I have resisted installing a clear bra on the vette due to it's lack of use and the expense. I recently purchased an FX50 and the dealer referred me to a "clear bra" installer who uses "Lumar" not 3m. He gave me a real good price on the Infiniti with a life time warranty and says he prefers it over 3m for looks and durability. My plan is to do the Infiniti first and if I like it do the Vette.
Question: Anyone have experience with "Lumar"? What's the differance with 3m?

 

can't tell you the difference betw the two, but they both seem to make their own stuff. plus, llumar just came out in oct. per their website with a new and improved car paint film protector.

maybe ask the question of both cos.: what makes yours better than X? see what they say.

 

never have heard of "lumar". i have had 3M products on many vehicles, currently three from GQ's to DD'ers. i like the 3M product because it has a clear coat finish on it and more resembles the OP that most factory paints have today. my 07 has 4,800 miles and my 03 Avey has 15,000 miles. yes that's real low use but i like keeping things as perfect as possible. 3M helps in this respect FOR ME. it's not for everyone as it is expensive but well worth it to me. stick to the old dogs not the up and coming on this stuff in my experience. good luck.

i might add that anything is most likely better than nothing.

 

Llumar (Yes, 2 'L's) has made window tinting film for a long time, I guess they are branching into clear bra.

 

Get some references. Installer is more important then the product. Also educate yourself on what is, and what isn't a good installation. LLumar has been making window film for a long time. Research them. I personally would recommend Clearshield, but again the installer is going to be far more important.

 

I have installed Lumar once before. Its a nice looking film but to me did not hold up very long. I have also heard from other installers that the durability of the film isnt very good. Now I have not personally used their new film so I do not know anything about it. I would definately recommend doing some research and see what other installers think of it. 3M is a durable film but the Orange Peel is pretty bad. As someone posted earlier, it does have a lot of orange peel in it. Why you would want to "add" that over your paint is beyond me. Adding a film with orange peel on top of a paint (with slight orange peel or a lot of it) will not help it blend with the car. You need yo use a film that has no orange peel in it to get the best results. I personally recommend VentureShield Ultra. It is a fairly new line of VentureShield film with a clear coat on it. It also has a lifetime warranty from the film manufacturer... I believe Lumar is actually 7 years so the installer may be picking up anything beyond that.

The installer is key so check out their finished work. But you also want a good durable film. Films like Lumar and ClearShield (Bekaert) are only holding a small share of the PPF market for a reason. If you need some more info feel free to send me a PM. I may also be able to help you find a good installer in your area.

 

i think that the "new" ventureshield material is actually 3M (that's why it has the clear coat on it). 3M purchased VS last year, i believe. FWIW.

 

I've had Ventureshield on mine and after two solid years, it was time to replace it. What the next installer used, telling me it was Ventureshield, was in fact "ClearBra" which apparently turned out to be a different product. I hear that VentureShield, bought ClearBra, so be aware of that fact. I don't like the clearbra product itself but did like the VentureShield. Now when they state that it has a lifetime warranty, make sure you have a clear understanding of what that covers. So far, for me, it covers the product only and not the installation or removal of old product or new installation, which is the majority of the price. As for not having a bra vs not having one, on my super high mileage '99 that I gave away to my son last year, I can only wish that it had a clear bra of any sort on it, long ago. The front end of it looks gray. Its supposed to be black and my son doesn't have the money to get it repainted. If you are considering one, get one. You'll be happier in the long run. I cannot speak for the 3M product.

 

My 08 had the 3M film and it did have alot of orange peel (I overpaid to have it installed too). On the 09 I bought the "Invisible Mask" (Venture Shield?). I installed it myself (not for the faint of heart on the front bumper!). It actually turned out pretty good, better than the professional installer that I used on my 08. And there is definitely a difference in shine, zero orange peel.

www.invisiblemask.com

 

I've bought from Genes web site and never had a problem, I even took a 200 mile ride to his place to pick up NPP system and got to meet him, A GENTLEMAN indeed.

 

Llumar has been in the clear bra business for quite a while now. Had it installed on our 2004 Volvo XC90 while I was stationed in Colorado Springs. It has held up pretty well but does have visible 'orange peel'. I had X-Pel installed on the C6 and am much happier with the product in all aspects. As you can see from the other posts, there are several opinions on invisibra/clear bra materials, manufacturers, patterns -vs- free hand cut, installation, durability, etc. You really have to see the cars (mainly top end vehicles with difficult countours), which materials they used, what their appearance is over the years, and what the warranty represents. Both X-Pel and Llumar have recently emerged with new upgraded materials that cost more but are supposed to be more durable. I can tell you a major part of a good end product is the installer. Did I mention a VERY important part of the clear bra install is a GOOD installer?

