DSMissed

I got the kit for the headlights, fenders, mirrors and the hood. I bought it all from xtremecity for under $50. I thought I'd share my feedback on the stuff, and what I think about installing it yourself.

Value for the price is really good. However, the cuts are not completely straight, if you look really close you can see the edges are a little wavy. Also, the cuts aren't a perfect fit, like the cuts for the mirrors don't cover the whole mirror, but a decent sized portion. The cuts for the headlights were a little off, but I was able to make them fit fairly well by stretching and heating with a hairdryer, which you will HAVE to use on any contoured area.

As for installing yourself....its a bit of a challenge, but it isn't as hard as alot of people probably think it is. The hood, fenders, and mirror pieces were cake, I only had to use heat a little bit for the mirrors. I used Meguiars Speed Detailer with a microfiber to make sure the areas were completely dust free. Then I used a water bottle with a few drops of baby shampoo for the solution to wet the stuff down.

The headlights were definitely the hardest part, they took a while and I thought they weren't going to turn out, but you have to be patient and use alot of heat, and stretch the material. This stuff can be peeled up and wet down several times, so if you make a big mistake, you can basically start over. How I did it was to start in the inside corner of the headlight, and secured it really well. Then I stretched the film tight across the headlight to the outer corner, and used the heat to allow the film to shape itself to the headlight.

I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to keep their paint/headlights nice. And I've never even installed my own tint before, but I did a pretty flawless job on the clear bra, so I'd say just about anyone can do it.

I can take pictures if anyone wants.

bluebaltjim

pics

SSmike06

Yes, need pics soon I just washed my car and saw all those tiny chipped paint spots. I wash it so good I started seeing them as I went along with the hood.

DSMissed

Ok, I'll get some pics in the daylight tomorrow. You really can't even see the lines unless you are in the right light...you can't see the lines on the headlights at all, and there really is no haze under any of it.

Seriously, probably the best $50 investment for your car.

SSmike06

That's what I was thinking about today. I saw my friends bug killer in front of his car. I looked at my car and I went no freaking way I'm putting that ugly thing on, I'll just go buy some paint cans from GM.

I was wondering if a clear bra would be seen by the eye even if you're not paying attention to it. I guess not by the way you described looks great.

I only need the hood part, the rest I don't care haha.

DSMissed

On Ebay where I got mine, the hood kit was $25 shipped. It was supposed to only come with the hood piece, but it came with the mirrors and fender pieces too.

I have everything on except the hood piece, cause I'm waiting for a bottle of touch up paint to come, so I can try and buff the chips that are there first, cause I don't want to put the film over the chips.

I'll take pictures of what is on tomorrow and post them on here. It really is pretty unnoticeable to someone that doesn't know its there. I have the orange paint, of course, it might be different on another color...but you can only tell its there when the light hits it just right, and you can see the line, but thats all.

Also, I used a hard plastic squeege, like the ones you spread bondo with. It was a little too hard of plastic and put some light scratches on the film, so I'd recomment using a squeege with a felt tip. The scratches are only noticeable if you get really close tho.

SSmike06

Cool, I'll be waiting for you pictures tomorrow so I can get a better idea. And I have to go to the dealer to get touchup paint myself.

Stupid small rocks

DSMissed

Pictures as promised

First the mirror, only took pictures of the passenger side.




drivers side fender


The line you see across the middle of the picture is the film line, the bottom half of the pic is the film.


passenger side fender/headlight pieces...you can see some small bubbles in the fender piece, those showed up overnight, but they'll go away as the moisture evaporates


just a side view of the car, there is film on the mirror, fender, and headlight...not on the hood yet

CTCOBALTSSS

Looks good DSMissed. That should help protect your ride.

One thing though. A buddy of mine has this stuff on his Eclipse and after about 6 months it started turning a yellowish color.
After about 8 months or so it was pretty noticable. That's all. Just keep an eye out.

Congrats man, you just saved your paint.

DSMissed

I've heard that too...so we'll see, maybe the solution you use contributes to the yellowing, I'm not sure. But even if that happens, I'll just replace it every year, $50 a year is nothing compared to a new paint job.

jsscooby

Cool someone tried this out. i saw that on ebay for el cheapo. i was a non beleiver because the 3M ones that i saw are like $500 for hood, bumper, and mirrors. it looks good. Maybe not as invisible and it does leave a little edge exposed compared to 3M but yeah for 1/10 the cost I'll deal with it. I think I'll give it a order. I would be concerned if these cheaper ebay ones come off the paint with no harm

DSMissed

Yeah, the material feels about as thick as the 3m does, but the edges stick out more cause the lines are a perfectly straight cut, the edges are a little ragged, but not bad. Also the edges stick out more cause, like on the headlights, the shape of the film is a little off.

I'm not concerned with it damaging the paint when it comes off, I really don't think it will, the adhesive on the film was less sticky than tint.

CTCOBALTSSS

Exactly. If that's all you have to spend to save your paint, you made a good decision.

TheCaptain

I got the 3M clear bra for my Cobalt. The mirror pieces cover the whole painted surface, and the hood comes halfway up the hood. My fender pieces are just little triangles right behind the headlight. Also my front bumper piece wouldn't fit underneath the headlights properly at all (i am a n00b when it comes to installing this, this was my first time) and i couldn't get it to stretch under the headlights at all. So i cut it practically on the body line. mine doesn't wrap around to the fender though, i think it should considering the front is so curvy.
I did get a bottle of clear bra cleaner, and it is supposed to eliminate any yellowing or smears from bugs, and it has worked so far. I did pay $400 CDN for mine though too.
Nice all in all!

Sicklyscott

iTrader: (1)

any pics of the hood by chance?

drives2fast4u

I wish I would have gotten that when I first bought my car. Now it's almost not worth it until I can get a repaint. My front bumber looks like it's been sand-blasted there are so many chips on it.

splitintlss

how thick is this stuff? i can see it keeping the scratches off the paint, but like chips from rocks etc?