http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4522771346&category=6755

theres a listing on ebay for this. anybody experience with these paint protection films? i'm trying to see if they're worth buying and how they look in real life. thanks[/url]

I have a clear bra on my tC and I love it. I bought a kit for about $250 from someone on eBay, but $82 seems ridiculously low - I'd be worried. I know when I took it to be installed, they said they would have done things a bit differently if they had not used the kit. Also, that kit doesn't seem to mention covering the front facia, which is what you undoubtedly want. Also consider that the tC is a very hard car to install this on - my kit was rated 9/10 for difficulty. If you want it to look good, you're going to have to take it somewhere and they will charge you a bunch of money for installation. If you're going to do it, do it as soon as you get the car - no chips on my hood yet, and if you keep things nice and clean you can't see the bra except when you're at the right angle and looking for it.

post your pics and price which you paid?

I paid like $250 for the bra and another about $300 for installation, but I took it to the place where all the Merc and Porsche dealers have their work done - I wanted it to look good. They estimated low but charged like $300. As for pictures, they aren't the best, but take a look at:

http://www.aribrownest.com/tC_Images/tC-Front-Fender.jpg

and

http://www.aribrownest.com/tC_Images/tC-Hood.jpg

If you really want a clear bra you should go to a shop to get one. This is not something you want to skimp on and do yourself. It's kinda like window tint, (you CAN do it yourself, but it will look like $hit.) I worked at a Tint shop in Denver and installed these, they do work awesome. We did everything from a 68' Camaro to a 02 Ferrari 355 Spider and show cars with custom paint. I will be getting one on my xB when I drive out there this summer.

looks nice

I paid like $250 for the bra and another about $300 for installation, but I took it to the place where all the Merc and Porsche dealers have their work done - I wanted it to look good. They estimated low but charged like $300.

:shock: Wow! You paid a lot. We charged between $150-$350 and that included the 3M material. But, We did charge the guy with the Ferrari $800 :lalala:

Like I said, it was an expensive shop. The work is lifetime guaranteed though, which was good, especially since the kit didn't come from them. I honestly don't care if I spent $50 too much or something, since I know how much it costs to fix a bunch of little chips and stuff. Plus, this way I keep my factory paint, PLUS if you don't protect it, get a bunch of chips and dents, then repaint, you're looking crappy until the paint job - this way you can look good the whole time. I love it. I saw one in person and knew I was getting it.

My advice to anyone interested who doesn't have it already - do it NOW. If you get it installed over a chip or two, they'll always be there.

hey iowagary, I love contiextreme contacts... hows the 225 size handling? any probs? TIA

Oh man... the tires were the best thing I did to the car... other than the bra really. Before I would peel out from a stop all the time - we've got a lot of wet hills up here in Seattle. These things are great. I took it up to the snow a week ago and it seemed to be all SUVs and me. I didn't even chain up. I'd highly recommend the 225 sizing - it barely messes up the speedo and the extra size looks and feels nice. They can be spendy (I paid like $650 for all four with insurance at discount tire) but like most things, you get what you pay for.

it looks like someone keyed ur car, but i guess it saves you alot of money in the long run ... good installtion though .. i dont think i would get it though.

Are you talking about the line across the hood where the bra ends? If you're looking at the car head-on, you can't see it until you're almost directly above it. Most people never notice it at all. In all honesty it looks much less visible than almost anything - I almost never notice it's there and I know where every scratch on my car is. From someone who has one, I'd do it again in a second.

Iowagary, you buy that tC from Michael's Toyota/Scion?

Yep... you must be from around these parts - you catch the little flash of the license plate frame? I've gotta switch those out for something nice, but "nice" and "license plate frames" rarely go together.

I would be skeptical of the listing for a lot of reasons, the shouting turns me off too. I would have more faith in this one and a good install... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7931325755&category=50457

Iowagary, that is impressive! Looks better than the GTi my friend and I did a while ago and ours came out pretty good!

I would absolutely get the entire front done, with as few pieces as possible! From a few feet away you can't even tell it is there. Most will never notice it.

