I hightly recommend it! the clear bra has saved my car several times from rock chips... and has saved the MINI countless times... too bad there isnt a clear bra for the windshield! I've gotten 3 windshelds so far!

My clear bra is made by Avery. You know, the office supply brand. My MINI's clear bra is the original 3M brand and I think I prefer that one. It seems to be more sturdy and has held up really well for being 3 years old. Looks just like a couple months old. I'm not saying that the Avery one hasnt held up, it has too. Both design cuts are designed by Xpel. I think they have a really good pre-cut design coverage compared to some of the other ones i've seen like Armourfend, Invinca-Shield. StonGuard is good too! It would be between X-Pel cut and StonGuard.

As for film wise... I dont have personal expereince with Llumar or the other brands so I cant comment but 3M is good.

 

Have it. Like it. Would do it again. Recommend it.

 

anyone have experience with the 3M brand yellowing?

 

Yes, my install is nearly a year old and is starting to get ever so slightly yellow. I had it done by the place that Ferrari of Washington uses. My car is never in the sun so I am a bit surprised. I am actually pleased since this means they will be replacing it soon. FWIW the 3M is the only material with clearcoat.

 

After 3 years its a little yellow. you dont notice it unless you're looking for it in certain angles and light. It also helps being on a light car. I think on white or dark cars it'll show more.

This car gets beat in the CA hot sun tho... and its a 3 year old clear bra technology. I think they would have improved it a bit by now.

 

BLUF: No problems so far.
My wife has a clearbra on her Altima. When she and the salesperson first saw it they tried to peel the edge of it because they thought it was something put on during shipping. I kept looking and said no, its a clearbra. Well both of them thought I was nuts. I kept looking and they kept trying to put a fingernail under the edge to start peeling. I finally found the dealer add-on/markup sheet and there was the price of $600 for a clearbra. During the haggling that and the pin striping were both deleted from discussion.
It works very well considering where the wife parks her car during work. I want it for the 530i but havn't gotten around to it yet since it spends time in the garage. Not up there in the must have column yet. My bluetooth, TCU, cradle, BTUM comes first.

 

I have had the 3M film put on three of my cars, including my Titanium 330xi. Never had a single problem with it. I have not noticed any yellowing after 2 years, but don't know if I would on the cars since they are all silver color. The film has really protected the cars well and avoided the peppered look of many of the cars I see in the SE Michigan area.

I agree you should try and find a private detailer to do the work as the dealer will charge you around 50% more. Find a good one though, because the film needs to be put on right.

Good luck!

 

It can't hurt to ask the BMW dealer. Mine simply admitted that they didn't do it in house, and recommended a location. That installer had only done 1 or 2 E60s, so I didn't go with them. After calling around the area and haggling a bit, I found the place that I went with. They do the BMW installs for 2 of the area dealers, and as I mentioned before also for Ferrari/Lamborghini/Maserati of Washington. I think all their cars get them by default.

There are only 2 different kinds of films I believe - the other brand names are simply licensing of the patterns and adherence to a set of warranties. Each "brand" has a unique pattern and some kind of gimmick to draw you in. The one I went with claims that they are the only pattern that wraps the film under the leading edge of the hood, which is where a significant amount of damage can occur. My film goes under the roundel too - they took it off to install the clear bra.

The 3M film has been improved steadily over the last several years. It is supposed to be highly resistant to cracking, peeling, and yellowing. I have silver gray, and in certain light I can swear I see a bit of yellow to it.

The film itself is clearcoated, so it can be waxed like paint. The installer said to use Meguiar's quick detail on the bra until it is smooth or slick to the touch like your paint should feel.


The history of the film is that it was developed to cover helicopter rotors to protect against sand in the desert. Military technology at its best.


Make sure you get your headlights covered. The door edging is a must-have too and should only be a nominal charge for all 4 doors. It is basically a strip that runs the entire painted edge of the door. This strip is wrapped along the edge so that half is on the inside of the door, and the other half is on the outside part extending a little less than 1cm past the edge. You can bang the door into concrete block (I must admit it has happened once or twice accidentally) and the film isn't even damaged and is still totally smooth to the touch. On my old car when this happened, I had significant damage to the paint on the edge of the door.

 

My dealer uses 3M cut by a small Texas shop called ProTech (sp?). They do everything but the bumper cover. Evidently they have not had good luck with the film staying adhered to the bumper cover material. Has anyone had their bumper cover film fail? Also, the body shop guys were not familiar with BMW's film kit in the BMW parts catalog.

 

Uh, the bumper is the primary area that is protected by clear bra....what do you mean by bumper cover?
If that installer can't even do the bumper, then find someone else.

For reference, maybe these pics will help -
http://www.detailingdynamics.com/filmbmw.html
http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/gallery_bmw.shtml