I am expecting my new Mini at the end of this month. I had ordered the Invisashield (upper & lower) because I would like to protect my Mini as much as possible. However, my Mini will be Jet Black and I'm not sure that an Invisashield is the right way to go on a dark car. I have a black 2001 Beetle that's taken a few harsh beatings from random stones on the freeway (and I still notice every new scratch and ding my Beetle gets), so I know what sort of abuse a dark car can show. Does anyone have a clear shield/bra on a darker colored car, and if so.. how does it look?

 

My IB is pretty dark. Im using the Xpel clearbra since my aero bumper is aftermarket paint and chips very easily.

If I had factory painted bumper I wouldn't use the clearbra and just drive 3seconds behind the car in front on the expressway. (but again, my car
is not my commuter so only driven on dry days in light traffic).

You'll notice whitish bubble-like areas where the bumper concaved
due to impact from larger stones if you did have clearbra and took a good hit.
If you use polymer wax on the clearbra it will be very shiny and easy to
clean.

 

yes you should....................your mini will love you for it.........as mine does


motor on

ant

 

i don't really like the clear bra's from an aesthetic standpoint. if you get up close to the car, the lines across the middle of the bonnet look kinda tacky. does it protect your MINI, yes, but ask your self what looks worse; tiny rock chips, or a big long dividing line across your bonnet. just my .02

 

I'd have to agree. Everyone says that they are virtually invisible, but in all the cases I've seen, the line across the bonnet is very obvious from a few feet away. I'd rather have my rock chips.

 

I don't use one on the bonnet. Just the front aero bumper.

 

Having not had it on previous cars I've lived through the scores of chips, gouges, and scratches that accumulate over the bumper, hood, and headlights and I'm definately going to get a clearbra installed on my new Mini rather then go through that again.

The Mini is a daily driver for me and I'd rather have a little line and some imperfections in the clear film then end up with the paint destroyed. In the end I can replace the plastic as I wish for much much less then repainting.

 

YES.

Small dings in the painted metal can be touched up (a pain). Dings in the plastic look terrible and can't be easily fixed.

 

I don't know about that. My dealer quoted $600 for ClearBra. I can get the whole front end repainted for less than that.

 

The Clear Bra has saved my finish a multitude of times. You can stay 3 seconds behind the car ahead of you but that doesn't prevent the random pickup or dump truck from ruining your paint job. After my first big ding in the paint, I self-installed the bra on my CR/W MCS. Yes, you can see the lines from about 2 feet away but the dings are visible much further away!

Get the protection. Oh, BTW, I survived a 1/2 hail storm when the thunderstorm turned ugly. The plastic was a life saver. Now the fins on the radiator and intercooler took a couple of hours to fix.

I would buy the kit all over again.:smile:

 

You should call around and not rely on dealer pricing for anything, there are other installers and resellers of the protection (see board sponser Auto Clear Guard for instance).

As for body shops, around here a high quality repaint of the hood & front bumper would cost more then that. I would only take it to a place with a warranty, etc. nothing like a bad or mistmatched paint tto screw a car up. IMHO the factory paint is best to keep as long as possible anyway.

This of course doesnt even cover the cost of the headlights, and other areas I get covered that would be damaged w/o clear film.

 

It is pricey, true.

My first bonnet (long story involving a collision) had picked up quite a few stone chips in 1.5 years.....most of them, I swear, on one trip to that rock hauler heaven, Frisco, Texas. Anyway, when I was getting ready for my second bonnet, I was determined to protect it. So far, its been a really good thing. The faint line on my IB is very, very easy to live with. It's a purposeful line connected with an upgrade......where the stone chips were just getting too ghetto and definitely not in keeping w/ my MINIs otherwise pristine condition.

I could have gone without the clear bra, I think, especially because I never plan to go to Frisco ever again ! I think finding a suitable method of repairing stone chips might be just as good a solution, but at least now I don't have to even worry about stone chips at all. Helps w/ nasty bug splats, too, I'm finding out.

My biggest problem was getting a perfect install. Seems common for most clear bra installations have minor imperfections. Mine was done three times (by a vendor who does a lot of installs on MINIs) until it was right, and even then there are imperfections, but ones I can live with.

In the end, if I got another MINI, I'd probably do the clear bra again.

 

Do it. Anyone who complains about the slight line you see on the bonnet (if you keep it clean, it isn't as noticeable) is being waaaay too picky. I think the choice between a dinged up front end and a barely visible line on your bonnet is a no-brainer. If I were buying a used MINI, I would want one that had a clear bra rather than one that had been repainted.

 

Hello Guys. I am the Xpel 3M OEM sponsor for the NAM, so if you have any questions or concerns just let me know. I also offer 40% off paint kits and 20% off headlight kits for NAM members.

If you go to my site, www.autoclearguard.com there are several pictures of a clear bra on black vehicles. I have more pics, just send me an e-mail and I can pass them along.

As for the repaint of a mini, the local BMW dealership in Fl charges $1800-2000 to re-spray the front end. And we all know, or experienced that every time you get your car repainted it is never the same.

As for the perfect install. It really determines on the quality of the install. If a professional installs the kit, then most likely if the installer knows what he is doing then the film will turn out perfect with no wrinkles in the film etc. Then you get the customer that just wants to do it themselfs to save a lot of money and doesn't really care on how well it looks while on the paint, just as long as it is protected. Either way is fine.

The best thing I find about the bra is a sense of comfort and no worrys that the truck ahead is going to dump or fling rocks in front of you.

