Now I am worrying about waiting 4 weeks to get in installed. Oh well, I have gone two months without it, I guess another 4 weeks won't hurt. I should have had it done right away.

Yeah, you Crazy American , should've done it the week you bought your MINI. But hey, I made that mistake too when I took delivery our first two MINIs in June of 06. Didn't get my clearbra installed until October. Sure enough, had two stone chips that I had to repair before the clear bra was installed.

Now... 18 months later and I've only had two more stone chips since then. One was on the bonnet above the bra, the other found a tiny space beween the bra and the headlight bezel.

So far, 17 months and 29,000 miles on mine with plenty of hard driving, and no issues with the film on my scoop.

I also have the thicker headlight film, and the area directly in front of the high beams HAS become a little bubbled and hazy - I'm running high intensity 65W OSRAM bulbs, so that may have something to do with it...

Had Clearbra installed today. Would post pics, but you wouldn't be able to see it.

Mark at Clear Auto Bra in St Louis did the installation. He did a great job, and he is a heck of a nice guy. Got the front bumper, bonnet to just above the scoop, headlights and the top of the rear bumper coated. Oh yeah, also edge of doors. Most excellent.

Now I am not supposed to wax it for a week. I don't know what I am going to do with my Saturday. Although I think it has warmed enough to install new wheels with summer rubber. Ahhh, the day is not to be without some MINI related activity.

Who cares if we can't see the clear bra in the pics ?!

A) we love pics !

B) it would prove a point on how invisible the clear bra is !



BTW, I had clear bra on my door edges too. After a year, I pulled them off. I never hit anything with my door edges because I'm exceedingly careful. And it was just another couple of edges that required cleaing of polishes and waxes with the q-tips. Maybe you'll like them... I didn't.

I will take pics, but first I must wash. It got dirty on the way back from St Louey.

Clear bra's are a good idea but I don't like them because:

1.) You get a nasty bug impact and it stains the clear bra (you can't polish it out)

2.) The clear bra shows orange peel texture, worse when you cover more of the bonnet.

3.) Clear bra does swirl and you can't polish it like paint. It's very soft and delicate.

4.) Although it's guaranteed against yellowing, I've seen it yellow on white cars.
Lotus Exige rear bumper--cb obviously not clear.

5.) The seamline on dark colors looks ugly to me.

6.) Clear bras mean less polishing work for me!! I like that!

7.) To me the best and only time to get clear bra is on pickup day at the dealer. If you wait to put it on years later, say after a repaint, you can't put it on for 30 to 60 days after the painting--and unless the car is in storage, you're going to have rockchips.

8.) See examples of why I think clear bra on this 2007 R56 over the entire bonnet is ugly and why I would take beautiful rock chipped paint over seeing this everyday (no offense to the owner who is a friend of mine..I mistakenly told him this before realizing it was his car, lol). This was a professional install.

OctaneGuy
What do you suggest to remove swirl's from Clear Bra?
Thanks, Steve

[quote=OctaneGuy;2098212]Clear bra's are a good idea but I don't think them because:

3.) Clear bra does swirl and you can't polish it like paint. It's very soft and delicate.

I don't know what kind of film that is on that car, but mine looks NOTHING like that.

If I look very closely, I can see a little orange peeling in the film, but if mine looked like that one on the BRG MINI, I would rip it off, take it twenty miles out in the country, and give it a good boot and then run so it can't find it's way back home again.

And I polish and wax mine just like I do the paint and it looks as good as it did 18 months ago when installed.

OG, everything you point out is true on mine, if you were to use a magnifying glass to analyze. From a distance of 5' you can't see it at all unless the sun is at the right angle on the edge. For me, that trade off is well worth the protection I'm receiving. In CO, they take a perverted pleasure in putting "sand" (translation rocks) on the roads whenever there is rumor of weather which is basically everyday from December through March. I wouldn't consider driving her without it. Just look at my pitted windshield

You can use a PC with a soft pad and Swirl. Just be very careful and check often to make sure you aren't hurting it. I've used Meguiar's Speed Glaze M80 and their W8006 yellow pad on Clear Bra before to remove yellowing. Might also try a plastic polish like Meguiar's PlastiX and a PC. Still have to be careful along the edges though.

