3M Clear Bra Treatment for Hood, Fenders, and Headlights [Text View]

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vt_maverick

03/04/2012, 04:32 PM

So on my previous VX I tried pretty much every method for protecting the headlights, but it seemed the haziness would always come back unless you were prepared to polish and wax them each and every time you washed your VX. I eventually bought a set of the 3M Stongard protectors off of eBay, and although they offered phenomenal protection, the material was just too thick to stick to the headlamps very well. As a result I was constantly "squeege-ing" air/water out of my headlight covers.

So this go round I decided to do something different. I paid a body shop to professionally polish the headlights and then had a 3M dealer install their clear bra material not only on the hood and fenders but also on the headlights. The guy at the body shop who is nearly 70 and has been doing body work for 47 years charged me $30 to polish both headlights and the hood ahead of the clear bra application. :eek: He did a way better job than I did when I polished them myself, which is exactly what I wanted before I had a semi-permanent film applied. The clear bra installer charged me $225 to do the fenders, hood, and headlights, with the material coming up about an inch or two past the leading edge of the insert. I believe he said it would have been $175 for just the hood and fenders, so $50 or so for just the headlights.

Here are two pics from before the clear bra application. It's hard to see here but the passenger headlight is very cloudy.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/Picture10.jpg

Here's a closer view of the oxidation on the passenger light:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/Picture16.jpg

And here's a front-on view after headlight polishing and clear bra application:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_003.jpg

Closer view of the passenger headlight:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_004.jpg

And here's a close-up of the horn where you can see the custom application work that had to be done. 3M doesn't have a template for our headlights (or our hood or fenders for that matter), and just as is the case with the 3M Stongard protectors that I previously had installed, it's not possible to use a single sheet of film to cover the main section of the headlight and the horn without serious bubbling and detachment issues. So here you can see where the installer cut the main section of film, then custom made a second layer to go up and around the horn. I will be interested to see whether I get any yellowing in the tiny strip between the two pieces of film.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_002.jpg

Better view of the two film sections:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_010.jpg

And now the driver's headlight:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_006.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_008.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3298/3M_Clear_Bra_009.jpg

We'll see how long it lasts, but given how relatively inexpensive this was to do (especially compared to the 3M Stongard covers) I certainly am encouraged. The material is much thinner than the Stongard covers, but as long as it keeps the haze away, I can live with a chip here or there.

Fingers crossed...

fildigger

03/04/2012, 04:57 PM

A good job ;)

But havn't you guys heard of Duraglit, also called Brasso ??

Comes in a little old fashioned tin with a soaked swab inside...absolutely fantastic for cleaning/polishing plastic/acrylic material.....

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Brasso_Metal_polish_Wadding__5114301

Don't get hung up on the Metal polishing aspect, try it on your headlights, i have and the results are amazing!!

Y33TREKker

03/04/2012, 05:48 PM

vt_maverick

03/04/2012, 05:56 PM

I've heard of Brasso, and I'm sure it works as well as Meguiar's Plastic-X, 3M Plastic Cleaner/Polish, various $10-30 sanding kits, and any number of other chemicals. But I wonder how many times you can apply it before it eats through the acrylic? I think any of those solutions are fine if you don't mind the continuing maintenance hassle - my hope is that the clear bra will eliminate the issue altogether.

89Vette

03/04/2012, 06:58 PM

Corvette owners have liked/used this stuff as a protectant on the finish behind the wheels. I'm surprised you can't see the film on the paint in any of the pics. Especially when you described where it's border lies!

Osteomata

04/14/2012, 06:36 PM

Any update on how the 3M application is holding up on your headlights?

Riff Raff

04/14/2012, 08:46 PM

The old guy did an awesome job polishing the headlights. However, I think an alternate method could be just to mask off the headlights after polishing and then "clear-coat" them with a tough quality clear paint like Imron aircraft paint (bug and rock resistant paint used specifically on aircraft) which wouldn't leave any tell-tale lines around the horns. Just my 2-cents.

:bgwb:

vt_maverick

04/15/2012, 05:27 AM

Headlights still look as good as the day they were polished - and that's after putting probably 1500 miles on her in the last few weeks. By the time I get to Moab she'll have more like 4000 miles on her since the application, so maybe when folks there see it they can post their opinions as well.

I considered the clear coat route as well but think about this: if clearcoat was insufficient to protect the paint (and thus 3M created the Clear Bra material) why would it be sufficient to protect the headlights? In any event, I think my installer said he would have done the headlights alone for probably $75. Don't know how much painting would cost but you gotta believe it would be a few hundred.