bdharris68

Has anyone put in a clear bra. I have and it does not fit to well. I had it put on and the local place and they are trying to get a better fit pattern sent back out.

How did it fit
What brand did you use.

Tannman

Had mine put on at the National Corvette Museum prior to delivery there. It fits perfectly. They use a contractor out of Nashville TN. The product is Xpel.

Glen e

good clear bras fit fine
good installers make them fit fine

bad bras or installers create bras that don't fit

like about everything in life, really.....you get what you pay for

fins an Xpel installer thru google and get it done...

bdharris68

Glen this is an expel bra and done by an expel installer. But does not fit right. That why I didn't post what I had because I wanted to see what others were using.

Glen e

then my post is correct - you do not have a good installer.....

Zymurgy

Several questions:

Did you go with Xpel Ultimate or another Xpel film (Standard, Xtreme)? They make several.
Did you use the Xpel Installer Locator to find your installer?
Was the Installer:

SilversledC7

What doesn't "fit"? Can you clarify? Is it the edges against the panels, edges against the headlight contour, etc? Saying a clear bra doesn't fit is like saying "my car isn't running right".

Depending on which areas, it can be narrowed down to the pattern or installer.

For example, I've seen many clear bra pre-cut patterns to not follow the headlight corners perfectly. Some of this has to do with the cutting plotter's limitations on cutting inside vs outside radii. Many times the pattern designer needs to square them off.

bdharris68

I do not know what grade the film is but I will find out. The installer was a company that does vehicle wraps. Really big business. Where the cut outs are for the front side markers did not line up. So they cut the sides and now the film stops an inch out before it reaches the side markers. Also the top piece and where the bottom piece are to meet there is about and half to a inch gap between those pieces.

Wormwood

I've put a clear bra on our Denali & a Hyundai Genesis & now my C7. All the kits came from invisible mask & were precut from using 3M scotchgard.

When I started the bumper on my C7 with 3M it turned into a botched job. dog hair from our 2 Great Danes was all over my clothes & static did the rest... Lesson learned. Invisible mask however does have a better precut hands down.

I bought another precut for the C7 but thru an Xpel dealer on the internet & using Xpel Ultimate. The product is great but the precut templates they use are horrible & almost useless. After explaining all the design errors to the Xpel rep. They met me halfway on everything, which I felt was fair.

The C7 template should have been changed by now but you could put the 2 mirror cut outs together & they're completely different, the hood piece didn't reconnect past the heat vent yet the bumper cutout has this little string piece past the marker light which is impossible to keep in shape considering the stretch required in other parts of the bumper application. Last thing, the bumper was 2 piece & the 3M was one piece.

In the end, I opted for Xpel ultimate from bulk & cut it as I applied it. I'm glad I did, it's easier than trying to even up seams on the edges of body panels, you just need a second pair of clean hands to keep everything moist while you work. I'll never buy a precut again!!

Oh & the Xpel Gel 2.0 is very good for vertical contours like the bumper, it's expensive but then again who cares at this point!

SilversledC7

Without further detail, it sound like an installation issue. Unless you are the first car to test a new pattern, I doubt they would be that off.

SRQStingray

The installer screwed up. It needs to be redone. My Ventureshield was installed using the Xpel software to cut the patterns. It fits perfectly, as it is on my C6 and Porsche.

Zymurgy

So, is your "really big business" installer on the Xpel list for your area and is he an Xpel trained installer? Both of these questions can be answered using the link I provided in my previous post.

bdharris68

Not on the list nor a trained Xpel installer. But has been in the vehicle wrap business a very long time. I did get a hold of the xpel Region Rep Eric and he was a super nice guy to talk with about the issues I have with the bra. Eric said these Bra should fit perfect but are very tricky to put on and the installer would need to be trained by Xpel to install and is very different from installing wrap or window tint. Long story short I sent him pics where it does not fit correctly and I have been in touch with a local place that is trained to install this product. Still to be seen how it will work out with the place that installed the Bra that's on the car now that looks really bad.

Zymurgy

Thanks, that confirms my suspicions. Hope your problem gets resolved to your satisfaction.

Jontall

Wow... Invisible mask.com has great prices for 3M paint protection.

Texas_Venom

The first thing that stands out to me is he has done "wraps"... that is vinyl and completely different than paint protection film. I have done both but specialize is PPF. Xpel patterns are some off the best in the industry. I have installed their C7 kit without ANY issues. The ones you are describing sound like the installer isn't stretching the material enough. And in all honesty the C7 is a pretty easy car to install film on with the only tricky area being the lower chin spoiler. I would recommend going to a paint protection film installer not a vinyl wrap guy.

Jontall I would recommend avoiding 3M all together. It is not a good film.

bennsdb

Are most people paying around what is on the Xpel website for different kits to be installed?

bevo_87

I got mine done by Texas_Venom (Thom Pettigrew). Great guy, knowledgeable about the product and has installed this stuff for years. Nobody can even tell i have it on. I got Xpel Ultimate. Also, i called Xpel about the so called "authorized installers". They said anybody can install their film (even i can do it), they said the "authorized installers" they have on the site are just a few installers that do a lot of business with and through them. That being said, they warranty the film regardless who puts it on. I would say find another installer, and call Xpel and tell them they need to warranty it and i am more than positive they will take care of it with the new installer.

If you live in or around Dallas/Houston or close by, Thom would be the guy i would call. I get asked by people all the time on who did mine.

Texas_Venom

Short answer, no. They are pretty high on their prices but their film can be installed for much less. Depends on the area you are in and the installer you go with. But there is room to negotiate that price down if the installer quotes the prices off the Xpel website.

rjv0331

I had xpel installed by Parabolica in Columbia MD and it looks great. You can't tell it's there. I think your issue is with the installer.