Invisible Bra = Inexpensive insurance to protect your investment!

Here is some Invisible Bra info I thought I would pass on to the forum.....This info is based on reviews and information obtained from PPF manufacturers.




3M Scotchgard Paint Protection Film


The Good

Its good points are undeniable. The brand name of a juggernaut, huge R&D budget and more years in the business of gluing things to other things than anyone has made them the top dog in PPF. The film is tough, the top coat is the toughest by far, and you can even wet sand and buff it, but don’t try that with any of the others, unless you feel like putting a brand-new sheet of film on. The 3M PPF resists growth of fungus and algae, yes it is true, oogies can grow inside your film. 3M’s point of purchase materials are good, probably the best available and if you have a good distributor, they may throw in the promo stuff if you order enough film. Now for the bad news.

The Bad

I will set aside my ego for a second to say that 3M Paint Protection Film is all but impossible to put on flawlessly. I have installed almost all the films on the market over the course of nearly a decade and it’s no exaggeration. One false move and you get a permanent flaw. It seems that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Yes, the very thing that makes the topcoat so easy to repair and so durable, also makes it easy to crease, stress and mark with your squeegee. Unfortunately, many of these types of flaws are not repairable. It does yellow on white cars, but then, all PPF does to some extent.

Conclusion; 3M Scotchgard Paint Protection Film is good for long-term use, it does its job well on vehicles that will see a lot of miles and for the customer who can accept some stretch marks and wrinkles here and there in exchange for durability, reparability and a brand name that they can trust.



Venture Shield Ultra

A lesser-known film, but growing in popularity so quickly that it was snatched up by the company mentioned above. Although 3M says that their acquisition of Venture Tape was not related to the PPF market, it is pretty hard to believe that it was not a factor. The fact is that Venture Shield Ultra was starting to grab PPF market share hand over fist, so draw your own conclusion.

The Good

It is remarkably easy to install. I mean the stuff looks really good right off the bat. It is less expensive than 3M, Xpel or Avery film, so if you are an entry-level installer just striking out into the world of PPF, Venture Shield Ultra could be the film for you.

The Bad

Again, its strength is its weakness. Since a soft top-coat equals good looking initial install, it also means no reparability. This is bad for longevity, and bad for installation, if you mar the finish of the topcoat during install it can be tough, if not impossible to fix.

The rolls of film come with this annoying sheet of Mylar on top of the film, put there presumably to protect the film from itself while in storage and transit, maybe to prevent growth on the roll, I don’t know. I have never asked anyone from Venture why it’s there but, holy cow it sucks! You can’t plot the kit with the Mylar on, or the film will not track right, so you have to take it off pre-cut. Well, this is not all that easy, it’s hard to get started peeling, then, once you have it going, you better hope that you’re nowhere near your plotter because there’s so much static electricity you will fry the electronics in nothing flat (you could probably cook a dog with the amount of static you get). In case you’re wondering, yes static electricity does attract lint and debris from the air, ground and clothes near-by.

Conclusion; the money you save on film and install time will be nothing compared to the time and money you loose fighting lint, fried electronics, and massive amounts of extra garbage, which, by the way, is what the film will be in 2 years with its wimpy top-coat.




Xpel Technologies Standard PPF

Amid rapid growth in the Paint Protection Film industries’ adolescence, springs a new kid on the block. For the past 13+ years, Xpel has established itself as one of the best producers of PPF patterns in the industry. At the 2007 SEMA show they stunned the PPF world by introducing their own Paint Protection Film. Amid rumors of stealing technology and simply taking someone else’s film and re-branding it, they bravely threw themselves into the fray.

Some would cower in fear of uber-massive corporations like 3M, but not Xpel. In reality, history is on their side. Remember that 3M invented window tint film, now 20 years later they fight tooth-and-nail to retain a respectable market share. No, in reality, it is inevitable that, as the industry gains popularity among the public, more competition will enter the marketplace with billions to gain. Smaller companies can move more nimbly to adjust to market, consumer and re-seller needs. This is where a company like Xpel has the advantage. Like Llumar and Madico did with window film, Xpel is determined to show the world that there is another, better alternative for PPF.

From what I have seen of the film, it is good. It goes on with relative ease, the initial look is clean, and surface marring can be addressed, though not as easily as 3Ms can, it does not have an annoying Mylar transit coat and it tracks well on the plotter. It has an anti-fungal like 3M. Fingers lay with ease, although they do tend to want to pop up later, so be careful of that. Overall I think that it is a nearly perfect balance between the Scotchgard and Venture Shield Paint Protection Films. With a 7-year warranty and an aggressive marketing campaign, they should build market share with speed. Time will tell how well the film holds up to real world application, but at this rate it won’t be long before they have a giant looking over its shoulder.


Since I did this write up there have been other films that have arrived on the market. One to really watch for is the new Avery Dennison "Nano Fusion" film which has some unreal characteristics.....


Hope this helps...

 

Just a quick comment on this, I used to have a TVR Tuscan a few years back and a friend also had one with this stuff on the front, form a distance at certain angles where the film ended it looked like a scratch on the paintwork

I recently installed the new "Avery Dennison" Nano Fusion film on my 2006 Denali. From a distance you cant even see it, up close....2 ft away, all you can see is minor transition visibility where the films edge finishes.

 

I recently installed the new "Avery Dennison" Nano Fusion film on my 2006 Denali. From a distance you cant even see it, up close....2 ft away, all you can see is minor transition visibility where the films edge finishes.

