Not sure what to do - Help

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nismo1982

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Hi everyone, I am having problem deciding what to do with the paint situation on my car. I installed cheap ebay clear bra when i bought the car back in 2008. after a year and half, the clear bra crack and was baked into the hood. My hood is ruined, it feel like sand paper in the middle. When you pass a rag or give it a car wash, cloth will get caught by the rough surfaces. On the fender, the surface is smooth, but it the cracked line from the clear bar are baked into the paint. Can you guys recommended a good system for me to restore the paint so I can have a nice looking car again. Thanks.
 
Is that with the clear bra still on? Either way, yikes! Hopefully member Kristoper1129 can chime in here. He has some experience in the clear bra world.
 
I can only think of using either a good apc, a paint decontamination system, clay or a paint cleaner. Maybe a combination of all the products mentioned above. I would start with a wash, spray the apc while the hood is still wet, wash off the apc, use the paint decon system, then try clay with clay lube and the paint cleaner or polish last. You could probably start with the more cost effective steps first.

Oh and if it's adhesive, try 3m adhesive cleaner. That may also do the trick.
 
I removed the clear bar with heat gun, the bumper come out good as it was directly baked by the sun. My last resort was to repaint, but from the look of it, it can be saved and at the same time I can learn and maybe start a small detailing business.
 
from the look of it, the paint itself have the rough surfaces, probably need some kind of wet sanding and probably intensive buffing.
 
I am guessing from the photos that you have removed the clear bra and what remains on the hood now is the adhesive. You will need lots of time, a can of 3M Adhesive and a lot of paper towels to slowly soften and disolve that glue residue. I hope this works and good luck to you.

A few weeks ago another member of this forum was talking of ordering a clear bra kit for his car through E-Bay. Since one gets what one pays for, there are obviously no free rides. Quality products cost but are more than worth in in the long run. I have X-Pel clear on my 2005 Accord, applied in 2005, and it is still looking good and doing it's job protecting the front of the car from rock chips.
 
nismo1982 said:
Hi everyone, I am having problem deciding what to do with the paint situation on my car. I installed cheap ebay clear bra when i bought the car back in 2008. after a year and half, the clear bra crack and was baked into the hood. My hood is ruined, it feel like sand paper in the middle. When you pass a rag or give it a car wash, cloth will get caught by the rough surfaces. On the fender, the surface is smooth, but it the cracked line from the clear bar are baked into the paint. Can you guys recommended a good system for me to restore the paint so I can have a nice looking car again. Thanks.
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Sorry to hear about this problem. (I have the Xpel brand of clear film on various panels of my vehicles--so far so good.)

It looks like the clear bra is still on the vehicle? If so:What you need to do is remove the entire clear bra--you can't repair it. You'll first need a heat gun (hair dryer in a pinch). Heat up, very carefully, one corner of the film and slooowly pull up and away, perpendicular from the panel(hood). Take your time--it is time consuming--and you want to leave the least amount of glue behind. Once the film is removed, and if there is glue left behind, use a glue/adhesive remover--NO GOO-GONE IT MAKES A MESS--like a 3M brand adhesive remover ( it'sold here on AGO). After all glue is removed, polish back to desired finish and seal with your choice of LSP.

Posted too late to see that you already removed the bra. Still I would try the 3M.
 
jsgntulok said:
I am guessing from the photos that you have removed the clear bra and what remains on the hood now is the adhesive. You will need lots of time, a can of 3M Adhesive and a lot of paper towels to slowly soften and disolve that glue residue. I hope this works and good luck to you.

A few weeks ago another member of this forum was talking of ordering a clear bra kit for his car through E-Bay. Since one gets what one pays for, there are obviously no free rides. Quality products cost but are more than worth in in the long run. I have X-Pel clear on my 2005 Accord, applied in 2005, and it is still looking good and doing it's job protecting the front of the car from rock chips.
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:iagree: Xpel's system has proven its weight in gold to me, saving my vehicles from many a chip! Other brands seem to have too many issues.
 
Sorry to here this happened to you. Would have a better brand clear coat do the same damage?
 
Ebay also sells 3M clear bra for good prices why didnt you get that? Looks like the adhesive is still there you can use paint lacquer thiner to remove it then have it polish and wax
 
ExoticAutoDetai said:
Ebay also sells 3M clear bra for good prices why didnt you get that? Looks like the adhesive is still there you can use paint lacquer thiner to remove it then have it polish and wax
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:iagree: One needs to find out the thickness (in mils) and the type of adhesive the manufacturer uses on backside of their film. 3M clear protection film has to be better than what OP originally purchased, but, it too, is a bear to remove. I will always go with X-Pel.
 
Oh man. You got yourself a little situation here. It looks like a LOT of adhesive was left behind here. I'm guessing you may have heated it up too much when removing it.

If that is in fact adhesive. You are going to have a battle on your hands. No matter what you use, it's gonna wanna gum up and fight you every step of the way. If you use compound it will just flash in a matter of seconds. Plus your pad will just get sticky.

