I'm having that Scotchcal clearbra from 3M put on the front of my WRX to protect against rock chipping (all too common in Colorado). I was planning on washing and waxing my car for the first time this weekend. My question is should/can I put a coat of wax on my car before the clearbra is applied? I'm wondering if the wax will prevent the adhesive from working as well as if unwaxed. Should I just wait until after it's applied to wax?

Thanks,
Andy

after monkeyin w/this stuff myself... (damn it's a pain to apply)

i'd say leave it alone, dont wax and let a professional deal w/the headache of an install.

j. www.subiegal.com (http://www.subiegal.com)

I would leave the car unwaxed as the instruction suggest before you put it on. Be sure to mix enough soap into your solution because it really helps positioning the film on your hood.

Megatron,

My installer said that the activator for the clear bra is Alcohol which would remove any waxes. I'm sure they clean the hood of all waxes and finishes down to the clearcoat before laying down the film. I would not put wax on it. My WRX was done three days after I received it and it looks great. Who in Colorado Springs is doing it for you?

Punk




[This message has been edited by PunksRS (edited April 01, 2001).]

Hey megatron is it a pre-cut kit for the WRX or is somebody cutting the pieces themselves?

Bill

Bumping this old thread becuase I just bought some of the 3M stuff to install on the Forester. A strip of 4" wide to go across the front of the hood, and a set of headlight/foglight covers made of slightly thicker stuff. Bought it all from Griot's Garage out your way, Subie Gal. Yes it wasn't cheap and yes it looks like it's gonna be a bear to install. Headlights and foglights shouldn't be that difficult, though. I am concerned that I'll have to cut darts in it to fit the curvature of the hood.

Verano - they actually don't recommend using soap as they claim it'll dry and leave a cloudy film on the underside between the film and the paint. Rather they say use plenty o' alcohol. I'm gonna have to strip the wax and tuch up the sandblasted chips before I lay it down - and here I just did a claying and waxing a couple of weeks ago.

Wish me luck!

Ed


PS (edit): Shoot, my 100th post - I've got way too much time on my hands - or need to find something else to do with what little I have.


[This message has been edited by lark6 (edited April 10, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by lark6 (edited April 10, 2001).]

no soap? hmm...3M ScotchCal? http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/redface.gif I ordered mine from x-pal and they included instructions in the kit. It mentions using soap to help positioning and alcohol to wash... my bad if I remembered it incorrectly...

use just alchohol and water, works great

Verano, that's okay - the instructions I got just said alcohol and water.

you can also go to a paint supply store and get a polishing compound to get the wax off. that will strip it down to the clearcoat and make it look sooooo nice! then, a quick rubdown of alcohol to get the thin layer of polish off and you'll be golden.