Comfortably Numb

I'm planning to remove the clear bra from the hood and front fenders. My plan is pretty basic - park the car in the sun, let it heat up real good and slowly pull off the tape. Hopefully it comes off in one large sheet.

Anyone have any tips, tool recommendations or experience with this that they would like to share?

Thanks

Texas_Venom

I am an installer and I always warm the film up first. Once you start to pull lift up stright up from the paint at a 90 degree angle. Pull slowly and take your time. Depending on the film you may or may not have much adhesive residue on the car. 3M is pretty bad at leaving the adhesive so you might want to have some adhesive remover handy.

50yrzo6

I'm curious, why are you removing it? Don't like it?
I was just thinking about having one installed but would like to hear the negatives too. Thanks!

Comfortably Numb

What would you use for adhesive remover?

Comfortably Numb

I have had it on the car for five years. For the hood and fenders it still looks good.But starting to get noticeable ie. the untaped part on the hood looks much deeper in color and shinier. I don't drive the car much though (8,000 miles on a 2005) and have decided to assume the risk of a hit to the hood or fender.

I am a fan of clear bras and see zero negatives. My call is a preference decison and not a judgement against clear bras.

For installation - get installer recs from this forum, do the prep work yourself, let the tape bake in the sun afterwards and use Plexus to maintain it.

TOGWT

Thoroughly inspect the film before attempting to remove it, look for any cuts in the paint as these will cause the paint to peel off during removal. It is not very difficult to remove, apply heat to a corner with a hair dryer (not a heat gun) and work slowly to avoid breaking or tearing the vinyl (like any applied vinyl, the longer it’s been applied the more difficult it will be to remove) pull upwards at a 45-degree angle, work slowly and be patient.

Detailer’s clay and /or 1:1 Isopropyl Alcohol / distilled water or 3M Adhesive Remover to clean any adhesive residue.

Adhesive removal – 3M Citrus Based Spray Adhesive Remover – a citrus-based, solvent-free adhesive remover leaves surfaces clean and dries with no residue. Removes tape residue from masking, foam or duct tape, clean, fresh citrus scent. Saturate a micro fibre towel by allowing the product to remain in place for a few minutes and agitating the adhesive residue to remove

Innovative714

This is how I have removed invisible or clear bras from quite a few vehicles including a Bentley Arnage Turbo and an Aston Martin DB9 that were poorly installed to name a couple...

First it helps if the car has sat in the sun on a warm day, if not you can use a hair blowdryer on the very most high and hot setting. It is even easier to remove if you use a heat gun, but becareful. If you have no previous experience with a tool like a heat gun, hire a detailer. You can easily damage the paint or plastic components on the vehicle.

Starting on one corner, you slowly and carefully heat the film, keeping the heat gun about 8-12 inches away, doing so one square foot at a time, DO NOT KEEP HEAT GUN IN ONE SPOT always keep the heat moving around. You will notice that the film is warm to the touch, sometimes a little to warm but you just peel it off a section at a time. Lifting the edge back and pulling slightly as you go. Have a cold one near by, some good tunes.... dont rush and it will come off perfect. Follow up with a light surface clay and a light wax before applying new film.

Your factory OEM clear coat is baked on at the factory and will not peel off, it is possible that if it is repainted and poorly refinished, it could peel....

Here are some pics I posted on another forum on the Ferrari Invisible Bra removal, hope this helps you out...

Invisible Bra Removal

Have fun and good luck

Dave @ Innovative

vettluver

My buddy and I removed his clearbra from his car. The biggest tip I can give you is to use a heat gun carefully and take your time. DO NOT GET IMPATIENT, thinking it's taking too long. It will take you more time to clean the adhesive off than spending an extra 15 minutes going slow and getting it all the first time. In one of the previous post, it was mentioned to keep the heat gun moving at all times...VERY IMPORTANT!

awesome bethany

Doesn't it mess up the paint after having a bra on there for a while?

pro-tect mobile

No. The paint will be asa perfect as the day it was installed. No swirl marks, no chips.... just prefect paint under the film. And it fades at the same rate as the rest of the car so no worries there either.

XPEL

In our experience, the various films we have manufactured and other brands we have distributed actually do best when you "stretch" the film off at a low angle, rather than pulling it from a steep angle. This will help keep the adhesive on the film and the paint on the car!

For further info and a visual, visit here.

bob3868

No special technique used here for removal. I just pealed up a corner and pull slowly and it came off. No problems at all. To me, the car looks so good without it. I had it on for 2 years with no problems. I know I have a good risk of getting a rock chip, it just looks great.

Was at FunFest and was looking at these cars with no bra, which was about all if them, and they look great. ZR1's and all. So I came home and removed mine. There is a difference in the looks.

I will admit I drive it different now. I stay further behind the car in front of me. Bottom line, I'm happy with it. A little nervous now. Ha

Jean-Claude

Here's a video tutorial I made showing off how to safely remove the film and any adhesive residue left over.
Enjoy!