What do you think? Anyone done it here? My car is a XKR-S - so i wonder how tough it will be for them to do the front.


Entire front quarter?

Entire front quarter plus lower sides and back quarter?

THE WHOLE THING INCLUDING THE ROOF??

How much do you think each will cost?

Loth

 

I've got it on mine, and wouldn't have my car any other way.

The minimum kit I would consider is the nose, partial hood, an mirrors.
I had that, headlights, fogs, rocker panels, and rear deck done for about $1400.
The curves of the car are problematic, so you want to be sure you have a reputable shop that is use to working with exotics...

Saw another XK with the A pillar done as well. Thought that was an interesting and wise choice.

BOL
Vince

 

Don't do it. They look dumb, and after a few years, they crack, yellow, start peeling, and are difficult to remove. Of course, a lot of car detailers (even good ones) will try to sell you on the idea, because there's a lot of money in it for them!

If you know how to properly wash your car without marring the paint surface and can regularly give your paint the care it needs, then you should be able to keep your Jag looking like new for decades to come... without the use of one of those films.

 

The film will protect the paint against rock & gravel chips. All the washing and detailing won't prevent that from happening...

 

That was true of the 1st gen clear bra products. The newer ones are less prone to yellowing. After the first month with only 200mi on the car I started to notice small paint chips on the front nose indicating that the paint was quite soft. It was then I decided to do the clear bra. Haven't regretted it since.

@Lothar52, if you decide to do it make sure you go to a shop that has the pre-cut templates (like XPel) - they are much better to work with than cutting by hand.

Mike

 

I think the other consideration is the driving you do with it. If you are driving beltways at high speed than probably a good idea. Lots of bad roads(tar & chip) than probably a good thing to do. If you live in a area like I do, open good roads, not a great deal of traffic than i'd not do it.

I think if you just do the nose and mirrors as an example, it's not noticeable and is a good idea. My M5 I had done 1/3 of the way up the hood and it just didn't look good. Always noticeable and never looked as good(shine wise) as the rest of the car. Color of the car makes a difference. If you're car is dark(black or navy) every little thing really shows up.

My car has 40k miles on it and looks near new. Good roads and not driving in heavy fast traffic makes a big difference in the nicks and scratches.

 

$1400 will also get those parts nicely resprayed in a few years time to get rid of the road rash. Not a fan of the covering...can't beat a nice deep polished shine.

 

Agreed. That's one of the bigger problems with the films. Many of them can't be polished to a perfect shine.

And yes, it also depends how you drive. If you do a lot of highway driving and tend to tailgate a lot, your car will be sandblasted. If you keep back a lot farther, and do more city driving than highway, you'll probably see less of this.

You also have to think about what you're doing to resale value. There's a lot of people out there who wouldn't buy a car that had this film installed on it, especially if the film is 5 years old and is already starting to show signs of wear.

 

I don't like it at all.

-It looks ugly
-Makes detailing a pain-in-the rears; clay get stuck to the edge or you have to tape over all the clear bra to prevent
-Do not enjoy washing the car over the material
-Material can be hard to clean over time.


I'd rather have the road chips than look at an unsightly car with that stuff.

 

Is it easy to remove? I have just put down a deposit on a 15,000 mile, Midnight '07 XKR and will see the car in the flesh in a few days but it apparently has a 'bra' on it.

The nose looks a bit dull in the photos I have seen so would rather take the film off.

 

Depends how old it is, but you might be screwed.

Clear bra removal - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

 

Hmmm, thanks. The dealer has offered to remove it so I might leave it up to them and hope they haven't read that site!

 

Wow,

I have to say I am blown away by the responses posted.
I've been active in car clubs since the early 90's and must say that you mosesbotbol, are the first owner in 20 years I have ever heard complain about actually having it on your car... (it sounds like you do have it, right?)

Any gathering I attend is full of beautiful cars, and good majority using the product. All I have met are thrilled with it.

Concerns over yellowing are history* as mjsammon points out, and I guess i can understand questioning your driving habits and environment as a key factor in the decision. I live on the west coast and our nearby passes are 4000-5500 feet so sanding and gravel is an issue even in summer when they choose to "chip seal" the roads.

