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bigdgr

Best Bra; Clear Film Or Leather?

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I am looking for a good, inexpensive way to protect my front paint. E-bay has a vendor with a clear film kit for my motorhome for $65 including shipping. Sounds good as I'm not a fan of leather (lots of problems) but wonder if anyone has any experience with this type of film. Thanks, Darrell

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No information on the clear film (you might post the link to the E-bay site or what product it is), but you sure don't want to use any porous material like leather that would absorb and hold water.

Brett

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I'm not up on links but you can sign in to e-bay and type 130495243135 into the search box. The vendor is NUSOLIS and they have bra kits for cars and several motorhomes. It sounds good and I will probably try it. Darrell

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Bras can be made to fit and enhance your coach. But they require snaps which means holes in your coach and they will in time, due to flapping in the wind, mar the paint on your coach.

They also make clear plastic cover for your coach which allows your paint to show and be protected at the same time. But lots more holes and as time goes on it will cloud up just like your head light covers.

Then there is the film. Dupont makes a film for most RVs that allows your color to show through with no holes. Five to six years down the road you will see it cracking and crazing which will require, as I have been quoted, $3,500 to $3,800 to remove and replace.

I am not sure if it isn't better to keep your front end clean, bug free and waxed.

I am not sure a $65.00 kit would be that good or that easy to put on. And if you make a mistake, how hard will it be to remove and start over with another $65.00 kit.

I have heard of people having their front ends sprayed with color coordinated bed liner spray.

So the nice thing is that there many choices out there.

Good luck. :huh:

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I would question the quality of a clear bra for a MH at that price. The 3M bra is an excellent product and should give many years of use. If a large or sharp stone hits it hard enough it can get a hole in it but a good installer can repair. These are not that easy to install, as I had one installed on a car a few years ago and it took a professional many hours to install. Also I believe that the 3M product comes with a guarantee if installed by one of their agents.

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We have the clear plastic 3M coating, factory installed and then part removed for paint repair and a mobile installer reinstalled the coating over the newly painted area. I've never seen the coating removed without destroying the paint beneath (have seen other rigs at body shops). This greatly increases repair cost when painting is required on the front end of the coach. Removing the coating takes extra labor and they have to remove all the coating to the next "edge" so it means more painting than just the area of the repair. The 3M coating with professional installation will cost considerably more than the do-it-yourself product you are describing. I suspect that inexpensive product will not be comparable in strength and durability. Yes, I have a few chips in the plastic cover but the paint stays there and it still looks good on casual observation. I see all the flaws when I wash the bugs off.

The best solution may be to take the hits and then occasionally have the front end repainted. Under normal circumstances, you should get four or five years without an accident or major hit before the little chips begin to get under your skin. You'll pay the cost of a good plastic coating for the repaint. If you wait for a major hit, the insurance company could help you pay for the paint job.

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We have the clear plastic 3M coating, factory installed and then part removed for paint repair and a mobile installer reinstalled the coating over the newly painted area. I've never seen the coating removed without destroying the paint beneath (have seen other rigs at body shops). This greatly increases repair cost when painting is required on the front end of the coach. Removing the coating takes extra labor and they have to remove all the coating to the next "edge" so it means more painting than just the area of the repair. The 3M coating with professional installation will cost considerably more than the do-it-yourself product you are describing. I suspect that inexpensive product will not be comparable in strength and durability. Yes, I have a few chips in the plastic cover but the paint stays there and it still looks good on casual observation. I see all the flaws when I wash the bugs off.

The best solution may be to take the hits and then occasionally have the front end repainted. Under normal circumstances, you should get four or five years without an accident or major hit before the little chips begin to get under your skin. You'll pay the cost of a good plastic coating for the repaint. If you wait for a major hit, the insurance company could help you pay for the paint job.

Tom, That is why N. Tx RV quoted me $3,500 to $3,800 to replace my film. You can remove it with out hurting the paint if you have a lot, :) a whole lot of time. It comes off just a very small piece at a time. That is if your finger nails last.

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