Paint Film Tomorrow

[apex1]

I have an appointment to take my 2 week old Orange Spice FiST in for a clear bra installation tomorrow. The full bumper, full hood, mirrors and partial fenders will cost me $900, which seems like an awful lot but I have had 2 prior cars with clear bras and it helps a lot. The upcharge to go full hood instead of partial is $150, which is included in the $900. I'm now wondering if I should have the A-pillars and roof leading edge done too. Has anyone had stone chip damage to those areas?

 

[blue2turbo]

Let me know how this turns out, I am on the fence about getting it done as well if my purchase of a new 2017 goes through.

 

[codestp202]

I wouldn't worry too much about the A pillars and the leading roof edge unless you have the money to burn. I haven't caught any rock chips there, all of mine are on the hood, and front bumper.

 

[thePete]

^ 30K of mostly highway and I agree with him. Those are the areas I intend to get done as well; bumper, hood and mirrors. I am opting for full panels because I hate seeing the line half way down a panel.

 

[Joker328]

I have some dings in my roof, but I think that is mostly from parking under trees and having stuff fall on it. Not sure though. In any case, I am short enough where I don't really notice it much, so I wouldn't bother putting clear bra up there.

 

[apex1]

Let me know how this turns out, I am on the fence about getting it done as well if my purchase of a new 2017 goes through.

I got the car back this evening and it turned out ok. Not great, but good. There are some minor bubbles but that is normal--they will disappear in a couple of weeks. But there is also a tiny fold on the inside edge of the driver mirror, and a couple of spots that look like trapped specks of debris. If these don't disappear in a couple of weeks I will have those sections redone. I have to say that this car is very complex to cover compared to my 2 earlier Miatas. Lots of different angles and strakes, even on the mirrors. When I look closely, it looks like a lot of work. I live very close to a high end used car dealer called the Toy Barn and I often stop at night and stroll around the Astons, Porsches, Mercs and Beemers, and everything else that costs a fortune. Lately I have been looking at the clear bras on some of these cars, and they mostly are not perfect either. I am surprised how many of these six figure cars don't have them. Probably started out life as leased. I would do it again for sure.

 

[FLORIDAST]

I got the car back this evening and it turned out ok. Not great, but good. There are some minor bubbles but that is normal--they will disappear in a couple of weeks. But there is also a tiny fold on the inside edge of the driver mirror, and a couple of spots that look like trapped specks of debris. If these don't disappear in a couple of weeks I will have those sections redone. I have to say that this car is very complex to cover compared to my 2 earlier Miatas. Lots of different angles and strakes, even on the mirrors. When I look closely, it looks like a lot of work. I live very close to a high end used car dealer called the Toy Barn and I often stop at night and stroll around the Astons, Porsches, Mercs and Beemers, and everything else that costs a fortune. Lately I have been looking at the clear bras on some of these cars, and they mostly are not perfect either. I am surprised how many of these six figure cars don't have them. Probably started out life as leased. I would do it again for sure.

Go back and have them redo anything you aren't happy with. These shops are all scammers IMO. Hard to find a good one.

 

[apex1]

Go back and have them redo anything you aren't happy with. These shops are all scammers IMO. Hard to find a good one.

I did it through my local Ford dealer. The same shop does it either way, but the dealer was $75 cheaper. I asked the shop (which I used before) just to match the dealer price, since they would make much less if I dropped it off at the dealer. They said no. They do a lot of business with that dealer and they did not want to undercut them. When I picked it up, the dealer aftermarket guy told me that he would have them redo anything I had the slightest issue with. It just makes sense to wait a couple of weeks with film to see how it ends up looking.

 

[FLORIDAST]

I did it through my local Ford dealer. The same shop does it either way, but the dealer was $75 cheaper. I asked the shop (which I used before) just to match the dealer price, since they would make much less if I dropped it off at the dealer. They said no. They do a lot of business with that dealer and they did not want to undercut them. When I picked it up, the dealer aftermarket guy told me that he would have them redo anything I had the slightest issue with. It just makes sense to wait a couple of weeks with film to see how it ends up looking.

I got my tint through the dealer and the shop they used had to redo it 3 times. They didn't do the small windows near the windshield and they had the tint cut horribly on the other windows. I could see gaps of light when I closed the windows all the way. All of these accessory shops are 100% scammers and you have to be on their ass to get what you pay for.

 

[apex1]

Well a final update to close out the details of my paint film installation. In the end, the mirrors had to be redone to get them right, and the front clip was not done to an acceptable standard until it was done for the third time. The local Ford dealer subbed the work out as detailed in my earlier posts, and props to them for feeling strongly that the job repeatedly was not acceptable. It was a very frustrating experience spanning almost 3 weeks, but it's now done and I am happy to have it installed. The front ends on our cars is very complex to film, but obviously it can be done well if you find an installer with skills and who cares. And I know, without pics it didn't happen. But in this case there's probably no point