, then bulk it is. Of all the HUNDREDS of folks that I know who do ppf, there is maybe 2 (possibly 3) that I would trust on my car with a knife. And all those prefer to use pre-cuts if at **all** possible. (this is the most bias part, but I hate the thought of knives of cars....where some are just fine with it....ymmv)

To install 'by kit' means there is a pre-cut kit and all (ha!) the installer does in put it on. No knives. There are only a few companies that do this and XPEL is pretty well known in the industry as 'the kits that fit' and XPEL has a little over 30,000 applications (as of nov 06, the largest database in the industry that I know of) so chance are we have kits (hood, fender, mirror, bumper, rockers, door cups, etc) to fit. The folks who install with 'kits' typically can install faster and with less material waste (the two biggest 'costs' when running a ppf shop).

More of my opinions: While 3M started this industry ages ago (think 1968 iirc), PPF is just now really starting to move forward. Nobody really has the 'perfect' film yet, but they are all getting better. This industry is mirroring the automotive window tint industry from 30 years ago where the first attempts there were not pefect (purple tint, tint bubbling, tint stinking in the sun, etc), and everybody is getting better. 3M is the dominant maker right now for good reason, but with two new coated films on the market it will be interesting to see how the upcoming years pan out.

*more disclaimers* XPEL sells pre-cut kits to the public (good luck installing it unless you are trained, trust me!) that will be on 3M film and we sell 3M film to our dealers (who can make kits remotely) but our dealers can use any film they wish to cut kits for their customers and while the majority use 3M, the other two biggies are Avery and Venture.

Find an installer you trust. Look at his previous work, check the references, do your homework. The stuff works WONDERS at keeping the original paint protected from debris, rocks, cones, etc. While it is NOT a forcefield and it CAN get damaged, it can help you greatly to protect your paint. Do what the installer tells you (usually wax immediately and then care for it like you do the rest of the car) and you will likely be fine for years. Removal of most films is very easy, but if the film is pulled off wrong (or if the film is bad) you can leave adhesive behind. ATR (adhesive and tar remover) works wonders here and can change a 10 hour nightmare into a 20 minute cleaning. Non coated film is worse than coated as it may crack and segment and then it is really bad.

We have pics of Jack Baldwin's 24hour Rolex car and the front was trashed with rubber marks and scratches to the ppf and then after the race the pulled the film and the nose looked freshly painted. I'll try and dig them up and post them as they used to be on a press release of ours but it is too old to be on our PR page now. XPEL also has patterns for many enthusiasts cars that include the COMPLETE hood and front fenders, not just the 24/18/12" coverage (those are options too). You can go to xpel.com and click on 'products' and 'shop online' and see the coverage available for your car if you want to see the patterns. We also have a 'installer locator' on the main page. 'Clear Solutions' sounds familiar and I'll check on who that is when I get back to work. With over a thousand dealers and operators in 18+ foreign countries so I gave up memorizing individual locations ;) .

EXPENSIVE. Yes, if a top notch installer is going to spend hours on your car, plan on paying him well. Just like the fact that I can go and get my windows tinted for 79$ does not mean they are going to do a good job or stand behind it. A good tint job here is 199$ or more and like everything else, you get what you pay for. A good installer knows he is good and will command the price. In most cities the best installers I know have bookings weeks in advance.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this may be enough to get you started. Ask away if you have more questions, I'll be as informative as I can.

 

Cheers,

Costas

 

 

 

 

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Costas
cars and such...

Paint protection film was available as an option for my car, and (like most people) I got it. The product name that Lotus uses is Starshield, but I'm fairly certain that it's the 3M film that the previous poster mentioned.

The film definitely works. Due to the shape of the Elise it's propably more necessary than on most cars. Rocks picked up by the front tires get a straight shot at the panels in front of the rear wheels. I've seen pictures of cars without film. That part of the fenders looked like it was sandblasted.

Visually, the only apparent aspect is that you can see the seams if you're looking closely. Most people probably wouldn't notice if you don't mention it, but they're definitely there. They're more apparent when the car is dirty because dirt tends to accumulate at the seams.

I can also confirm what Dave already mentioned: Cone marks are harder to remove from the film than from paint. After a few failed attempts, I found a product that removes the cone marks pretty easily, and doesn't seem to harm the film.

Since I got it as an option, it was installed at the port, so I don't have any experience with local installers.

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Reto
2005 Lotus Elise, SS

ConeFusion:

I can also confirm what Dave already mentioned: Cone marks are harder to remove from the film than from paint. After a few failed attempts, I found a product that removes the cone marks pretty easily, and doesn't seem to harm the film.

 

What is the product?  I have the same experience, cone marks are hard to remove from the film and dirt accumulates at the edges of the film. 

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Steve Hudson
DP Miata

stevemhudson:

What is the product?

It's called "Goof Off". You can find it in the paint section of home improvement stores. They normally have a shelf with solvents/cleaners. I got it at Lowes.

Note that this looks like a fairly aggressive cleaner. So make your own call if you consider it safe for your car. I use it as follows: Put a small amount of the cleaner on a white paper towel. Apply to small section of car (mild cone marks disappear immediately, ugly cone marks might need a little rubbing or repeated application). As soon as I'm done with the section, I immediately wash if off with soap and water. I'm not sure if the cleaner could harm the film if you let it sit on the surface for too long, but I'd rather not take the risk. Once I'm done cleaning up the whole car, I make another pass with soap and water, and then apply a new coat of wax to the treated sections.

My film does have a clear coat. I have no idea if it would work on an uncoated film.

Don't confuse the above with "Goo Gone", which can be found at car parts stores. I tried that before. It seems to work to some degree, but it's not nearly as effective as "Goof Off".

About dirt around the seams, I have been told that careful work with a toothpick can help to remove it. I never really had the need. Normal washing removes the dirt well enough for me.

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Reto
2005 Lotus Elise, SS

I do not recommend my methods... but for me.. I use either Bestine or Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK). Dissolves the cone marks from the film.

 YMMV.
 

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2006 Noble M400 (E-Mod?)
CHASECAM the global leader in motorsport video acqusition. We innovate, not copy or import. Sponsor for SCCA ProSolo, Runoffs, SPEED World Challenge, SCCAForums. Supplier to MazdaSpeed, V8Supercars, Formula 1 teams, etc.

thanks for the post shortcutsleeping, answered quite a few questions ive been needing to ask.

you werent kidding when you said its not cheap.  from what I can tell its nearly $800 in material costs alone for my car.

how many hours does it take on average to do a front end?

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Scott
07 Mazdaspeed 3

I had people recommend MEK, too. I picked up both Goof Off and MEK while I was at the store. But I tried the Goof Off first, and it worked so well that I never got around to try the MEK. At least from reading the disclaimers on the containers, I got the impression that MEK might be more aggressive.

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Reto
2005 Lotus Elise, SS

Krista:

Have any of you had the "Clear Bra" Paint Protection Film installed on your vehicles?  We are considering it and wondered what your experience has been with it.  We have contacted a company called Clear Solutions in St. Peters, MO, has anybody used them for installation? They seem pretty good but wanted some info before doing it.  This stuff is supposed to be pretty good...prevents rock chips and bug marks.

 Thanks!

Krista

Has anyone had this done?  I contacted the same person and they gave me a heck of a quote.  This guy was heavily recommended, so I figure he is the guy to go to.