 

You are partially correct. 3M bought out VentureShield but the films are completely different. They are manufactured at two seperate locations and are not the same. The Ultra film is the new clear coat film and is much better than the 3M film. Seeing the two side by side is pretty shocking... way to much orange peel in 3M. Not sure why anyone would want it on their car... if they ahd a choice when they got the film installed. I have not seen the new Xpel film. If its better than their previous film it may be worth looking into. I know a lot of installers throughout the US and no one has said anything about using it yet. So I really dont have any first hand knowledge of it.

 

I have 3M on mine and have had it since the car was new. My installer is a certified 3M installer and I can tell you that there is no orange peel on mine. People are shocked how hard it is to see until you are up close.

It is very tough also. It is very hard to tear. I had it installed because my corvettes are DDs. I drive 77 miles per day on the interstate and my paint is still perfect after 29787 miles.

I agree with others that the most important thing is the installer but I disagree that 3M is heavy in orange peel. For allI know the others mentioned my be better than 3M but if that is so they are totally invisible.

 

Maybe this will muddy the water, but I have 3M on my car now. I just went to check it again, in case it changed. It hasn't.

Yes, there's some very minor "orange peel," less actually than the paint nearby. Is it excessive? No. Is it highly and easily visible? No. Is the paint's "orange peel" highly visible either? No. So, what's the big deal?

I've had 3 other cars with 3M "clear bra" and not been dissatisfied. I've been to at least 3 different installers, and three different "group buy" weekends involving dozens of cars with multiple personnel installing "clear bra."

In all that time, I've only seen one car, a C6 no less, which had an obvious major problem related to the material itself with its "clear bra" and it was very cloudy and less than 2 years old. That's it. No, I don't know the mfr. of the product for that one C6.

Other than that, I have a used vehicle with well over 100K outdoor-parked miles in many different extreme, bad-weather conditions with some "clear bra" product on it, probably 3M. It is scarred and does not look as good as the surrounding paint. But it's a "10-footer" (you'd have to be closer than 10 feet away to see the issues).

Either buy it or don't, but don't be worried about the problems it may have inherent in the product. I'm glad to hear the product is being 'continuously improved.'

 

You should definitely get the saran wrap. I didn't have it on my first 3 toys (two Z-28's, one C5). The damage to the front end in 3 years will break your heart. I have it on all (3) of my 2008 vehicles. And I had it done soon after purchase, while still pristine.

Brand? Well, I have 3M cuz that's what the (2) installers that I trusted-used. But it does yellow. It has some orange peel, but hey - it matches the rest of the paint ! Many here have said xpel is the best. Llumar window tint has a very good reputation. Don't know about their car condoms.

Be VERY careful who you let install it. The jagoff that installed it on our 2005 Tahoe (when it was 3 weeks old !) trimmed the product on the vehicle and sliced the paint. And he had the pre cut kit. So don't think it can't happen just cuz they use the pre cut kits. They stretch the film as they install it amd sometimes, they need to trim it.

 

I am a installer as well and by far like the Clearshield from SolarGard the best. It is thinner than some others so it's appearance is less noticeable, yet it still gives you the needed protection. Plus it does not yellow, dull, or crack like others do. IMO the Clearsheild dominates the 3M product, but that's obviously personal preference.

 

The "slice line" on the edge of the clear, just looks like wax build up - or is not even visible at all. The only reason we discoverred it was the idiots used a defective squeegee that left small scratches in our paint at the transition between paint and clear. I discovered it a week later and went back to the shop and made them pull it off.

That's when I saw the cuts

It's a real good thing it was "her" Tahoe and not my C5.

The putz had to pay to have the front end of our new Tahoe repainted.

 

Update- Had the Infiniti done today with Llumar. The installer said the kit was a great cut. ONE PROBLEM- when the Llumar was installed on my black car the film was like cloudy. The film was VERY noticeable on the car. NOT CLEAR ANY MORE. The owner of the shop said he called the rep and the rep said it would clear in a few days. But the shop owner and I decided that after a 2hr install to take it off and wait for a new roll of the llumar coming in tomorrow. The shop owner said he NEVER saw it do that before and did not want to take a chance on it NOT clearing up. This shop does all high end cars so there's no reason to doubt their ability and integrity. For my trouble the shop owner cut the install price in half and is going to test the new roll coming in on a black car before calling me in for a re-install.