Has anyone removed their 3M clear bra?

[topgun1]

I went through two different 3M applications with the installer. Could never get it to adhere everywhere it should. Mainly the side gills area and the installer suggested a small pin prick in stubborn air pockets...well they end up collecting dirt inside. There's also dirt along all edges of the 3M application. So I'm planning to just remove it from 2 of the 3 spots I have it on: the top front fascia and side gills, but leave on the side mirrors.

anyone removed theirs? is there any damage to the car's surface, fading, etc.?

any advice will help since I wanted to do this before showing in the Charlotte Auto Fair this weekend.

thanks!

[htp autoworks]

No. No issues. I have been installing and removing them for years. You should take it back to the installer though. That is covered under warranty.

[topgun1]

great, thanks for the advice!

[Blade]

Yea take it back.........if you are goin to do that.

I need to get mine looked at again.

[topgun1]

i think i'm just done with it. It's going to be too difficult to adhere into the side gills and along the edges facing the front of the car, dirt collects inside the edges. No way to avoid that. Not at pieces had computer cuts either, most was done by hand so not perfectly straight in spots.

we'll see about doing something again in the future.

[htp autoworks]

I can tell you that you NEED to take it back and have them remove it. Sounds like they cut a kit on your car... and I ma sure they cut your paint too. I install these all he time and a good installer will heat seal the edges and wrap where possible.... so there wont be any edges lifting. If the film is collecting dirt its because they didnt heat seal them down... sign of a rookie installer. If the lines arent straight they cut the film on your car... and I would bet they cut your paint up to. By the way getting film to lay in the gills is easy. If you don't have them remove it they will not accept responsibility if the paint is cut up.

[topgun1]

thanks for telling me this. This is very disconcerning. They did say they had to hand cut alot of it, but I didn't think they meant actually on the car. I suppose the only good thing (if there is one) is that the pieces they "hand" cut generally fell along the body seams.

These were the only guys in the area that said they do it. I'll be taking it back to them and see what they say. It's been about a year now.

I will not be recommending them to anyone. it's a long shot, but do you know any place in the charlotte/greensboro/winston-salem/raleigh area that does these?

[Santos]

I'd agree with htp,.. I install vehicle wraps, and my company is about to be 3M certified so we may be offering this soon, would like to hear more stories of other installers, seems they ( some) don't know what they are working with. I would get them to take it off for free and have them give u material at a discount for ur inconvenience , id take it to a graphics company that specializes in vehicle wraps, it is the same thing ( conceptually) and shouldn't have a problem with it

[bowtie628]

cutting vinyl or the 3m chip guard on a car is the WRONG way to do it.. alot of places do it to save time, but they also cut into your paint and make a mess if you ever wanna take it off.

[Santos]

They don't all cut into
The car but yes i will agree that most do,because they are lazy installers, there are methods that most don't use that protect the vehicle surface from the blade, the obvious best is to cut at a seem/ body line to avoid touching cars paint at all its all a matter of the shop/ installer and material used

[topgun1]

i removed it myself last weekend and was only a slight indication of some faint cut lines on a portion of the area, but yes, you can tell it was cut on the car and that was lazy, and of course, me being a novice to the clear protectant, I didn't know any better until you guys informed me just recently. Thanks for bringing the right way to do it to my attention and I'll know what to look out for in the future.

I was just tired of looking at the poor quality job and figured the installer wouldn't do anything about it with it being more than a year old and wanted it off before the Charlotte Auto Fair two weekends ago. It looks a lot better now, smooth lines and no bubbles or dirt to look at.

I'll search for a reputable installer in the area, but until I find one, i'll deal with the nicks.