Crap-n-crackers - Spilled ISP!!!

[cardaddy]

While we are on the subject of 3m clear bras, ........
Does anyone have any last ditch effort suggestions or products that may help?

I agree; perhaps some Meg's Ultimate Polish. That and even the polymer sealant (I have #20 but #21 will likely work too). Then of course Megs Ultimate liquid and even carnuba paste will all help it.

Mine has been a lifesaver on the G with it's fragile paint. It doesn't get driven that much, (sunny day car) but all the miles are either on the expressway or cruising 2-lane country roads FAST. My bra is (was) in decent shape but not near as nice as the new xPel film is.

My installer does xPel, 3M, Avery etc. now but back in 06 I know he didn't have xPel and think he might have put Avery on it. He was talking about how he liked how it lays down better than 3M at the time, and had it on his WRX and Tacoma. (The Tacoma looked very nice BTW.)

Afraid mine is in for replacement now however, at least the hood.

Anyhow, a little light machine buffing won't hurt it, especially when followed with a deent wax.

 

[cardaddy]

Something else is going on here..... :dunno:

Clear bras are designed protect the finish and to hold up under a wide variety of hostile conditions it will encounter as we drive. To think that this same material will simply melt when it comes in contact seems somewhat confusing...

I only wish it were something else Bobby.

I've still got some scraps of it somewere around here. If I can find it I'm going to take my different dilutions and try on it to see where it starts to breakdown. I know if you happen to have a brainfart (like I did) and spill undiluted on it it's a WORLD OF HURT!:bash:!!

 

[OMRebel]

I only wish it were something else Bobby.

I've still got some scraps of it somewere around here. If I can find it I'm going to take my different dilutions and try on it to see where it starts to breakdown. I know if you happen to have a brainfart (like I did) and spill undiluted on it it's a WORLD OF HURT!:bash:!!

This may help in the future: IPA Article

 

[cardaddy]

I'd like to float the theory that the IPA didn't damage your clear bra, but partially dissolved the "sealer and wax" that you had just put on. I really don't see how IPA melts your clear bra.

Perhaps.... but if that were true the rest of it would be damaged. In fact, after the 'spill' settled down (and I took a Xanax!!!) I went back over it to try and mitigate the damage. Figured at that time it really didn't matter what I did to it. Light polish doesn't change it, neither does polymer sealant, and of course liquid, spray, or paste wax. It actually helped it 'glaze' over and despite the photos it actually has a bit of shine to it now. Whereas then it was seriously matted and outright gooey and gummy on top, but ONLY where the spill was.

I'll find the scraps in the morning and mix a few different dilutions and see what happens. In the meantime I've popped an e-mail to my 'bra' guy for a touch-up.

 

[DaveT435]

PHOTOS




Better shot of the hand print and rag damage.



Across the hood, notice at the bottom in the body line there are smears and smudges. What you can't see is all the imprints from the rag. Then of course the 'famed' hand print!

Across the car, other side is OK.

Sorry no words of wisdom or ideas...wanted to subscribe to this...and couldn't help but notice the Discount Tire bags. lol

 

[jpegs13]

Wow, that's odd. I've actually cleaned the edges of clear bras I've had on cars to remove wax residue and NEVER had a melting issue.
I installed chip guards (3M film) on a GT3 and used IPA to prep the paint prior to the install and also as the wetting agent on the install.
Truly strange....

 

[cardaddy]

Sorry no words of wisdom or ideas...wanted to subscribe to this...and couldn't help but notice the Discount Tire bags. lol

Yup that's a complete set of Bridgestones, (front ones have about 500 miles on them).

 

[amnbcn]

Sounds like the proper-care of the BMW's clear-bra/PPF was, indeed, sorely neglected...

Sure can't promise any miracles...But:
Please see the following:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...65-clear-bra-installed-how-remove-swirls.html

NOTE:
-If no success is achieved by the below 'processes'...
-And you would decide to rip, or otherwise remove, the existing PPF...
-Don't give up on replacing the PPF, IMHO!
-Once you see how the underlying paint has been protected...You'll be totally sold on PPF

Friendly reminder...
Typing "Clear Bras" into this Forum's Search Function yields many, many more threads regarding this subject matter.



Bob

Thanks for the suggestions! I had always assumed that polishing to any degree would just make it worse, but the thread you linked to has given me some good ideas. Fingers crossed...

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[BobbyG]

I just shot a message over the folks at 3M enlisting their expert opinion. I'll post their response when I receive it..

My post to them...

Hello 3M!

I read an article where regular over the counter 91% Isopropyl Alcohol came in contact with the Clear Bra.

The photo posted clearly shows the gentleman's hand print and appears to have actually melted the film product.

My question is simply this; Will regular over the counter 91% Isopropyl Alcohol melt the Clear Bra material in less than 30 seconds or at all?

Thank you!

Bob

 

[Twister]

Have you tried polishing that area? I've had decent success removing some staining and etchings by machine polishing.


To me it looks more like etching than melting.

 

[cardaddy]

Well I've found some disturbing info as of late. The bottle I used, (which I thought originally was 45.5%) was full 91%. A family member needed IPA for earrings and took mine, then replaced it with a full strength one. They didn't know the difference, (that mine was diluted) and neither did I (that the partial bottle they left was full strength) at the time.

OTOH I found my scraps of PPF and have tried every strength I have on it and it doesn't react like the other night. It *does* feel a little softer and drags your finger across it with full strength, but nowhere NEAR what I experienced.

So, yes, something else *IS* going on here. (Aka: Bobby, Setec et al). Perhaps 6½ years of products rubbed, buffed, sprayed and wiped on it *ALONG* with the IPA brought it to it's critical mass, and like the surface of the sun it went bonkers.
:wow:

I have confirmed also that the product on the G is indeed Avery film. The marketplace and technology with PPF's has advanced signifigantly since 2006 and I suspect even the same manufacturers produce a better product these days. I remember one of the early complaints was the "orange peel" look. Back then 3m and Avery were making films that looked like that albeit my experience (and my installer's) was the Avery was a bit smoother and more 'self healing' plus it was more compliant when installing. Fast forward and Xpel is a huge name these days and might be worth a look.

The downside is that any of it needs to be replaced. The upside is it's only the hood, and I'd do the little areas beside the headlights on the front fenders (just small triangles actually).

Plus if I want I could get Infiniti to pay for recoating the headlights. Why? Because there is an outstanding recall on them that I never went in for. Just don't drive at night with it hardly ever, and the recall adresses the 'cut-off line' saying that in some instances it's a bit too high and can blind other drivers. Uhhhhh.... thank you very much but I'll take HID projector lights that are shining farther out than they should be with my old tired eyes anytime.