Does it work? Yes!! BMW and Porsche has approved it to be OEM for their cars. The cars in Nascar have the bras on them and Xpel just did couple cars in the 24 hour race. I have pictures of the before and after if anyone wants to see.

Hope this helps.

Thanks
Ryan
sales@autoclearguard.com

 

The clear bra is far from perfect and won't protect you against all dings.

I had a bra installed on my 2005 MINI. After a little over 12000 miles, I have two chips that I know of. One is on the roof, slightly above the windshield and the other is on the grill. The plastic covered only 90 percent of the painted slats and of course, the rock that hit me struck the unprotected part. I have no idea how many chips this bra has prevented though. I wouldn't say I regret getting the bra, but it certainly doesn't give you 100 percent protection.

Also, I find that dirt tends to collect on that little line across the bonnet. It's not easy to get off with a normal washing unfortunately. I have to use a little bug and tar remover to get rid of it.

 

I want to thank everyone for the great input. I'm still not sure what the best option is... though I'm leaning towards not having it installed. I was thinking of buying the Zaino products.. and I know that really won't work with a clear shield.
I can't believe I've become so enthralled with a car I don't even have it. I thought I was bad about my Beetle.. but this Mini mania is ridiculous!
I guess I need to work on a .sig next....

 

I'll bet the Zaino would be fine with it. Many people do not seem to know that its best to use a poly based wax on the clear film, it makes it look better and easier to clean. When you use the polymer stuff it is much less likely to build up along the edge or show white residue anywhere. I don't know about Zaino in particular but have heard that Klasse works alright

 

I have purchased the OEM "Clear Bra" product from the Mini Dealer. I am looking for someone in Los Angeles, preferably the west side or SF valley that could do the installation. The dealer was no help. :(. Any one have any recomendations.

 

Hello. Send me an e-mail with your zip code. I will locate someone for you.


Thanks
Ryan@autopaintguard.com

 

YES get the clear bra you won't regret the decision.

 

Agreed. On the the '03 MCS with 30K miles, the front of the car still looks great. On my own (non-MINI) car with almost 56K miles, the paint still looks great. Any future new or nearly new car I buy will definitely have the clear bra.

The light protectors are another must-have. The MCS hit a retread last month and while the protector didn't save the headlight and turn signal (cracked the lens in two places and shattered the turn signal assembly) it kept the lens in one piece and the lights still worked (after replacing the turn signal bulb and plugging the headlight socket back in) until they could be replaced.

 

Cheers on the clear bra -- as soon as i get my aero front repainted, i'm going to invest in one... looks like someone took my front end and sprayed it with that speckled spraypaint...

 

I have two sets of comments:

1. As for driving 3 seconds behind another vehicle - this simply doesn't work for multiple reasons.

A.) As a rock (or debris) falls from another vehicle it is moving at a speed more similar to yours the closer you are to that vehicle (assuming the same direction of travel) - and would therefore hit with less impact than after it has bounced two or three times, slowing significantly, before your car slams into it.
B.) Someone else will always jump into that gap - forcing you to have to slow down to get the 3-second gap back. Now this vehicle will be throwing the debris that the other vehicle dropped. New gap - restart process. ...I'm not sure about the physics of this thrown debris (vs. the dropped debris) - but it seems that it would have been ejected and therefore travelling in the opposite direction to your own (although probably a lower speed than yours) which would result in an impact that is at a higher speed than your own - or worse than staying behind the first vehicle.
C.) Of course, on the other hand, staying close behind a vehicle that is dropping (or throwing) debris isn't a better answer because it increases the chances of pieces actually hitting your car, since they don't get as much chance to disperse and miss you.

2. When anyone refers to re-painting you should instantly think DEVALUE. The value of a car drops significantly once it gets any paint work done outside the factory. It is a fact of life. It is something that all used car people at the dealers can see. Yes, it is that obvious - if you know what to look for. It always reduces the value of a trade. You can proably get away with it on a private sale -- but then you stoop to the level of that infamous "used car salesman."

After seeing my '02 look like a pimply-faced teenager in less than 40K miles, I'll be protecting my new one when it gets here!

I am not thrilled with the slight lines, but I'd rather have those than paintwork. I also hope the install goes well enough that Chevy Chase can come by and say:

"Can't see the lines, can ya Russ?"

 

I realize my Cooper isn't the "right" color to be comparing the ClearBra with, but I need to tell my side. My Cooper is Silk Green and I bought it used. As I was contemplating purchase, I noticed another Cooper on the lot with a ClearBra on the front end---"wow", is all I could say to myself. I promised myself to get the ClearBra applied to the Cooper I so loved. It cleans well and does not show the line of the bonnet stripes applied on top [as much as I thought it would]. True, my car is lighter in color and easier to disguise the Clearbra than a darker color, but, having said that, I look back to my first view of the ClearBra on that black Cooper. The line IS discernable on a dark car, but the protection from chips and digs that the ClearBra affords is worth it. I show my Cooper a lot, and nearly everyone who does not have a ClearBra is amazed by the protection it offers and its relative lack of noticeability until you get right up close and eyeball it [or have to be told from the info sheet I use to describe all my mods]. They are complimentary...and they tell me that they wished they had it applied to THEIR cars, too.

 

It's a true thrill seeing a Silk Green MINI ...I wonder if all the "gone-but-not-forgotten" colors will elicit similar responses someday.

I swear there are days I wish I could clear bra the whole blasted car...and some of the interior trim, too!! Anybody get rocks hitting their doors?