clear bra installed on 2011 Edge

[cal3thousand]

UPDATE:

"

180 delivered for standard 17 inch deep hood,fenders side mirrors front bumper and lamps protection and inc 4 door edge guards and the install tool/info

add 10$ for the 19 inch deep hood protection"

 

I think $190 for 19" deep with hood, fenders, lights, bumper, door edges, mirrors and tools/info is a great deal! Looks like I have to get on the ball and fix that damn ding on the hood soon.

EDIT: Update on GB status: If we can get 3 people to buy at once, he will cut $15 bucks off each. So you could get the 17" kit for $165 or the 19" for $175.

 

Clarification: the 19" kit is really 18.68" at the center of the hood and the fenders are extended versus the 17" kit.

Edited April 14, 2011 by cal3thousand

[nextime]

Is that shipped price?

[cal3thousand]

Is that shipped price?

 

yessir!

[bboytails]

yessir!

 

 

Just thought I'd chime in a bit on the subject since it looks like there will be a few of you purchasing the kit. As far as price is concerned, it's a good deal, especially if you're not an installer. Of course it's assuming that the seller is in fact selling genuine 3M material. The seller has great ratings so I'm assuming he is.

 

The thing I would be concerned with though is not price, but it's with the installation. I was like most people and thought that installing a clear bra was basically the same process as installing tint so it shouldn't be too difficult. I also thought that if I watched enough videos online, that I could learn it myself. After all, there are a lot of videos out there and they make it look EASY! Long story short I was wrong so I ended up attending an actual 3M course and became a certified 3M PPF installer.

 

Let me just say that before I went to the course, I've installed tint, so I thought I had at least a little experience installing film like a clear bra. It kind of helps but the 3M material is a different beast, as a matter of fact, you can't even install it the same way you would other brands such as Venture Shield, which is also owned by 3M. Even after the training course, I had to do a few cars before I was good at it. Even the instructor admits that you won't know everything after the course and that additional practice is necessary to become decent at it.

 

What the videos and tutorials you can find online (or order) don't tell you is the advance techniques that instructors picked up on such as getting rid of stretch marks, bulldozing, veins, and excessive fingers. I know the videos make the install look easy but that's because they're pros. I was literally working one section of a hood/emblem for 15 minutes trying to get rid of a vein and my instructor came by and fixed it in under 20 seconds.

 

The reason I'm mentioning all of this is because of the price of the film and what you would have to put up with if you install it yourself. For the kit you guys are mentioning, it will take a new beginner about 8 or more hours to install from start to finish, not including the time you spend researching. A lot of the time will be spent on small areas, getting a headache trying to make it perfect, and in the end you might give up and leave it as is. What you're left with is 180 dollars worth of film that you hate looking at because of all the blemishes.

 

The good news is that 3M PPF can be removed and reapplied if it hasn't been installed too long. So for the DIY's that want to save money and learn a new skill, you can order the film and try to install it yourself, then worse case scenario you can always contact an installer to come by and fix it for only the cost of labor. Chances are most won't do it, but you never know. I'd try contacting an installer and ask them if they fix bad installations then go from there.

 

Sorry for making the post long, I'm just trying to put my personal experience out there and maybe save you guys some money or headaches. Other people on forums have tried to do a first-time install on their own car and were just left with a bad taste in their mouth. As a matter of fact, there's even a lot of people that went to an installer only to get a hack job. Beware of low prices for installs, such as those on craigslist. Chances are they learned in their garage with only one kit and are trying to make a quick buck with cheap film and techniques. I'm sure there's good installers out there that charge low prices, but I haven't met or heard of any.

 

If you guys need help with the install or have questions about fixing problems, I'll be glad to help. Just be sure to post pics or problem areas and I'll try my best to tell you how to fix them.

Edited April 19, 2011 by bboytails

[perfik]

Thanks for the (long) post. I have found a dealer in Canada that sells the stuff (I am sure there are many) on their web site and can go up to 12 mil for the really heavy protection. The reason I was looking initially was to protect the lip of the fender at the back from getting scratched putting things into the truck. I think with a little practice on smaller areas first you could probably get decent enough at it for it not to look like a hack job. I don't want to take anything away from the professionals at all, but many of us are just adventurous enough to want to try it ourselves. The pricing seems OK and I have noted there are already links to other US vendors on here. Just wanted to represent for the Canucks.

Oh, and GO VANCOUVER for the Stanley Cup!!!!