Long day, finally got a good roll of 60" film to finish the car. :tup:

Not many people use clearshield due to the fact it is very hard to install especially compared to Venture. Venture is a lot easier to install and takes less time. Clearshield you have to use a fabric steamer to soften the film. Clearshield also doesn't have the marketing money as 3M does.

I'm also the 3M Trainer for the Southeast so I train my competition in Florida. ;) I work with all of the films literally every day and have to admit they are not all perfect, but from doing over 4000 cars 3M and Clearshield have well out lasted the competition. I have to admit though clearshield holds up a little better as it's clear coat is non poris which doesn't allow oils and waxes to dye the film. All of the other films are poris which eventually turn the films yellow. I like them all, I personally have better luck with using 3M/clearshield for durability and Venture on garage queen cars. Other parts of the country may have different results.

I'm not trying to argue, glad you have great success with Venture. I wish I could use venture all of the time, it looks great, and it is easy to install, I just get tired of the phone calls 3 months later asking how to remove scratches and HATE re-doing cars especially for free.

Thanks

Damn that's a bad *** lookin car. Looks great and this thread should be made a sticky!

I have 4 years experience installing paint protection film and have used most films on the market. The gentlemen quoted above is correct about venture's film lacking durability, but I have to disagree with his comment about 3M's film resistance to yellowing. The pictures below were taken of a Corvette with 3M film right at 2 years after installation. This car is well maintained, garaged, and rarely driven. My customer's father had an identical car with the same problem. I replaced the film on both cars with Xpel film and both are very happy with the results. I'd like to point out that my company installed both the 3M film and the Xpel film on both of these Corvettes.

Don't get me wrong, 3M does make a good product, but Xpel's is better. After a few years using the 3M film, we switched to Xpel and have never looked back.

3M has a 5 year warranty; Xpel has a 7 year warranty (both pay for labor and materials). Xpel's film has much less orange peel and is a much more forgiving film to work with during installation. As a result, the film installs easier and a good installer will have very few cosmetic blemishes that often happen when installing 3M film.

What really sets Xpel apart from the 3M film is that they have an entire system for installation and care of the film. Instead of using water and soap as slip solution like 3M teaches (they may have changed this; I'm not really sure), Xpel makes an installation gel that is far superior for installers to utilize. Additionally, Xpel offers a finishing solution that is applied immediately after the film installation that fills the film pores with a polymer to prevent discoloration. They also have ppf sealant, that is applied periodically like a wax, that contains the same polymer to ensure the film stays sealed and looking great for an extremely long time. Additionally, these products are inexpensive and simple to use.

Related question for those that know more about this stuff than I do - I need to remove a couple pieces of clearbra, switching to a vinyl overlay in flat black in a couple places. What is the best way for a novice to remove this stuff. Heat gun then peel?

Thanks for the idea guys, I'm somewhat anal about my 370. Rich

No heat gun! Lift an edge, grasp and pull firmly at a low angle toward the edge you lifted. The tension will pull the film from the panel. You should not peel toward the edge opposite of the lifted edge to minimize risk of pulling paint. Pulling paint is however uncommon. Remove any adhesive residue with goo gone or the like.

Hello. I've been with Xpel for going on 10 years now. Know the manufacturer that makes the film and have done some r&d with the adhesives. They make awesome patterns as well as Proform. Great company, hopefully the stock will turn around soon. :)

Clearbra
 

Hey, AutoPaintGuar did my clearbra last week on my new Pearl White 370Z. He is a perfectionist - can't really see where it is. Although he advised Clearshield in my case, he gave me all options and I viewed a truck that had several manufacturer's products on it (the truck was white also). I chose the Clearshield.

It was raining this week so I couldn't get any pictures out in the sun, so all I have are the installation pictures - using my daughter's camera. At least you can see the process.

I highly recommend you get someone who has a lot of experience installing these. If you are in the Tampa/SW FL area I highly recommend using Ryan from Auto Paint Guard. As he stated he has been doing it for 10 years.
Auto Paint Guard Inc. Tampa Florida Clear Bra 3M Paint Protection Film Car Bras

If you go to Ryan, tell him Zlance sent you - he will do it right!

I got the bikini cut 24 inch hood (got it rolled under also), and full bumper, Mirrors, pillars, front roof. I also got the rocker panels covered, although Ryan didn't think I needed them done.

Now I feel safe!

Cost?

I'm looking to do this soon myself, just wondering what that amount will cost... roughly. So I can get myself a ballpark. I'm looking at:

Front Bumper
Front Fenders
Hood
Mirrors
A Pillars/Roof (Optional)
Doors/Sideskirts (Optional)

Clearshield
 

Expensive, but worth it. There are so many variables, like 18 inch hood, 24 inch, bikini cut, or straight, rolled or not, rocker panels, or not.

I didn't get the doors done, but considered it, and maybe I shouldn't have gotten the rocker panels done - but I did.

