Has anyone had the 3M clear bra film applied to their Jag or other cars? I know it's very popular with motorhome owners and it seems to work well. Just curious if anybody here is using it and what you think of it.

 

I've had in on my last car, and am going in next Monday to have it put on my Jag.
As far as I'm concerned, its a no brainier unless your the type that trades the car in each time it hits a 30K checkup.

Vince
BTW, VentureShield is what they are putting on mine...

 

I have Ventureshield on mine (which as I understand was actually bought by 3M a few years back). The installer who did mine prefers Ventureshield... he says it causes less of an orange peel effect, though after watching him work I'd bet the installer's technique has as much to do with the outcome as anything. Definitely something you want to have installed by someone with lots of experience... it does NOT look like simple work.

As far as how it looks / works... I'd say its mostly invisible. You can see the seam where the clear bra ends if you're looking down the hood from back to front, but its very faint. My car is Ebony so no doubt that has something to do with it... I would imagine on most colors it would be near impossible to see. I'd much rather have that than deal with chips from rocks and bugs, etc. My understanding is that this material was originally invented to protect the leading edges of helicopter blades so they don't get destroyed when taking off / landing in sandy areas, so its tough stuff.

On the plus side, it does seem to make cleaning bugs and stuff easier. On the downside, when you wax or polish you have to tape off the seam so wax doesn't collect there (you can clean the seam afterward with a toothbrush but I find it much easier to just tape it). I agree with Vince... if you plan on keeping the car a while its definitely a good investment. The only real "downside" I could see is the seam thing, and if you think the seam is going to bother you, you could always have them cover the whole hood. My installer has pictures on his website of an Audi R8 that he applied Ventureshield to the entire car.

 

I LOVE the clear wraps. I had it put on the Jag as soon as I bought it. I've had the one on my Z for almost 10 years now, and while slightly weathered, it's still in great shape. I highly recommend it.

 

What is the typical cost?

 

I've seen estimates for a standard front end install ranging from $500 - $800 For my Lexus IS350.

The Jag was quoted as $1200. That covers the nose, front half of the quarter panels, half hood, headlights, fogs, mirrors, rocker panels, rear sill, and behind the door handles...

Shops and skills can have a lot to do with it as well... My Jag is going to the best detailer in the Puget Sound (To be frank, Jag is pretty "low-end" compared to the cars and customers they normally get, so the staff they employ are some of the best.) I'll pay extra for the comfort of getting the best for my car...

Vince

 

I asked David Sylican over in the detailing section about clear bras. Based on his recommendations I went with Avery Nanofusion. The prices Vince quoted seem to be in line with what I paid. You might also consider XPel which claims to be self-healing:
XPEL Ultimate Paint Protection Film / Clear Bra Self Healing Demo - YouTube

Mike

 

1200 is about right. I got mine tinted at the same time and the bill was about 1500 or so after tax.

 

Just an idea, on the Jag and the Mercedes, we put the standard clear bra on the front, door handles, and mirror caps, but...
We also added the bra to the rear bumper, over the area around the trucklid. Every car you ever see has the top of the rear bumper banged up from luggage and other stuff coming in and out of the trunk. That won't happen to ours again.

 

I had it on a previous car and it was definitely helpful in avoiding chips.

 

I have the 3M protector film on the leading edges of the fairings on my Ducatis.
Brilliant product IMO but make sure you read the application instructions.

 

I've been doing a lot of research on this topic. There are people who swear by one brand over another, as well as people who rag about one brand or another.

I think the following article is the best one I've read, though.

Paint Protection Film (PPF): XPel Ultimate vs the others

 

I understand it works best on a new car and that stone chips in the paint can be a problem if you put the film over them.

 

The funny part is that many times the paint still chips... It is just held in place by the material. Had a buddy pull off an early installation because of yellowing and found many paint flakes came right off with the material or after the first washing!


