Joe Frito Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I have a 3M clear bra applied to my Vapor/Ebony coupe on the full front end. It was not a pre cut kit, but was fit to the car so it would wrap around the panel edges. I have noticed that the film is starting to lift along the stripes and on the outer edges where it covers the stripes, the film is starting to discolor because of dust getting underneath. I asked the installer about this and he told me there was nothing he could do because it won't stick close to the stripes. I'm a little PO'd because it cost quite a bit to get done and he didn't tell me that may happen before I had it installed. For those of you that also have the 3M clear bra, are you also finding the film lifting at the stripes or is it OK? I want to be able to go back to the installer to have it all replaced if others are not having this issue. Unfortunately, I really need to have this on the front due to the amount of small rocks kicked up on our freeways so I hope I'm not SOL. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Tony Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I had the invisible bra before I had stripes and when I had the guy remove them in preparation for the 40th stripes, he said he will cut the bra at the edge of the stripe so that it lays flat next to stripe and doesn't leave a gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I assume your problem is happening at the top on your hood? My bra is venture shield. My installer made a cut at each stripe about 2 inches long at the leading edge where the bra meets the paint. (where my finger is in the pic's) This allows the sbra to be tight at the leading edge to keep the dirt out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Frito Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 What about the rest of the film? I have an air gap that runs down the whole length of the stripes on the hood and bumper, which fortunately is not very noticable on the Vapor/black combo unless you look closely. The worst part right now is the dirt trapped underneath on the leading edges, but I would think that a good installer would know that this would happen and have a fix for it. I took the car in this morning, and they are trying to work out a solution, so hopefully it will get fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 What about the rest of the film? I have an air gap that runs down the whole length of the stripes on the hood and bumper, which fortunately is not very noticable on the Vapor/black combo unless you look closely. The worst part right now is the dirt trapped underneath on the leading edges, but I would think that a good installer would know that this would happen and have a fix for it. I took the car in this morning, and they are trying to work out a solution, so hopefully it will get fixed. Joe, There is no way around that issue of the slight air gap running the length of the stripe if you want the bra in 1 piece. The material has to bridge the stripes and the stripes are thick so the bra wont lay down all the way at the stripe to paint transition. I have the same thing on my car. The way to prevent dirt at the leading edge is for the installer to cut a slit for the first 2 inches at the stripe location. This way it lays down and will not let dirt in. In order to fix yours he may be able to score the bra the entire width of the car to get rid of the dirt , and then make the 2 inch slits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Joe, Click on this photo and you will see the slight air gap at the stripe to paint location and the point of where it ends and the slit begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leepinlen Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I just had the 3m clear bra installed on my 08, he cut along the edge of every seam where the bra and stripes meet..no air pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regalt87 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 My 3M has just a very slight area next to the stripe. Hard to avoid that. The guy who installed them said they were guarenteed 5 years. contact another 3m rep and see if they can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlitz Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 My 3M has just a very slight area next to the stripe. Hard to avoid that. The guy who installed them said they were guarenteed 5 years. contact another 3m rep and see if they can help. I had Venture Shield installed in Nov.07. No problems, Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Frito Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Thanks to all who have replied so far. I went in today to discuss options with teh shop owner. The first thing she said was "we told you that was going to happen before we installed it" which I then corrected her because they haden't. The next thing she said, which I expected, was "there is nothing we can do about that. We have the best installer in the city and if he can't install to you satisfaction then no one can". My issue isn't the gap running along the length of the stripe (it is not very noticable on teh Vapor) but after 3 months the dirt that got trapped under the leading edge at the stripe. The shop owner laughed when I mentioned that you on the board have had the film cut on the leading edge to get it tighter to keep out the dirt. "If you want us cutting on your car with a razor then that your choice, just don't come crying when it starts to rust. You are being way too picky and anal about a little dirt aren't you? Would you rather have store chips all over the front?" Needless to say I amm currently not very happy, but I am taking the car in on Monday to have the "best installer in the city" look to see what he can do. Grabber, is there any way to get a closeup of the spot where they cut it back? I couldn't really see it on the pictures you posted. Anyone who installs this product please weigh in Sorry for the picture qyuality, but my camera doesn't take great closeups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I just had the 3m clear bra installed on my 08, he cut along the edge of every seam where the bra and stripes meet..no air pockets. My guy gave me that option to. I chose the one piece option. Less risk of future problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Thanks to all who have replied so far. I went in today to