The key to keeping the seam as invisible as possible is to stay away from it with wax, or better yet use a dustless polymer like Klasse or Zaino.

 

When I was in the market to do this, the seam bothered me too. I don't care what anybody says, you CAN see the seam.

It also never made any sense to me in that its like the 1950s ... put plastic seat covers of Mom's new sofa. When do you get to sit on the REAL sofa???

This is why I suggested just getting the bottom half.

 

the bottom half being? just the bumpers? or part of the bonnet. sorry if i missed this elsewhere.

 

The Clearbra is usually pre-cut for each car. There is a bottom part for the lower bumper and the top part for the bonnet and bottoms of the fenders

 

Don't forget there also is protection for the lights and the mirrors.


art

 

I personally don't think the "sofa cover" analogy is valid. With a plastic slipcover on a sofa, the *whole sofa* looks goofy - cloth sofas were never meant to be shiny and slick. Plus, you actually have to touch the plastic slipcover as you sit on the sofa. With the 3M clearbra, it's only the *seam* that some people find objectionable, not the entire covered surface of the car. The "slipcover" analogy would be better-suited to a comparison with the traditional black vinyl bras than with the clear 3M film.

The "seam tolerance" also varies from person to person. I compare it to Sony Trinitron computer monitors. Every monitor ever made that uses a Sony Trinitron CRT tube has two faint dark lines running horizontally across the screen. How visible they are depends on ambient lighting, what's being displayed on the screen, the brightness setting, etcetera, but they're *always* there. Some people never notice them, others notice them but aren't distracted/bothered by them, and a small minority are driven absolutely bugsh*t by them. Same with the 3M film. You have to look for yourself and decide.

I would suggest this. Go to a local MINI meet and find two cars:
1) One that's the same colour as yours, with a 3M film bra installed
2) One that's the same colour as yours, with a bunch of rock chips on it.

Decide which one you're least bothered by, and there's your answer.

Scott

 

This is good advice. Do I wish I couldn't see the seam on my bonnet? Sure. Am I still glad I got the Clear Bra? You betcha! In this case, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

My chips are Motoring Badges of Honor.

(But I wish I'd gotten the bra!)

 

It might not be valid in the way your looking at it but it is valid in the sense of "wheres the paint?"

Consider this ...

Q. Why the protection?
A. To protect the paint?
Q. From what?
A. Bugs, scratches, stone chips etc.

OK, well and good. Vinyl bras do the same thing. MUCH cheaper, should only be used on trips were you take the thing off, not get rain on it etc. This is all well known.

OK, now when do you take the clearbra off?

When do you get to enjoy the paint?

When do you actually see the car you paid for?

With clearbra, you see a plastic bubble around wherever you put it.

I just dont get it and hence why I suggest doing just the lower part of the car where you will see no seam

Seam sensitivity may vary but everytime I see clearbra I just think ... "Now when does that person take of that plastic "protection" and just enjoy the paint?????

 

please delete this post - thanks

 

I saw a huge white minivan (boy is that term an oxymoron now) with a traditional black vinyl bra the other day. It looked hideous! And all I could think was, "Who cares if a minivan's paint gets chipped?"

 

Now in your case ... with the unique pink paint job ... that is totally different

 

Thanks, but my pink is actually all vinyl, and the Clear Bra is underneath. The stripes don't seem to be taking any chips.

 

Not getting the clear bra was the biggest mistake of my MINI ownership so far. Within the first month I took a long trip to Pittsburgh, found myself behind a gravel truck going at 80 mph and - immediately - had over 15 rock chips all over the bonnet of all sizes and shapes. I almost cried.

I am finally getting around to repainting the rock chips with dealer touch up paint and the Langka paint blob elimination system (highly recommended) but would have preferred to never have had to do this.

Once you have rock chips, it is too late for the bra. My dealer wants $1000 to repaint the bonnet (probably not including removing and remounting stripes) - once the paint is chewed up enough I will probably do this (in 2-3 years) and then get the clear bra.

My MINI is a magnet for rock chips - yes, they add character but they also take away from the sleek perfection of this wonderful car's form.

Jersey Bill

 

Although I may see the seam on my hood. I am very glad I got the clear bra. Naturally the first chip I got was six inches past the line and it also bounced off my wind shield creating another small chip.


Art

 

Two quick questions:

1. If you have a clearbra, do you detail it just like you would if you had none ? (claybar, polish, wax??)

2. Any reason you can't put it on the windshield ? I already have two tiny chips in the windshield and over the course of my driving life, seems I get more stones there than on the front of the car.

 

1. YES I do.

2. Not sure sounds good.

Art

 

Wow With that amount you could paint the whole MINI here.

 

In answer to your second question...in Maryland, it's not an option because the film isn't considered "optically perfect" the way glass is. I looked into getting my windshield clear bra-ed but was told by the installer it's not legal in this state. This was years ago and things might have changed, but my guess it's a state-by-state thing.
For anyone who has any doubts even after reading this whole thread, clear bras are worth every dime, especially if your car is new and still "unblemished". Do not hesitate in protecting your investment!

 

Thanks, kgdblu. Appreciate the heads up. Might be a valid point the State has concerning visibility, now that I think about that aspect.

 

Also, depending on the widths available from 3M, it might not be possible to cover an entire windshield with a single piece of film. And having a seam running across the windshield would alert even the most inattentive state inspectors.

Judging by how clear and distortion-free the 8 mil 3M film looks on my headlamps, I'd almost be willing to give it a try on the windshield, if it were available in an appropriate width, just to see how it looked.

Scott

 

Yes.

 

Can you/should you wax/buff the clear bra? Or just stop at the line? My car just got buffed and waxed, and I feel like the clear bra is more noticeable now - still worth it, but is there a way to clean/polish it to better match it to my shiny new exterior?

 

You can wash/polish/wax it just like the rest of the car. I wouldn't use a heavy abrasive on it, but a mild one is okay.

 

Yes - the clear bra is just a film of clear polyurethane - the same stuff that the factory clearcoat on your paint is made from (only much thicker). You can clay/polish/wax it just like the rest of your paint.

My one warning is that if you use a rotary polisher instead of an orbital polisher, the clear bra is much more sensitive to heat buildup than your car's clearcoat, so it's possible to melt the clearbra if you have your rotary polisher set too fast, or use too aggressive of a pad or polish.