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Clear Bra


Lowery89

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Haven't found a thread on here about getting clear bra on a edge or any pictures. I just bought a 2013 sport in black and will be installing Xpel ultimate clear bra on the front end, rockers, and a clear strip at the rear bumper where a protector would go.. Any one else done this already or hear about this Xpel stuff!? It cures if it gets scratched I don't know how to post videos or want to get in trouble by posting a link...

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On October 25th I will be getting it wrapped ill post pictures of the install and finished product.. They say the first day is when It looks the worst as the product cures but I'm sure it will still look great. I'm taking it to a place called clear pro.. It'll be pricey but I'm definitely a strong believer in you get what you pay for.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had the clear film installed on 2 cars, both of which were white. I am going to be adding it to my white Edge within the next several weeks. It is noticeable from certain angles, but if you are a short distance away, you really can't see it. It looks a lot better than paint chips and dings. I've got it 24 inches on the hood, matching length on the front fenders, mirrors, front bumper, fog lights, and head lights of my wife's MDX. I'll be doing the same coverage on the Edge.

Ā 

The only other solution if you want to avoid paint chips would be the old style black leather bras. No way would I even consider one of those anymore, even if the car wasn't white or black!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok made the journey from Chicago to SoCal with my new Edge. used the painters tape trick for the ride and i will tell you if your taking a long trip DO IT. I Had Xpel Ultimate Film protection installed the day after i made it home to the entire front end, 24 inches on the hood, mirrors, door handle cups, rockers, and as a rear bumper protector, It was Installed by a place called Clear Pro here in SoCal. The owner is a former Marine and so is his partner. Myself a Marine with 5 years under my belt many more to go... if there is one thing the Marine Corps does to you is make you have OCD and pay attention to every little detail on everything you do. These guys still apply what the Corps teaches you and did an amazing job. The Film carries a 10 year warranty against cracking, chips, tears, bubbling, fading, and yellowing. It also cures itself if it were to be scratched you can google the shop name and they have videos of the film at work and installs. The shop also backs their work if any bubbles form/dont go away or edges lift, Ever, they will fix it or replace it. I drove to the shop to get it installed and after it was done a week ago now there still are a few bubbles which havent gone away. They are driving to ME! not me having to take a trip out there again next week to check on how the film cured and remove those bubbles with a medical syringe or replace as needed. I'm anal when it comes to my cars and believe me they will hear about any bubble i find.

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You cant see the film as you look head on at the Edge, but when you are walking from the rear of the truck to the front you can SLIGHTLY as you can see in the picture notice where the film stops. I can take more pictures but honestly I'd just be posting pictures of my Edge because you cant notice anything different. If anyone has Questions or insists on more pictures FIRE AT WILL! Thanks

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Great Job and worth the time and money.

Ā 

Got this done the second day I got my Edge Sport as Canadian winters with salt are just horrible on todays auto paints being thin. Got the whole front end done(hood, fenders, grill, bumper, lower bumper/skirt, sideview mirrors, headlights and side skirts) Best thng I ever done. My Edge looks perfect!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Go on Xpels website that's the film brand.. You'll find their dealers on there. As far as reviews and talking on the phone is why I decided to wait till I got back to base in Cali. If I found a place in Chicago I liked I woulda done it there but every place I called were pricks and their reviews showed

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm having a less than perfect experience with the Xpel bra. I don't want to go into the back story or drop names but suffice it to say it doesn't look as good as I thought it would after paying 800+taxes. The shop is a 3M certified installer and has lots of experience and are nice guys, but still there are noticible pieces of dirt under the bra (up close) in some places, "rough" areas that don't look as good as fresh paint would, and the hardest part for them seemed to be the horizontal groove in the cross pieces of the grill. The film pulls away a bit and then looks white-ish. THe shop did take the car back in and redid the hood and grill and it looks better but still isn't as good as I thought it would look.

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Don't get me wrong it's not awful by any means. To be honest though, if I could back in time I'd just keep the 800 bucks probably. Just my experiences.

Ā 

Example pic,

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Edited by OnTheFence
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  • 3 weeks later...

Mine had the same problem they have been out 3 different times for bubbles in differnet spots... They did end up redoing the piece you had problems with on mine too... It's that channel that makes it difficult... Sorry your shop didn't take care of you I still am a fan of it.. Have you figured out how to keep wax build up off the edges of it? That's my only battle right now

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Have you figured out how to keep wax build up off the edges of it? That's my only battle right now

Ā 

You can clean up the edges by using a soft bristle toothbrush along the edges lightly while washing the car. Another way to remove wax would be to use a Magic Eraser along the edges. The Magic Eraser method takes a little longer but does does a good job of removing stubborn build up. The difficult part in using the Magic Eraser is scrubbing the edges without making too much contact on the paint.

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The film pulls away a bit and then looks white-ish. THe shop did take the car back in and redid the hood and grill and it looks better but still isn't as good as I thought it would look.

Ā 

I'm an installer myself and that crevice/valley area of the grille you're talking about can be frustrating for certain types of films. If the white-ish hue you're talking about is what I think it is, then it was kind of necessary to make the film a little more sticky during the install process to avoid peeling up again. Unfortunately, these types of install problems can be common with the newer cars today due to modern exterior desings that are becoming more and more intricate. At the end of the day though, if the shop is a good one, they should be open to giving you some sort of discount or partial refund if the film is not what you expected.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks guys, yeah they did replace the grill section completely along with the hood as I mentioned before but I honestly believe they just didn't have the skills to not have the horizontal groove area pull up on the corners a bit. They also gave me a discount on some tint but then there is dirt under that too. So I was uncomfortable taking the car back to them. I'll get it replaced after moving back to San Diego in a few months.

Ā 

I'm not near bothered by it enough to want to remove the film but I wanted to make others aware of it when pricing it out. If you point that area out ahead of time you might be able to negotiate for a bit of a discount if they have trouble with it.

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  • 6 months later...

Only thing I can think of, if it hasn't yellowed, would be to polish the Clear Bra just like you polish plastic. This would remove the outermost layer and get rid of finer swirls/scratches.

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Then apply a sealant made for plastics to it to retain the shine/clarity.

Edited by WWWPerfA_ZN0W
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Only thing I can think of, if it hasn't yellowed, would be to polish the Clear Bra just like you polish plastic. This would remove the outermost layer and get rid of finer swirls/scratches.

Ā 

Then apply a sealant made for plastics to it to retain the shine/clarity.

There are no scratches neither the color becomes yellow, just it lost the shine

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