I did it!

W

Waxxy

New member
Hey! Just watned to let everyone know that I finally got a new car! A 2005 Passat. WOOHOO! Its my mid-life crisis car, and now I have something new to be OCD about.

On Friday, I have an appointment to tint my windows. The guy at the tinting place asked if I wanted to put a 6mil clear film on my hood to help prevent rocks from chipping away at the paint. Is this a good thing? Can you wax over this plastic?
 
Congratulations on the new wheels!! :bigups

Wishing you many safe, happy & shiny miles!! :D

PS - Post pics ;)
 
first off congrats!! Im not an expert on clear bras but from what i have seen they really highlight orange peel.

Greg
 
Hi Norah & Greg! Thanks! I'll be extra A/R about this car now.. but I did notice some light scratches from the dealership. Apparently, they "tried" to take some of the surface scratches out before I picked up the car and made some light buffing scratches. I guess I will test out the knowledge I have gained here to try to get rid of those.

I'll try to post pics once I figure out how - and after I tint my windows. Maybe next week.

Greg - those clear plastic sticky things looked great on the brochures, and they make it sounds like a "wonder invention". I have my doubts unless anyone here really has a great experience with it.

Thanks again!
 
Can't comment on the clear bra but, Congrats on the new ride :jump

Have lots of happy miles with it
"J"
 
I think peopel who have them like them. They shoudl prevent rock chips and such. I dont know as far as polishing what you can do though.

Greg
 
I have a clear bra on the hood, front fender, side mirrors, and head lights. It was well worth the investment. You really have to look to see it on my silver car. It's a joke to maintain. Treat it like your paint. Some clear bra material comes with a clear coat now and you can actually polish out defects like you do with paint. Now it's not totally invisible but it looks a lot better than a front end that looks like it's been sand blasted because it has a million chips.
 
A clean bra is definitely a worthwhile investment on a new car. Especially one that is a daily driver and exposed to highway hazards.


Congrats on the new car. Many Happy Miles!!! :headbang
 
Thanks everyone! I had initial doubts about the clear bra. but I guess it doesn't hurt reading up on it, and talking to the installation place. Maybe they will have a car there that has it done.

I'm just a little hesitant about putting a 6 mil sheet of plastic over the paint - does anyone know if there are long-term effects on the paint if left on for years?
 
Waxxy said:
Thanks everyone! I had initial doubts about the clear bra. but I guess it doesn't hurt reading up on it, and talking to the installation place. Maybe they will have a car there that has it done.

I'm just a little hesitant about putting a 6 mil sheet of plastic over the paint - does anyone know if there are long-term effects on the paint if left on for years?
Click to expand...


Apparently the clear bra does NOT have UV protection in it. This will allow the paint under the clear bra to age the same as the rest of the paint. Of course if you take care of your paint and clear bra with proper cleaning and waxing it will age well.


If the clear bra is applied over a repaint there can be problems when and if you want to remove the bra. It can lift the paint. I have seen it happen. I have never seen it happen on original paint and you can avoid it on a repaint if you are careful.
 
Hey Big Kahuna,
I got my information from TNT Tinting on Ward Avenue. They have the 6 mil plastic, and they supposedly use a computer program to help them with the custom cutting of the film. Their website says 4 mil, but the e-mail that I got from them stated 6 mil - I'm assuming that their website has not been updated yet.


Hope this helps!
-mari
 
Thanks Waxxy! Yes, I did look at TNT earlier. I forgot their product source, but it is not the 3M film. It's suppose to be clearer than 3M to begin with and they offer a "life-time" warranty. I've seen it on Tony's (owner) truck at Salt Lake.

I'm trying to find the other tinting company I contacted that uses X-Pel. They don't advertised, but install it on the side. However, I checked with X-Pel and there are no official reseller in Hawaii, just vendors buying and installing. I'm curious on how any warranty issues will be handled.

Anyways, TNT does not have my pattern for the past 4-6 months, as I have an XC-90. They offerred to custom cut mine by hand but, I just want to wait until the computer template gets in. I feel the computer may have a cleaner (straighter) edge. They said that thay normally over size the computer template a bit and pre-stretch it to make installation easier.

Take care,
David
 
Congrat Waxxy on ya new ride. The clear bra? I d/k, I heard in long run it'll turn yellow :eek?
 
Thats what I initially thought too, but assured me that the yellowing problem was addressed and now have more up to date products that do not yellow...

I'm flip-flopping on this, can ya tell?????
 
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