3m Clear Bra cost?

[VR6]

Looking into getting clear bra treatment for my new CW JSW and I am curious if my estimate from the place is in line with what anyone else has paid. The place I'm looking at has been doing this for 7 years and cut the patterns on site. They are a 3m dealer and use very high quality 3m films with a warranty against discoloration, bubbling, cracking or peeling on both the shield and window film for as long as you own the car.

Venture Shield paint protection film covering the bumper, hood, fender wing ends and side view mirrors is $675. (Is that reasonable? I have never looked into this but, given that it is my first white vehicle i'm a bit worried how beat up the front will look with rock chips)

Other wear and tear areas I might want to consider are;
the hatch ledge ($60)
the door cups ($20 per door).

I also am thinking of tinting it so they said it typically is $375 however if I were to shield and tint they would reduce that price to $299.

Thanks guys!

[Cat Butt]

$375 to tint a wagon is likely pretty cheap tint. Spend the money on Huper Optic, 3M Chystaline, etc. Well worth the extra money. You can run lighter tints and get better heat reduction with the high end stuff.

The Bra price seems about right. It ain't cheap by any means. Although with CW you won't see the chips as easy as a darker car...so the bra might be less appealing if chip prevention is your goal.

[macscac]

its all about who you know I suppose.
I paid 179 to tint my jsw and I paid 435 to clearbra it.
hood/bumpers/fenders/mirrors.


my .o2
my car is CW. and it needs clearbra. I drive 30k a year and that bra has saved my front end.
I know this because of the 2 windshields that I have allready put in the car over the past year.
CW is still gray primer and you will see chips.

the only downside to a clearbra'd CW car is when its dusty, you will very much see the line where the bra ends.
but who cares.

[VR6]

Thanks for the feedback!

"I paid 179 to tint my jsw and I paid 435 to clearbra it"
Wow, wish I was able to get that deal. I'd do both at once!

[Kenn JSW]

Just curious, to the original poster - why are you worried specifically about white and how it will look with stone chips, etc? In my experience with lots of colors, white is the best color for hiding the effects of years of being on the road. Dark colors are the worst, almost highlighting every defect.

[Im Rondo]

Based on my experience I would stay away from 3M or Venture.

I've been installing paint protection film since 2004. 3M is dated has alot of texture to it and will start to yellow after 2 or 3 years

I install Xpel ultimate and a new film from Suntek. I just wrapped the entire hood and front fenders on my JSW last week with the Suntek and you cant tell it's on the car. It also seams to have a little more gloss then the Xpel.


The price for what your looking at is in line with what we would charge. Have the shop edge wrap the film. They can modify the design and extend the pattern so that it hangs over the edge so it can be wrapped under. If you can afford it wrap the entire front end.

[Shawn O]

I just checked last week and was quoted $80 to do the rear bumper "ledge" and for the entire front (bumper, hood, fender, and mirrors) $500.

My car is Tempest blue so I'm really tempted to do it before winter.

[Outrider6]

I get my paintshield from Steve at Chipgard. (sales@chipgard.com)

I found him via e-Bay.

Small operation, but very responsive. (He's made me extra pieces like headlight covers when I've needed them.) Nice prices, too. I'm doing my '09 JSW with a full kit for about $275. (Hood, fenders, side mirrors, headlamps, front bumper, A pillars, leading edge of the roof, door cups and the top of the back bumper)

He doesn't have a website that I know of, but I've paid with PayPal and everything has worked out well. I've placed like five orders from him for various parts and cars. Everything came precisely cut and in a reasonable amount of time.

My son and I have learned to do an acceptable job on this. I definitely need a helper for bigger pieces. If you decide not to do your own... $500 would be pretty cheap for work done by a shop in the DC area.

I'm very glad that I have paintshield on the car. It's not very noticeable on my Reflex Silver JSW, but it's done its job well. I put mine on when new. If you're going to get paintshield, don't wait. It's easiest to put on with a smooth clean surface.

[o__rly]

Just got tints on my windows. $250 for 35% color stable 3M films on the windows. $180 for 40% 3M crystalline to cover the pano.

[macscac]

I just checked last week and was quoted $80 to do the rear bumper "ledge" and for the entire front (bumper, hood, fender, and mirrors) $500.

