[s-cars] Clear bra info
Jack Walker
jack at walkerperformancegroup.com
Mon Sep 8 22:43:02 PDT 2008
The guys that had the patterns were in the Graphics business, I’ll bet it
was wide format graphics printing!
I’ve worked in this exact industry for the last 10 years! I at one time
researched purchasing the thicker headlight material myself, our vendors
wouldn’t sell me partial rolls, and I could buy it from PUMA so I discarded
the direction. I’ve never installed the 3M Scotchgard clear, but couldn’t be
that much different than the 3M Scotchprint I have installed on vehicles for
graphics.
The Wide Format graphics business starts at 50” output devices and goes
easily to 20’ (yeah that’s feet) wide rolls. However depending on what is
necessary for our uses, it might be able to be cut on smaller vinyl plotters
like 24”. Depending on the roll widths and what is necessary to cut this
particular material with
I’m assuming you know it ALL comes off a roll, I don’t care if you use a CAD
or an illustrator file or cut it with a die or a blade!
Professional installers do it with flat pieces to wrap around mirrors door
handles, cut to shapes, but they are really good! They cut, heat, and
stretch it to the absolute limits.
The material is flat it comes off rolls, there’s no getting around it!
So here’s what ya need to do, go get any flat sticker and wrap it around
something smooth like an apple or a water melon.
Practice that, before you consider telling someone they don’t have a chance
in hell! Try and cover it with whatever shape or pattern you think will
cover either…give it a shot! Better yet get some Goo Gone and practice on
your mirrors with some really tacky stickers, I will tomorrow in the
daylight!
So enough of this bantering back and forth!
Sure it is easier for DIY I won’t argue that, if we have patterns, so let’s
make some!
Our panels are big enough and there isn’t any significant issue we really
should have problems with,
I know I can make patterns in any vector based drawing program like
Illustrator!
What does everyone want to cover?
Everywhere we stop will create a line that we need to consider when
polishing and waxing, because the polishes and waxes will adhere to the edge
of the adhesive.
Mirrors? Just the US mirrors, anybody gone to the trouble of gong Euro,
bigger passenger side???
Hood, how far up towards the windshield..6”, 12”, 24?
Front fenders, how far back, cause it could match up to the hood line?
I’ve got chips on the beginning of the flares on my front fenders
Front bumpers, how far back, my vote would be all the way
Then do you want it to wrap around the edges on some pieces and not others?
Like if you do go to the back of the bumper sides, why not wrap it around
and tuck in inside of the fender liner?
But where do ya stop on the front/top of the bumper, try and slide it under
the molding, do we do the molding as well?
Same thing on the fender?
Obviously it stops at the top of the hood how ever far back we decide, do we
wrap in under the front!
My vote would be to wrap in under the front.
Go look at some of the professional installs at various dealerships, Audis,
Porsche, MB, BMW, look at how it’s done.
Look at some cars that it’s been on there for a while, check out the problem
areas that it might have bubbled or lifted, why did they happen?
Read the new companies website HYPERLINK
"http://clearfilmprotection.com/"http://clearfilmprotection.com/ that is
doing it now, their notes come from 3M
It is warrantied up to five years, but don’t plan on getting any 3M
warranty, that only comes from professional installers.
Headlights are really a no brainer. I cut my own with a razor knife!
You can but the material from PUMA, 800-333-7862.
Mine have been on my S6 Euros for like 2 1/2 years, and the previous set I
cut were on a 91200TQA for like 4 years
Jack Walker
_____
From: Tom Green [mailto:trgreen at comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 9:04 PM
To: Jack Walker
Cc: s-car-list; weski at icubed.com
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Clear bra info
The benefit of having the material pre-cut to the exact pattern needed to
cover the hood and each portion of the front end can not be overstated. If
it is already pre-cut for a certain area, then you know
that you are not over stretching the film too much or not putting it on
straight. The film is flat and must be stretched some to fit the shape of
the vehicle. It's more technique and art than it is rocket science, so some
practice leads to the perfect installation. If you have the material
pattern cut to start with, you can do a master installation on the first
try. If you are starting with roll material, I don't
give you a chance in hell without a professional installer whom you have
personally watched install raw material on a vehicle. The sad part is, this
CAD file exists somewhere that makes this a DIY
job. This thread is all about the money. A pro can easily provide you with
a high quality job, but you can do it for 1/2 if you have a good kit.
Tom
On Sep 8, 2008, at 11:24 PM, Jack Walker wrote:
Guys,
The 3M Scotchgard material is pretty easy to get in many thicknesses,
exceptionally so! Any large format solvent based inkjet printing company can
get it in the thickness necessary for covering paint on cars, and use their
in house X-Y cutting systems to cut it into the shapes necessary. I'm going
to wager that the material comes in 30", 50" and larger roll widths, all
that's necessary for the shapes is a Freehand, Illustrator or vector based
file to cut them out of the material, not some high end CAD file for a die
cutter. These materials are cut in exactly the same fashion as "cut vinyl
with blade type cutting devices, and some actual lasers in some really high
applications, unless you have so many of one type of vehicles they can
justify the expense of actually making dies, which aren't cheap! This is
exactly the same cutting formats on stuff I did for many POP campaigns for
large format advertising!
