Clear Bra Film
Due to environmental concerns, car manufacturers today use a water-based paint. Unfortunately, water-based paint chips easily from flying rocks on the highway and can easily get marred if your car gets bumped in the parking lot.
You can protect your car from damage by applying a clear film to give your paint an extra layer of defense from the elements and random bumper car incidents. Check out the images below!
Clear bra is a film originally designed to protect helicoptor rotors from being chipped up by rocks. Taking the same film and applying it to the front of a car shields the paint and has a lifespan of about seven years. No special maintenance is needed specifically for the clear bra film as it can be polished/waxed just like the rest of the car without the film.
Installing clear bra can be tricky as big pieces of clear film with an adhesive backing can often times be cumbersome to deal with when applying it to the curved surfaces of a car. The cost of raw materials for a standard clear bra job may only be a couple hundred dollars but since you only have one chance to install it correctly, it's heavily recommended that you have a professional install it for several reasons.
1) Clear bra film manufacturers will offer a warranty when installed by a licensed installer.
2) When was the last time you unrolled 5 feet of clear packing tape and didn't have it stick to itself? That's right, never.
3) Applying clear bra is easy when you have a Hummer because many of the body panels are flat. Applying the clear bra on curved surfaces requires a heat gun (not a blow dryer) to help mold the material to fit the contours of the car. Do you really want to go buy a heat gun for a project you're going to do once or twice in your life?
If your car is brand new, you can have a clear bra installed at any time. If you just recently had your car repainted, you will want to wait several weeks to a month for the paint to cure to ensure the paint will not come off when you remove the clear bra.
Depending on the vehicle and how much of the vehicle you want to cover, the installation process can take anywhere from 3 to 7 hours. Contact a local clear bra installer near you!
WHERE can I install clear bra?
Do not go to the auto dealer. Auto dealers usually serve as middle men who do not have a dedicated installer on the premises. They charge a full retail price and then pay an installer a fraction of that amount to get the job done. To get the best work done, skip the middle men and go directly to the source. Contact a licensed clear bra installer and talk with them to make sure they are interested in doing a good job on your car and to create a paper trail for any potential warranty work you may need in the future.