took off the clear bra wrap on my 2012 today. was not a pretty sight underneath

[onlyaudis]

I was always suspicious of these wraps and clear bras causing more trouble than they saved. the front of my car was covered in one when I got it, going to about 30% of the way back on the hood. looked kind of stupid to me, and I decided today to try and finally remove it. the two parts on the front areas of the fenders were not bad to get off, and only left a little adhesive. But the large hood area was a real mess. that adhesive does not want to come off after being on their 4 years baking in the sun and being heated by a 3 liter SC engine. after a few quarts of goof off and 3m adhesive remover, I got most of it, but the adhesive had reacted with the clear and edged marks and patterns on it. lucky for me, I spent the last 27 years painting and polishing classic cars for a living, so I color sanded the hood with 1500, and hit it with Menzerna's Power Gloss polish and a couple of finishing polishes afterwards. it was not easy to get the marks out and to make the main line go away, but I was able to get it done.

think twice before using these clear bras.

[evil_O]

Looks good.

Come to Colorado and experience one good winter here without a clear bra. Needless to say, sand on the roads does much more damage than a clear bra ever could.

[onlyaudis]

I guess if you live in a place that gets real winters, that may make some sense.

[auditd0rk]

Looks good.

Come to Colorado and experience one good winter here without a clear bra. Needless to say, sand on the roads does much more damage than a clear bra ever could.

+1. Clear bra the side mirrors, too. Winters here are hell on the windshield, too.

[audinator]

I've always been concerned about that with these clear bras, glue baking in the sun! Especially on black!

Glad you got it sorted, beautiful S4!

[RickFLS4]

When the Xpel started to yellow on my last car I got it replaced under warranty. The installer had no issues removing the original film. Also you don't need winter to appreciate PPF. Highway driving with any level of road construction is enough to value PPF even in FL. My last car without it had paint chips all over the front bumper and front portion of the hood.

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[Pyromatic177]

Anyone think the brand of the clear film makes a difference?..

[k9lovr]

This is why my installer will be removing if needed....

[Vogz]

After 4 years my 3M clear bra is horribly swirl marked and looks like garbage. I'll be pulling it all off next spring and enjoying my car "naked" for the rest of the time I own it. Not looking forward to the labor of removing the adhesive that doesn't pull off though.

[pdqgp]

I've been using and removing them for over 15yrs with never a problem. Can't comment on your product used, but I've used 3M in the past and Premium Shield Elite recently. Last cars I've removed had them on their for over 10yrs. My old Minivan by brother in law now owns was a 2003. My 2002 Trailblazer which was black, the second owner had it removed after 8yrs in prep to sell it. I've also re-done a couple, mainly on the front bumper of my past cars, only because they too can take a beating with sand and grit in winter here in Ohio.

Heat gun, go slow and then solvent to remove the residue. Pretty much the reverse of putting it on.

Glad it worked out well for you. I personally love them. Way better than having to respray and match colors, etc. in Cali, can't comment on their need, unless perhaps you do lots of highway driving.

[saxon]

Wouldn't a steamer make it easier?

[onlyaudis]

I have removed many stripes , decals, and window tints in the past without much issue, and figured this would be similar. For some reason, the adhesive on the hood really became hard though and was the hardest thing I ever tried to remove from a paint finish. Pretty much nothing I tried on it barely affected it, and at one point I was starting to think the front hood would need a respray. I ended up soaking it with adhesive remover, (big mess) and then using an old credit card to scrape the worst of it off. the goof off rubbed hard with a rag slowly got the rest. Took a few hours of tedious messy (and stressful) work. the parts on the fenders came off with the heat gun much better, and left little residue, so it must be a time + heat related issue.

I wanted to remove it because it was already starting to look wonky and uneven, and recently some areas had gotten discolored.

it was the fact that it left a pattern clearly edged in the clear on the hood that pisses me off--I have hear the wrap suppliers clearly deny anything like that can ever happen on a factory finish. If it would have been on much longer, I am not sure that the main line it left where it ended on the middle of the hood would not have been able to be fully color sanded and polished away either.

Nice side affect, my front hood looks way better than any factory finish can with a color sand and buff. show quality gloss on it now. No robot can spray paint as good as a hand rubbed finish by someone who knows what they are doing..

I'll never recommend anyone using clear bras around here except maybe on race cars

[onlyaudis]

Wouldn't a steamer make it easier?

that could permanently discolor the paint finish. I would not try that.

[LINDW4LL]

Agreed on the half hood job being stupid (compared to full), but I don't understand the general negativity here. You had to remove a bit of adhesive- big deal. At least your paint is now mint on your four year old *black* Audi.

The clear bra should ideally not need to be removed during ownership, but still the issues you had are not at all typical of removal.

Do you know which film was used?

Wouldn't a steamer make it easier?

Yes, steamer is great for removal and what most professionals use.

[onlyaudis]

It must have been on when the car was new by the PO, so I have no idea what film was used. They use steamers to remove them? that surprises me. Seen what trapped hot water vapor can do to paint finishes under plastic tarps-it can bleach and discolor the finish to where no amount of polishing will bring it back. Must be a very specific and careful technique required.

I would have charged a client $500 for the work I had to do to remove mine and color sand and polish the hood.

[Vogz]

that could permanently discolor the paint finish. I would not try that.

