Hi guys, I have been putting off getting a clear bra for too long. 1 is the price(it is very expensive) and 2 I am worried at how it will look on my black mustang. I have been talking with the owner of a clear bra shop a few miles from where I live. He installs the expel brand. He and his partner are certified and from glancing at their website appear to do very good work. The problem is price, he is wanting $795.00 to install a kit for the front end. I have also have been talking to a guy for a while now in Charlotte who also does great work. He installs the 3m brand. My question is to you members with this installed and those who do not have would you pay this much for this protection? Also i have heard good things about 3m film but can't find too much current info on expel film as far as durability and the overall look of it. I still have not seen one in person.

Thx guys for your help with this

 

I'm planning this too. For the front of the hood, fenders, and the mirrors I've been quoted $200 +/- from a few places in Atlanta. Of course, that doesn't include the bumper. Seems very reasonable to me, and that was the XPEL brand which they make on site. I should have it done within a month.

 

After researching a clear bra on several forums, it seemed like 50% of the owners liked it and 50% said they wouldn't do it again due to peeling, yellowing, etc. Even the 3M material can yellow after a while. I decided against it. If I get too many rock chips on my front clip I'll just have it replaced. A reputable installer in my area wanted $400. If it gives you peace of mind, go for it.

 

I have it on my GTCS (and my last 4-vehicles). It does give you piece of mind so you aren't worried about stone chips.

 

I've considered clear bras for my Mustang and another new car I bought a few years ago, but decided the hassle and cost probably wouldn't be worth it, even with the cone marks my cars get from autocrossing, and all the bug splatter and damage we get from the hordes of insects we have out here in the country.

If I keep my Mustang, I'll probably get a "new" front bumper from Newtakeoff in my color, they're only $200, and store it away and replace my stock beat-up bumper in a few years.

That being said, I do have a friend who had his Mustang repainted a couple of years ago (black-factory color) and the body shop put a clear-bra on his car and it looks great. You can see the lines of the bra up close, but get a little further away and they disappear.

 

same here adam

 

While flying rocks are a concern, my biggest issue was massive midgie bugs along a lake I have to drive by. They have eaten the paint right off my old F150 hood.
Regular bra's suck because the cotton liner picks up moisture and clouds the paint.
I wash my car as soon as possible after a trip to town, but sometimes I can't wash it every other day. So the mask protects and looks great.
Had mine put on immediately at the dealer when my B was delivered so it would be protected day 1 and I could wrap it in the financing. I paid a little more than $750 but I had front section of hood and fenders, bumper cover, splitter, mirrors, door edges, rocker panels (you should feel how rough they are from rock spray - that would have been damaging my paint w/o the mask), fender wells, lower qtr panels, and top of rear bumper cover where the trunk opens. I wish I would have put a 3-4" strip on the roof right behind the windshield because bugs deflect up there.
Personally I would only go with 3M. 5 yr guarantee.
Love it and no regrets!!

I've ordered a 3M kit off ebay for my winter car and I'm going to apply it myself.

 

Thx for the replies guys, I am going to try and get the local installer down on his price a little bit and go ahead and have it installed. I really want to keep the front end looking good.

 

I've been thinking about it too but still on the fence for all the reasons mentioned above.

For another point of reference, my local installers quoted $550-650 for the "standard" install using the 3M material, and they say it is guaranteed for "life" against yellowing, peeling, etc.

One of the guys I talked to said it is more critical on some colors, such as white, and also on fresh paint, because some of the volatiles that are still coming out of the paint can yellow the film; this may explain some of the stories about yellowing.

"Newtakeoff" sounds very interesting . . . I guess that is a place that sells stuff that has been taken off new cars . . . on a quick look, I see they have bumper covers for $200, bumper cover / grille / fogs for $380 . . . . less than the price of the clear bra, but doesn't cover the hood leading edge, fenders, mirrors, etc. . . . . . hmmmmm . . . .

 

3M states new paint must cure a min of 30 days before applying. Just had some paint work to fix a key job and they pulled the old mask off the front of the fender and a different 3M installer applied the new piece after the 30 days. Price is coming down and more 3M installers are available than just a few years back.

As for take off bumpers, not an option for me.

 

We have a shop 8 miles away that installs 3M film. I have it on my 05 stang, and a 3/4 ton GMC truck - leading edges of hood and front fenders. Rock chip preventer - will be first mod I make to my 2011 GT. $300 to $400 cost.

I've had one on my torch Red GT for 5.5 years - no fading and hard to see it. Slight wrinkling around the sharp edges of the fender where it meets the headlight though.

 

So, did anyone have success in applying it yourself? I have done clear film on home windows, but not on curved surfaces. It was easy enough on the windows though, and I had to cut to fit. Anyone tried installing it yourself??

 

I paid for a professional to apply 3M on my Bullitt.
But I tried it myself on my winter car with Invisible Mask's 3M. I got pretty good on straight and slightly curved areas, but the hood and bumper turned out with numerous wrinkles and bubbles. I should have had 2 other people to help because the front has curves in 3 directions. The pattern was great but trying to stretch horizontal, vertical, and diagonal with only two hands didn't work well. With all my effort it was impossible to stretch it enough by myself to avoid some wrinkles. I even pulled it back off and started over and just too many curves for two hands.
However, even my Bullitt they did not do compound curves but sliced the top from the front of the bumper cover. You barely see a seam up close but there are definitely NO wrinkles or bubbles.

 

I am going to apply 3m film on my Sienna, with some extra hands. If that works well, I will consider applying it to my Mustang. I do not want it to look bad, but I like doing as much as I can myself.

 

The new Mustangs are EXTREMELY hard to install a full hood bra on because of the contours involved... However, certified places have a bumper templates...

Don't skimp on the spray bottles w/ water + dish soap when installing.

 

Yup. I found a 3M pattern on ebay that was cheaper, so I took a chance and emailed these guys and they matched the price. They incl their installation kit free which had two bottles - one for the soap solution one for the alcohol solution - and an install dvd that was a lot of help. In addition to the pattern I bought some bulk rolls and cut for the rocker panels and other areas that I had put on my Bullitt.


http://www.invisiblemask.com/site.ht...D=151508347511

 

I had it done on my last two vehicles. I had the 3M done by an installer (I suck at stuff like that). I only had the metal portions done in both cases. My current car (Chrysler 300) had about 100K on it and I can barely notice it's there. No yellowing, peeling, etc. The front bumper cover and other plastic pieces have some stone chips but they are hardly noticeable. I worry more about the hood and other metal parts as they will rust once the paint chips, where the plastic won't.

I'm planning on having the leading edge of the hood done on the 2012 when it gets here.

 

I've got one on my Kona Blue (and on my GM 3/4 ton truck as well.. Cost $400 to install. Have to really look hard to tell it's there, and these things do wonders in preventing paint chips.

A great investment IMO. You should be able to have it done for $500. $795 is too much.

 

For anyone in the Charleston SC area who is interested in a clear bra I highly recomend these guys at pleasant details. They wound up giving me a great price and the work they do is amazing. check out the pics on their site http://www.pleasantdetails.com/.

 

I got 3M done 3 years ago on the Saleen: entire front end, 18" up the hood and the windshield pillars. You aren't going to find to much with more contours than the front end of this car. No yellowing and a couple of small 'peels' around some of the lower openings, but I wouldn't be without it in Colorado. The rock chips are brutal here because there is very little dirt - it's all decomposed granite! If you get 12 months out of a windshield, you don't drive much.