My car is Tempest blue so I'm really tempted to do it before winter.

that is a very very good price on a retail level.
im at a dealer level and i even paid 75 for the rear bumper ledge
(which is just as important as the front if you plan on actually using your wagen)

[Shawn O]

On another note, I installed some Lamin-X on my headlights and retrofitted OEM fogs. ALways had Lamin-X on my cars w/o issue, but with these, I'm seeing "lines" on the road or distortions in the headlights beams. Has to be due to the Lamin-X since it wasnt there before.

Install was a PITA but I got it done perfectly and they are completely clear looking (no bubbles).

[crashtested]

Venture Shield has lifetime warranty and is owned by 3M.

I paid $750 for tint all around (5 windows) and 18" coverage on the hood & fenders, full bumper, headlights and mirrors.

[VR6]

Thank you everyone for you continued input! I'm gonna continue to look around the area to see if anyone is cheaper as it seems the price I was quoted is a bit higher than what others are paying. Then again I'm ok paying a little more if they do a better quality job.

Kenn JSW - "why are you worried specifically about white and how it will look with stone chips, etc? In my experience with lots of colors, white is the best color for hiding the effects of years of being on the road. Dark colors are the worst, almost highlighting every defect."

Interesting, I always thought the opposite. White would be the worse color for hiding stone chips, etc. I thought that was because of gray primer. Is that not the case with the CW from VW?

Im Rondo- "Based on my experience I would stay away from 3M or Venture."

Really? Seems like most people replying are using 3M or Venture.

[Im Rondo]

Really? Seems like most people replying are using 3M or Venture.

I used to install 3M and had Venture on my wife's black expedtion. 6 years ago it was the best thing out. In 6 years you would think 3M would improve on the product. They didn't. From in installer point of view it's like trying to lay cardboard on the panels.

It's really tough getting 3M to respond to warranted claims.

The only way I could convince you that it's not a good looking film would be to show you a side by side comparison.

There is a forum called Tint Dude. Check out the PPF section.

[VR6]

Going with a place that uses Xpel ultimate. I'll post pictures once it is complete. I think I'm going to wait and decide on the tint as I can do that later. OH law states nothing lower than 50% on the tint and I'd rather go darker but, don't want the hassle (or a reason to be pulled over on top of no front plate) from the police.

[Im Rondo]

Going with a place that uses Xpel ultimate. I'll post pictures once it is complete. I think I'm going to wait and decide on the tint as I can do that later. OH law states nothing lower than 50% on the tint and I'd rather go darker but, don't want the hassle (or a reason to be pulled over on top of no front plate) from the police.

What will the final price be for the Xpel film?

Thought I would share a couple of film pics.

This is a closeup of the hood pice on a Nissan GT-R we had in the shop friday. It's 3 years old and the vehicle had 32000 miles. You can see the loss of gloss and the texture.


This is new film from SunTek. Yes its new so we cant compare aging. That is why its on my car to test it. However you can see that there is almost not texture at all. If you cant figure out where its applied in the pic the complete front fender in wrapped in it.

[jni3]

I got my wife's jsw done by a well known shop in Maryland. It's garbage in price and work compared to a shop I got my other vehicle done which was in Alaska of all places. I've searched out a few places around DC for just over $1000 that's going to wrap the entire front end of my golf to include pillars and rocker panels (which is what I got on my FJ cruiser for $800) Other places want something near that but can only do half hood and fenders at best or over $2000 without pillars and rockers. Most places I went to around Baltimore do mediocre work for the prices they charge. Some even had me coming by for appointments just to let me know they can't wrap the front after telling me they do complete frontals over the phone or emails. But that's just my $0.02.

[VR6]

As far as cost they quoted me $590+tax. Plus, I decided to do the hatch ledge for an additional $40. These are the items below they quoted me. Didn't think I want to do headlights or door handle cups.

Coverage in quote - extended hood/fender kit (this kit is cut out of 24" film, will give me about 22" of protection on the hood), mirrors, full front bumper, film and installation
rear bumper top (luggage area): $40.00
other popular options: headlights / fog lamps: $60.00
door handle cups: $20.00

If anyone cares this is the company that I found to do my vehicle.
http://www.blockachip.com/