dinardalvi

sorry man, this is too bad, get it re-done.

KJH

You have all the leverage. You have received the "service" but have yet to pay for it. I would be surprised if your installer did not volunteer to do the job over at no cost to you (other than the original price of $1,700). Regardless, you can get what you want and deserve by not giving up your leverage. At worse, you may need find another installer, in which case you will be able to show him proof of how not to do things and apply the $1,700 you would have paid to the first installer to the second installer.

The mirrors and corners of the grill opening in our cars seem to be especially difficult to get right, but many installers charging serious money provide life-time guarantees (at least mine does) and will correct any problems that arise with the initial, or subsequent, installations. Good luck.

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

I agree with everyone else. This is a poor job on the installation. I've had 3 clear bras put on 3 different Lexus' of mine. One or two imperfections, but none were even close to being as bad as your installation. Sorry man. Make them do it over.

Madoshi

Thanks IS350atWOT.

Yea I was planning on meeting him close to his house to pay and to discuss the problems, but I have since been given some new advice.

Since this is a professional dispute, I should wait and go to his shop in a professional environment and discuss the issues. Other than the guys on this forum, I've been told by several other people I know that I should NOT pay the guy until I'm happy with the work. Since I now have a lack of trust in him, I probably have to waste a Saturday or work day so I can watch him do his work to make sure it is done properly. If he tries to screw me over I will post his name and company on this thread.

SUPERBRINO

iTrader: (1)

First of all, your car is gorgeous and deserves way better protection. I would demand some or all of your money back and have someone ELSE redo it. I wouldnt even give them that chance they obviously dont know what they are doing. I have 3m myself and few friends of mine, I havent seen anything that looks like that. yeesh.

Madoshi

Thanks Superbrino! I really loved the look of the car and the Zaino detail looked amazing. Now with the Bra it feels like a hasbro car.

I actually have yet to pay the dude. When I speak to him at his shop I guess no I would have several options. Demand a complete redo or ask to not pay for anything or maybe a few hundred for the labor, but not the film. I've seen a few videos and read what it takes to remove the Clear Bra and it is not a quick exercise. With the amount of coverage on my car, it could take 3-4 hours. Then after it is removed I would have to trust that he removes all the adhesive. A lot of people polish and wax the car before placing a new Bra on and I doubt he would do that.

I would ask for some high end quality certified installers in Houston, but without me saying who I used, one of the recommended installers could turn out to be the one I used, lol. Hmm.

SUPERBRINO

iTrader: (1)

Ok I see.. I have 3m on my Lex and part of it had to be redone but wasnt their fault and they didnt charge me. Also, you cant wax and polish before putting the clear bra on. if they do that, THAT is why it is peeling.!!! they have to do a "surgical cleaning" of the car before installing the bra. Otherwise it will not stick and or cure properly. They even say not to wax over the bra, you must use thin tape the edges when you wax/detail afterwards. I'm only talking from experience. I have also watched them install the 3m on a porsche and maserati when droppin off my car. I am only giving you this info as a fellow customer of the product. I want you to get the proper care for your ride and have it done the right way. You def cant put 3m over a freshly waxed car, will not stick, must be clean and free of all debris/ residue. My place put the 3m on then waxed the uncovered areas. for sure it looks sick, check out my threads you cant even see the lines guaranteed! they are 3m certified, too bad yur not in NY i would send you there lol

Madoshi

Are you serious about not polishing/waxing before hand?

Well this is what happened. The Zaino detailer did the full prep BEFORE the Clear Bra. He dawned washed it, Clay Bared it, washed it, Z-AIO, three layers of Z2, then Z8. After all that, the Clear Bra installer installed all the Bra's. Could that cause it to lift up, bubble, finger and for the plastic to look wavy/melted on the hood? It wouldn't explain for the particles under the Clear Bra though....

So if this guy does a complete redo (I will speak with him on Thursday), after he removes the Clear Bra, I should ask him to do a new dawn wash, clay bar again?

Thanks.

crazybuggy

bummer man! $1700 for a clearbra install and it came out like that... goodluck with whatever step u choose to take now

flipside909

To be honest, you should be cleaning/protecting your clear bra with a proper plastic/vinyl cleaner/protectant, not a regular paint polish/sealant/wax. Clear bra even with a top coating is porous. Applying the wrong materials on the clear bra will accelerate deterioration and yellowing of the film overtime.

As far as prep on a fresh paint surface, you should apply clear bra on a surface with no kind of paint sealant/wax etc. The surface should be clean and bare. A good clear bra installer knows to clean the paint surface with a good wax remover/surface cleaner. 3M makes a cleaner that will strip the paint surface cleanly. Don't use dawn or any dishwashing soap to strip the paint surface of any kind of wax or protectant. That's a big no no in the basics Detailing 101.

rhy

iTrader: (2)

^^ From what I understand, the new XPEL Ultimate has a real automotive clear coat. Wouldn't that make it okay to use automotive wax on it? It would be an exception among various clear bra films.

rdgdawg

Ummm... with ALL of the problems I see AND the OWNER allowed you to take the car as to "What do you think?"... I'D RUN LIKE I WAS CARL LEWIS!!!!

I've seen MANY (ie 100+) clear bra installs... this is THE WORST by a mile... at $1700, maybe you find one error... I stopped counting on yours

OP, feel for you, but get this off, don't pay a dime... DO NOT look for a fix, they do not know what they are doing... allowing you to take the car back in this condition is unacceptible... period. The workmanship would indicate this was a first time rookie in a backbay, NOT an authorized installer. WAY too many errors...

Good luck, stay firm... JUST SAY NO!!!

ISFSteve

All installers have to extensively prepare the surface. Most will tell you no recent wax jobs to help the situation but I am sure they prepped the surface. I would not exactly tell them you just had it done before taking it to them as you don't want to give them an excuse but it may have added to the problem in a couple areas. As far as people saying not to wax the material or vet wax close to the edges, this is the opposite of what my installer told me. Not sure if it depends on the material used but my guy has been doing this for a lot of years on very high end cars so I don't think he would steer me wrong as I have a great warranty that came with it as well. Don't think he would put his reputation on the line telling me to do something I should not.

flipside909

Intresting because real automotive clearcoat is not flexible. Unless things have changed, XPEL sources all their film from 3M and is using a clear coat surface which XPEL has always had for many years. The clear coat layer they have on the clearbra is not car paint. There is no exception to use automotive wax on urethane film even with a clear.

If your clear bra installer says its perfectly fine to use regular car wax and sealant to protect the clear bra surface, he's not very experienced.

Only use specific protectant and waxes for urethane films...which we all know as clear bra.

ISFSteve

I am going to check I to this a little more on the waxing of the clear bra...............