I just had RoadGuard just put on my silver GT. It has a 5 year guarantee and looks great on silver....you can barely see it. The dealership had a red GT in the showroom with the Roadguard on. I thought it muted the color of the red just a bit. My only concern is that the template used leaves a couple of areas on the front bumper exposed. The template looks exactly like the one shown in this thread. Specifically I'm referring to the area right by the fog lights.

 

$1,000 gets a lousy paint job

At least with a clear bra, your car has a chance of looking good in the mean time.

 

I see that your RX-8 is black - I am thinking of getting the 3M/Xpel treatment for my Nordic Green (when it arrives!!!), but I'm wondering about the visibility of the line on a *dark* car. Have you seen other dark paint cars with Xpel? Can you post some pictures once you have it?

 

Quote: "12mm thickness 3M on the rear bumper"

I'm not at all familiar with clear bras. Is it really that thick? That's close to a half inch thick.

 

I believe what he meant is 1.2mm

 

Also might be 12 mil (0.012 inches)...

 

That's what they [ClearBra] told me on the phone.

 

How does one clean this when one gets a black streak or moark from someone's "touch parking" against your bumpers.

Also any opinions on just getting front and rear bumper coverage and NOT getting the hood, rearview mirros covered?

For me that would possibly give me the protection I am looking for when parking in NYC without the added expense of the addional hood, etc coverage and avoid the very subtle line accross the hood.

Thanks,

Claude H.

 

I'm having my car done this week in Houston. It can be either 0.008" or 0.012" thick. I believe that the material that is on the front of the rear fender is virtually identical to the 0.12" Clear Bra. The rep here recommended that I go with 0.008 to improve the appearance.

As far as the price goes, they quoted me $325 to do just the front bumper and mirrors, no hood. But, he strongly recommended that I also do the front section of the hood and fenders like the titanium on this post. In my first 250 miles, I think he is right because the bug splatters are up to about the first 1' of the hood. He is only charging $375 for the whole thing. A couple of things we haven't worked out yet are how he will handle the front spoiler. I would like to have it done also and the pattern doesn't exist yet. I would like the spoiler and the mirrors to be 0.012 for improved protection.

I recommend doing this. When the Fiero GT came out (for you guys old enough to remember), it had a front nose similar to the 8. In the first 500 miles, I already had a bunch of small chips in the paint and put one of the black bra's on it.

 

emailists,

How's the xpel holding up against those touch type car parkers in NYC?

Any additional comments on your part?

Thanks,

Claude H.

 

I had my second attempt at installing a clear bra on the front bumper of my red RX-8 today. The material is the 3M that many others on the site have referred to by several names (X-pel, Invisi-shield, etc). The installer of my bra is one of the best in the Houston area and often has problem cars referred to him by 3M. The problem with the front bumper on the 8 is that there are many areas where several curves come together, particularly at the inside lower corner of the headlights. On darker colors, the red, black and possibly green, you can clearly see all the stretch marks in the material from working it into position. I watched both attempts by my installer. On the second attempt today both he and I agreed the appearance was not satisfactory. He said he loves doing yellows and silvers because you just don't see the small imperfections. He uses the standard X-Pel pattern and there is nothing wrong with the pattern it's just the amount of curves on the car.
He is going to try again by dividing the bumper into 3 segments to relieve the really difficult transitions. We'll try again in a couple of weeks after he does some testing. I still believe that the material offers a great solution to rock chips, but think that the owners of red and black should be warned that the appearance of a single piece bumper application may not yield the appearance that you desire.

 

I'am going to have mine done early next month. I used xPel themselves. They're located in San Antoino, TX. Talk to a guy named Mike Mayall. He's expensive as hell, but I belive is the VP and does the training as well. Did did a knockout job on my G35.

 

good info
My 8 is red

 

Blake, have you gotten the xpel put on your car yet? Maybe we can get them to cut us a deal on both of our cars. I'm looking to get it done in the next few days. I'll call David Royos (listed under installers) today to see what kind of deal he can do.

 

Please do let us know how the 3-piece approach works out, and thanks for the head-up.

 

Is there a spray-on solution?

 

love your hug avatar

 

I'm wondering about the long term durability of this plastic treatment. Usually, such transparent plastic tends to get some haze (I'm thinking of plexiglass and the like even though I realize this is a very different material). Is there any danger that overtime, the plastic film gets unsightly, due to swirls and wear? That would look pretty bad.

Also, in case it needs replacement (due to damage, for instance), can you easily remove it without damaging the paint underneath?

 

I have added XPEL to my Black RX8 about a month ago and so far am really happy with the results. I talked to the manufacture about the yellowing issue and they assured me that the 3M film will not yellow and that it should remain as is for at least 7-8 years.
On Black I have a hard time hiding the line that runs across the hood unless the car is absolutly clean. Once I get some dust, the line begins to appear, although it is faint. I have never had a comment regarding what the line was. I also get a small amount of orange peel effect, although this too is faint and only shows from certain angles.
This being said, the alternatives to not putting this on are limited at best and this seems the best of all evils. I had them do the hood, front grate area, headlights, rear view mirrors and air dam up front. The kit did not contain the air dam piece but my installer fashioned a piece to work. Total cost $685.

 

I am thinking of doing this when I get my 8, however I want to do the front and back bumpers up to the seams in the cars skin. I wonder how much I risk by not doing the hood? any thouights, opinions?

Thanks,

Claude H.

 

I think the risks are not as great as the front cowling area, but over a period of years I think the extra $150 or so to do the hood is worth it.

 

get the hood done
the hood is the only place I've got chips

 

I'm getting mine done next saturday. I called around here and they wanted $350-$450 labor to put all 3 kits on. I talked to a guy in Austin who is going to put the same kits on for $85 (yes, same guarantee).

 

Just wanted to give a big THANKS to David Duncan at UltraShield in Orlando, FL (http://www.xpel.com/) 407-275-0558. He worked for 8 hours to install the 3M Clear Bra on my RX-8. He did a SUPER job. Mine was the first RX-8 he had done and it was a challenge! You can't even tell it's there. I only got the piece to cover the front bumper, not the hood and fenders (I didn't want the line across the hood). I'm also having the rear view mirrors, door edges, and headlights/fog lights done, but that will have to wait for another day. I'm attaching a few pics to show what it looks like when it's being applied. This first photo shows the passenger side of the bumper before the film has been stretched and smoothed out:

 

This next photo shows the drivers side after the film has been fit into all the nooks and crannies!