Thinking of removing my 12 year old clear bra. Searched for info and it looks quite simple using a heat gun.... cautiously. Any additional advice from folk who have done this? Appreciate it.
When I had mine replaced, the installer said to leave it out in the sun for a few hours before removing.
Usually pretty clear if you know what you are looking for...There should be a clasp in the back that you can generally get to with 2 fingers...some of the trickier ones have it in the front but you can't be as discreet... Oh crap, wrong forum, sorry.
Have a professional do it. A few seconds too long with the heat gun and you’ll be pulling paint. Steam is quite a bit safer.
As above, gave a professional take it off. Paid $70 for an hour and no damage to paint. There is a certain way to pull it off or you risk damage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I'm going to remove mine here in the coming weeks with my professional steamer. Probably a lot safer than my heat gun. I'll keep y'all posted.
Yea theres no way id use a heat gun, steamer is the way to go,,,,If you can let us know how it works out as im looking to do the same. BTW what kind if steamer do you have
It's an old (read: well made) Jiffy commercial unit. I use it mostly for upholstery work. Works great for that.
Glad you pulled this one up. My bra is about 8 years old and I'd like to remove/replace it in hopes of avoiding the original one permanently affixing itself to the paint. Agree that a heat gun is a bad idea as it temps they tend to get to can easily damage paint. It sounds like steam, and employing a professional, is the way to go but, if that somehow wasn't an option, I would at least downgrade to a hair dryer, which doesn't produce nearly as much heat.
Just been quoted $350-400 to remove the clear bra. The place rekons it’ll take 2-3 hrs inclusive of buffing/removing adhesive remains.
Anyone used a steam gun for this task? I’d think a decent hairdryer on ‘full’ may be even hotter than ~ 100 deg C.
Go to a professional. In certain corners the installer would have used a glue to hold in down. If you're not careful (with steam or heat) you could pull up the paint. That will be costly. As me how I know.
I used a steamer also. We bought one for cleaning and it works great. https://www.myvaporclean.com/products/vapor-clean-ii-298-single-boiler-65-psi-4-5-bar-made-in-italy/ There are YouTube videos out there on this procedure, just be patient. The biggest problem I had was where the hood had taken a hit from road debris many years ago. The plastic holds everything in place until.....you take it off. Go slow and let the steam do the work.
I used the steamer yesterday for removing the lower 1/3 of the front hood clear bra. I started at the edge and used my Jiffy Steamer. It works great but you do have to go slow and try and pull the clear plastic protection film parallel to the paint surface as opposed to straight up... It seems to apply the most pulling force with the least risk of removing the paint and also keeps the plastic from ripping into small pieces. I got the hood piece off in one piece once I got a short way into it (at first the plastic kept tearing into smaller pieces until I got the hang of it). I kept the steamer about right on the surface of the plastic for about 5 seconds working an area of about 12" by the 4"...but I really don't think with the steamer you can get anything overheated enough to cause any damage to the paint ( heat gun-- not so confident of!). Also I found staying away about 1/2" from the edge you are peeling keeps the plastic from tearing --- once it gets too hot and too soft it wants to tear. Once the plastic was removed I had virtually no adhesive at all that was left on the paint. Only a few spots at the very edges of the hood. Very minor. Now with this all said I really don't have a record of when this clear bra was applied. I've owned the car for about 2 years and I came from CA and spent it's life in AZ and NV. All hot climates. I was concerned that if I didn't get it removed soon it may become a bigger problem. I always removed the same OEM stuff from the rear flares of my 911's after 3 or 4 years (a 3M product) and I can tell you the longer I waited the more pieces it came off in and left significant glue residue behind on the paint. After my success with the hood I went on to the front header above the bumper. Same results. All went well. But I can't stress how patient you have to be. It took me about an hour to do both the hood and the front header. Keep that in mind when you ask a pro to do this. Time is money... IMO the steamer is the only way to go. I hope this helps folks faced with the same task.
I would be prepared for some of your paint to come up with the clear bra. I'm assuming this is a 2007 F430 based on age of clear bra. 430's seem to be notorious for this (ask me how I know). Be prepared for the worse, and hope for the best. Regardless, a steamer is the way to go and also a warm day. The advice that KC360 FL gave above is really good.
Bought a decent steamer off eBay...$45. Tried it and after ~ 1 hr had ~ .75 ft^2....all came off in tiny bits...horrible mess. Took it to a professional... 2 guys for ~ 2 hrs. Seems clear bra was factory installed so ~ 16 years old. Front 1/3 of hood, around the headlights, both mirrors, edges of doors and air scoops at the back. They did an excellent job. Question: Any opinion on ceramic ‘polishing’. Quoted $700 or $1300.... one/two coats. Includes wheels off, inside and outside and brake calipers. They reckon 1.5 days to complete.
Multiple threads in the detailing and showroom sub forum on ceramic coatings. Lots of info there. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro