Clear Bra removal

zilla

zilla

New member
Anyone ever taken one of these off? I just bought an M3 and the previous owner had one installed when it was new I think. It's starting to show it's age and be a little too visible for my taste.

Thanks in advance for any tips. I was thinking of trying out a hairdryer and some gentle elbow grease to pull it off. I've read that it should be removed in strips, to avoid damaging the clear.
 
zilla said:
Anyone ever taken one of these off? I just bought an M3 and the previous owner had one installed when it was new I think. It's starting to show it's age and be a little too visible for my taste.

Thanks in advance for any tips. I was thinking of trying out a hairdryer and some gentle elbow grease to pull it off. I've read that it should be removed in strips, to avoid damaging the clear.
Click to expand...

I've seen them installed..I would suggest taking it to a pro to see what they would say...From what I could tell is that they use a glue of some sorts to attach it, once you have pulled off the plastic then you have to remove the glue, and I have no clue about how that is done.

I'd see a pro to be safe
 
I have never done it so take everything that I say with a gran of salt. I am in now way resposible if this goes arye
What I would do if I were to remove a clear bra would be

1:wash the car well to get off any dirt

2: use a heat gun in small sections to loosten the glue (much like you would a sticker on the paint)

3: slowley peel back the bra. Make sure you go slow so there is no paint removed

4: wash the car again once the bra is off, get off any dirt that might be trapped under the bra so it dosent scratche

5: use megs paint cleanser (its one i like, works well), I would over all the clue at least 2times to make sure you get as much off as possible

6: clay the area.. this should remove most of the gue resadue

7: for anything that is left contiune with steps 5 and 6 until it is completly clean

8: wash again, make sure veything is off your paint

9: polish if needed, im not sure how the paint will look under the bra so it may need some work

10: seal or wax and you would the rest of your car

This might seam kinda time conusming and it will be but I would spend the time to make sure I dont harm the paint. Its better to have it take a few hours instead of needing a repaint. And like I said I have never done this SO I ASUME NO RESPONSBILIY, this is just what I would do. have fun
 
CalgaryDetail said:
I have never done it so take everything that I say with a gran of salt. I am in now way resposible if this goes arye
What I would do if I were to remove a clear bra would be

1:wash the car well to get off any dirt

2: use a heat gun in small sections to loosten the glue (much like you would a sticker on the paint)

3: slowley peel back the bra. Make sure you go slow so there is no paint removed

4: wash the car again once the bra is off, get off any dirt that might be trapped under the bra so it dosent scratche

5: use megs paint cleanser (its one i like, works well), I would over all the clue at least 2times to make sure you get as much off as possible

6: clay the area.. this should remove most of the gue resadue

7: for anything that is left contiune with steps 5 and 6 until it is completly clean

8: wash again, make sure veything is off your paint

9: polish if needed, im not sure how the paint will look under the bra so it may need some work

10: seal or wax and you would the rest of your car

This might seam kinda time conusming and it will be but I would spend the time to make sure I dont harm the paint. Its better to have it take a few hours instead of needing a repaint. And like I said I have never done this SO I ASUME NO RESPONSBILIY, this is just what I would do. have fun
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound too time consuming to me... I was going to do it as part of detailing the car (which boy...this dude took good care of everything on the car cept the paint... it's swirled up big time) and honestly that was about the steps I was planning to use.

I think I will consult with an installer to see what they say about it.

Thanks guys! Keep any info coming.
 
I've done it recently on a BMW from the West that the clear bra had turned brittle and yellow.
None of the paint came off with the bra, but I tested around the edges and moved slowly inward. I heated with a gun, then peeled as quickly as I could without feeling I was pulling the paint. It came of in 2 or 3 pieces
It left TONNES of residue glue (for USers, that's TONS). It took plastic razor blades (from JoeP--thanx!) and adhesive remover to do the trick. I prefer Zep ClingSoy in the aeresol to 3M aeresol, but the 3M liquid is good too. It took about 2hours to do this one.
Then I did about 90 mins of careful polishing and blending on the hood.

Good luck, that's just my experience.
brenton
 
How about for clearbra replacement?

I have a "Clearguard" on my car, and am considering replacing it with a new one in a few years if mine gets too dinged up over time (also so I can touch up any spots that breached the bra). I figure it would be the same, heat, then slowly remove, then remove the adhesive, but I wonder if it should really be taken the "whole 9 yards" and polished before the new bra is applied. I wouldn't be doing it myself though (too scarred/inexperienced), but I'd want to make sure whatever place did it knew exactly what they are doing (figure a lot of tint places can put it on, but few maybe can take one off).
 
Conundrum said:
How about for clearbra replacement?

I have a "Clearguard" on my car, and am considering replacing it with a new one in a few years if mine gets too dinged up over time (also so I can touch up any spots that breached the bra). I figure it would be the same, heat, then slowly remove, then remove the adhesive, but I wonder if it should really be taken the "whole 9 yards" and polished before the new bra is applied. I wouldn't be doing it myself though (too scarred/inexperienced), but I'd want to make sure whatever place did it knew exactly what they are doing (figure a lot of tint places can put it on, but few maybe can take one off).
Click to expand...

I considered that... but this car has evidently had the bra for a while, b/c the paint looks perfect. So I was thinking that it'd be nice to ditch the bra and just protect the car myself. But I may look into replacing it. How much does it typically cost for a clear bra?

Look for pics of the car, before and after, probably Sunday. Gonna detail it this weekend. :yay
 
I carefully peeled it from my car after about 400 miles with no ill effects .The paint was new obviously but i just didn't like the factory application around the air inlets . So i ditched the stuff .
 
yello430 said:
I carefully peeled it from my car after about 400 miles with no ill effects .The paint was new obviously but i just didn't like the factory application around the air inlets . So i ditched the stuff .
Click to expand...

:)

Sweet car man.
 
What brand was the film? Honestly any good film from what I've heard should last up to 5 years, this is assuming the installer did a good job. The film shouldn't fade or discolor.
 
The Woob said:
What brand was the film? Honestly any good film from what I've heard should last up to 5 years, this is assuming the installer did a good job. The film shouldn't fade or discolor.
Click to expand...

The edges are looking rough more than anything, I've cleaned them up a decent bit so overall it's improved tremendously. I think I'm gonna leave it at this point. No clue what brand it is though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top