Clear Bra anyone ?

[Matador91]

Anyone use or hear much about Llumar clear bras? Place that did my tint swears by it, and they have great reviews (the shop anyway). He said Llumar used to be crap but now is the best, even better than Xpel (said Xpel is hard to work with and doesn't roll over edges well). Was going for Xpel but closest installer is in Denver and wants the car for 3 days :frusty: Pricing is about the same between Xpel and Llumar

I personally have never installed Llumar clear film but I do install Xpel on a daily basis. Xpel is actually pretty easy to use just like anything there is a learning curve. As far as rolling the edges with XPEL it sounds like your installer is trying to roll them before he has gotten all the moisture out from the edges of the film. The biggest thing is making sure your installer stands behind there work, just in case the film starts to yellow or break down prematurely.

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[GiddyUp15]

Thanks Matador! I'm not debating on three options:

• Xpel Ultimate; supplier is highly rated and does clear bras as it's core business, but is in Denver ~70 miles away, and wants the car for 3 days to do the work. Does have 10-year warranty.
  
• Llumar film, at a tinting/clear bra local supplier; about the same price as Xpel but has been in business for some time. They use Llumar for everything including tint and have it plastered all over their shop, so they're obviously biased. Can't find much info on Llumar on the web, so I'm leary to use it. I think it is a 7-year warranty on Llumar.
  
• SunTek PPF-C material from local body shop; only 5-year warranty, but is often compared to Xpel Ultimate on the internet and it was going to be a few hundred dollars cheaper than both of the above. Seems highly rated. Body shop is highly rated but is more of a body-shop with clear bras/tinting done on the side, but been e-mailing owner and he is very helpful and informative. Couldn't find any reviews online of any clear bra work, however. Offered to let me come by tomorrow and talk to his clear bra expert who is doing an Audi A4 tomorrow. His guy has used all the big names including 3M, Solargard, SunTek, and Xpel Ultimate. So maybe I will get a better feel after meeting with him if I can get over there early enough.

Also debating on whether to do full front end or just the 18-24" option, which saves a lot of money....but still leaning toward doing a full front end.

 

[Matador91]

Thanks Matador! I'm not debating on three options:

• Xpel Ultimate; supplier is highly rated and does clear bras as it's core business, but is in Denver ~70 miles away, and wants the car for 3 days to do the work. Does have 10-year warranty.
  
• Llumar film, at a tinting/clear bra local supplier; about the same price as Xpel but has been in business for some time. They use Llumar for everything including tint and have it plastered all over their shop, so they're obviously biased. Can't find much info on Llumar on the web, so I'm leary to use it. I think it is a 7-year warranty on Llumar.
  
• SunTek PPF-C material from local body shop; only 5-year warranty, but is often compared to Xpel Ultimate on the internet and it was going to be a few hundred dollars cheaper than both of the above. Seems highly rated. Body shop is highly rated but is more of a body-shop with clear bras/tinting done on the side, but been e-mailing owner and he is very helpful and informative. Couldn't find any reviews online of any clear bra work, however. Offered to let me come by tomorrow and talk to his clear bra expert who is doing an Audi A4 tomorrow. His guy has used all the big names including 3M, Solargard, SunTek, and Xpel Ultimate. So maybe I will get a better feel after meeting with him if I can get over there early enough.

Also debating on whether to do full front end or just the 18-24" option, which saves a lot of money....but still leaning toward doing a full front end.

I personally don't like the lines so I will be wrapping Full doors forward on my car.

I wouldn't worry to much about the warranty. It sounds like the body shop sublets the work out and if the installer doesn't have his own shop stay away. It's very hard to control your environment to begin with but then you add in the mix of all the dirt and debris from a body shop.

For example before I do a job I blow out my shop, scrub the floors with water, wipe the nearby walls and lights down, then I lint roll myself. It's all in the preperation.

3 days is crazy. Even if you do full hood and full fenders it should only take one day then of coarse the car needs to stay over night to make sure everything dries properly. Not sure why they need 3 days unless they are really booked and are just trying to squeeze you in between appointments.

Not to sure about the quality of Llumar but check out Tintdude.com. It's a tint and PPF forum. Just ask what people think about Llumar and I'm sure you'll get more than enough info.

 

[Major Nickmo]

Got my full front bumper and 25% of the hood done in Xpel, with only 65 miles on the car, and on the Magnetic paint it is invisible. It took a spray on wax perfectly and no one is the wiser.

Here in Utah there is SO much sand and gravel on our roads that it destroys the front ends of our cars. Clear bra for the car and windshield replacement added to your insurance policy is a must. $600 from my local shop that has done my cars in the past.

 

[davekro]

Has anyone seen or heard of using Clear gloss plasti dip instead of a front end vinylwrap?

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