 

Hey,
Thought I would add something to this conversation since I have experienced the invisible bra as well, I recently purchased a XKR-S and I love all the features inside out but I wanted to keep it in mint condition (paint-wise) so I looked into the different companies that offer the invisible bra and one in particular company in southern California where I live talked to me about all the different kinds they offer and than told me what they recommend and use more often which was the Xpel Ultimate film and let me say I cant see anything its like its not even there! Which is doing the job and in regards to even looking close up you can even tell where it ends because my guy tucked it in which was another good thing rather than the pre-cut stuff he was telling me about sure it may be exact but its showing where it starts and ends where as this is ALOT BETTER in my opinion so if you where to get it done I recommend Xpel Ultimate film and than Autoshield for the company to do the installation because for me this combo was awesome even 2 inches away from my car!

 

Here is my experience with the 3M product. About 5 years ago I had the product installed on a white Z4 and a black Cadillac EXT (same installer at the same time). On white, only a slight transition line could be seen. I did not have any yellowing appear but the car was garage kept, so that may have helped. Overall, very pleased. On the black EXT, no transition line was visible, however, over time, the film has bubbled / blistered near some of the edges. With a black background, the blistered area of film is visible. Overall, the film does protect the front bumper area and does make cleaning / washing easier.

 

Dave,
On your advice, I had the Avery installed last year on my XKR. The guy who details my car says it's one of the best clear bra products he's seen. Unfortunately, he says it's a pain in the *** to work with because he has to tape all around the edges.

Thanks again!
Mike

 

I just bought a 2013 black XF and live in Charlotte, NC. Does anyone recommend an installer near me? I want to get a clear bra installed right away, today if possible.

What area's should I have covered? Should I do the entire hood so there's no line? I don't want to cover the entire car just the important areas.

Is there a brand that's better for black?

Is there a brand to stay away from? One that scratch’s and show’s swirl marks?

We plan on keeping the car for 6 yrs and would like the film to have a warranty as long.

Thanks for your advice in advance. Mike

 

You would want the swirl marks in the clear coat removed before installing the film. I don't think you can get swirl marks in the film itself. I have Avery nano-fusion over the entire front end and if I mark it at all it seems to self-heal. Swirl marks are small micro scratches that you see when the sun reflects off the car--I don't think the film can scratch like that. But that's just my experience from owning a black car with Avery film. I'm not a detailer.

I highly recommend the entire front end, although I understand it can be twice the price to do so, but there is no line across your hood where it stops half-way when you only do a portion.

Whoever installed mine chose to split the film along the lines of the top of the hood rather than follow the contour with one solid piece. So you can see the edges (if you look closely), but because they are lengthwise they don't detract from the look of the vehicle.

PS
Of all the ones I've seen with the film over only the front portion, the line isn't noticeable from any reasonable distance. So probably money is the primary factor there.

PSS
I had a black car before this one (no bra), and the defects in the paint over the 4 years I owned it spanned the entire hood, although they were worse on the front.

 

Hi Folks,

I just traded a BMW 3 series for a 2012 XF.

The BMW had Venture Shield applied to the entire hood and several other parts. It looked super but received a scuff mark and several scratches after a cement truck was losing some of it's debris. I spoke with my installer and after trying a few things nothing was able to get these marks out. In essence, the only solution was to replace the entire film for hood. I was quite surprised since I thought that these films could be buffed out to remove scratches.

On my new XF I called the same installer since he really does outstanding work and I told him that I want film on the hood, etc.. which would be able to be buffed out if damaged. He recommended XPel Ultimate as a self healing film but also said that Premium Shield Elite has the same self healing properties and is considerably less expensive. The demo on their web site shows that just a cup of hot water corrects blemishes. I decided to go with the Premium Shield Elite and will have it installed within a week or so.

Ed

 

Anyone use suntek or have heard about it? I had my new 2013 XKR done with suntek. Not happy with the job. A lot of marks showing from poor installation and not properly preparing the paint before installation.

 

Hi Folks,

After having a bad experience with the repair qualities of Venture Shield on my previous car, I decided to have X Pel Ultimate installed on my new XF. The job was done this past weekend in my garage at home.

The results were very good but I have a few small bubbles on the film. I do not recall having this with the Venture Shield. My installer and additional Internet research indicates that this is relatively common and that left alone with sun and time the bubbles will get smaller and disappear. It has just been two days since it was installed and I believe that the few bubbles on hood ( I did full hood) are getting smaller so we will wait and see. My installer said to give him a call if any problems.

I know that most of the high end shops in my area are recommending X Pel Ultimate which is somewhat more costly but is supposed to repair itself if scratched or scuffed. My previous Venture Shield was totaled after one mishap with a rock and the scuff and scratch marks could not be corrected at all. Need to wait and see how the X Pel holds up.


Ed

 

Hi Guys

Thought I would share my experience about paint protection film. I've just had my Jaguar XF 2012 done in a gloss finish at auto-protek in Ascot Berkshire. I started to see a couple of stone chips on the lower left front bumper and could not bare to see anymore. So I called the team at auto-protek who advised me on the different types of films they do and the best way to protect the vehicle. In the end I chose to go with a full coverage which cost £3800 (self-healing) so I never have to be worried about stone chips and scratches again. The finish is absolutely amazing. The car was detailed before going in, so it didn't need cleaning prior to install. I would recommend the guys at auto-protek 100% I could not be anymore pleased with the service and quality of work provided by them. I will be showing my friends this straight away. Thanks

Regards

Chris

 

Welcome to the forum Chris,

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham