Can anyone recommend a good clear bra installer in the area. Or, tell me why I shouldn't install one.

Scott

 

Call Mark from Ultrashield you can reach him at 314-518-6111. I have had my clear bra for 2 years and I highly reccommend it. You might want to check into getting the clear protection for your headlights also, the zeons are very exspensive to replace but cheap to protect.
Larry
p.s. Mark also gives club members a discount so be sure to let him know that you are in the Mini club

 

I have had Ultra Sheld on my car for three years, still looks good and it really does the job. Mark is a great installer who really cares. I second, getting the headlight protection.
If you come to the europen car show, you can check it out. Mark is usually there too.

 

x3

 

X4 Love my clear bra. Mark did a great job

Lois

 

Wow, Mark must be good,or he pays you four to advertise for him. Hah! Thanks for the info. I will give him a call for sure, and let you all know how it turns out.

Scott

 

He did my boot stripes. Very nice man. Very good job.

 

Almost wish I had waited for the job from Mark - I did however have the factory installed bra and it does help -- a lot

 

Got to add my 2 cents after getting Mark from Ultrashield of St. Louis to install my clearbra thursday, the night after I got my car. Top professional there. He is wonderful to work with and the installation looks fantastic. I have heard many satisfied MINI owners who have the clearbra, and I've heard from quite a few with chips all over the bonnet who wish they had it. The next day I was showing my buddy the car and asking what he thought, and he showed me the front of his prelude...tons of chips, tons of paint scratched off...a mess. He agreed with me completely -- if you are getting a new car the clearbra is a no-brainer. Mark is awesome. Give him a call whether the car's new or if you just want to keep it looking that way.

I think it's a fair point too that the skill to install the film perfectly is not going to always be the same, so whether you get the 3M film (comes with a guarantee) or something else, you may not get the same quality at every installer. Mark's done a ton of cars the last few years, including a lot of MINIs, so he knows the little details and as a customer you benefit from all that experience. I was very impressed by the little things he did that I wouldn't have known about at all, and he explained why he was doing all those little tricks. Even with me standing there watching, a lesser installer could easily have cut some corners and not put that extra detail into the work and I wouldn't have been any the wiser.

Two thumbs up, highly recommended. Thanks Mark!

 

more info about mark at his website... http://www.ultrashieldofstl.com

 

Does it help "a lot," or does it eliminate chips where it is applied. I am not looking for something to simply help. I know it won't help from a huge boulder falling from a moutain or a deer caught in my headlights, but will it handle the ordinary rocks etc.

Thanks,

Scott

 

Got to meet Mark from Ultrashield at the car show yesterday. Nice guy. Now I just need an extra $600 to do my truck.

Scott

 

It is a lot of moeny to shell out for sure. Seeing the line on the hood does not give me a warm fuzzy inside. I guess I could do the entire hood but I am thinking that would be close to a grand.

 

Yeah, I saw on a few of the Mini's at the show, and some had Clearbra's. I did find the visible line a bit distracting. Also, it seemed like keeping wax and whatever away from the edge would be a pain which explains why I saw residue on the edge of some. I am having a hard time deciding what to do. Yeah it's expensive, but that is not my concern. In the end the money will be gone and I will be left with either a clear bra that may or may not look good, or a car with some paint chips that may or may not look good.

Scott

 

Bet you didn't see any wax on mine, Scott I've had 2 MINIs now. One with, one without! My poor 03 which was only 2 years old when I traded him for Sunnie looked like he had been through a meteor storm. I don't regret the day I had the clear bra installed The fine line you see is nothing compared to a bonnet loaded with paint chips. But to each his own.

Lois

 

I have had my clear bra for three years, no wax build up and NO CHIPS. All you have to do is go along the bra line with a Q-tip after you wax the car. Also you wax the bra too, so that the entire car has the UV protection provided by the wax. I use Zaino.
Cheers,
Doug

 

An '03 that went through a meteor storm? That must be the '03 my wife bought. Hah. Thanks for the info. I am still torn on what to do. I guess I'll just keep getting chips and touching them up until I decide to do it.

Scott

 

Thanks, Yeah Zaino is great stuff. I am out and have been using ICE on my new truck. The ICE is nICE, but I'm not sold on its durability yet. We'll see.

Scott

 

I just got my clear bra installed yesterday. Only 95 degrees out, WOAh it was warm. Took about 2 hour or so. It went really well. I only wish I had gotten it done when I bought the car. The next MINI will totally have this done day of, or day after pick up. He even went over and touched up the chips I already, and OMG I had no idea how many I had. Bean isn't even a year old, and I had them all over the place. Oddly most on the drivers side. Hmmmm. Watching him do it is very strange, but what do i know! =P Great job! And I have to say I think he either takes notes from the last time I was there, or I just talk WAY too much, because he rememebred all kinda things we talked about when i was there for my boot stripes.

And I will be going back again when i get my roof graphic. I'm waiting till after MINI in the Mountain for the hope some dealer will have a deal on one. =P

And about the line, I am having a hard time seeing it. I have to get VERY close to even notice it, and I know its there. Its possible as time goes on i will be able to see it more, but right now I can't see it. And I would rather have a little 'pantie line' then have the chips.

Oh and the $50 gas card doesn't hurt either.

 

I know that in the 4.5 months that I have Gunner he had plenty of chips that I wish I would have gone with the clear bra too. I just ordered my second MINI to replace Gunner , where did you get your clear bra at in St. Louis?

I believe I'll be doing the same and getting it put on quickly after delivery.\

Thanks,

 

Call Mark from Ultrashield at 314-518-6111. Also check out his web page, www.ultrashieldofstl.com. Ask for the club discount. Flash your badge, and you are gold.

 

Let's see my costs. $540 installed 3M bra, including special cut pieces to cover the whole area above my rocker panels. One small chip, of several, in a portion of my hood NOT covered by the clear bra install, $311.41. This one spot is only about 3 mm in size, but all the way through the paint, and the first primer layer. In addition, on the part of the hood where the bra DOES cover, the impact was so intense, the bra took damage but still allowed the paint underneath to be chipped on only the paint layer itself. This all happened at ONE time when I was behind a military convoy on a narrow two-lane road with no shoulder and only gravel. So, since military vehicles only carry stenciled organization numbers on a bumper (covered in mud and unreadable), I have no way to file a claim and must file through my auto insurance. Darn, I forgot to mention the two front windshield chips, in my otherwise pristine glass.

I do know one thing. Had I NOT had this bra installed, the damage would have been closer to about $1,500 just for the hood alone.

I have used a clear bra on two new vehicles, and will never buy a new one, without installing another. If they can ever design an optically perfect cover for the front windshield, I be paying for one of those also, .

 

Thanks to both of you for the place and the info. I'm convinced and will take my new MINI when he arrives over to Mark and get one installed. I know that my last MINI (Gunner) did have chips along the front of the bonnet that a clear bra would probably have prevented.

Thanks,

 

Testing....is this thing on?

 

FINALLY! I can post to NAM again. Some little beasty has been in my computer rearranging things or somethin'. Anyway.... I've learned the hard way that the UltraShield is a MUST HAVE for the MINI and I wouldn't recommend any other installer in St. Louis, other than Mark. He is by far the best that there is all the way!!!