Anyone ever remove a clear bra from their car?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

This job really SUCKED. I put the 3M kit on my wife's Mini about four yrs. ago and it just looked hideous for the last year, turned all dark red and faded. I removed it last weekend with a razor blade and Bondo spreader, took a good 2-3 hrs., as I didn't get many pieces bigger than a dime to come off at once. So I used the adhesive remover to get all the residue off and it's pretty smooth now. However, it's still very discolored. Most of the space that was under the clear bra is still a faded maroon, yet the car is pepper white. Her clear bra had cracked in many places long ago, so now there are white lines where those cracks were. I tried Meguiar's Polishing Compound and even some wet Scotch Brite, which I know is a no-no. But it made no difference at all. How to get this all uniform white again short of a respray? I want to install another clear bra, but want it to look right first.

McLovin · 07-23-2010, 10:23 PM

You need to heat the film up pretty good while you are removing it.

Removing it cold is a big mess.

Heel n Toe · 07-23-2010, 10:34 PM

Rick, it might be worth your time to drop by a trusted local paint and body shop and ask... surely they've seen this sort of thing before.

Am I understanding you correctly... a clear bra over white paint turned dark red... and now the paint beneath where it was is faded maroon?

If so, that sounds like a quality control issue with the manufacturer of the bra, and you might get some action if you take a photo and mail or email it to their customer service department.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Yes, that's the issue. However, I think InvincaShield is out of business and that's where I bought the kit. Mc, I had the car out in the 110 deg. sunlight for a few hours. There was no problem getting the thing started, but where it was really faded to maroon, it was brittle and would only come off in chips.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

As the material degraded, it changed in color and textrue, pliable to brittle. I would think it likely that you had a little organic chemistry experiment going and you did not even know it. I would imagine the discoloration would need to be sanded and resprayed. Or you could get a piece of black vinyl or regular bra.

Perhaps why the manufacturer is defunct.

Drdogface · Drdogface's Garage

Glad I read this thread. I was just about to get one of those. Fred, are you listening ? You just got one put on recently.

Dottore · 07-24-2010, 05:58 AM

Rick:

I was recently investigating getting a clear bra, and talked to a few body-shops in the process. All I heard were horror stories like yours, about difficulty removing the stuff, paint discoloration, cracking and bubbling etc etc. And if you get a dint in a clear bra piece and need to get it repaired, removing and reapplying the the clear bra adds a whole other layer of cost etc etc. I've decided to stay well away from this stuff. I'd rather have a few stone chips.

I think the problem is that this technology isn't all that old, and it is only now that the horror stories about the flaws in the product (as it ages) are beginning to surface.

VaSteve · 07-24-2010, 06:02 AM

Is clear bra more advanced that what they put in front of the rear wheels on a 944? That sounds exactly like what happened to Rick's car.

Mrmerlin · 07-24-2010, 06:19 AM

Sorry to hear this i was wondering is the film that was used 3M film??
I have it on 4 of my vehicles and they are all perfect, I used the 3M paint protection film, it has 3M printed on the backing paper.
I also wonder if you used some kind of wax or other chemical on the film.
I just use car soap on the film portion and no waxes or other chemicals, to clean it
I have seen a few cars with failed film, but its very hard to know if it is 3M film my guess is its another brand.
3M usually makes great products

Dottore · 07-24-2010, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrmerlin

Sorry to hear this i was wondering is the film that was used 3M film??
I have it on 4 of my vehicles and they are all perfect, I used the 3M paint protection film, it has 3M printed on the backing paper.
I also wonder if you used some kind of wax or other chemical on the film.
I just use car soap on the film portion and no waxes or other chemicals, to clean it
I have seen a few cars with failed film, but its very hard to know if it is 3M film my guess is its another brand.
3M usually makes great products

For what it's worth, my enquiries at the body-shops (see post above) were specifically about 3M film.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Yes, my kit is 3M, which is not out of business. InvincaShield, the reseller, is out of business, I believe. Or they were bought out by someone. I put a kit on my 993 about five yrs. ago after it was resprayed and it still looks new. So Dottore, I wouldn't be so easily talked out of it. Obviously, fixing anything on my midnight blue metallic 993 paint is gonna be a lot harder than the flat pepper white on my wife's car. However, I work from home and my car sits in the garage most of the day. I've driven it on long trips, but it's usually outdoors for just the time it takes me to run my errands a few times a week. My wife commutes to work and only sometimes gets a parking space under a roof. Her company is currently working on covering the whole parking lot. I wonder if extreme sun exposure is what caused it. The sun is definitely stronger out here than in most other areas. Sometimes I feel like there's no shade anywhere in the state.

herr_oberst · 07-24-2010, 07:33 AM

Ironically, some folks are wrapping even larger pieces of their cars in the stuff - I saw a GT3RS (Black) last weekend that had the entire hood and part of the roof clear bra'd. I've always wondered about removal.

Great thread.

KNS · 07-24-2010, 08:23 AM

I seems like most new, high end cars (Ferrari, etc), have clear bras. I, too, saw a Ferrari with clear bra not just on the bumper but half way up the front hood.

My wife had some touching-up done at a local body shop and asked about clear bra on the front. They also recommended against it. I thought it was simply because it's less business for them but now I'm not so sure.

s_morrison57 · 07-24-2010, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dottore

Rick:

I was recently investigating getting a clear bra, and talked to a few body-shops in the process. All I heard were horror stories like yours, about difficulty removing the stuff, paint discoloration, cracking and bubbling etc etc. And if you get a dint in a clear bra piece and need to get it repaired, removing and reapplying the the clear bra adds a whole other layer of cost etc etc. I've decided to stay well away from this stuff. I'd rather have a few stone chips.

I think the problem is that this technology isn't all that old, and it is only now that the horror stories about the flaws in the product (as it ages) are beginning to surface.

Have to agree with that, the part about chips is true too, they are like scars, unsightly to you but chicks dig scars

italianguy · 11-13-2010, 10:46 AM

I just removed the clear bra from the fender of my Harley and it left thick, hard glue residue. I used carburetor and choke cleaner and it with a bit of elbow grease it worked great without affecting the paint. I started with denatured alcohol but not as successful and seems to dull the paint slightly. Afterward rubbed a good caranuba was on and it looks great! Good luck!