Hey all.

Ordered my MCS this past weekend (my first new car!!).

Anyway.. I am getting it in BRG with white roof and mirrors. Now.. the dealer convinced me that the Invisishield (actually.. they called it something else at the dealership) was a good idea, and so I sprung for the full package (front, lights, mirrors, door handle wells, rear).

Now.. before the car is actually built and this stuff is put on, I would like to get some opinions on it. Should I keep this stuff or call the dealer and ask that they not put it on? It seemed like a good idea when I was at the dealership.. but now I am wondering. Will it look good on the color combo that I have ordered?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

Bill

 

Well, it is invisible so you won't see it unless you look really close at the seams of the clear bra. These clearbras are only installed by professionals so if they put it right, you will hardly see it at all. The beauty of it is the amount of protection it provides against rock chips and bug splatter. make sure your dealer gives you the shield warranty in WRITTING. Some of this products have 2 to 5 year warranties against yellowing, peeling, cracking etc.

My recommendation..leave it...it will save you the headache of your very first hood rock chip.

 

I dunno. Tough one. I ordered my IB/W with the Invisishield. Then called the next day and deleted it. This weekend did a gimmick rally with a dozen others. One Black had it, one DS/B had it. Looked bad on the black, invisible on the DS. Could see dirt and dust on the edges on the black car. So try to find out if there is another BRG with it anywhere near you and see it. Or maybe someone with that combo here will reply.
I have noticed my first tiny chip, so I will be buying some touch up paint when I am at the dealer next week.
Cheers!

 

I ordered my BRG/W a few weeks ago and plan on doing the Invisishield. I have had it on my last 4 cars and it is very valuable. No question IMO.

And congrats on the new ride :smile:

 

>>I ordered my BRG/W a few weeks ago and plan on doing the Invisishield. I have had it on my last 4 cars and it is very valuable. No question IMO.
>>
>>And congrats on the new ride :smile:

::waving madly::

hi!

ah. yeah.. the invisishield.. it's definitely a good idea. That said, I don't yet have it on my car. It's one of those things that I just keep meaning to get around to, but I don't want to leave my car with someone else for the day
_________________
Just another sabre-toothed squirrel with its tail on fire... ~Proud member of the CWFAC '03~

 

Sounds like people are mixed on the Invisishield. I guess my only concern is if it looks bad in the long run. Is it something that can be removed later if I don't like it?

Also.. the dealer is charging me $495 to do the entire car (front & back bumpers, lights, mirrors, door handle wells). Is this a rip off or should I stick with it?


Thanks again!

Bill

 

>>Sounds like people are mixed on the Invisishield. I guess my only concern is if it looks bad in the long run. Is it something that can be removed later if I don't like it?
>>
>>Also.. the dealer is charging me $495 to do the entire car (front & back bumpers, lights, mirrors, door handle wells). Is this a rip off or should I stick with it?
>>
>>
>>Thanks again!
>>
>>Bill



Bill:

Here is the websitesite for "Invisishield". take a look at their FAQs section. According to them the clearbra can be removed without any damage to the paint. They do offer a 4 year warranty though.

http://www.sysmatrix.net/~bum/FAQ.htm


If you have any specific questions, your best bet is to contact them directly.


Good luck!

 

Bill, the $495 dealer price to have all those pieces installed sounds reasonable to me. An authorized X-Pel installer here in South Florida is charging me $450 just to have the entire front of my MCS covered with the clearbra.

I think you are getting a reasonable deal.



Another suggestion would be to look around and get quotes from other companies. go to http://www.mini2.com and then go to the FAQs section there to see the other brands available (X-Pel, Stonegard, etc).

 

I guess it all depends on how you drive your car.
If you drive on expressways a lot, its best that you have it.
Also if you live in a location where they use road salt or sand
in the winter time.

If you have the aero kit with non-factory paint, it is a must-have
item (i use it).

You can't go wrong having it. :smile:

 

Thanks for all the replies! The actual product that my local dealer uses is not Invisishield.. but he said it is exactly the same (I have just been calling it that on here because it seems to be the most familiar brand).

I think I will stick with it.

Thanks guys!

