3M Clear Bra Installation

[abyrd]

Just had some rock chips repaired and painted on lower right front quarter in an are that had repairs by previous owner. The 3M clear bra was never replaces after the previous repairs.

Being a do it yourself person I was thinking about installing the clear bra material myself. The body shop wants $300 (actual material cost is less that $50) to install an area approximately 18" high X 50" long, the area warps from the front of the door to the pull out for the generator on the front. The 3M clear bra sure has done a good job protecting the paint all other areas across the front of the coach. The body shop as recommended to all the paint and clear coat to cure for at least 90 days before install the clear bra.

Has anyone have any comments to offer for a do it yourselfer or should leave it up to a professional.

Thanks,

Jim

[wildebill308]

I don't see why you can't do it your self if you have the equipment.

Bill

[astmi]

Just ask yourself before installing it if it would be easier and less expensive to have touch-ups occasionally rather than to remove the bra after a few years. I have to remove the bra on my MH and it appears to be tough job requiring a lot of elbow grease.

[rsbilledwards]

Having been in the paint and body business for nearly 40 years the answer to the question can you do it yourself? The answer is a resounding YES. The chief requirement is patience.

The other stuff: a sharp pen knifeand a plastic squeegee, likely a small one 3 inches and a larger one 5 or 6 inches and a couple bottles of isopropyl alcohol and a quart spray bottle for its application. The alcohol is typically diluted by 25% though I have used it straight.

Buy the 3M bra material, most of us believe it to be the better out there. Since it is your first time, the material is not expensive and you will have a learning curve...buy at least one strip the width of the coach cab so, you probably get where I am going, you have some to experiment with. You will need it.

Tape off with masking tape where the top edge is going to end up across the front of the coach as a guide line. It will be the bottom edge of the tape that is the guide line. Wash with soap and water the entire area prior to taping. Wipe with an wax and grease remover and wash again. Then wipe the whole area with the isop.. alcohol straight or mixed. This material will stretch quite a bit but on a large radius it is very awkward to work with.

Does this coach have a gen set located in the front? I assume the bra will be above the opening or the opening cut into a portion of one or more pieces. What I am driving at, is you would like to have minimal seams or no seams where there is an open plane. A sheet needs to run from one side to the other. Any openings are cut at the existing body joints or seams in the middle of that joint with the pen knife after the plastic has been installed. The excess is then rolled over the edge to give a blind edge so the plastic edge is not visible. Many installers do not do this because it takes an extra step an is time consuming. It also in their defense takes a lot of skill to cut the plastic with out cutting the painted finish.

OK Now the installation. WASH YOU HANDS TWICE BEFORE HANDLING THE adhesive backed plastic. Your finger prints will show if extreme care is not taken prior to stripping the paper. It is impossible to work a full piece of this stuff, so don't peel it all off at once!!! Begin by putting the ISOP mixture in a the quart spray bottle.

Begin by removing 3 feet of the paper backing, spritz the back (adhesive surface) wet! You will not get it too wet and the coach surface, you will not get it to wet! Stick the plastic to the outside edge, where ever that is going to be and allow about three + or - inches to hang over as a grab handle. Do not stick it hard, just enough so as to have it hold itself in place as you begin to place the plastic along your guide line tape.

As you move around the cap, pull more paper in sections until you are all the way across. Keep it wet, you can touch it all you want, lightly, as long as it is wet and you fingers are wet! Once all the way around and it is stuck enough that it will not just come loose, you may go back to the other side and pull it loose back as far to the center as necessary and add some tension to it, paying attention to your tape guide line and then the same for the other side.

Be patient once you start a sheet you cannot stop till is down tight. Using the squeegee begin in the center of the plastic and work the moisture which is your friend outwards toward the edges. You have two centers to work from, the coach, toward each side and the center of the plastic upward and downward. This outside surface must be kept wet as well since it is also the lubricant for the squeegee. This is where the money is where the result is, in your patience.

You may find it necessary to pull the plastic up and reset it. If you do then be sure to wet it down again. Keep you hands wet...no gloves either, wet fingers only, more squeegeeing. The squeegee is used to move the trapped air and isop mixture from under the plastic. "Tiny" air bubbles or isop bubbles will disappear evaporate in a couple months or sooner if you are unable to remove them all.

There is no substitute for miles around the track in other words done many times. The plastic will come off pretty easily in the first week if you are unhappy with your efforts. Good luck. If you need more help or have questions send me a personal note.

[abyrd]

How long should you let new paint cure before installing the 3M Clear Bra?

Jim

[rsbilledwards]

Jim, Assuming it is a Base coat, Clear coat acrylic Urethane, Two weeks if it is warm, thirty days should be more than sufficient if it is cooler. It is not an air based cure but a chemical reaction cure.

With respect to the question about or the comment about removing it,the bra. The 3M material should look good for ten years and perhaps longer on our coaches, particularly if a pusher as there is no engine heat to degrade it. Removing it is tedious or slow at best. There are a couple tricks we utilized over time. One is a hair drier or a heat gun and a cool day as opposed to a warm one. For some reason the plastic came up better. Obviously the hair drier or heat gun is used to warm, not hot, just warm the plastic and the adhesive so you can pull ever so slowly to allow time for the adhesive to release. Pull too fast, and you have a million small pieces, pull slowly and evenly you will end up with sheets. If the plastic is heated to much it will loose its integrity and just tear into bits. One of the things you will discover about the plastic is that there are chips when you pull it up that must be then repaired. The plastic really does not prevent the chips. It prevents the chips from leaving. It maintains the integrity of the paint surface visually.

To extend the life of the plastic bra material it can be polished with a "very fine" abrasive in order to clean it and it should be waxed.

[manholt]

I use Lucas Slick Mist on my whole coach (not roof) and it helps the bugs to slide off the bra...mine is 6 years old now and still looks good!

I pressure wash the coach every 6 months and know people who uses Lucas daily and haven't had to wash for 2 and 3 years!

When it becomes necessary to remove the bra, I'll let a pro do it (I know my limitations).

Carl