Lol, no. I used a clothes steamer to loosen up the clear bra strip that was on my rear bumper to protect it from loading things in the trunk. I never scuffed it with anything in the last 4 years and it was horribly swirled. Looked like crap.

[Acejam]

think twice before using these clear bras.

Says the guy with a perfectly finished hood. (thanks to the clear bra)

[S4 00 2.7]

don't they sell a rubber wheel that attaches to a power tool that is used for adhesive removal? anybody ever try that?

[wwhan]

Had Ventureshield installed on the whole front end on my S4. After 4 years a rock hit the hood & made big tear in the hood film, which looked pretty bad. I had the original installer remove and replace the ppf on the hood. When he had removed the old film, it looked perfect underneath. He put Suntek ppf on the full hood & it looks perfect, even after another 1.5 years in the sun.

It helps to have a good installer do the work. The ppf really saved my hood.

[audibmi]

Reminds me of what phil had to go through at detailers domain...

"plastic razor blades, 30 or so mf towels (tossed out later as the adhesive embedded in the towels) 10 microfiber cutting pads, 4 gallons of water in the steamer, lots of blood (bloody knuckles) and blisters"

http://www.detailingbliss.com/topic/...val-nightmare/

[onlyaudis]

Says the guy with a perfectly finished hood. (thanks to the clear bra)

more like a perfectly finished hood from 27 years of experience color sanding and polishing out paint jobs. I should have gotten some photos of the pattern it had left on the clear--looked horrible and was pretty deep. most people would have thought they needed to have the hood repainted.

[mpower3o2]

The older 3M clear bra's were known to be a disaster, and adhesive residue causing paint damage upon removal. Wouldn't surprise me if the newer stuff is the same.

Newer SunTek & Xpel Ultimate PPF are easily removable now.

[Acejam]

more like a perfectly finished hood from 27 years of experience color sanding and polishing out paint jobs. I should have gotten some photos of the pattern it had left on the clear--looked horrible and was pretty deep. most people would have thought they needed to have the hood repainted.

Of course it's going to need some cleaning and prep - this isn't like pulling plastic covers off a brand new car or iPhone.

My point was simply that if your clear film wasn't present, odds are you'd have a bunch of rock chips present on the hood that *would* require paint in some form.


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[RudyH]

more like a perfectly finished hood from 27 years of experience color sanding and polishing out paint jobs. I should have gotten some photos of the pattern it had left on the clear--looked horrible and was pretty deep. most people would have thought they needed to have the hood repainted.

you can color sand and polish out stone chips? I was always told to fix something like that you needed to repaint but I could be wrong...

[hdmlnium1]

3m eraser wheel works great, that's what I used to get all the hard stuck glue off when I took my clear bra off.
It goes in the end of a drill, and does a very good job.
I've used these for many, many years of removing badges off cars and trucks.
Bill

[S4 00 2.7]

3m eraser wheel works great, that's what I used to get all the hard stuck glue off when I took my clear bra off.
It goes in the end of a drill, and does a very good job.
I've used these for many, many years of removing badges off cars and trucks.
Bill

that's what I was thinking. I'll be sure to look for it if I need it.

[hotleadsingergu]

I live in Cleveland, where we have perpetual construction and long and terrible winters. My last car I had for 2.5 years and only had 3 chips on it (2 very small, one fairly small). They were only noticeable at all because it was a black car.

I have one toward the front of the hood on my 4 month-old S4, but it's still better than a clear bra. You think it's bad taking a clear bra off of a dark car? Try white...it discolors the paint enough that you can't really fix it without a full repaint.

[Schadenfreude]

I live in Cleveland, where we have perpetual construction and long and terrible winters. My last car I had for 2.5 years and only had 3 chips on it (2 very small, one fairly small). They were only noticeable at all because it was a black car.

I have one toward the front of the hood on my 4 month-old S4, but it's still better than a clear bra. You think it's bad taking a clear bra off of a dark car? Try white...it discolors the paint enough that you can't really fix it without a full repaint.

Really? I just took film off both front fenders on my Ibis S4 and I see no difference at all compared to the doors which were uncovered. Car lives outside so more than enough sun baking down. Film came off easy with minimal residue after 3.5 years on. No regrets. Certainly nothing to repaint.

[RickFLS4]

I live in Cleveland, where we have perpetual construction and long and terrible winters. My last car I had for 2.5 years and only had 3 chips on it (2 very small, one fairly small). They were only noticeable at all because it was a black car.

I have one toward the front of the hood on my 4 month-old S4, but it's still better than a clear bra. You think it's bad taking a clear bra off of a dark car? Try white...it discolors the paint enough that you can't really fix it without a full repaint.

Do you do any highway driving? 3 chips in 2.5 years is extraordinary.

[14S4GWM]

I live in Cleveland, where we have perpetual construction and long and terrible winters. My last car I had for 2.5 years and only had 3 chips on it (2 very small, one fairly small). They were only noticeable at all because it was a black car.

I have one toward the front of the hood on my 4 month-old S4, but it's still better than a clear bra. You think it's bad taking a clear bra off of a dark car? Try white...it discolors the paint enough that you can't really fix it without a full repaint.

Had it on my white car for 3 yrs and it showed no issues after taking it off. It was 3M from 6 yrs ago.