Hello,
I recently took on the challenge of installing an invisible bra by 3m on my 2002 Boxster. I purchased the complete coverage front bumper piece and an extended hood section.
Sorry I did not take photos but I wanted to share my installation so that others can be prepared if they want to take on the challenge themselves.
I had installed window tint film so I felt fairly confident I could handle the install, and I really did not want to pay the high price of a professional installation.
I took off my front bumper so that I could clean the radiators and paint the grills so I was able to lay it over a table and have it facing up instead of straight ahead. The first thing I noticed when I unrolled the film is that it was at least 6" short on both sides, if not a bit more. So I went back and looked at the installation videos but the ones from the seller only showed them laying a small strip on a rather flat front hood section.
So I mixed up my bottles of soap and alcohol and wet everything down and started in. I did this by myself but I would not recommend that to others. The plastic strip is just too long to handle by yourself and very difficult to keep all the surfaces wet while you work on it, not to mention you cannot really see sections of the bumper well and thus makes it hard to align.
So I centered the bra as best I could and then I squeegeed out the soap and water and started to pull and stretch the material to have it reach the sides. I found it difficult as the material has some 'bounce back' so if you stretch it and then try to squeegee it down it may shrink on you. The alcohol solution does help when you want to tack it down asap, but you have to have it positioned correctly.
Surprisingly, the first side I did, the left side, worked out pretty well. The very lowest piece of the material did not line up as it should have but I was not as concerned since that is really not as visible as the rest. I wanted to move at a good pace as I did not want things to dry out on me. What I did find difficult is in stretching the bra to reach the radiator intake openings. It was hard to tell just how far in the plastic should wrap. This is where I think a second person would have helped by watching the positioning at one area while I stretched it to the other.
When I moved over to the right side I used the tow hook hole to help align the wrap. Again, I was amazed at how much stretching is involved during application. I was able to get things looking really good, with the exception of a little wrinkle just in front of the right headlight. You do not notice it when your 10 feet away, but of course it always catches my eye.
I then put on the hood piece and that was easy. It was much smaller to handle as it only goes about 2 feet up the hood, and the hood is basically flat. I did find that I have to stretch things just a bit to get them to line up, but it was minimal.
Would I do it again? Now that I know what to expect I would say yes. Had I known how complicated it was going to be I would say no, and either went without or shopped around for a local installer.
I ordered my product from
Invisible Mask - Clear Bra Automotive Paint Protection, 3M Scotchgard, Carbon Fiber 3M Films and the 2 pieces ran about $250 which was well less than half of what the local stores were asking, if not a third of a couple quotes I had. Granted they would have done an excellent job, but I just could not see putting close to a grand out for a mask on a 12 year old car. The company did ship all the materials I needed for installation, including 2 spray bottles, a razor knife, squeegee and towel. You will need a few drops of baby shampoo and about 12 ounces of Rubbing Alcohol.
Hope this helps others when deciding to tackle this project,
Mike
Linear Mode
