how hard is clear bra to apply?

I am in the same boat. I have been waiting for a string of 4 or more days over 70 here in Arkansas before I do this job. I watched a special on TV about how the NASCAR body people put wraps on their race cars. They used a propane torch to make the film go around corners. I think I will stick to the hair dryer. I plan on posting pics when I am done as well as comments on the job. BTW I am also putting on a Blue Ripped Body Wrap which will give me a two tone blue and white Prius. The roof and top of the rear wing will be painted to match as well as the centers of the wheels sans rings... jf

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/43697-cheap-clear-bra-install-successful.html

 

I would go to the professional installer. I have a CB on my 996, which I tried to install myself, but that is a serious PITA. Bubbling, stretching, warping, etc, etc. I would not use a hair dryer as it causes unwanted reactions between your paint the film (I'm not sure of this -- I've only read of this on other forums).

 

It takes some time. There are special techniques to 'stretch' the film correctly. You might have better luck just having a pro do it for you. Plus, if it bubbles, you have a warranty to back you up.

 

The hood and fenders are easy. The mirrors are a little tricky due to the curvature, but since the pieces are small it's not too difficult. You may end up with some "fingers" you'll need to work out on the bottom edges. The bumper is pretty difficult due to all of the compound curves and stretching required. I believe the bumper requires a professional for best results.

FYI - I bought extra material and did the door sills on each side and the 1st foot of my roof (from side-to-side).

 

My boyfriend and I installed mine ourselves. It was very difficult, but doable. Some curse words flew about. It is a pain in the nice person. Be prepared for that and you should be all right. Definitely have a partner - you don't want to do it alone. Hopefully, you are the patient type. I followed the link noted earlier in this post (the cheap install successful one). Definitely use those tips - they really helped us. I will add one - wait 24 hours before driving the car after you install it. I had one very small area bubble up around the curved edge of my bumper when I drove it the next day (open along the outside border). When I couldn't make it stay down, I contacted the very nice guy from whom I bought the kit (on Ebay). He told me that it did this because it wasn't fully dry when I drove it. I drove it about 13 hours after my install. Get the hard rubber spatulas recommended by Cheap-Install-Successful (he got his at Pep Boys, but I got mine at Lowe's). He attached a picture of them, so they were easy to find and very inexpensive. We got the squigee and those spatula things, but we didn't like the squigee and only used the spatulas.

I've been very pleased with the results. However, knowing what I know now, I would probably have saved up the money for the professional install (very expensive). Again - pain in the nice person

 

I've done the hood,fenders, and headlights and it wasn't that bad after I figured out how to work with the material. You just need to get it nice and warmed up with a hair dryer so you can stretch it over the curves. I did this in cold weather, by myself with a credit card wrapped in a shirt in place of a squeegee, not ideal conditions to say the least! I would suggest starting with the headlights since they're so curved. If you can get that down the rest should be relatively easy. I bought from xtremecity on Ebay and I think the headlight kit was $10, buy two so you have one to practice with

 

Every time I read the subject of this thread I get worked up. The image of a "clear bra" is just too much to ignore.

Tom

 

This is good advice...

Who's to say there aren't women already wearing clear bras? We wear them under our clothes, so you may never know. Your dream could be true...don't give up on it...

 

With all the nice cars in Vegas I'm sure that there is a reputable shop within a 10 mile radius of you that works on BMW's, Mercedes, Porsche and Ferrari all the time. These shops would be my 1st stop for a quote. They can handle it with 100% confidence I'm sure.

 

I just finished installing the Xtremecity kit on my hood, mirrors and fenders. The little side fender pieces were easy. The mirror pieces required a lot of patience, but with heat and a lot of stretching they worked out. Even the hood was pretty easy. All of these pieces look great.

The front bumper, though- forget it. Too many sharp curves. I gave up after two hours of heating and stretching and swearing. I found that the kit was cut was too close to the edges of the bumper at the top and around the grill insert, and there's no way to get a milimeter of the material to lay down around a sharp edge. At the sides, it didn't match the contours of the edge of the bumper, which was strange. With all the sharp curves, there were just too many bubble "fingers" to get out with heat and stretching.

Anyway, the hood kit is DIY, but unless you're a lot handier than most, get a professional install for the bumper.