discuss options with teh shop owner. The first thing she said was "we told you that was going to happen before we installed it" which I then corrected her because they haden't. The next thing she said, which I expected, was "there is nothing we can do about that. We have the best installer in the city and if he can't install to you satisfaction then no one can". My issue isn't the gap running along the length of the stripe (it is not very noticable on teh Vapor) but after 3 months the dirt that got trapped under the leading edge at the stripe. The shop owner laughed when I mentioned that you on the board have had the film cut on the leading edge to get it tighter to keep out the dirt. "If you want us cutting on your car with a razor then that your choice, just don't come crying when it starts to rust. You are being way too picky and anal about a little dirt aren't you? Would you rather have store chips all over the front?" Needless to say I amm currently not very happy, but I am taking the car in on Monday to have the "best installer in the city" look to see what he can do. Grabber, is there any way to get a closeup of the spot where they cut it back? I couldn't really see it on the pictures you posted. Anyone who installs this product please weigh in Sorry for the picture qyuality, but my camera doesn't take great closeups. I am still at work. When I get home in a couple hours, I will see if I can get you some photos. My cuts were made in the bra at the stripes while the bra was being installed. When you cut the top of the venture shield bra during installation it does not go all the way thru the bra. The installer has to work the material to get it to release. That is why he did it at the top edge only for a inch or 2 while the bra was still plyable. If your installer makes a score along the intire width of your bra, he can then peel that 1/4 inch piece off that has the dirt under it. The question is....can he make a short 1 inch cut in the bra at the stripe with out hurting your paint ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Grabber, is there any way to get a closeup of the spot where they cut it back? I couldn't really see it on the pictures you posted. I took some more pic's for you of the cut that you are inquiring about. It turns out that the cut is 6-1/2 inches long. I put a piece of black tape on the ruler at the end of cut / 6-1/2 inch mark. The top of the ruler is the end of the bra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Another option I thought of to keep dirt from working it's way into that little gap if your installer can't put a slit in the bra is to: Cut a small piece of bra material 1/2 inch by 1 inch. Round the edges, and apply it over the top of the problem area. This wiil seal the area off from any future problems. Do this after he removes the dirt problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Frito Posted June 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Took the car in today. The installer said there is nothing that he can do with the issue and that the owner (who is now gone for a week) will not allow him to make any adjustments or fixes to the film on my car. He said that he has installed the film on 8 gt500's so far and I am the only one who has complained. When I asked him to give me some names and numbers so I could verify that, he got all quiet and changed the subject. I am a bit pissed seeing it cost me almost a grand to do, and now I'll have to pay someone else more money to fix it. I was hunting around the web to see if there was someone directly at 3M that I could take this issue up with as the shop contracts out for the 3M company, but no luck. Next time, I'll use venture shield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjstew Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 When I had mine done I had the same problem plus there were a couple fingerprints that you could see. I took it back to them and they said they would redo it and that they could precut it around the stripes. So I dropped off my car to get it done. Later, I go and pick it up and lokk at the job they did and it was great, EXCEPT for the part of the stripe that they had ripped while taking off the original bra. They had also tried to trim off some of the stripe to hide it. And there were even more fingerprints. They actually told me that they didn't notice. So, now I talked to the owner who was very appologetic and agreed to get it fixed. They ordered new stripes, the first ones came in the wrong color. Once they did get the right color, they redid the stripe and the bra. It took them 3 times to get it right but it looks good now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Tony Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 I had my Ventureshield invisible bra re-applied after my 40th Anniversary conversion which included stripes on a previously stripeless car. As mentioned above, my bra guy Lance Pugh, from Clear-Pro (Temecula, CA, http://www.clear-pro.com/ ) scored the bra at every stripe edge then pressed down on the scoring to make lay down right next to the stripe with no air gap. Lance made it look very easy, but he said he just drags the blade across the bra material just enough to make it squeal which scores it. You can feel the stripe/bra edges just like you can before the bra is applied. I watched Lance throughout the process (probably drove him crazy with all of the picture taking) and he just took his time making the scores right along the stripe edges and was not afraid to recognize his limits (gave up quickly on covering the convex surface of the fog lights). Parking lot paranoia got the best of me so I had him do both of the doors as well. Here are a few pics of Lance trying to ignore me while he did his best on my stripes. The sheet of pre-cut material He did the driver's door first trying to stay in the early morning shade in the SoCal summer The roll of bulk material is standing in the foreground Close-up of his hands making the urethane sheet squeal These were his tools - he made six long cuts per door - good thing no lettering involved Lance working his magic on the hood That's about it. He never cut through the material to the paint and the end result looks ... invisible. BTW, Lance comes to you. He did this in my driveway/garage and goes all over the place (probably not NorCal). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.