That link that IsItSnowing posted is the one I have. If you look through the images, there are drawings of all the pieces - the one for the front facia is quite complicated. Professionally installed it came out good. I think you're going to have to pay a little extra to get this car done right, but it's worth it. I've got two scratches in my paint (that I know of) - one where my passenger side door got opened into something and the other when I backed into the front of a license plate frame. Even a few drives up into the mountains haven't scratched the front. Just make sure your installer guarantees their work. And make sure whatever you get is in as few pieces as possible. There should be no more cuts than the kit I have has.

JC Whitney is selling the same type of stuff, but you buy it by the roll and cut it yourself.
However for only $30 to $40, I think it's well worth it!
:money:

CLEAR PAINT-PROTECTION FILM

* Virtually invisible—won't change the look of your vehicle like bras or deflectors!
* Protects any fully cured automotive painted surface
* Deflects stones and debris

Shields against pollutants and other environmental hazards. UV protected—won't
yellow over time. Simply clean painted finish, then apply the film. Flexible urethane
film can be stretched and molded to fit your vehicle's curves and angles; won't
shrink. Film can be repositioned throughout the installation process until adhesive
sets. Adhesive removes with product (even after years) and leaves no residue.
No special care needed; wash and wax vehicle without damaging film.
Includes everything needed for effortless application.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ProductDisplay/s-10101/p-8508/c-10101
:D

Um... if you had a really simple car, possibly, but the other kits are laser cut from a pattern - if you don't know what you're doing, the last thing you should be doing is trying to cut the pieces as well.

There is another thing this might be useful for though - if you wanted to cover the leading edges of your doors or maybe your door sills or something, these are all sort of flat rectangular pieces - if you could get a little roll of it, that would be worth it. Speaking of which... I might want to do that :)

my dad has a product called invisi bra on his mini cooper they have a website at invisibra.com its an awsome product im thinkin bout gettin it for my car

I'm not sure what exactly the product is, but there are a few brand names for the 3M clear bra film stuff. If it's something else I doubt I'd get it. If it's not a film you lose a bunch of the advantages (you can peel it off, protection from chipping, etc.). If it is a film, I'd probably just get the 3M stuff, although another brand would probably be ok too.

By the way, www.invisibra.com is not the site you want.

its theinvisibra.com for anyone who is intersetd

John

Once again, I was offering a group buy for these a while back...

everyonw, who ive seen this done to, I notice no one does there whole hood, Is there any way to do the whole thing???

check out magnetbra.com
got one on ebay for $45. comes off easy when cleaning and forms a very tight seal around the edges.
whatever that dude paid for the professional install is nuts. you could just it repainted in 5 years for that much. :doh:

check out magnetbra.com
got one on ebay for $45. comes off easy when cleaning and forms a very tight seal around the edges.

Hmm, a magnetic hood piece does nothing for the bumper, and you have to make sure both the 'bra' and hood are PERFECTLY clean otherwise it will grind the crap out of the hood. The roads are full of iron filings/particulate as each time somebody hits the brakes part of the cast iron disk and pads wear.


whatever that dude paid for the professional install is nuts. you could just it repainted in 5 years for that much. :doh:

To get similar results you would have to paint your car every year with all the chips these things develop. But then you have to deal with the chips in between re-paints -- plus you don't have a factory finish and when you go to trade it the dealer is going to give you a lot less because he is going to assume you stuffed it into the back of a Tahoe.

kindly disagree.
of course the bra/hood have to be clean. this bra doesn't move around like a regular one, so the grinding is virtually non-existent.
whoever started the post, just check out the site. i've had one for 4 months and think it's a good product.
definitely a cheap alternative to the 3M. afterall, maybe the money saved can go towards a SC!

There is a serious difference between what it costs to keep something looking good and what it costs to fix something every so often after it looked bad the whole time. Every time I'm driving down the road and I hear the *crack* of a rock hitting my car, I'm happy as hell to have paid what I paid to keep the front of my car chip free. So far, after about 4 or 5 months of having my car, I've got zero chips on the front.