Which Clear Bra

[///My5UV]

Damn it'd be nice if there was a FAQ sticky thread. I know from lots of personal experience that it can take alot of time to find good answers searching, and when you do find them they can be out of date.

[Raz335]

I have both 3M and Ventureshield on my car. The Look of ventureshield is a litle nicer (marginally), but it scuffs much easier than 3M. The 3M is definitely more robust. Most important as well as the entire front, I also had the sideskirts and behind all 4 wheels done. All problematic areas on these cars.

[Pointerman]

hlmiii,
Yes, as I was doing research forum threads from a few years ago seem to show Ventureshield as an independant company. When I look on the 3M website I see it is now their product. Hey, if you can't beat em; buy em.

My 545i (currently for sale if anyone is interested) experienced some rock and bug damage to the front bumper. It also has a few rock chips on the hood and one on the left fender. Not sure I have any mirror damage, but I get the value of clear bra. I take very good care of my cars and it kills me when I go to wash the car and find a new chip. Clear bra is going to happen; it's just a matter of who and how much.

Has anyone used Elite Auto Films in Fremont? Also waiting for a quote from Pro Tint in Stockton (I live in Manteca and work in the bay area).

[stuka]

Originally Posted by Pointerman

hlmiii,
Yes, as I was doing research forum threads from a few years ago seem to show Ventureshield as an independant company. When I look on the 3M website I see it is now their product. Hey, if you can't beat em; buy em.

My 545i (currently for sale if anyone is interested) experienced some rock and bug damage to the front bumper. It also has a few rock chips on the hood and one on the left fender. Not sure I have any mirror damage, but I get the value of clear bra. I take very good care of my cars and it kills me when I go to wash the car and find a new chip. Clear bra is going to happen; it's just a matter of who and how much.

Has anyone used Elite Auto Films in Fremont? Also waiting for a quote from Pro Tint in Stockton (I live in Manteca and work in the bay area).

Just go with Premier. Not many installer can do a whole car wrap on an Enzo, they can and have.

[stuka]

Originally Posted by ramyar

From my past experience with BMW aerodynamics as daily drivers, the part that would see damage enough to warrant anything is realistically the front bumper. Sometimes the hood or mirrors but it's usually not nearly as bad. All other parts can be polished and buffed out and that usually includes the hood/mirrors with touch up paint.

Therefore to me paying $300 every 2-3 years to respray the bumper is alot cheaper than 2k every 5. And it's like getting a new bumper.

Of course this all depends on your personal preference and baby-ing level. Some don't want to deal with film and others don't want their oem paint messed with.

A proper bumper respray is closer to 1K. I should know, I used to be in the bodyshop business. Anyone that claims to be able to do it for that little is cutting lots of corners.

More importantly, I just don't get why people with 60 to 70K cars quibbling over a few grand on a proper Clearbra job.

[immiketoo]

This was soooo not what I was hoping for in this thread...

[Pointerman]

Just because you have money doesn't mean you want to waste it.

[mexicanmike]

Since you asked about clear bra, and are in NorCal I will simply give you 3 options that I know of.

Premier Is the obvious recommendation from most the forum, they have been in business for a long time, clear bra and tint is pretty much all they do, and they do it well.

OmegaTint works in Pleasanton has got great reviews and I have seen his work, it is very good. This is, however, a one man operation. This is not a bad thing, other than getting time and a appointment can be tough, because he is soo busy.

I personally had my clear bra done at HD Auto Salon. I think I may have been one of their first clear Bra customers, and I opted to go with them based on location and the fact that I really liked the way these two guys did business. They wrapped almost my entire car. I feel they did a good job, and know that if there are issues in the future with the clear bra, they will take care of them.

Research is key. Clear Bra is not cheap, and a good installer is the biggest deciding factor. I will however say that if you do not intend on selling the car soon, and are not excessively anal when it comes to rock chips, you may be better off with a respray of the entire car later. Yes paint work is difficult, but, aside from minor rock chips and the occasional "larger objects" clear bra will still tear and paint will scratch if enough force is applied.

There is a thread somewhere that showed a guys car who was keyed and the clearbra saved him. Sadly, redoing the clearbra was probably just as costly as a respray, so aside from the resale hit, again not a factor if you keep it long enough, it probably didn't save him any money.

Also, clear bra is just as, if not more, prone to discoloration from acid content. Bug guts, bird poop and other items will still discolor the clear bra. If clear bra was not prone to these things, I would full wrap any car I purchased, just to make cleaning easier.

In conclusion, lots of people have opinions on clear bra, it really comes down to how you take care of your car, how anal you are about rock chips, and how long you will keep your car.

[stuka]

Originally Posted by Pointerman

Just because you have money doesn't mean you want to waste it.

Cutting corner and getting inferior product and/or services to save a buck is the definition of wasting money.

Most clearbra guys shouldn't clearbra a matchbox car, let along a real car that cost any kind of money.

Think razor cuts.