Just last March I drove a mountain pass that took the paint off the nose and rocker panels (down to bare aluminum in places). Needless to say that was not a $1400 nose repaint, but closer to $7000. New headlamps are $1100 each and those got replaced too...

Once the repair was done, I put clear bra on the critical areas (including headlamps) so I would not face loosing paint (or my car to a paint shop for over a month) ever again... If I buy a car and it has clear Bra, that is a plus for me... not a minus...

On Liquid Silver, you don't see the clear bra til your within maybe 2 or 3 feet of the car and not once has anyone told me it detracts or "looks ugly".

Vince

*Interesting Point learned back around 1991... A Corvette owner in my local club pulled off his clear bra to learn a harsh lesson. Under the bra his paint was perfect, but his film did yellow. Pulling the film we learned that the "paint" was still getting chipped as all cars do, but the clear film kept the chips solidly in place. When the clear came off, so did the paint chips.... No doubt he needed a paint job just by removing it.

 

I had my full front end wrapped and you really can't tell its there....car's silver, so that probably helps. Also, they "rolled" all of the edges, so you don't see seams except in a few spots (under headlights, 2 vertical seams on part of the bumper)... No one else has noticed until I pointed it out to them. Gives me great peace of mind when I'm on the highway... my previous cars always ended up chipped badly. I have seen cars with only 1/2 hood done and that's much more visible...non-rolled edges can be a little more visible as well.

Washing it is the same as the paint, cleans off and waxes easily.

I'd recommend it if you hate paint chips as much as I do...

 

Installed on my 04 Radience STR since new. Had redone a few years ago due to an accident and
a new superior material was used. My Jag still looks new!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop living in the yellow past and save yourselves $$$$$$$$ in the long run. Well worth my trips from the NJ shore !!!!!
I recommend Maryland Performance Works in Ellicott, Maryland. Rob, the owner, is a great guy !!
PROFORM PROTECTIVE FILMS - Extreme Protection

Happy, chip free motoring.

 

Actually, I don't have it on my car, but I have detailed a couple of friends cars that do and from that I would say, "not for me". Added too much time to detailing and I do not like the look of it.

 

I'm surprised too. My XK is my main car (I've put just over 10k on it so far), and 99% of my driving is at 65 or faster. My last car was covered in little chips, mostly caused by bugs from driving at dusk in the summertime. Hard shelled little *******s will chip every bit as bad as hitting pebbles from tailgating someone.

My car is ebony, which should be the hardest color to hide the clear bra on, and it looks just fine as far as I'm concerned. If you look from the back, you can see the seam on the hood (or if the car is covered in pollen from when I park outside at work during springtime), but "ugly"... yeah I don't know about that. From the front, its not visible until you're right on top of it. Definitely have to be more careful when claying (rubbing across the seam will catch the clay), but I don't do that all that often. I tried the taping thing for waxing and IMO that worked like crap. When you remove the tape you can clearly see lines where the tape was. I just have a toothbrush with my detailing stuff, and lightly brush the seams out after waxing. Wax is much easier to remove from the seams than clay.

As far as I could tell from my research, yellowing and cracking haven't been a problem for a long, long time, as the original material wasn't designed for automotive use (it was for protecting helicopter blades when landing on sand). I know the stuff they put on my car is guaranteed against it.

There are definitely "drawbacks" but it depends on your priorities I guess. Regarding your XKR, my installer did say that the shape and contours of the hood were a major pain, so finding someone who is going to be careful with your car and do things right would be the main concern should you decide to have it installed. Personally I just went around on the internet and found a guy who had pictures of him installing the stuff on Ferarris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, etc. and figured he had plenty of practice being careful.

 

Older thread on the topic

 

I've been considering doing it as well as I have been getting chips etc from normal driving.

I'd also consider having the doors done because of the A**H***S around here who cant open their door without banging it into the side of mine!?! ...people like that should be shot with **** and lit on fire!!

 

I had mines done with a 3M product and know one seems to realize that I've had it applied until I point it out. If you decide to do it, DON'T USE CHEAP PRODUCTS. It's a fantastic investment, especially after being painted or newly purchased. My vehicle color is green, but I'm told with white, extra care has to be taken when being applied. It definitely helps when it comes to small chips and bugs that create irremovable stains. Also once installed, it's important to spray it off immediately after driving in the late evening hours.