Is a full clear mask necessary?

Thanks...

 

I am not sure if you are talking about what they commonly call a clear bra and by full, I suspect you mean the full bonnet vs the whole MINI.

Just recently, I had a full clear bra installed by Rob of ProForm located in Ellicott City, MD. It is 8 mil thick, 3M matl that is a designed one piece to fit the entire bonnet. Then separate 3M matl (strips) are installed on the bumper, headlights, fog lamps and outside mirrors. He indicated it was rare for anyone to have the film put on an entire car but he has had 1 or 2 that did and it cost over $8000 ! (It was not on a MINI...some other car.) When I priced the cost of doing the bumper, partial bonnet or full bonnet the costs to have these done thru the dealer or one of these places directly ranges in cost from about $300-400 for just the bumper to what most get is the partial or full bonnet(including the lamps and mirror) and that goes for about $600 - $1400 depending partial or full and who you go with.

As far as do you need this ? NO !! It's an option like other options.

Should you get it ?....That is the difficult question. The MINI has sort of a blunt nose and so it may be a bit more prone to road grit causing paint chips. If you do a lot of driving on busy roads at relatively fast speeds, then you will be more prone to road grit than say others that drive in relatively light traffic and/or slow speed roads. If you have the cash fairly easy to part with for this work, then that is another factor since you could just live with some paint chips and buy a small bottle of touch-up paint. But I can tell you that this is a durable robust film that adheres to the bonnet and unless it is an actual rock or stone that could dent the bonnet, it is unlikely to cause any deterioration to the bonnet with this film on it.

 

As to needing the full bonnet covered, IMHO no but i will say this, I should have gone with the full rather than then half. I know have two dings above the clearbra. On teh Hot Chocolate color i do not see the line unless i am really close to it, but ihave seen it on other colors and on some it seems to be more visible. That may also have somthing to do with the installation though

 

OLarryR,

My Motoring Adviser used the term "full clear mask" so I used it. I think he meant that the 3M mask (or similar product) covers part of the hood, the bumper, and the valance below the bumper. The cost is around $600.00 if the dealer does it. It might include the mirrors but I'm not sure - I'll check!

Thanks...

.

 

For that price make sure they do the cupped area of your door handles. The area where your fingers touch the car when you open a door.

 

mbu,

Full clear mask sounds as good a way to call this as any. Just that many here call it a clear bra, so that's why I used the term. I rather call it a full clear mask, so let's go with that. As far as dealer prices, $600 for a partial hood, bumper and hopefully the headlights, fog lamps and maybe the mirrors is okay. It's in ballpark my dealer also quoted. He quoted $800 and saud he would probably come down to $600 if I decided to go for it. But you may want to check with any MINI Associations around your area and ask them who they recommend going with in your area. You are likely to get equal and maybe superior workmanship and maybe at a less expensive price than thru the dealer. Though, the costs may be about the same since the dealer may get a group discount rate and then raise the price up to it's normal price or higher so they can make a profit as well. As it is, I went with a full clear mask.

I hooked up with another MINI Cooper guy on this Forum and we went with a semi-local shop that was recommended by the DC Metro MINI Assoc. If I went with the dealer, I would have had to leave the car there early in the morning and pick it up in the evening, meaning I would have had to drop it off the night before the work was to be done. Going with a shop directly, we were able to make an appointment and it would take 2 hours to complete the work.

As far as partial or full mask: The partial mask comes up somewhere about halfway up the hood/bonnet. All of the bumper, scoops, etc is also done or should be done. The full mask covers the entire hood/bonnet. While the line where the partial mask ends on the hood/bonnet is barely noticeable, there is a line halfway up the bonnet where the mask ends. The full bonnet is all the way up the bonnet, so no line is visible unless you look very closely perhaps along the edges of the hood/bonnet.
One thing to check is if the mask on the bonnet is one piece or they are piecing strips together. It should be one piece film whether it is a partial or full mask. I believe there are some shops that use strips to piece it together and if there are some that do it that way (not sure), just be aware that it is possible to go with a shop that does it one piece. Highly recommend going with the dealer or first choice would be to go with what the local MINI Association recommends. But going to a local place that you have no references for past work, would be taking a chance. I know you were not considering a local shop but thought i wold throw that in if you last minute started checking your local area for other options.

 

OLarryR,

Thanks for the advice and information. What my MA calls a "full clear mask" is apparently only a partial mask as it only goes part way up the hood.

My MA is getting to be a little annoying as every time I see him he wants to add just "one more" item to my list and then is always mis-adding the final amount of the Mini (low). Maybe he thinks if the "final price" doesn't change much then I'll go for it and in the end he'll just say he can't add very well thinking it won't be a deal breaker.

 

what the dealer calls full mask (bra) only goes parrt way up the bonnet.

They actually have two kits from the dealer.

1. Partial Clear Mask (bra) - Puts a half bonnet clear mask (bra), does not have peices on the bumper anywhere else

2. Full Clear Mask (bra) - Puts a half bonnet clear mask (bra), the bumper, and small peices on the mirrors.

3. if you ask them they will get you a full bonnet mask (bra) but that will be extra cost.

As for the dealr ful mask, it is a one peice clear mask (bra) on the bonnet.

As the dealers really don't do this them selves you may wnat to find out what loocal shop they have do it and see what the cost is if you go direct.

 

Also, you could do it yourself. It's a tricky job trying to manage a giant adhesive sticker, but if you're up for a challenge... Go to ebay and search for "Mini Cooper Clear Bra". I bought a full kit from Nusolis for $35 and a batch of tint installation spray at pep boys.

I didn't bother installing the trickier mirror cap or lower grill sections. Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

At $35, I figured I could mess it up a couple times and still come out ahead.

 

wow...i might just try thta.. thxs

 

Wait til you try installing it first... It's not for the faint-of-heart. After my experience, I recommend:

1) 2 people. It's nice to have someone else trying to stretch the sticker on one side of the car while you're on the other. I did it myself, but a second person would have been very helpful.

2) A blow dryer. This is a must. You'll need it to get the sticker to mold to the curves.

3) Tons of patience (a few hours on a Saturday afternoon for example). You'll be scraping (with a window tint sqeegee) and blow drying, trying to get the sticker to actually stick after squirting it with solution. Seems like endless scraping. Eventually it will stick. Also, you will need the sqeegee to pull the bubbles out to the edge of the sticker. Try to get as many out as you can using the squeegee and blow dryer. Don't worry if you don't get all of them out. I went to bed with a ton of tiny bubbles still visible under the bra. I thought it was going to be a disaster. When I woke up, almost all had disappeared. The rest faded away over the next day or two.

Seriously, while I was installing it, I had wished someone had talked me out of doing it myself. But, it all turned out.

The bra comes in several pre-cut pieces on two large rolls of vinyl sticker material. You can do some of the smaller pieces first to get your feet wet. You don't have to do it all in one session or even one day. So when you're ready to tackle the big sheet on the bonnet, you'll know what to expect.

 

We did our own install and closely followed the many instructions found on various links. We made time and patience a priority. The only I thing could add to this is to put very little dish soap in your spray bottle if so used. It reduced the air bubbles and our squeegy time substantially. We also discovered air bubbles will disappear faster when we parked it in the sun after the installation. Our DIY section has numerous links on product sources and installation that may be helpful.

 

The dealer installed the piece on the hood (about 12 in) and around the headlights. I did the lights (head and fog) myself. And also the top of the rear bumper. I don't see why you would need the plastic parts of the front bumper done.

I've had this on my cars for as long as I can remember (stated on my 91 Mazda 323). Never had a hood chipped or in need of repaint because of rust. Marvelous!!