[stuka]

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

Research is key. Clear Bra is not cheap, and a good installer is the biggest deciding factor. I will however say that if you do not intend on selling the car soon, and are not excessively anal when it comes to rock chips, you may be better off with a respray of the entire car later. Yes paint work is difficult, but, aside from minor rock chips and the occasional "larger objects" clear bra will still tear and paint will scratch if enough force is applied.

I don't get it. People here spend lots of money on wheels, "performance mods" with questionable gains, useless exhuasts, and they complain about a few grand to properly protect the paint on their car? Really?

As far as respray go, most shops can't even match the orange peel, or color for that matter. Why do you think most shop will tell you that they cannot paint just one panel, that they have to blend? It is because they are are incapable of doing color transition within a panel. And then there's thickness. I have never seen painters able to get their thickness anywhere close to factory, they just can't.

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

There is a thread somewhere that showed a guys car who was keyed and the clearbra saved him. Sadly, redoing the clearbra was probably just as costly as a respray, so aside from the resale hit, again not a factor if you keep it long enough, it probably didn't save him any money.

That was a Gallardo IIRC. A resprayed Gallardo is worth 10's of thousands less, if you can find a buyer willing to overlook the respray. This is why most high end car inspection includes a paint metering. It is also why most used car dealers stop their BS when they see me taking out my paint meter when I was looking for an E39 M5.

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

Also, clear bra is just as, if not more, prone to discoloration from acid content. Bug guts, bird poop and other items will still discolor the clear bra. If clear bra was not prone to these things, I would full wrap any car I purchased, just to make cleaning easier.

Clearbra is basically acting as the protective layer for your paint, given what I know about how lousy most painters are, and how big of a hit you will take with a painted car, I have been using clearbra since 2002, and will never buy a new car without putting it on.

[AlpWtE92]

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

OmegaTint works in Pleasanton has got great reviews and I have seen his work, it is very good. This is, however, a one man operation. This is not a bad thing, other than getting time and a appointment can be tough, because he is soo busy.

I highly recommend going to Vince at Omegawerks (aka Omegatint), especially if you're in the East Bay.

Personally, I like the fact that he is a one-man shop - he's the only one that will touch your car. You won't be getting some trainee or inexperienced person wrapping your car that might happen at the bigger shops. You will need to book him well in advance, but he's worth the wait. His prices are also very reasonable.

I was Vince's first E92 M3 back in March 2008 and he did a great job then. I've seen his more recent work on E9x M3's and he's doing an even job of wrapping our cars now because he's done so many of them. In fact, because my car is AW and started to notice some slight discoloration in the film, I had him to re-do my clear bra just 2 months ago. Most people probably could go a few more years without a re-do, but I am super anal about my car. His work is impeccable.

Do some searches on the forum and you'll see pictures of his work, including my car

By the way, it was completely worth it for me to get the clear bra. My car's bumper, hood and fenders still look brand new after three years. Sure, re-painting every few years might be cheaper, but it's hard for me to find a good, trustworthy paint shop and there's nothing like keeping the factory paint. The film has also protected my car from a lot of chips and scratches that would have been very noticeable if the clear bra was not there.

[Pointerman]

Three years and a re-wrap? I am not sure he is as good as you think he is.

[M3tallicar]

I guess I'm the only one who had a bad experience with Premier Mobile Group. They installed a Ventureshield clearbra on my car and wouldn't stand behind their product when it prematurely failed. So if you want to spend a premium on a clear bra installation that comes with a hollow warranty, Premier is your place.

[BlkITR01]

Originally Posted by M3tallicar

I guess I'm the only one who had a bad experience with Premier Mobile Group. They installed a Ventureshield clearbra on my car and wouldn't stand behind their product when it prematurely failed. So if you want to spend a premium on a clear bra installation that comes with a hallow warranty, Premier is your place.

Care to elaborate? A little more information might be helpful to everyone.

[mexicanmike]

Originally Posted by stuka

That was a Gallardo IIRC. A resprayed Gallardo is worth 10's of thousands less, if you can find a buyer willing to overlook the respray. This is why most high end car inspection includes a paint metering. It is also why most used car dealers stop their BS when they see me taking out my paint meter when I was looking for an E39 M5.

It was a e92, it was at premier when I went there. The guy was sitting in the waiting room using his computer. There may also have been a gallardo, but this was a e92.

A resprayed gallardo may be worth 10's of thousands less, but a resprayed M wont be worth 10's of thousands less.

The truth is, the clear bra will probably cost you as much as the difference lost if the paint was in "bad" condition. Some rock chips here and there may not bother most.

That said, I spent a good amount on the clear bra, and given the chance to go back, I probably would put the money into mods instead. I am more concerned with the way the car drives than a few rock chips.

[AlpWtE92]

Originally Posted by Pointerman

Three years and a re-wrap? I am not sure he is as good as you think he is.

As I said in my post, I re-did the clear bra only because I'm really anal about my car and I started noticing some discoloration in the film. Most people wouldn't even notice it. It has nothing to do with Vince's work quality.

All clear bra films that I am aware of will experience slight discoloration over time and it shows more on white cars. I knew this going in. The film Vince uses (Ventureshied), tends to yellow less than others.