What if you Clear Bra`d you whole vehicle?

[David Fermani]

If you were trying to preserve the finish of a DD, why couldn`t you do it to all the painted surfaces? You`d never have to worry about marring, scratching, chipping of fading of your finish. Would this be the most OCD over the top approach possible? :closed:

[todd@bsaw]

I have known a few guys with large off-road trucks to spray the the entire exterior with that black bedliner material. Not quite the same as you cannot remove it to resell, but another one to ponder.

[NickelPlated.45]

Car wraps. You could do it with clear material. Probably cost a couple grand for materials and install.



3m also makes a vinyl polish/glaze you can use by hand or machine to help bring gloss back.

[Accumulator]

I doubt it would work out very well. I had some areas that are usually *not* PPFed done on the Denali XL and in some areas with weird contours it didn`t fit/adhere perfectly. And yeah, I had it done by a *good* pro (a member here who`s highly regarded, and for good reason). Up close it looks like what it is- a plastic film over top of the paint. Not what I`d want even a DD vehicle to look like. I didn`t even have the hood done as I just don`t like how it looks- I`d rather have chips.



I dunno...what`d look so great about having a vehicle that looks covered with plastic ;) It`d still get marred up (hmmm, I might have to look into that 3M product) and, well, to me it`d look like something that never got unwrapped :D



Heh heh, guys who debate the look of Zymol EGs vs. Swissvax would probably :rolleyes: over the look of a PPFed vehicle :chuckle:



Only problem I ever have with DDs is chipping, and luckily for me I somehow just don`t get bothered by that. Funny, but it`s not something that bugs me :nixweiss

[David Fermani]

How about if it was a collector car(not driven) that the owner wanted to protect the factory finish on? Would there be any strange benefit to this?



Does anyone know the super long term effects on paint that has been covered? Could it induce cracking?

[jimmie jam]

the guys that did my C6, CTS and Avalanche in Boca told me that you can cover the complete car and that they have. they have also done complete custom bikes to protect the big buck paint jobs (including the helmet). compound curves/shapes are difficult but the material can be stretched 20-30% without distorting.:soscared:

[GranPrix]

the guys that did my C6, CTS and Avalanche in Boca told me that you can cover the complete car and that they have. they have also done complete custom bikes to protect the big buck paint jobs (including the helmet). compound curves/shapes are difficult but the material can be stretched 20-30% without distorting.:soscared:



Was that Pepi @ Autoshield by any chance?

[Brian_Brice]

Really giving up all your gloss and nice reflections by doing something like that, it`s a catch 22 for sure. Why pay for a spendy paint job if you`re going to blur it out with a body bra? As detailers, I don`t think any of us like the way that would look.

[P1et]

But if you really wanted to give your vehicle that plastic look, why wouldn`t you just Zaino it?

































;)

[Scottwax]

Oh snap! :funnypost



I can think of two reasons:



1. Even the best clear bras aren`t perfectly clear and flat so the paint won`t look as good.



2. I`ve seen some really torn up clear bras on cars that regularly see bug hits on the freeway.

[Brian_Brice]

[quote name=`P1et`]But if you really wanted to give your vehicle that plastic look, why wouldn`t you just Zaino it?



:funnypost :grinno: :grinno:

[Setec Astronomy]

Eh...it`s been done: VWvortex Forums: What happens when you let 2 mk1 kids drive your S4 from NY to Seattle? (56k, not a chance) (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2918517&page=1)













Not really...but it made me think of that. :)

[Brian_Brice]

Eh...it`s been done: VWvortex Forums: What happens when you let 2 mk1 kids drive your S4 from NY to Seattle? (56k, not a chance) (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2918517&page=1)













Not really...but it made me think of that. :)





That was something alright, I woud guess some tarminator was in order after 3k miles of blue tape.

[Saintlysins]

Well --- I’ve done my homework on this, traveled to the distributors and manufacturers, just to see what`s available, I`ve been looking to franchise a line for the NYC/Tri-State area. Go to this site, surf around and you’ll be AMAZED at what this company is doing.



http://www.premiermobilegroup.com/



Surf around and you’ll see how they’re doing entire cars. VERY informative site! I have been looking for a clear-bra manufacturer I could/would apply ... AND PUT MY REPUTATION BEHIND IT.

For “protective measures against road rash/chipping� the best out there is 3M. It’s thicker than most and quite dense. But, it doesn’t take well to stretching, compound curves, etc. It’s also one of the worst for orange peel.

There are a host of others that are more shear, thinner, better for compound curves and corners, but they come up short in other areas, such as level of protection, yellowing, delaminating under intense heat, and or peeling when the panel is 120 degrees in the sun and a cold water hose (or car wash) hits it, and other (minor) issues. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, and none of them has a weakness I can live with. (I know I’m pissing off someone who installs these products.)

But the guys at Premier have got this system dialed in right. It’s as “close to smooth� as I’ve seen by any other product, it doesn’t yellow, it will accept a waxes and sealants without compromise, and it comes in gigantic sheets that can be made to “meet at the seams for a clean-edge finish, not leaving that ‘line’ a few centimeters short of the edge.

This company will surprise you as to what they’re accomplishing.

There’s a company in Germany that can ‘shrink wrap’ a car, then trim and tuck the edges for a perfect edgeless finish. This is one way they disguise the cars when road-testing as they put shapes under the ‘shrink-wrap’ to throw off the visuals for the competitors.

Hope this helps with your question “David Fermani�, it was something I’ve been doing homework on for several years as an addition to services at the shop, and for a new Porsche Turbo Cab that’s coming end of March.

[Macruz19]

My TL`s hood is half covered with the clear bra and wraps around the front fenders. I don`t regret at all, but I think doing the whole car is crazy!!



I`m ready to replace my bumper peice since it`s beat up. Thank goodness it`s only the plastic. Can`t drive the car without a clearbra.



Only downside is that... yes you`ll lose the high gloss finish because prior to installation, they spray the car with an alchohol substance to clean the surface. They apply it, and then it`s up to you to care for it. I wax it like the rest of the car. Another downside is, defects such as swirls or scratches are hard to repair. Once the films been scratch (deep) it`s an eyesore, and you`ll have to replace that part.



There are some flaws in the plastic such as small stains, but nothing too disturbing.