apotocki

Ok...I'm a bit nervous about this but made the decision to get a clear bra after discovering 3 very small nicks on my air dam this week-end. They are pretty much unnoticable on my NG unless you are literally 1 foot away but I know they are there and since I've only owned the car for 2 months (1,100 miles), I know more are coming. My appointment is for this Thursday.

I do have a bit of uneasiness with this.
Both places in my area that XPel pointed me to are in-experienced with RX-8's. Neither has ever done one....but both assured me that 'it will be no problem as they have done many, many, many cars with no problems.......that kinda concerns me as some of the reading I've done on this forum indicate that the RX8 is not like other cars.
I decided to go with the guy who is using VentureShield/Venture Tape instead of 3M. The Venture Tape is 6mil vs. the 8mil 3M. The VentureShield guy quoted me a price that was $250 less than the 3M guy. Hard to argue spending more money than necessary. He also did a bit of a sales pitch by indicating that his 'experience' with 3M is that is is prone to having a bit of an orange peel look and a bit more difficult to install. He said that the difference in thickness is not a concern as to the amount of protection offered. The one thing that did concerned me was that he said he uses the same product for the headlights....6 mil....I thought that the headlights 'needed' thicker material (20mil?). When questioned on this, he once again said his experience was that 6 mil was sufficient. He does offer a full lifetime warranty which made me feel a bit better. His approx. install time was about an hour (?!)
I'm still very nervous about the installation. I've read stories about lots of problems and hope I'm not going to be another Thursday afternoon. Any words of encouragement/advice?
Thanks

rxeightr

Had mine done in 10/03, and very glad I did.
The 8mil sheet is more difficult to install because of its thickness. That is why it costs more. I also went the 6mil route.

I have the thicker (20mil) on the headlights & foglights, which I prefer. Have not heard of any other installer using the same thickness on the lights as on the body.

My installer had not done an RX-8 before, and all was simple until he got to the bumper section. He spent over an hour just on that, because of the curves. The hood & fenders were a non-issue.

apotocki

Thanks for the response....I'm going to question the installer tomorrow about going with a thicker material on the headlights.

Also, should the completed job look 'finished' and 'perfect'? I've read some threads that indicate that the clear bra will/can initially have pockets (air bubbles) that will work themselves out over time. I'm kinda picky with just about everything, but if this is 'normal' I want to know that upfront so I don't cause a scene or anything if not having a 'perfect' job is normal.

Thanks

EZZY

so you'd be okay for the rest of the car to fade quicker than the clear bra section. hope your 8 isnt red. red goes faster because the colour fades quicker :p

jenkins-crew

Make sure he doesn't do the "cut on the body " method. A good installer will not trim the bra after applied. I wouldn't want them cutting into my paint!

rxeightr

Small air bubbles do go away after a few weeks. And I agree with jenkins-crew ^^^^

fray

iTrader: (1)

I've been considering the clear bra on mine as well.

I was told that at least the 3M material will let UV through so that the paint will fade at the same rate as the rest of the car, but yet protect against rockchips. If thats not the case, then I may have to rethink the clear bra...

apotocki

Ok....called my installation guy back and he confirmed that the clear bra does allow UV to penetrate.....so.....I think the comment regarding the 'fading' concern is probably not valid.

I also questioned him on his installation technique. Hmmmmmmm, he informed me that he tries to avoid cutting on the car, however, he does do a bit of trimming as needed...................I voiced concern here. He said that his experience is that the templates are not always 'exact'. He indicated that he has become 'very good' at ensuring that the trimming does not 'cut the paint'. He also offered up references if I wanted them. I'm just a bit concerned here, but, you know something.....if I wasn't reading this forum, I'd probably just take my car in and have it done not knowing these types of details! Soooo, I'm gonna trust that he'll do a fine job!

jenkins-crew

Cool, let us know how it comes out!

ThinkGlobal

if you are having the bumper done too I will be the first to say there is no way the whole car is going to be done in an hour... total BS. You could really have some fun and go double or nothing with him. If the whole thing is done - start to finish and looking good - in an hour you pay double, or it is FREE LOL

on a polycarbonate headlight the only reason to go with a thicker cover is to get them in a color like yellow or blue.

my experience with venture is they dull out very quickly, it will still protect the car, it just might not look too great. It is non-coated so it is critical to keep it clean and waxed at all times.

Good luck

arr ex eight

pics?

rxeightr

I'd provide pics -- but you can't see it with a camera.

apotocki

OK.....I'm back and now have 'protection' on my 8!!!!

I arrived at the shop at approx. 9:35am. The entire job was finished at 11:10am!

When I got there, we looked over the car and I made the comment, well, 1 hour, eh.
The guy said - yep, this doesn't look too bad. I shared the idea of getting it done in 1 hour or free and he said - sure! I balked, however, and said I didn't want him to rush and do a potentially bad job! We laughed and he started. I watched just about the entire job - it's pretty interesting. The hood, fenders, air dam, and mirrors went without a hitch. He did encounter a bit of difficulty with the bumper (no secret here) but was able to get it done with only 1 piece.
I'm very pleased with this....I think he did a great job as there are NO air bubbles that I can find. You literally cannot see this on the car...unless you are right on top of it and looking for it. There is one spot though (ah, you knew this was too good to be true!) that I'm just a bit concerned about. On the bumper On both side of the emblem, there are a couple of 'stretch marks' that are visible from certain angles. I pointed them out and he indicated these were unavoidable due to the amount of stretching he had to do to get the strip to cover correctly. He told me to let it 'cure' for a few days and if I'm unhappy with it, bring it back and he will re-do the entire bumper.....can't complain about that.
Anyone else have any experience with minor 'defects? Oh, by the way, there is absolutely no orange peel look anywhere! The entire job cost me $600.

jenkins-crew

Sweet man, sounds like he did a good job, does he have any contacts in the Texas area????

EZZY

actually... i was referring to the "non-protected" areas