Course yours doesn't, this was a full bonnet wrap on an R56 using a single piece. =P He paid well over $1000 for this too! (from what I understand).

IMO Clear bra in it's best case looks like excessive orange peel compared to the non CB'd side. But if you can't see the OP in the original paint, then all the better for you--I'm cursed for being able to see OP a mile away on any paint now, lol.

Actually in those pix you can see it at about 3 feet away without a magnifying glass. But I'm not trying to discourage anyone from getting Clear Bra. I'm just listing what I see as disadvantages to it.

Yeah, that is a TERRIBLE install, IMHO. I've seen quite a few (I'm sure OG has seen many times more than me), and some are good and some not so good. I have a couple of little spots like that in my scoop - the installer showed me how to fix it on another spot once (you gently massage it with the back of a spoon until it's nice and smooth), I just haven't gotten around to it on this one. But the rest of mine is optically clear.

But color and type of paint (metallic or not) makes a huge difference in how it looks, also. On Cool Blue metallic, it's darn near invisible... even the edges are. But I've seen other colors where the edges stick out like a sore thumb.

+1

In OG's pictures, there is something *seriously* borked with either the film, the paint under the film, or the installation. Especially the last picture - it almost looks like there are large chips that have been painted over, runs/sags in the paint, and sanding scratches that were just painted over.

I have clear film on both of our MINIs, as well as two laptops, three iPods, and several other electronic gadgets. In all of those cases, the film definitely has an "orange peel" texture, but it's completely clear, and it doesn't have ANY of those wavy random lines like you see in OG's pictures.

Also, not only have I never had any problems with swirl marks on the clear film, it actually seems to self-heal over the space of a few days. I beat the hell out of one of my iPods with a car key after putting the clear film on, and it only left very faint fine scratches in the film. And after a few hours, even those were completely gone.

I *have* had problems where bird droppings or falling berries would stain the clear bra on my wife's PW MINI, and as OG says, you can't polish them out. But I've noticed that after a few days in the sun, the stains fade completely on their own.

I have the same experience, and on PW, stains in the clear bra from bugs, whatever, are really noticible. But the sun "bleaches" them out in a few days.

My install was top-notch and I don't notice mine at all. I actually think my CB'ed areas look smoother than the factory paint

There are a couple of spots where they put film on that I'd like to remove (around the gas lid, and on the door edges) but other than that I'm very happy with both the film and the install I got. Worth every penny.

Here is freshly washed mini with Clearbra. New rims too.

In an all out effort to fight wheel dust, I washed the wheels with Mystique, put on two coats of Wheel Armour and a treatment of Hydro before installing the new wheels.

Now I have some serious brake dust cleaning to do to my Crown Spokes.

Oops. I forgot the picture.

Lookin' Good, Crazy American !!

Those wheels are sharp, too.

You are very right about the bug stains. Wait a week or so and they will go away.

The pics of the green bonnet are an example of a bad installation caused by an installer (possibly certified, but not experienced)

You can used a mild polishing compaund to eliminate some minor scratches or marks in the bra. That is not a problem on the 3M film, do not try on Venture shield film (you will scratch the VS film - Venture Shield, do not mistake for Victorias Secret).

Good luck, Mark.

It's possible, but I'm still betting there's something seriously wrong with the paint under the film - I just don't believe that all of those defects (especially the ones in the last picture) are *just* in the film.

You may not believe it, but it is the all in the film.

I have been doing the bras long enought (about 7 years and about 5000 cars)

Wow - with that kind of experience, I'll take your word for it. What do you have to do to the film to get the defects in the last picture? (Specifically, the spot on the bonnet to the upper-right of the emblem that looks like a paint sag, and the spot on the bonnet to the upper-left of the emblem that looks like a huge paint chip was only partially-filled with touch-up paint before the film was applied).

And what causes the random lines all over the film that look like sanding scratches in the paint? Is that from over-stretching the film?

that is all I do for 8-12 hours a day

you cannot really do anything after the installation is done. you can possibly mimize it by massaging it, but it is caused by the installer running the squeege the wrong way (which is pretty common, though)

that is why the installation is so curcial.

and because the product is so unknown, it is easy to talk people into believing that it is just the way it is supposed to look or that it is in the paint. most do not know any better.

by the way, if you have a problem with yellowing, you also have a warranty.

get it fixed, it should be 100% parts and labor, so it will not cost you nothing

you do not have to deal with any bad looks of the bra, it should be fixed just like problems with engine, radio, or anything else that may be under warranty.

I was reading the website of a local ClearBra installer, and was a bit surprised at some of the caveats with the install of the ClearBra product (listed below). They also made mention of a problem with installing ClearBra on non-factory finishes -they won't do it. Apparently when you remove the material, the refinish paint may come with it! Now that's adhesion!

Anyway, here are some of the caveats - note the recommendation to not use any Carnuba-based wax, and to use a plastic polish. From this list, it really looks like there is no need to detail the ClearBra material like you would the paint - I use Plexus on my motorcycle's plastic pieces and my helmet, and I can say that the finish it produces is stunning.

The post-installation list:

- Do not use any car wash for 48 hours from this date.
- Wait a full week to wax the surfaces where the film is applied.(DO NOT USE CARNUBA WAX IT WILL TURN THE PPF YELLOW AND VOID THE WARRANTY)

- It is safe to drive in the rain.

- The film IS laminated with a clear-coat layer so it does not require any waxing, but it can be waxed with the paint. Please apply Plexus to the PPF with a lint free towel after washing; avoid compounds, as they tend to be abrasive, avoid chemicals, which may harm plastic – it is not indestructible

- For the first 10-14 days the film may be hazy or milky to look at and small water bubbles will be present. This will all dry through the film and within 30 days all moisture and cloudiness will be gone.
- Do not lift or peel any edges. The film cannot be re-applied.
- In many areas where the film stops there will be a small line at the edge of the film. This is normal; it is not intended to be invisible. If this line accumulates wax build up, simply clean with a moist cotton ball. If more cleaning power is required add a sparing amount of isopropyl alcohol (70% or less) to the cotton ball and wipe with the line not against it.

Good information. I'm still debating whether to apply to my new Clubman when it arrives, but all the info in this thread has been very helpful.

based on a lot of comments here-i decided to go with Xpel vs others for several reasons. The local installer in Atlanta said he would match the 7 year warrantee and take care of any issues. the headlight film has a 5 year warrantee. i was nervous i guess like most of how visable it would be. i had the entire front done-bumber and lower hood, rock guards and areas under the door handles. My car is a 2006 Mini S Convert JCW--bought it with only 5500 miles--but it looked like it had been raced in a rock quarry. so i had the bumper repainted and balance touched up--then film over all. the result:

a few feet away you cant see the film at all. I am a big believer in Zaino, so i worked for several days prior to the film putting a total of 5 coats on. the car looks new-and now with film no more chips. my only regret is i didnt have this done on other cars when i bought them new. I am also very happy to have a pro install it. The Xpel product is custom cut-for exact fit-and i also have the aero kit--so lots of curves and molding--all looks and is custom done. i will never buy a new car again without putting this Xpel on the first day before its driven a mile. Anyone in atlanta can messsage me if they need a great installer. total job cost was $649 including all i mentioned above. also the rear rock guards they make-cover more area than the magnetic Mini ones--and i had him carry the film to cover the wheel molding next to the guard so the entire area is protected(where it had chips from the rock quary racer) so cant recommend this Xpel more strongly--and i especially like the warrantee--knocking out a lot of the concerns mentioned here on future issues