Bill

 

Thanks for all the replies! The actual product that my local dealer uses is not Invisishield.. but he said it is exactly the same (I have just been calling it that on here because it seems to be the most familiar brand).

I think I will stick with it.

Thanks guys!

Bill

 

Bill,

I have it on my Electric Blue Mini, and you can't tell that it is on. It is great. No chips or nicks and it waxes very well. The dirt that is seen along the edges is from not taking good care of it. If you don't like it or want to replace it, it is very easy to take of with a hair dryer. Don't compare the black Mini with your experiences. It doesn't look good with the black. You will not see the same problems with the Green. Black color has a lot of problems. I love the look of it, but it only looks good when it has just been washed and waxed. Every little piece of dirt and nick is always amplified on the black color.

 

I also just ordered and have been thinking about the invisasheild. I have just decided though, that I want to do some bonnet stripes aftermarket because i don't love the factory stripes, too plain. So, I imagine one cannot do sheild then stripes?
I know this may be a really stupid question but the clear gaurd is new to me.

thanks

 

>>I have it on my Electric Blue Mini, and you can't tell that it is on. It is great. No chips or nicks and it waxes very well. The dirt that is seen along the edges is from not taking good care of it.

You're spot on about not taking care of it. Just make sure you clean the edges of dirt when you wash it and don't let wax build up on the edges either.

If it helps, here's some pictures of the clear bra on my Indi Blue; LINK

 

not a bad question at all...I know some folks on here have done both the invisishield and the bonnet stripes. You might want to do a "search" using keywords at the top...you should have some luck.

Also, I have the invisishield on my blk/blk MCS. After a year of driving, you can tell that it has held up, and that it has saved a number of scrapes and dings. I can see the edge, as the grime/wax that accumulates on it contrasts with the black color. BRG is rather dark, you may have the same problem. It's not so noticable, even on the black, though, and to me the benefits outweigh the "aesthetic" problems.

Sometimes, honestly, I wish I could wrap the whole dang car in it! Could prevent door dings, swirl marks, etc....

Oh, and by the way, it's not car-proof. I had a cab put a fist-sized dent in my hood, right through the invisishield. Not a scrape on the paint, though. Banged it out, and it looked great.

 

i got the x-pel kit total coverage + xtra pieces for my rear bumper, front fenders, and front skirt pieces that were painted. looks great on my brg/w. everybody makes positive remarks about it. and it does work.

i'm still considering putting on the white bonnet stripes over, which is the recommended method.

i believe that it can be removed anytime without damage to your paint.

and to make it last and look better longer, it's recommended to wax it.

i paid ~$295 for x-pel kit and <$200 for install.

i do believe x-pel is one of the thicker products out there.

 

>>Hey all.
>>
>>Ordered my MCS this past weekend (my first new car!!).
>>
>>Anyway.. I am getting it in BRG with white roof and mirrors. Now.. the dealer convinced me that the Invisishield (actually.. they called it something else at the dealership) was a good idea, and so I sprung for the full package (front, lights, mirrors, door handle wells, rear).
>>

>>Any advice would be great.
>>
>>Thanks!
>>
>>Bill

First thing you need to do, on a urgent basis is cancel your order for that BRG beastie. They are a) bug ugly, b) slow, and c) made by drunken or hung over brits on Mondays (I swear, says so on some web site I found)........HURRY before its too late and you'll be truly stuck......

 

>>i do believe x-pel is one of the thicker products out there.

The way I heard it, all the clear bra companies use the same 8 mil 3M film - the only difference is in the pre-cut patterns and of course the skill of the installers.

 

I have a replacement MCS on order currently. I am having the 3M material installed for sure. In 1995 when 3M was first making the material I used samples of it on the tops of prototype snowboards. You could drag a razor blade across the top or have someone ski over it with no signs of damage. The scratch resistance is amazing. I still have that first board we made with it and it is still crystal clear.

 

I've seen lots of MINI's w/ invisishied installed to protect the front of the car...and maybe I've seen a few installations of products on the headlights, but I've never heard of this being installed over the rear of the car or under the door handles. That seems unusual to me...but I guess its not going to hurt anything if it is installed.