Clear Bra ?
- Thread starter luckydawg
- Start date
LSNAutoDetailing
Active member
- Jun 21, 2014
- 3,373
- 21
Clear bra these days is much different than many years ago. It adds a huge amount of protection, and there are loads of videos on You Tube of folks showing the strength of clear bra by trying to puncture a sheet (not on the vehicle) with a key... It takes a lot of pressure just to even stretch the sheet, yet it never punctures through.
Back in the day (15+ years ago), clear bra used to turn yellow, not the PPF itself, but it was the glues used that would turn color. The technology and advancements in glue have come a long way and the yellowing no longer exists.
If you go with Expel or SunTek Ultra, most clear-bra's such as these have a proprietary coating (similar to a hydrophobic nano-ceramic coating) on the clear bra. These two in particular have what is known as 'self-healing' qualities. Light scratches will disappear when heat is applied or just pulling it into sunlight.
You can lightly polish clear-bra, but don't expect to do full paint correction and care must be taken not to generate heat on the clear-bra. One has diminished results trying to correct clear bra. You can add whatever LSP you'd like to, wax, sealant, SiO2/TiO2 etc..
If installed by a highly skilled installer, it should be done in such a way that you will NEVER see seams or lines, and no one should ever cut clear-bra while on the vehicle. A good installer will have all cuts required and tuck seams under body panels.
The idea of the clear bra is that it's the sacrificial barrier between the elements and your paint. When it becomes degraded, simply remove and reinstall. Much easier than repainting.
You can do a partial, or full frontal or wrap the entire vehicle. I have a full frontal on my 2016 Mustang Ecoboost. That includes; bumpers, full front fenders, full hood, lights and side mirrors. If you saw my vehicle you'd never know it had clear-bra.
Now onto the cons: Most complaints are going to be folks that suffered a bad installation due to the installer either not experienced or one who cuts corners (literally and figuratively) or both. A bad install will tun a customer off PPF and not want to ever do it again. My suggestion is to first research the clear you want, 3M, Expel, Suntek Ultra, and then go to their websites and see who are qualified installers. Research their reviews and ask the right questions...
I am redoing another Mustang because the original PPF job was terrible. The installer was inexperienced, left visible seams, stretch marks in the clear, and even cut the PPF while on the vehicle. We hope when we remove it, there will not be a line in the paint.
Again, do your homework... Having the PPF will give you the confidence to drive the vehicle more and enjoy it.
Hope this helps!
Back in the day (15+ years ago), clear bra used to turn yellow, not the PPF itself, but it was the glues used that would turn color. The technology and advancements in glue have come a long way and the yellowing no longer exists.
If you go with Expel or SunTek Ultra, most clear-bra's such as these have a proprietary coating (similar to a hydrophobic nano-ceramic coating) on the clear bra. These two in particular have what is known as 'self-healing' qualities. Light scratches will disappear when heat is applied or just pulling it into sunlight.
You can lightly polish clear-bra, but don't expect to do full paint correction and care must be taken not to generate heat on the clear-bra. One has diminished results trying to correct clear bra. You can add whatever LSP you'd like to, wax, sealant, SiO2/TiO2 etc..
If installed by a highly skilled installer, it should be done in such a way that you will NEVER see seams or lines, and no one should ever cut clear-bra while on the vehicle. A good installer will have all cuts required and tuck seams under body panels.
The idea of the clear bra is that it's the sacrificial barrier between the elements and your paint. When it becomes degraded, simply remove and reinstall. Much easier than repainting.
You can do a partial, or full frontal or wrap the entire vehicle. I have a full frontal on my 2016 Mustang Ecoboost. That includes; bumpers, full front fenders, full hood, lights and side mirrors. If you saw my vehicle you'd never know it had clear-bra.
Now onto the cons: Most complaints are going to be folks that suffered a bad installation due to the installer either not experienced or one who cuts corners (literally and figuratively) or both. A bad install will tun a customer off PPF and not want to ever do it again. My suggestion is to first research the clear you want, 3M, Expel, Suntek Ultra, and then go to their websites and see who are qualified installers. Research their reviews and ask the right questions...
I am redoing another Mustang because the original PPF job was terrible. The installer was inexperienced, left visible seams, stretch marks in the clear, and even cut the PPF while on the vehicle. We hope when we remove it, there will not be a line in the paint.
Again, do your homework... Having the PPF will give you the confidence to drive the vehicle more and enjoy it.
Hope this helps!
FUNX650
New member
- Dec 1, 2010
- 21,057
- 1
Gunslinger
Member
- Oct 13, 2008
- 291
- 0
I have the 3M clear bra on one of my Avantis and had it done about 2005 or so. It's never given a problem but admittedly the car stays garaged.
The only negative I've experienced is sometimes someone will ask about the "scratch" across the hood when all it is the the edge of the clear bra. In some lighting it's more noticeable than other times. When the car is waxed I use a soft brush to get any wax buildup from the edge or it shows.
The only negative I've experienced is sometimes someone will ask about the "scratch" across the hood when all it is the the edge of the clear bra. In some lighting it's more noticeable than other times. When the car is waxed I use a soft brush to get any wax buildup from the edge or it shows.
LSNAutoDetailing
Active member
- Jun 21, 2014
- 3,373
- 21
I have a full frontal of Suntek Ultra:
I want caveat my info above with one thing. Ensure that you do NOT have the PPF done at the dealership. It's preferred that you go to an actual detailer that specializes in PPF, etc..
The problem with the dealership is, according to MY experience, is they had the vendor show up on-site at the dealer and used one of the bays in the auto body shop. While one guy was grinding rust off a 1997 Dodge Mini-van, the other guy was trying to install PPF right next to him.
I forced the stoppage of the install, made them remove everything they did, then took the time to set up my detail business as an authorized installation center and had the technician return to my place. Goes back to Mike Phillips saying "work clean!"
This may not be the case for all dealerships... But it was my experience. Just worth noting. Again, this was on the red Mustang that needs to be redone.
As for the Silver Ecoboost above, I had that done by my good friends and fellow detailers and forum members, Wills & Dani at Windows & Wheels Detailing in Gilbert AZ. As you can see, the work is impeccable, they are experts and their shop is immaculate.
