I am by no means an expert, but I've been to the rodeo a few times and will give you my 2 cents and personal reasons.
When people refer to clearbra they are generally referring to three major brands, 3M, Expel and Suntek, and the forums will have people swear by their brand of choice for thickness, sheen and ease of installation.
In the past the films would yellow over time but I think that's changed to longer lengths of time. You care for it similarly to paint, meaning it is waxed and polished to a glass like finish, just avoid product at seam edges.

Generally people just do the front and rear bumpers, side mirrors, headlights, front fenders and hood (~$3,000 on 911). Some people wrap the whole car to "seal in the freshness", especially for exotics. Price varies by brand and amount of surface you cover and installer.

It's not cheap, hardly cheaper than a re-spray if you count the second wrap after damage, but you can say the paint is original, re-spray has a negative connotation when selling.

Though the patterns are computer cut, installation is only as good as the installer; there are many tight corners and curves on today's cars (unless you have a Cadillac) that need experienced hands to finesse. If you look hard, you will see the edges of the film at tight corners.

***Important: remove all badges and letters as part of the prep, do not cut around. Good shops will color correct paint, clay and make certain there is not a speck of dust, even for a brand new car.
I cannot notice the difference between adjacent panels with and without wrap from a distance, but under lights you can see a textural difference- also, my cars are new and don't sit in the sun unless driving.
At its end of life, when removing, it requires similar attention, technique and steam so the paint doesn't come off with the film.

Some people go the ceramic route for finish, but film adds a layer that helps when someone kisses your bumper or opens their door into your car. Others go the plasti-dip route for track day protection, otherwise there's always painters tape. Nothing worse than seeing a beautiful vintage classic, with a pitted hood- wish they had clearbra as standard for all the 901s like the sticker they put on the rear quarters.

Long story short, a bit of piece of mind for minor issues from scuffs and chips. I highly recommend the tape for door edges as well.

S@%t happens, I plan to keep most my cars forever so I install to avoid ever using touch-up paint for chips to the front bumper so my children can appreciate the cars.

It's value will depend on how meticulous you are, how long you plan to keep your car, or are thinking of resale, and how often you tailgate dump trucks.

 

@Deuuce: I can't respond to all of your questions, but I will share a few observations.

- I had a wrap on my 993, and it collected dirt on the edges and looked like crap.
- I self-installed a wrap on my Z06 and after a couple of track weekends, took it off (it was a horrible installation). It came off with some effort, but no damage to the paint.
- A coworker had a wrap on his 350Z and after about 8 years it started to crack, so he attempted to remove it. It took off some paint, so he took it to a shop and they spent something like 12 hours to remove it from the front clip. No more paint damage, but it was more expensive to remove than to install. Natch different products age differently, but this is his daily driver and so is outside all day, and lesson learned here is to replace the wrap before it gets that old and brittle.
- Every wrap that I've seen gives the car more of a orange peel look. I personally don't care for it. It's a car, it's going to get marks on it, when they get bad, just repaint it.

Remember, it's just a car.

 

I have a friend who is fond of saying, "don't save your car for the next guy".

 

I never understood that saying - I'm not keeping my car looking pristine for the next guy or thinking that it will add value at resale (because we all know it will not), I'm doing it for me because that is the way I like to keep my cars. I seriously doubt people buy cars to save for the next guy.

As far as the clear bra is concerned - I love it and would do it again in a heartbeat. If done properly, it is hard to even tell you have one on unless you look carefully. The most important thing is to get a good installer.

 

Misuse of phrase
I think that term is applicable more for the people that are afraid to drive their cars and worry about mileage.

I would also say, generally, that people that keep their cars clean are clean and meticulous.

The sole purpose of my cars at least, are to get driven as they should (get track time) with foresight as to how they are being taken care of so they are preserved in legacy.

 

As far as resale value is concerned it adds nothing to resale. Actually its a negative for me as would rather have paint chips than cuts in the paint.

 

there is no reason for cut marks if done by a professional that actually has blade skills. i do quite a bit of vehicle wrapping - i use knife-less tape when applicable but have cut vinyl right on vehicle a million times without ever damaging paint.

 

This.

It hurts to re-read this thread and look at the pictures. Blows my mind how ridiculous this "installation" was.

 

I'm sure that you and the majority of installers do it right. It's that one bad installation that we can't forget. I had a 1987 BMW 535i with a pinstripe applied by the dealer, and the idiot that did it sliced the paint when he cut the tape. Ruined my beautiful new car. I've never forgotten that, and always had an issue with pinstripes ever since.

 

I'm not sure I could control my temper with that irresponsible level of amateur work.

 

The process with the dealer blew my mind, I couldn't believe they had it in the delivery area for me to pick up, and that I had to explain what was wrong.

 

Sorry for the late response, somehow this thread slipped through the cracks on my alerts. We're sorry you had such a bad experience with the original installation, and happy that you've had it taken care of. Who did the re-installation for you?

Im sure everyone everyone can agree, can't wait for the snow to clear to get that beauty out on the road.

Precisely, It takes a certain skill to hand cut on the car, but should have never been done in the first place. On Porsche we remove the front emblem, headlights and any other emblems that are removable for a seamless installation. Unfortunately knife-less tape doesn't work on PPF yet, I believe someone is developing one for paint protection film, but the pre-cut kits we design fit the car like a glove. Plus with technology now, the installer can use a pre-cut kit and choose in the cutting software to "wrap" the edges.

1. XPEL ULTIMATE is warrantied for 10 years (yellowing, cracking, peeling, staining and delaminating) and if its OEM paint job there should be no issues with removal. There should be no reason to remove it unless there is excessive damage from road debris, or an accident.

2. It can in the essence that you are preventing rock chips and preserving the paint underneath the film. With ULTIMATE, its self-healing, so it will self heal fine scratches, swirl marks, bug acids, etc.

3. The film doesn't change the sheen or reflectivity. Its virtually invisible, and with a good installation, it would be hard to see between two panels (one protected and other not)

4. It does not prevent UV from getting to the paint, as many people do partials (18-24" up the hood/fenders) and full fronts. For this reason we did not want it to prevent UV rays as it would cause the car the fade at a different rate. So the film allows the the paint to fade at the same rate.

5. Cleaning the car is simpler, it can still accumulate grit/surface imperfections such as water spots. But since the film is self-healing, there is no worry about swirl marks and fine scratches.

6. There isn't necessarily a need for waxing, although many people install coatings on top of the film for added protection/hydrophobic properties.

7. Between the few brands mentioned, XPEL carries a 10 year warranty, as Suntek is 5 year manufacture warranty, depending which 3M ppf its 5 or 7 years. I'm sure others can chime in regarding their preference.

8. Pricing is going to vary depending on where you live and the demand for clear bra…

For a partial front end. This includes 18-24” up the hood and fenders, front bumper, mirrors and sometimes headlights. This ranges from $795 - $1,000.


For a full front it can range between from $1,795 - $2,100. This includes the entire hood and front fenders, front bumper, mirrors and sometimes headlights.


For the full car it can range between from $4,000 - $8,000. This includes every painted surface on the car possible.

 

I agree 100%. I can see maybe doing the bumper and mirrors but to me, its like putting plastic on your couch and lampshades. I LOVE washing and waxing my cars and I'd feel weird waxing and detailing plastic. Just my opinion.

 

I LOVE washing and waxing my car too, but I'd rather detail plastic than see scratches and rock chip on my front end

 

Just my opinion and I realize i am in the minority here. Scratches etc can be corrected easily. I can always see the seams.