I am a new Mini owner. I have a 04 BRG MCS with 9k miles. I live in the Nashville, TN area and I am looking to get a clear bra. Does anyone know a good place in Nashville to have one installed?

 

Go to xpel.com and put your zip code in. I believe this is the distributor for the 3M product and it will list most kits and tell you who installs in your area and also what certification they have. Hope that helps Steve

 

Once you follow Steve's advice and find an installer in your area, check out their credentials. Ask the installer how long he (or she) has been doing this, how many cars he's done, and ask him how many MINIs he's done.

Don't try to get a "deal" when finding an installer. Search some threads on this board and you'll find out why that's not the place you want to save big bucks. Count on an installed clearbra running you between $500 - $800 if you get the compete coverage.

 

My Xpel install was only $380 for a complete kit. I found the guy via the web as described here. Cogar Custom's in Vermillion Ohio. It was an hour and half drive for me to get there but they did an incredible job. They made the kit onsite and can fabricate any piece as needed using their CAD system.

Great product you'll like it!

 

Hey djm... i live in Memphis and am having a hard time finding an installer here, so was thinking of trying to find someone in Nashville or St. Louis (only about an hour more drive or so). I do know the Nashville dealer puts a clear bra on their cars BEFORE they sell them, so check with them.

Also, check out this guy in St. Louis. I know it is a far drive, but he's gotten really good reviews on here. I can't vouch for him as I'm still trying to figure out where to go myself (oh, and I haven't gotten my Mini yet!):

www.ultrashieldofstl.com

The guy there, Mark, emailed me this morning with this link discussing his work:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=69142

You might consider the drive... hmmmm... he's apparently done a lot of Minis and besides... you'd get to drive for 5 hours.

I will let you know more if I talk to him on the phone.

 

Thanks for the help. Do any of you know if the dealerships use the 3M product?

 

update... i drove by the nashville dealer today because i was there for something else. i wanted to see the clear bras on their cars. last time i was there they all had it... he said they did it automatically. this time it didn't look like any of them had it.

i don't know if they use the 3m material. my dealer here in memphis says the use "invisishield". don't know what that is.

i talked with mark in st. louis yesterday. he sounds very capable. said he would be willing to come to memphis to do my install if I could find 5-6 others to make it worth his while. not sure that's going to happen. i'm feeling like I might not get the clear bra, but also wondering if i will regret that.

 

You will regret not getting the clear bra. I would rate the brands of clear bra as, Ventureshield (lifetime guarantee), 3M and last Invisishield. They are all very good products. If you do no other mod, do the clear bra. If you have not gotten the black padding on the rear shelf under the boot door then have them clear bra that area as well. I even had my headlights, parking lights, fog lights and driving lights clear bra'd. It's a mean world out there and there are lots of bad guys wanting to get your MINI stoned.
If you have to go to a third party for the clear bra, it probably will be more economical. I would go 18" up the bonnet.

 

Thanks JJ!!!

BTW, Merlin looks incredible!!!! I have almost the same build, except black roof, but i'm glad I got the chrome line ext.... looks sharp. and I love the lights... may have to go that way. I've never been much for tints but Merlin looks incredible with the tints!

Do you mind a few followup questions:
1) since you have the Hyper Blue, how does the seam look on the bonnet? I have seen it briefly and don't love it, but as many others have said, it's either the seam or the rock chips. whenever I see a Mini in a parking lot around town, though, I look for the chips... so far I haven't seen that many... maybe these drivers are just lucky.

2) Two MA's at my dealer say NOT to get the clear bra (although what they offer is their own Invisishield and since they haven't done many, i'm not going to let them do it). Anyway, they say it will affect the paint underneath... i guess meaning discolor it unevenly with the paint not covered. What have you heard about this? The installer I've talked to in St. Louis said that the film is designed so that the paint covered is affected in the same way as paint not covered (he has 3M film... and of course, he's selling his service).

3) He quoted me: bonnet including scoop, headlights and bumper for $450... is that pretty good? (I think I'll buy the rubber protector for the rear bumper.) Apparently the guy in St. Louis has done over 100 Minis and many for the St. Louis dealer and club... so I feel pretty confident he can do a good job. Only drawback is getting up there to see him and not getting any chips on the way.

ughhh... this is a hard decision... this and the iPod adapater.

 

You really can't see the seam at all from more than 6' away.

I've had a clear bra on my Imola Red Roadster for over 5 years and cannot see any difference in the paint color. Nor could I on my 4 year old Indi Blue MC.

I do have a picture that my clearbra installer sent me of a blue MINI he did:



I can't see any lines can you?