But the material alone isn't the issue as you can see when looking at any
vehicle wrap you might see on the street! The real issue is installation;
it's truly an art form to get the stuff on the cars, convex and concave
shapes and extra material. Although, any competent vehicle graphics
installer can do it. I'll have to go back into my notes, but 3M has an
official installer network which could be used with our cut material.
And Tom makes an excellent point, we can make the templates, and put it on
cars! But the stuff looks crappy on anything other than good paint jobs!
Jack Walker
-----Original Message-----
From: HYPERLINK
"mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com"s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
[HYPERLINK
"mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com"mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.c
om] On Behalf Of chris chambers
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 2:33 PM
To: Tom Green; s-car-list; HYPERLINK
"mailto:weski at icubed.com"weski at icubed.com
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Clear bra info
Gentz,
The Invinca-Shield.co web site is automaticly forwarded to
HYPERLINK "http://clearfilmprotection.com/"http://clearfilmprotection.com/
I'm gonna guess this new site bought out Invinca-Shield.com
HTH
Chris
--- Tom Green <HYPERLINK "mailto:trgreen at comcast.net"trgreen at comcast.net>
wrote:
> Unfortunately, Invinca-Shield went out of business last year, Paul.
>
> I had called wanting another kit for my avant, but I was told by
> Kim Handy, the finance director, that they were in negotiations for
> selling that part of the business as a package, and the company
> president did not want to jeopardize negotiations. When things
> hadn't moved much I offered to buy a number of kits ( 5 to 10 ) in
> September 2007, but that was nixed as well. They had a graphics
> business separate from the clear bra, and I understood they
> would likely remain in business there, but only sell off the clear
> bra operation, because it had grown so much, and the installation
> and dealer installation training was such a big part of that part of
>
> the business. The president, Bart ? , promised to let me know
> who bought the patterns (cad-cam software patterns on a H-P
> computer). Since nobody is likely to measure another S4 and S6
> for a kit, I suspect the custom install is the only option now. $600
>
> or so instead of the $260 kit.
>
> Then, when I tried to call a month later, the phones were dead and
> the web site gone. I have no idea where that hard drive went,
> but surely someone has it. It had motorcycle, airplane, motor home,
>
> and about any motor vehicle you could imagine in the data-
> base, all painstakingly measured by hand and transferred to the
> digital software program via a large x-y plotter. The pattern
> cutting was all automated and controlled by the computer just as a
> CNC milling machine operates.
>
> I haven't found any more information about them. I had hoped some of
>
> the installers would know something or a new web site would
> appear with all their patterns on it. I am sick about the effort I
> put in this, only to have this happen. If you see anything out there
>
> that
> is similar or find anything about this company, please let me know.
>
> N. Wilkesboro, NC is such a small town and well off the beaten
> path that I doubt that any employees that would know the facts
> remained in the area.
>
> I do have an unused kit for a '98 e-class mercedes. :-)
>
> Tom
>
> > Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:00:23 -0400
> > From: "P. Dooley" <HYPERLINK "mailto:weski at icubed.com"weski at icubed.com>
> > Subject: Re: [s-cars] Clear bra info
> > To: Floyd Noel <HYPERLINK
"mailto:floyd.noel at gmail.com"floyd.noel at gmail.com>
> > Cc: HYPERLINK "mailto:S-Car-List at audifans.com"S-Car-List at audifans.com
> > Message-ID: <HYPERLINK
"mailto:48C4F7B7.6060406 at icubed.com"48C4F7B7.6060406 at icubed.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> >
> > That's it Floyd!
> >
> > Thanks so much. I'll be calling them later today.
> >
> > Paul
> >
> >
> > Floyd Noel wrote:
> >> HYPERLINK
"http://www.s-cars.org/postnuke/modules.php"http://www.s-cars.org/postnuke/m
odules.php?
> >>
> op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=196&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
> >>
> >> Is this it?
> >>
> >> On Sun, Sep 7, 2008 at 7:20 PM, P. Dooley <HYPERLINK
"mailto:weski at icubed.com"weski at icubed.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> So, I remember someone talking about a 3M clear bra kit for the
> >>> C4 S6
> >>> cars but I can't find it in the archives. I thought I saved that
>
> >>> post
> >>> too cause I knew I was going to get some new paint this year and
>
> >>> would
> >>> want the clear bra before winter. Well, I've got the paint done
> and
> >>> aged and know I can't find any place that sells a kit for the 95
> S6.
> >>>
> >>> Does anyone still have the link from the old post?
> >>>
> >>> TIA,
> >>>
> >>> Paul
> >>> 95 S6 getting stone chips on a pristine bumper
>
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