Fedcaper

Gents,
Ive had a clear bra installed yesturday. Before I left the shop, I pointed out a few bubbles on the bumper. :'( The shop mentioned that black is the most difficult color because you can see all the imperfections. The shop also offered to reinstall the bra if the bubbles dont fade. Have any of you had a similar problem?

EBMCS03

Depends on how the bubbles look like. If they're small they should disappear in a week to two weeks when the water under the bra dries out. I wouldnt worry too much give it a week, if the isntaller was good it should be fine. I've had clear bra's on my past 3 cars and they never became a problem.

russo

Try to park under the sun. The bubbles will dissappear soon enough.

Fedcaper

Thanks for the input guys. Ive shown the car to another clear bra shop and they tell me that a few of the bubbles look like they may contain dirt particles. These types of things always happen to me.

whentmets

One of the tricks the shops use for bubles is to burst them with a cloths pin. If tehy are still there in a couple of weeks then you can carefully use a pin on the buble for the air to escape.

Ricracing

...and get mist and dirt get in?

whentmets

Forgot to mention the pinching is done in an angle. After that the bra is sticking on the paint surface.
I am not sure if you ever have seen or done the procedure of applying self sticking bra (vinyl) on cars. The clear bra application procedure is very similar to the vinyl car graphics. The area the bra will be applied is firstly wetted with water mixed with a mild soap solution. The bra is then positioned and "tacked" in a few areas around the perimeter so it stays in place. Then starting from the center of the bra light pressure is applied and the water solution is pushed out towards the edges where is can escape. When all the solution is removed the bra should be sticking on the paint with no water solution between the bra and the paint as well as no bubles. When this is ensured then it should be left for several hours to stick properly or somethimes a hair dryer is used to speed up the process. In the unfortunate event a buble is left they burst the buble using a pin so the trapped air (or water solution) escapes and the bra sticks on the paint in that area.

I wish I could tell you that nobody uses this trick but unfortunatelly it is used quite often and makes absolutely no difference in the appearance or longevity of the bra. Even if an installer tells you he has used this method you will never spot the area where the pin occured.

Rizbel

I made the mistake of installing the clear bra myself with the help of my nephew. Not only did we put a bubble, we totally wasted the lower part that goes below the kidney grills and above the fog lamps.

Fedcaper

The shop I went was reffered to me by a friend. When I arrived they were working on 2 Lambos'...so I figured they knew what they were doing. The more I look at my hood and bumper, the more I think that this shop didnt have a clue.

wasupdu

I paid roughly $120 to get a 3M clear bra installed on my Alpine white e60. I've yet to see a bubble and the bra is guaranteed for 10 years (maybe for life??) against yellowing whicbh I was very worried about since i had another white car with a clear bra that yellowed really bad about 18 months after install.