I just bought the rubber bumper protector today My labrador already put one mild scratch ( it will rub out ) on the bumper.

 

does a clear bra (or invisishield..) affect detailing, or washing procedures? do you wash the "covered" area, just as you would the finish itself? what about waxing?

 

Understand that what I am about to state is only my opinion. You may not get a rock chip today or even this month but it will happen. The longer you own your car the more you will get. The seam on the Hyper Blue is visible from about 2 or three feet if you are looking for it but the clear bra is a far better solution than a black vinyl bra. I believe aiie was absolutly correct in his last post as to paint color, he has the experience.
I personaly do not agree with your MA but different strokes for different folks.
The $450 sounds like a fair price too. Lastly you stated that you were afraid of getting a paint chip driving to the installer..............I make my case.

Comport
You treat your clear bra the same as you would your painted surface. You may clay bar it, wax it, detail it and wash it right along with the rest of your MINI.

 

I agree with J Blue with one caveat: stay away from the edge of the clear bra, especially with the clay, or you'll spend a bit of time digging out the goop from the edge with a toothbrush and speedshine. And that one I know from experience

 

I'm really not much of a fan of the use of clear bras. The exception being Pamela Anderson's. She's my favorite cartoon character, and her clear bra is a welcomed feature.

 

I was under the belief that you could clear bra the edge. I will take your voice of experience to heart and keep the clay bar away from the edges. What about emry paper?
Thanks

 

nope, but I usually see it standing over it. thanks for your opinion, though. i think the clear bra makes sense.

okay, so now I have more questions!!!

when you wax... if you can't get too close to the clear bra with wax, how do you protect the paint that's right up against the edge of the clearbra? I've heard some use a Q-tip to go along the edge and remove any wax that's on the edge?

Do the edges peel up?

and JJBlue... thanks for your answers, too, especially:

good point!!

 

I've waxed my clear bra and I just use a Q-tip to go along the edges, because otherwise it builds up and you end up with white crap all around the bra. The edges don't peel up (I've had the bra on for about two months now and have waxed twice.), but you shouldn't have to rub too hard on the edges to get the wax off anyways.

 

mini_dreams: you'll see the line up to about 6' away from the car, but that's the choice you have to make, chips or line.

Oh, and get the ipod adapter I don't have an ipod but I got the aux cable for my mp3 player and it's pretty nice. I installed it myself and saved a bunch of money, perhaps you could too. Plus I hear the ipod adapter shows the song / track info on the head unit plus you can use the mfsw to control the ipod, both things you can't do with the aux adapter.

 

The iPod adapter does let you control the iPod from either the head unit or the MFSW, and it also charges the iPod and lets you select from up to five playlists, but it does *not* show the song/title information on the head unit. Maybe the integration will be better with the new MINI.

Scott

 

do clear bra's really work that great?

 

We have one on my wife's car, and our only regret was not getting it the same day we picked up the car. Even though the car was only five months old, there were already about a half-dozen rock chips that I had to fix before having the bra put on. When my MINI finally shows up next week, we're having the clear bra done the same day.

There are drawbacks, though. As others have mentioned, the line at the edge of the clear bra isn't quite invisible, although it's hard to see from more than a few feet away.

The film is more porous than clearcoat, so it stains mor easily. I've had bugs and pecan juice stain the film, and I couldn't remove the stains with claybar or polish. Strangely enough, the stains fade on their own after a few days in the sun.

Last weekend in my wife's car, I hit a cone at an autocross and got some dirt transferred from the cone onto the car. Part of the transferred streak was on the film, and part of it was on the uncovered paint. Claybar took the streak off of the bare paint easily, but nothing could take the dirt off of the film - it had become embedded into the film, and even polishing compound and a buffer wouldn't budge it. I ended up carefully removing the damaged portion of the film, and the "repair" is just about invisible. I figure when I take the new car in to have the bra applied, I'll have the installer use a scrap piece of film to replace the missing piece on my wife's car.

In short, I don't think the clear bras are perfect, but they're miles ahead of any of the alternatives, and I don't think I'll ever have a car without one in the future.

Scott

 

as a busy new yorker who, very regrettably, may not always have the time to carefully detail my tini as much as i would like, i'm wondering... will drive-through style car-washes be too abrasive with a mini? what if we bring a clear bra into the mix? can i trust a car wash, or should i always do it myself?

 

I would not put any car through a car wash unless it is one of those touchless car washes. They don't do a great job, but they are better than nothing and won't damage the paint. They also clean under the car, so they will wash off the salt from te roads.

 

I'm planning on putting one on for my GP. Hope it works our ok!

 

Am I the only one who has something *else* come to mind when he sees the phrase "clear bra"?