InvisibleMask advice?

[yimmy149]

I bought a couple InvisibleMask kits for my '01 S. Has anyone else installed the bumper piece? It's huge and complicated, I'm wondering if it would be smart to cut it into two or three pieces (maybe an upper and lower?) before installing. I think I could live with a seam or two on the air dam.

-james

[Burg Boxster]

I too have the invisimask on my Boxster and it looks great but I wouldn't cut it just to install I found a local installer who first wanted to put on the 3M but they have too much orange peel. So I negotiated w/ them and said if I supply the mask/shield I want, how much for install - ended up being less than $150 (bumper only). Get a recommended installer from their site or here: http://www.clearbrafilms.com/installerdirectory

Good luck

[husker boxster]

I had my 01S done by a professional, but he couldn't get the bumper piece smooth. He tried 3 times. The edges near the outside of the headlights were impossible to do without wrinkles - too many compound curves. He said he couldn't do it any better, gave me a few bucks off, and politely requested that I not return.

My 08S LE came with a clear bra already installed. There are a few extra seams around the curvy parts, but you hardly notice them and it looks 1000x better than my 01S did with its "crows feet".

[Dave S.]

I had a professional clear bra, window tinting place do my clear bra. For something around $500, I got the front bumper completely covered, the hood covered to a line a little above the headlights, the front few inches of the fenders done, the headlights and fog light lenses covered, the windshield frame, side mirrors, a small piece behind the front and rear wheels and the inside edges of the wheel wells all done. I live on a gravel road and here in Colorado the stone chips on the highway can get really bad, kind of sand blasts the entire leading edge of your car.

I have always found that I can get much better clear bra coverage for less than the dealer-supplied kits. All that said, I would not cut the front bumper mask into various pieces because you will see the seam.

Dave S.

[yimmy149]

Ok, bit of an update...

I did cut it some, otherwise the pieces that go under the air vents would have been touching the ground every time I tried to reposition it.

Some advice if you go this route:

1. I think these films work best on new paint - my car has a few chips and swirls, and I had a very hard time "floating" the film. If you can't float the film, you can't stretch it in a controlled way, and you end up peeling it off, stretching, and then laying it back down to check the fit. Very time consuming.

2. Once you get it laid over the bumper, start at the bottom with the pieces that go in between the air vents - that will help you align the film both horizontally and vertically.

3. The giant nose on our car means there is a lot of stretching to be done, especially left-to-right. Start in the middle and work your way out.

4. You need two people to do this unless you are an expert.

5. You need two hours to do this unless you are an expert.

If I were going to do this again, I would find a professional installer who cuts his/her own film as they go instead of using a kit. I think you'd get much better coverage. Plus the only stretching needed would be to get the film to lay flat, you wouldn't need to stretch to align the precut shapes.

Smaller, flatter pieces are pretty simple. Hood or headlights don't take too much skill, just some patience.

-james

[ekam]

It's definitely not a good idea to install these on body panels that have existing stone chips. I would rather wait to do it on a freshly painted parts.

Definitely not a DIY job unless you don't give a damn how it looks.

[yimmy149]

Unfortunately my car was borderline. The hood, upper bumper and lights are all in very very good condition so it was worth covering. The lower air dam had more chips than I realized. I'm planning to keep the car off the roads in the winter, but the puget sound area seems to have some rocks all year round, especially with non-stop road works.

Anyway, it's on there, and it should look pretty decent once the bubbles work their way out. I've also got a syringe for any stubborn ones.

-james