Clear Bra owners
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
Clear Bra owners
Recently I had the 3M Clear Bra installed on my 08 c6. I had the front bumper, hood, fenders, mirrors, and rear wheel wells covered but have noticed a few bubbles in the film. The installer said they will go away after a month but I am coming up on 1 month and none of the bubbles have gone away. A few are about the size of a shirt button and some are smaller.
My question is, will the bubbles ever go away or do I need to request them to re-apply the film. I don't want them to puncture the film with a needle so I will ask them to reapply it...is that fair? The only pieces that came out perfect were the fenders and mirrors...the other pieces have 1 or 2 bubbles in them.
**I fogot to ask if you had the side mirrors done does it wrap around the whole mirror or is it like mine and only cover about half the mirror?
My question is, will the bubbles ever go away or do I need to request them to re-apply the film. I don't want them to puncture the film with a needle so I will ask them to reapply it...is that fair? The only pieces that came out perfect were the fenders and mirrors...the other pieces have 1 or 2 bubbles in them.
**I fogot to ask if you had the side mirrors done does it wrap around the whole mirror or is it like mine and only cover about half the mirror?
Last edited by TxAggie; Sep 17, 2007 at 05:39 PM.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 421
Likes: 0
From: Fontana Ca
small bubbles will go away. Larger ones may need to be aspirated. My installer used an insulin syringe/needle to inject some of the soapy solution into those bubbles, then aspirate it and the air out. It seemed kind of odd, but worked well, and I can not find the spots he used the needle on. He then used the tip of the needle to poke a few more spots near his original hole to "let it dry faster". I'm coming up on a year of having it, and it still looks great.
I don't know about the mirror thing.
I don't know about the mirror thing.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,530
Likes: 6
From: Torrance CA
I had some small bubbles. They did go away. I did not have any large ones. As for my mirrors, mine are not completely covered. It sounds like mine are like yours. That should be sufficient. If you have any questions, I would certainly go back to your installer.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
From: Dayton Ohio
Personally, I'm going to drive the hell out of my car, then someday when I get tired of the rock chips and pits (none to speak of after 1 yr and 7500 mi), I'll spend the $$ and get a real paint job, minus the GM orange peel! No clear bra for me.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,348
Likes: 733
From: Oceanside Ca
Bubbles are a installer issue, not a product defect. My car has none and I love it, not one blimish. If you got bubbles, take it back & insist on it being perfect.
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Pro
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 735
Likes: 22
From: Wilmington N.C.
I had many bubbles in mine , left it for a about a month and nothing changed. I had the installer come back and remove and got a refund. I found a more qualified installer that will be installing a new kit in the coming weeks.
Geoff
Geoff
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: south carolina
the installer i had worked his rump off with a squeegy tool and never had to puncture the film. he really loved putting the stuff on and answered a million questions a minute i was asking and he had me snapping pictures for him so he could put it on his web site. great to see customer service like this....
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,786
Likes: 49
From: Sun Devil Country
small bubbles will go away. Larger ones may need to be aspirated. My installer used an insulin syringe/needle to inject some of the soapy solution into those bubbles, then aspirate it and the air out. It seemed kind of odd, but worked well, and I can not find the spots he used the needle on. He then used the tip of the needle to poke a few more spots near his original hole to "let it dry faster". I'm coming up on a year of having it, and it still looks great.
I don't know about the mirror thing.
I don't know about the mirror thing.
That's exactly what my installer did and I followed up later in the week with a syringe/needle. During the warm months, all of the air pockets should be gone within a week to ten days. If there is contamination under the bra, they will never go away.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,481
Likes: 23
From: Danville Ca.
St. Jude Donor '10
[QUOTE=tiggerrick;1561950597]small bubbles will go away. Larger ones may need to be aspirated. My installer used an insulin syringe/needle to inject some of the soapy solution into those bubbles, then aspirate it and the air out. It seemed kind of odd, but worked well, and I can not find the spots he used the needle on. He then used the tip of the needle to poke a few more spots near his original hole to "let it dry faster". I'm coming up on a year of having it, and it still looks great.
QUOTE]
mine only covers the front part of the mirror
QUOTE]
mine only covers the front part of the mirror
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
Thanks for the input guys...I am going to start parking it outside in the ho Texas sun on the weekends while I am home to try and get them to go away. I will give it 2 more weeks before I call the installer and see if they can fix it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,236
Likes: 0
My installer left some contamination in the clear bra and thats after I had him redo the entire job because the first time was unsatisfactory. Even after the redo, little specks of dirt can be seen under the clear bra at places near the front air intake. What's worse, at the side near the front wheel, there is an actual human hair trapped under the clear bra. I would have him redo it again but what is the point? He spend another whole day with my car in the shop and probably do the same crappy job because he seems incapable of doing a better job. The same thing goes for the window tinting (small bubbles in the rear window tint) which was done by another installer but fortunately no dirt or hairs.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
Well they did my window tint as well and my only complaint is the rear window where the dot matrix is. The film looks like it has a bubble there because it just won't stick. They did however do a great job on the driver and passenger side windows.
Did the installer give you any grief about making him/her re-install the whole bra on the car? <--mwtc
Did the installer give you any grief about making him/her re-install the whole bra on the car? <--mwtc
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,236
Likes: 0
Yes and no. Initially he was reluctant saying he did the best job he could, then a few days later when I brought my car back to him he was actually quite pleasant about changing the bra (it is after all covered by warranty). However when the second time round showed still many defects I began to realize he wasn't lying when he said he did the best job he could. Sadly, not nearly good enough. It is very important to find a good bra installer, like many in this forum have pointed out. For me one day I might have the whole thing replaced by a third party or simply grin and bear it until trade in. For what it's worth, the bubbles and dirt aren't really visible unless you look around the area of the air intake which is not exactly the first place anyone looks when the see a Corvette, and the trapped hair is very noticeable provided you first know its there, if not then you will miss it entirely. I notice all these things simply because I do my own car, and its HECK of annoying to have to go over the stupid little things that you can't do anything about everytime you do your car.
Last edited by mwct; Sep 19, 2007 at 05:06 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 239
Likes: 0
From: Jupiter FL
All the bubbles came out of mine in the hot Florida sun. I had the rocker panels and sides of the front and rear fenders done and the mirrors. My installer did a curve on the hood to hide the seam better. My only regret is the $ WOW
. Could have got long tube headers for less.
Then I went and did the rear wide body. Now my rear fenders don't have the clear bra but they have the Z06 mud guards now.
. Could have got long tube headers for less.Then I went and did the rear wide body. Now my rear fenders don't have the clear bra but they have the Z06 mud guards now.
Last edited by dtwalkerfl; Sep 19, 2007 at 09:17 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
Yes it is fair to ask them to reapply not just put a pin in it. No, it doesn't cover the whole mirror, just a portion of it at best. Which does leave some of the mirror exposed to potential rocks, etc.