Not sure if this was because of the type paint, ABS bumper, or clear material used back then (would have been the early to mid 1990's?), but we were shocked to see the damage it after he pulled it all off.
Vince

 

I just recently had the 3M plastic appplied to the front and hood area of my XKR and it's awesome. You can only tell if I were to point it out to you. You can barely see the line where it ends. Great for small rocks and debris from chipping the vehicle. I paid approx $500.00 to have the the #M applied to the front clip of the vehicle. They wanted another $350 to cover the side skirts. They also do the rear view mirrors as well. If you decide upon it, be sure to purchase from an establishment that can cut the plastic via computer, not a pre-shipped packaged unit.

 

There are several 3M and like products used on the front of motor coaches. Diamond sheild is one that is very popular. On a coach they are really needed as the entire front is generally directly facing 100% forward. The one issue that many people have is yellowing in time. Some 3 years, some 5 years, Mind you many of these are exposed to sun year round as garages have to be very big to put them in. But, given a garaged car one might expect 5 to 7 years. The problem is, when this happens it is expensive to remove, though some do it themselves. During removal you can expect some paint adhering to the removed coating. A repaint of the entire area is required.
Though I still use it today without issue yet, many people are steering away from it. In my mind I believe waxing causes much of the yellowing problem. I do not was at all. Perhaps that's why I have never experienced this issue.
Just thought I would share this as it has been used for years in the motor coach industry.

 

Link to an older thread

(Still very happy with my choice, by the way)

 

Thanks to all for the responses. I am going to have it done as soon as I find the right place. Like the rest of you, I want to have it done once and done right. I also posted on the Bentley forums and have had similar positive responses. My girlfriend wants her car done too. I've seen quite a few cars with the film and it is undetectable unless you're really looking. I did run into a guy who got a crappy install and it was a bitch getting it removed and repaired/replaced.

AirCav, The pics look like you stopped it at the gap between the hood and bumper, not sure. If you were doing it again would you cover more area? Up the hood or mirrors? I want to protect the front but not overkill.

 

It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to do so, but I wouldn't unless I was going to spend a significant amount of time driving in close interstate traffic or similar (tailgating). Or a lot of track time. Or maybe if I lived in a desert area (sand blasting).

I was primarily concerned with the obviously vulnerable bumper cover. Selecting that limited coverage provided a natural line/break to help camouflage the protective film as opposed to having a line in the middle of the hood (sorry... bonnet). Of course, you could cover the entire hood but outside of exceptional circumstances, I think that would be overkill. It is a compromise but I don't expect the car to stay perfect forever.

As you may have noticed from the linked thread, I didn't get much help from anyone when I asked about typical stone chip areas on the XKs. Either these cars are impervious to stone chips or else nobody wanted to admit that their pride and joy had any blemishes. So, I had to go with my best guess. It seems to have worked out as I have not noticed any undue damage on the hood or mirror areas but I don't put on a lot of miles, either.

 

To help fill the void with my experience, I drove across a mountain pass during a storm where active sanding with lava rock was in progress....

As a result, I have several areas not normally considered, being covered this Monday. For one, the rocker panels are getting a complete wrap, front to rear. I will also be talking to the detailer about the area directly behind the front wheel-well and above the rocker panel. This took significant damage, including the lower leading edge of the "air vent".

Fitment of doors on my car also caused problems. On the passenger side with the door closed, it is recessed at the bottom by a little less than a quarter inch. The protruding edge of the rear quarter panel was stripped nearly clean. I need to either find a way to flush fit the door better (no problem on the drivers side) or maybe have a small vertical strip run up the door seams (I already have it on the doors themselves as an "edge guard").
I will also talk to them about all sheet metal folded into the wheel-well itself. This was actually completely striped down to bare metal.

Also as mentioned before, I will have the rear sill (top of rear bumper) done as I have on past cars. Lifting things in and out of the trunk area always seem to put new scratched there regularly.

I will not garage queen my car.... she is a driver, and will see many a mountain pass and many an interstate mile in her life and i'm looking forward to it... I only hope to keep her looking as pristine as possible in the time I have her...

Vince