I suggest you email Ryan - he is not a high pressure guy at all, but his work is very good as he also does a lot of expensive exotic sports cars. He has a good rep.

They also do tint there.

ryan@autopaintguard.com
Ryan Burroughs
President
813-505-3868

A bit confused now
 

HI GUYS, I'm going in Tuesday the 30th to see Marco at Northcoast Tint who was recommeded by many at ClevelandRacing .com for a clearbra on my black 370. I was leaning towards Ventureshield but am now more perplexed about the choices. I called and he said he uses Ventureshield. If I decide to go with it , Ill make sure its the Ultra. Let you know what I will decide. Thanks for all of the input from all. Rich

Hello. Being protected is better than not having anything on. :icon18:
If you decide to go with Venture, pick up a can of Plexus for the wax.
Any idea what patterns he is using?

Car we did yesterday.
Ryan
Tampa, FL

just finished mine today. 3M covered 80% of the car: full all fenders and doors, side mirrors, full front bumper and side skirts, and half the hood(i should of done full hood though).

grand total of $1500.00. i had to beat him up for it though... he says he goes to dealerships and they charge customers for my package $3000.00.

I hear good and some bad things about the clear bra.
Like it will start to yellow and what not. Plus for $1500, you probably get a paint job for that price.
But I never heard of clear bra until i join this forum.

its worth it... trust me.

Ventureshield Ultra
 

Im having it installed full hood and frt fenders, bumper, mirriors ,lights and rocker panels next week. Will post with price and my thoughts when done. Rich

is your 370z HID like mine?

370 like mine?
 

HID whats that mean? I have a black one.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional xenon headlights. I just looked it up... its all standard for all the 370z.

so... i do not suggest for you to cover your headlights with anything otherwise its gonna cause it to burn out faster. its also going to distort your lenses and probably gonna turn yellow going down the road due to all the heat that the clear bra is absorbing.

lights
 

thanks, I like your thoughts on it. won't get the lights, rich

Just picked up my car today and it looks awesome. Had the full hood, full front fenders, front bumper, mirrors, lower rockers, and those pieces to the left/right of the front windshield - forget what they are called. Anyway, price was $1150. No way you could have all that stuff painted (quality) for that price. Plus it stays looking good for a long time. Lifetime quarantee against bubbles, cracking, yellowing, etc.

Like i said before, i'm sold on this product since i've had it installed on now 4 different vehicles. It really does keep your front end protected and looking good.

Do you know of any research backing this up, kind of seems unlikely...

No problems with 13k miles on my headlights with clearbra.

i wanted it installed on mine too but the nissan techs and the clear bra guy told me it was not recommended bc i had HID lights. they had bad experiences in the past with warranties getting voided due to these type of issues on a lot of 350z owners that had HID.

im not taking the chance so i didnt install it to mine. ill take their word for it because the headlight and bulb itself cost an arm and a leg.

I haven't seen any issues with the new 370z yet. However on the 350z, i've seen the lights "craze" which are small little stress cracks in the surface of the lens. This can be from a couple reasons.

Most headlights that are installed are installed with a little rubbing alcohol which can cause crazing of the lense. Just like your not suppose to put any chemicals on the lens alcohol, gas, lacquer thinner etc.
Another reason that can be caused is the thick headlight film causing to much heat.

So when I do headlights now, I only use the standard 8 mil headlight film and only use soap and water for the slip and just water only for the tack solution.

Some vehicles you can use alcohol and thicker headlight film, but on the plastic lenses on these cars I wouldn't.

The film will stop the lenses from turning yellow.

good luck brother... please keep us updated and let us know if anything changes.

Ventureshield ultra
 

Just met with my guy. 1150 plus tax for full hood, partial fenders, bumper,rocker panels, mirrors and lights. Next Friday, April 9th. Will post with my thoughts then. Rich

Completely false. I have been installing film on HID lights for years without any issues at all. It will not cause the ligts to burn out earlier and the film will not yellow. But going without film your lights WILL get chipped up. I highly recommend going with film on the lights as 1 light will cost more to replace than the entire cost of the install.

Just looked @ Ryan's site again - I didn't realize he had these gallaries on there. He has done some nice cars!

Gallery - 3M Paint Protection Film Florida Car Bras

Drove my car to work today after having the Venture Clear installed at the end of last week...full hood, full fenders, bumper, rockers, etc. Buddy of mine knew i was having it done so he comes in [after looking at the car in the parking lot] and says "thought you were having the Clear Bra installed." I said it's done. Moral of the story: if someone can't tell it's on there then it's a good install.

Nobody in OKC area does this. arggghhhh!! I'm jealous

Just had mine done with Ventureshield Ultra. Full hood, partial fenders, rocker panels, mirriors, lights and bumper. Once used with Plexius cleaner/polisher, gives a smooth, smooth finish. Excellent job, edges tucked under hood and only small lines on partial fender job which look good as if part of the car. Hardly noticeable even on my black Z. I'm in Middleburg Hts, Ohio , outside of Cleveland. Thumbs up for the peace of mind, Rich

damn i want to do the whole car

That'all cost, for the whole car. not necessary though. My installer does many high end cars from the Cleveland Cavs ( LEBRON ) and Browns.

I have paint chips where my windsheild meets the roof. they are right there on the edge and drive me nuts.

I was finally able to get the clearbra put on my Z 3 weeks after purchase, and I'd already had dings/chips since I had to drive on a ****** dirt road for the first 2 weeks I had it. :mad: But anyways, point being, I was quoted for $1000 (through the dealer) for Full Hood, Front Bumper, Full Fenders, Full Mirrors. That was what I requested...

What I recieved, and I will take pics if anyone is that interested, but since there are so many already, I'll save the kBs on the thread. Anyways, what I was expecting was not what I was given. The bra only covered the first 1/3 of the hood, and when they said 'you can't notice where it ends'... YES YOU CAN. VERY OBVIOUSLY. Clean/Dirty, Day/Night, doesn't matter... it stands out something awful. This was why I wanted the full front end done. (I'd have the entire car done if I could). Point being, it was not what I ordered. I got the full bumper as far as I can tell, but it doesnt cover the entire body of the grill. And only the front 6 inches of the fenders are covered.

This in itself would not be a problem if it was done right. But the pieces do NOT go over the edges, they stop about a 1/4in. short of the edge of the part. So not only is the entire part not covered, but neither are the edges where most chips happen!! :mad: x 50

And as I've seen on here people getting their mirrors done and it covering about 90% of the painted surface, my piece is only about 3 inches wide up the mirror, so its not even half. Fukin A.

I won't even get started about the little debris I can see that was caught under the clearbra itself. These guys must have just slapped it on, smoothed it out, and that was that. So what if we catch stuff underneath it... He won't notice. uhhh WRONG Julio...

So long story short:

It wasnt what I ordered
Doesn't cover the edges
Doesn't cover the complete parts
Based off what I'm seeing here, I overpaid

Lastly, Phoenix is dusty as fu*k. I hate it but its where I'm stuck so I have to suffer. Anyways, the clearbra part of the car is like sticky paper worse than the clear coat. My car is 3 toned. Black, Sandy, and BROWN. And since the clearbra only covers the front 3rd of the car, its effin ugly! LOL I have to laugh to not want to punch someone.

[/Vent]

Basically, this instance has pissed me off so much, I want to take it back to them and tell them to remove it. But I'm fairly certain 1. They won't for free. 2. I'll have to wait around till the guy they use finally answers his damn phone. 3. Be without my car for another day. 4. Pray to god they dont make the paint worse... :ugh2:

So for all those in Phoenix looking to get clear bra done, make sure you can be there to WATCH them do it, which is why I wanted to do it on a Sat when I don't work, but the only time he was open was during the week. Next time, I'll just take a day off.

If anyone knows about clearbra REMOVAL, that information would be greatful to me.

Damn that really sucks. I'm not a professional installer but from what I understand they are supposed to stretch the material and it sounds more like whoever installed this just stuck it up there and of course didn't stretch it to make fit right. Or maybe they didn't have accurate cuts if they cut the material themselves instead of computer cut on a plotter.

One thing I thought of was did you get any kind of warranty with this? I got the 3M warranty and you receive a card from the installer with his license # on it. I would take it to another installer and have them file a claim covered under the warranty. If you just had a dealer install it with no warranty that blows man. hopefully you get it sorted out. Also, California car duster is a life saver for stupid dust/pollen.

Yeah, I had it through the dealer, hes the guy that does all their clearbras. I am so pissed about the overall deal with this car, I'd have a good mind to take it to Fontana our Fusz for a brand new one (perhaps a different color as well) If I wouldn't loose $10k in depreciation... But no, I didn't get anything from him or them, I showed up dropped the car off, picked it up later that day... That was it.

And I do have a cali duster, I don't mind the dust on the car because its normal, its just when you have the two sitting side by side. You know what, Fu*k it, I'll take some pics this afternoon so you can see what I mean.

Hello. It sounds like you had a crappy install. Depending on the film if the edges were wrapped etc you can't really see it at all. The entire mirrors can be covered, it would have to be done in 2 pieces, but if seemed perfectly together you really can't see that either.

At any rate, put the car in the sun and let the panels warm up etc. If the film is laying down at 0 degrees, slightly pull up at 5 degrees and stretch off. By doing this, it will allow all of the adhesive to come off with the film.

Hope this helps.
Ryan
Auto Paint Guard Inc. Tampa Florida Clear Bra 3M Paint Protection Film Car Bras

Sorry you had such a bad experience. When done right, the clearbra really is worth the money. I think it's important to talk directly with the installer to make sure you know what you are getting. The leading edge of the hood should always be wrapped, but it takes extra time and experience to do this. If you lived closer i'd let you take a look at my car so you'd know what it SHOULD look like. If it was my car i'd take it back and demand they either do it right or give you a refund.