After reading about all the trouble people have had with paint chipping I decided that the 3M Clear Bra Paint protection film would be a good idea. 3M's site lists the nearest installer being 88 miles away so I it looks like I'll be putting this on my self.
I ordered the kit from a seller on eBay. It's precut for my 2011 Kizashi. I've read mixed opinions (on non-Kizashi forums) on how hard the install can be. I imagine that it depends pretty heavily on the shape of the bumper. Has anyone tried this as a DIY project? I'll post my results after I get the kit.
DIY 3M Clear Bra
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KizzOwner11
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri May 27, 2011 7:55 pm
So I got the kit in the mail today. It happened to be 97 degrees today, but I didn't let that stop me. I started with the two fender pieces. Each piece was about half a square foot and took about 5 minutes to install. I had no problems with the fenders so I was optimistic about the hood. I watched the video again (instructions) and went for it.
I got it done eventually but it did not go as well as the video. I think part of the problem was that the hood piece for the Kizashi is pretty round. The hood in the example video had a few corners that serve as reference points. Without a good reference I was a little unsure of how to line up the piece exactly, so I may have had the piece too far forward.
My second mistake was that I should have stretched the piece more because I ended up with a lot of extra material in the middle. The extra material kept popping back up and took a lot of patience to get down. Because of all the work it took to get the fingers to stay down I ended up with two little air bubbles that make me unhappy with the results.
Hopefully I've gained enough experience so that the bumper installation goes better. I'll post some pictures after it's all finished.
I got it done eventually but it did not go as well as the video. I think part of the problem was that the hood piece for the Kizashi is pretty round. The hood in the example video had a few corners that serve as reference points. Without a good reference I was a little unsure of how to line up the piece exactly, so I may have had the piece too far forward.
My second mistake was that I should have stretched the piece more because I ended up with a lot of extra material in the middle. The extra material kept popping back up and took a lot of patience to get down. Because of all the work it took to get the fingers to stay down I ended up with two little air bubbles that make me unhappy with the results.
Hopefully I've gained enough experience so that the bumper installation goes better. I'll post some pictures after it's all finished.
sounds good.
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KizzOwner11
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri May 27, 2011 7:55 pm
Well I was hoping to have the job done today but I ran into trouble with the vendor. I am not sure if they are aware that the 2011 Kizashi Sport GTS and Sport SLS have a different bumper than the S and SE models. The difference is subtle but I found pictures of the SE that look different than my GTS. My Kizashi has a piece of chrome trim along the bottom of the fog lights that I didn't see on the SE pictures. Can someone confirm this? The foglights were only part of the problem, the little corner lights must be in different spots also cause the cutouts in the film were a few inches off. I sent the vendor an email asking for the right kit, or for a refund. I'll post when I hear from them.
When I had my car done with the 3M film (I don't have the patience to do it myself), the installer mentioned that he seldom uses the kits, 9 times out of 10 they are 'not quite right'. Hope you are able to work out the differences with the vendor.
Regarding waxing. This is my third vehicle with the 3M film. No problems whatsoever with waxing. I waxed the film along with the rest of the car. As to the edge, I haven't noticed it accumulating any wax. And I can barely see it, and only when at a certain angle... However, I might not be as picky as some folks here.
Regarding waxing. This is my third vehicle with the 3M film. No problems whatsoever with waxing. I waxed the film along with the rest of the car. As to the edge, I haven't noticed it accumulating any wax. And I can barely see it, and only when at a certain angle... However, I might not be as picky as some folks here.
I had mine done at a shop, and they have a warranty against paint problems, I wonder doing it yourself is the right way, just a thought.
Just wanted to add my $0.02. I installed a "Cleardefender" clear bra today and had the same trouble - too much material in the middle-top. Then all the remove and restick action left me some stretch marks. Have a couple of bubbles too, but I'm hoping they go away with time. Unfortunately my worst stretch mark is right in the middle-front, really easy to see. Overall, I'm disappointed with the results as well, especially since I spent a whole Saturday afternoon on it but it's not horrible so I'm leaving it on for protection. If I were to do it again, I'd not worry about getting the edges lined up and in fact, I'd hang it over the hood edge some so when you need to stretch the "top" the sides have room to slide. Then trim it. Just a tip - this whole job would have been impossible without a hair dryer. It's the only way to get the "fingers" to ever lay down flat.
By the way, the mirrors were impossible to do (Cleardefender sells the kit with mirror wrap, good idea, but...). There is no way to stretch or make the vinyl fit the way that Cleardefender cuts them. The rounded outside and the horizontal crease in the mirror just doesn't allow the vinyl to fit properly.
On the other hand, I did the headlights with blue tinted vinyl and they look SWEET! I'll post pix when I'm done black chroming my "S".
By the way, the mirrors were impossible to do (Cleardefender sells the kit with mirror wrap, good idea, but...). There is no way to stretch or make the vinyl fit the way that Cleardefender cuts them. The rounded outside and the horizontal crease in the mirror just doesn't allow the vinyl to fit properly.
On the other hand, I did the headlights with blue tinted vinyl and they look SWEET! I'll post pix when I'm done black chroming my "S".