What I would do...is get as much of that stuff off as you can by hand using acetone, or alcohol. It's gonna seem like it's just spreading it around...but that's because it will be. But when you're spreading it around, you're at least detaching it from the paint. It will stick again...but it won't be as hard to move. You're probably gonna go through a lot of towels, or application pads, or whatever you're using.

Once you get the bulk of it off...you should then be able to compound the remainder. Don't use a heavy compound. Use something light, something that will spready easily. You don't want something like MG105 that only gives you a couple passes. Use water, and keep the area wet and just let a wool pad, or foam cutting pad scoop it up. Won't be easy. Set aside a couple hours, ha. If you have a pad cleaner...that would be handy. Good luck!:dblthumb2:
 
Something else you might wanna consider. This MAY work. Sometimes it's a bad idea. Sometimes it's not.

Once you loosen that adhesive up with the alcohol, or acetone. Try warming up an area with the heat gun, and then spray the area with some ONR. Then you could try a plastic blade. You may be able to slide a lot of it off. Whatever scratches the plastic blade leaves (if any) should be easily polished out. Just figured I'd throw that in there.
 
After carefully examining the surface again this morning, there is a good chance that the adhesive is baked to the paint. I tried to clean it with acetone, rubber, and WD40 without any luck as my microfiber towel would stick to the surface. Maybe I'll soak goo gone on it today and see if I can soften it up and clean it from there with some wool pads. If there anything a little stronger than goo gone you guys can recommend?

What types of steps would y'all recommend in removing the marks let behind by the cracks of the clear bra on my fender pieces (they are free of any adhesive)? I was thinking about cleaner wax by hand to clean the surface, probably compound the surface with rotary equipment (not sure what compound to use; can a buff do the job?, if so what type of pads on the buffer?)
 
nismo1982 said:
After carefully examining the surface again this morning, there is a good chance that the adhesive is baked to the paint. I tried to clean it with acetone, rubber, and WD40 without any luck as my microfiber towel would stick to the surface. Maybe I'll soak goo gone on it today and see if I can soften it up and clean it from there with some wool pads. If there anything a little stronger than goo gone you guys can recommend?

What types of steps would y'all recommend in removing the marks let behind by the cracks of the clear bra on my fender pieces (they are free of any adhesive)? I was thinking about cleaner wax by hand to clean the surface, probably compound the surface with rotary equipment (not sure what compound to use; can a buff do the job?, if so what type of pads on the buffer?)
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You should set yourself up a test spot, and try some compound. I got a feeling the adhesive may be so dried up, that it's no longer sticky. If that's the case...you may be able to clean it up fairly easy.
 
Sorry you can reeled in on a cheap Clear bra. This looks like clear vinyl cast material NOT a paint protection film. These products and companies that sell this stuff really ruin the paint protection industry.

SOme other cheap products on the market are uncoated paint protection products- raw urethanes. These do not last and many have poor adhesives not really recommended for auto paints. All these products carry a min. warranty to suck you in.

As for the recommended reconditioning. First the adhesive needs to be removed. We use 3M and Rapid Remover and wax and grease remover. Use a spray bottle to keep the surface lubed and use a real plastic razor blade. Take you time, wet soak and scrap. It's easy work just labor...

Polish the paint as recommended by autogeek team. Nothing exotic here.

Now if the adhesive is impregnated into the clear - repaint.

All the latest PPF's manufacturers should not have this issue - 2nd generation 3M films had this issue and 3M addressed this with the 3rd gen films. We have removed many of 2nd films under warranty - most the warranty issues will be up since the film will been past its 5 year warranty. Hope this helps

Hope this helps.
 
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Thanks for the great advise you guys given me. Most likely I'll have to repaint for sure. i can feel a dip going from good surface into the affective sure, feel like a coat of paint is missing. The only problem with that is dealership wanted $1,500 to repaint the hood, touch up the fenders, and touch up the front bumper. i think this is outrages for the amount of work here. I'll shop around for better prices.
 
nismo1982 said:
Thanks for the great advise you guys given me. Most likely I'll have to repaint for sure. i can feel a dip going from good surface into the affective sure, feel like a coat of paint is missing. The only problem with that is dealership wanted $1,500 to repaint the hood, touch up the fenders, and touch up the front bumper. i think this is outrages for the amount of work here. I'll shop around for better prices.
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Very sorry to hear this. All you were trying to do was protect your vehicle from chips and such in order to avoid the situation you're in now. Hope the best for you as you seek out a proper and affordable paint job.
 
nismo1982 said:
Thanks for the great advise you guys given me. Most likely I'll have to repaint for sure. i can feel a dip going from good surface into the affective sure, feel like a coat of paint is missing. The only problem with that is dealership wanted $1,500 to repaint the hood, touch up the fenders, and touch up the front bumper. i think this is outrages for the amount of work here. I'll shop around for better prices.
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Definitely shop around. You can probably find a local body shop that may be able to do it for cheaper than a dealer. But make sure you research the shop as much as you can. Find one that is reputable.
 
Bummer! I'm sure you can find a cheaper price somewhere. You should be able to find someone to do it for half that price at least. Dealerships are a rip off! Good luck man.:dblthumb2:
 
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