3M clear bra?
- Thread starter bjordnolf
- Start date
ExpoScout
Explorer
I havent done an entire vehicle, however we did all the front and problem areas on the race cars that we built when I was working at a porsche race team
The damage that can be seen to paint from one race is what you would see after 2 or 3 years. We would have it peeled off and replace it and it worked great.
I think it is a great idea to use on the front and around wheel wells (rock chip prone areas)....as far as doing an entire vehicle, I would be wary, its gonna be a pain in the butt to peel it off and replace it when the time comes, and really isnt going to be doing much in some places...and its not cheap either
The damage that can be seen to paint from one race is what you would see after 2 or 3 years. We would have it peeled off and replace it and it worked great.
I think it is a great idea to use on the front and around wheel wells (rock chip prone areas)....as far as doing an entire vehicle, I would be wary, its gonna be a pain in the butt to peel it off and replace it when the time comes, and really isnt going to be doing much in some places...and its not cheap either
I have had my 3M clear on the front of my Tacoma since 2004 and have had very little if any damage to my paint. I had it put on professionally as there seems to be a trick to getting it adhere and lay with no wrinkles. (Since I didn't try it first myself, I am going on what I have read about the product) Having said that I couldn't be more pleased on how it has protected my paint and not peeled or yellowed. I originially had a bug deflector and got lots of wind noise off of it and it was a pain to wash around. In my opinon this has been a great product and you wouldn't even know it was there unless you really looked closely................
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Doing a whole vehicle probably isn't cost effective compared to just repainting every once in a while. It would be VERY expensive to do a whole truck. Not unless you have some ultra-rare truck that you don't want to scratch and don't want to repaint... but then why would you want to take that off-road anyway?
Trail Monkey
Adventurer, Overland Certified OC0014
I also had the front end and wheels wells of my porsche done. its very effective saved my paint. also i use it on the rear sides of my boat. in shark fishing and tuna/marlin fishing this protects the sides from the fish and helps abit with light gaff scratches.
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
I've done the front end of a few vehicles I've owned. Best investment for a passenger car - in my opinion too expensive to wrap an entire overland vehicle.
Pete
Pete
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Driving through Reno this afternoon my daughter pointed to a sign and asked what a clear bra was. I told her some cars had breasts and when traveling at highway speeds a bra was essential.
I had her going for about 2 seconds, then that "Dad's an idiot" look appeared on her face. :sombrero:
I had her going for about 2 seconds, then that "Dad's an idiot" look appeared on her face. :sombrero:
I had it put down the sides of a Land Rover and removed it about 18 months later.
If you are going to off-road and think the stuff will protect your paint from pinstrips, you'd be right. BUT - the pin stripping the clear sheeting gets looks even worse than it does on the paint and eventually you'll want to rip it off. And when you go to remove the stuff (ideally to leave a clean paint job to sell or trade it in) it comes off 1/8" at a time like the stickiest bubblegum you've ever seen. 4 hour job to install, 12 hour job to remove.
Would I do it again, no way.
If you are going to off-road and think the stuff will protect your paint from pinstrips, you'd be right. BUT - the pin stripping the clear sheeting gets looks even worse than it does on the paint and eventually you'll want to rip it off. And when you go to remove the stuff (ideally to leave a clean paint job to sell or trade it in) it comes off 1/8" at a time like the stickiest bubblegum you've ever seen. 4 hour job to install, 12 hour job to remove.
Would I do it again, no way.
I've had the hood fronts and headlights done with the 3M Scotchguard film from new on a couple of vehicles and replaced on one, the product looks great for a couple of years for my driving area and really protects from rock chips. Replacement is easy, take it to a 3M dealer, they use a heat gun to pull the film and then a glue specific solvent to remove the remaining glue and clean/prep the paint for the new film to be applied.
Last time the dealer didn't charge for removing the old film as it only took about half an hour and and I had bought the previous film from them. The thicker 14 mil headlight film product works great for protecting those from rock damage, haven't had a broken or cracked headlight for years, same sequence to replace it.
.
Last time the dealer didn't charge for removing the old film as it only took about half an hour and and I had bought the previous film from them. The thicker 14 mil headlight film product works great for protecting those from rock damage, haven't had a broken or cracked headlight for years, same sequence to replace it.
.