I am thinking of replacing my clearbra (I found a better installer . . .)

It has been in place only a couple of years. I was wondering if any of you have had experience removing a 3M Clear bra, and whether or not it is a very risky procedure?

Thanks!

 

The problem with replacing your clear bra "because you found a better installer" is that if the previous installer cut the film on the car, he could have cut the paint. If he cut the paint, even if the film is properly heated when pulling off, can peel off the paint. This is one reason that you ALWAYS want to find the BEST installer when it comes to clear masks.




John

 

It shouldn't be too difficult, but it can be a nightmare sometimes. Your installer should know how to remove it and will charge you accordingly.

 

Thanks for the replies! Of course, I thought I was choosing the best installer when I had it applied, but later I learned differently.

On the hood I had a partial coverage with the 3M Clear Bra. At a later time I had a different installer apply Ventureshield to the bumper. I am thinking of having him change from the 3M Clear Bra to Ventureshield (now owned by 3M anyway) on the hood. He does have experience removing the film, but thought I would check in here with the experts for any additional key points.
Thanks again

 

Sounds like you have it under control. Oh yes..make sure to clay, polish, and wax the areas that will be filmed. Just a nice attention to detail factor that is sometimes overlooked.

 

I removed mine after it had been on for about 3 years. It took a little time, but it came off in one piece when I left the car out in the sun while removing it. It did remove some skin from my fingers in the process. The only problem was that if you didn't pull on a 45* angle, it would leave a lot of the adhesive behind. I had to use goo gone (there is probably something better) to get the adhesive off and then polished the hood out. Unfortunately, when the hood was hit with rocks with the clear bra on, the paint chipped, but the bra held the chipped paint in place. When I removed it, the little chips came up on the bra.

 

Thanks all for the info. This place is great!

Regarding placement technique: I will check to see if it was cut on the car. I have heard of cuts on bumpers, but I cannot imagine anyone would cut the line across the hood on a partial hood coverage. The edges on this piece are wrapped under the hood.

I had it done at the Porsche dealer, BTW.

 

You would be surprised how many poor film installers are out there. I've peeled off masks that came from our local Porsche dealership more times than I can count. It sounds like they wrapped their edges, so they're probably not too bad, I hope. Good luck with the install.



John