3M Clear Bra Nightmare!

[hondaholic]

In NJ, where I live, it's suicide to drive without paint protection so I decided to try out 3M's clear bra product. The installer came to my house and about an hour or so into it, he came to tell me that he has a big problem. After covering half the bumper, my clear coat started separating from the paint (bubbling).

Has anyone had this problem? Also, is the 3M product going to prevent all chips?

 

[nsxtacey]

I was told they put some cleaning agent to strip the wax so the film will stick. Maybe it was too much
I live in NJ too so I know how bad the roads are. I just got my whole front end repainted becuz of rock chips. I decided not to do clear bra and just repaint the whole car in a couple of years.

 

[Cairo94507]

I was told before the install that if the car had been repainted there could be problems of the sort you experienced. Mine had not been repainted and the install went perfectly. Sorry to hear about your experience.

As to any rock chip, it is just a thin layer of clear to protect from most ordinary road dirt, sand, small little rocks, etc., if you get that quarter sized rock flying at your car it is going to dent it in all likelihood.

 

[hondaholic]

I heard that as well. I've owned the car 9 years and purchased from the original owner with only 2000 miles. The paint was perfect. The car was as new. I know a bit about paint work and I am 99.99% sure it's original factory paint. If it was repainted it likely happened at the factory. The bumper cover would have to have been painted off the car and fully disassembled.

One of my body guys told me that if the clear separates from the base coat it's likely it was cleared too long after the base was applied.

 

[9doors]

I've got the 3M out here in Cali. I have a tiny separation problem in the concave section of the directional on the front bumper after three months (bra separating from the car) that they are replacing next Friday as a warranty issue. I have two rock chips in the bra itself, this is supposed to be normal as the bra takes the damage to protect the paint. It does mean that you'll have to get sections replaced every few years or so though...

 

[Meeyatch1]

Did he use a heat gun or anything like it? Sometimes when applying the material, heat can be used to make the material fit difficult areas properly. Of course if you overheat the area, you essentially melt (or 'bubble') the paint. On repainted cars you have to let the paint cure for at least 30 days, but 60 days is actually better if possible, or you may have that separation issue. Assuming this is factory original paint, I would almost completely rule out the paint being applied wrong, because Honda / Acura was VERY careful to make the paint job on this car as perfect as possible. I would start looking at the overheating the spot issue, or some sort of other prep related issue (like too potent of a water / alcohol mixture in the bottle).

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Did he use a heat gun or anything like it? Sometimes when applying the material, heat can be used to make the material fit difficult areas properly.

I've applied 3M before and if you use a heat gun to do it, you will burn the film or heat it too much. The film is very soft when using even a blow dryer. To do curved portions, the most heat you will ever need is from a blow dryer but it's more important to get the stretch right. That said, the amount of heat needed to make the OEM clearcoat separate is much higher than what would be used to apply clearbra. So separating clearcoat would smell of bad aftermarket paintwork to me. I can't recall seeing any peeling OEM paintjobs.

 

[Meeyatch1]

I've applied 3M before and if you use a heat gun to do it, you will burn the film or heat it too much. The film is very soft when using even a blow dryer. To do curved portions, the most heat you will ever need is from a blow dryer but it's more important to get the stretch right. That said, the amount of heat needed to make the OEM clearcoat separate is much higher than what would be used to apply clearbra. So separating clearcoat would smell of bad aftermarket paintwork to me. I can't recall seeing any peeling OEM paintjobs.

That is correct that the right amount of heat that you or I may use is from a hair dryer, but if the installer in question is using an heat gun improperly, he could very easily bubble the paint. I have seen that done at dealerships before. :frown: