Clear Bra Installer in Raleigh, NC

I'm finally having a clear bra installed, but need the name/location of a trustworthy service provider in the Raleigh/Cary/Apex area. Also, if you can share cost, time to install, and product recos (anything other than 3M?), I'd appreciate it. Some clear bras seem to have a lot less shine to the surface, and a lot more visible texture - not appealling. The only existing threads I could find on this topic were 4-5 years old. Thanks in advance for your help/advice. Bob

Contact Pete @ TVP Auto http://tvpauto.com/ Did my motorcycle as a full custom job and did the C4S impeccably. He has a shop in Cary. Good guy; very talented. Ballpark, $400ish, but depends of course on what you want done Bumper Headlights Hood �, �, full Mirrors Rear quarters etc etc HTH

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I have never used this person, but Leith Porsche highly recommended him to me.

TVP it is - I'm booked for Friday morning. Thanks!

Pete will take good care of you. We recommend him to all our customers. Just make sure you wax the film every now, and then.

My Porsche is now in the hands of Pete at TVP. Estimated $650 for front bumper, headlights, partial hood, mirrors. I'll update with a post when the car is back from TVP at 3pm.

The Porsche is back and looks great. No point in posting a picture, of course. It's an invisible improvement. TVP / Pete did a great job.

Bob, your car is gorgeous! Pictures are required in a thread like this.

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What they said ^ !

Sorry for the delay - I had to take some fresh pictures of my 996. You really can't see the edge of the clear bra on the hood or front bumper unless you look closely. However, the mirror bras have a crease that won't stay attached to the car (see photo). It's in the same spot on both mirrors. I'l have to ask Pete at TVP how to remedy this situation. Bob

Nicely done. Pete will take care of you; just shoot him the picture.

Forgot to add this one. Bob

Very nice!! You can't see the clear bra at all... Will definitely have to do this on my next car

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I knew this ^ would do the trick! Bob, Your car looks awesome! Thanks for the pics!

That looks like frickin amazing!!! did the clear go OVER the bupperplugs ? your front end is very chip free from the pics... way to go... OH and DUH... I love the Aero in black !!! BUT - you get no break from me for the pumkins and headlights w/o amberectomy.. ***** Tim !!

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. It was the dancing signage that gave me a sense of urgency about posting the pics. Well played, gentlemen. As for the bumper plugs, it looks like the bra went right over them. But, I'm reluctant to pick at it lightly to see. The amberectomy and pumpkins are somewhere in my future. But, there are some other mods that are more tempting (suspension, headlights, exhaust). All in due time. Bob

Its been a while since you had the clear bra installed - is it wearing well, did you get the creases on the mirrors sorted out, and would you still recommend the firm that did the installation? New P car coming next week and Im looking for someone in the Raleigh area to do a clear bra install. Thanks.

The clear bra is wearing well. I should have called the installer right after the installation to have some minor flaws addressed (the ones I mentioned in the thread). But, I'm pretty satisfied with the look of it. I'm extremely satisfied with the protection it has provided. A piece of slate fell off some jackass' truck on the highway, and it bounced just in time to hit the lower part of my front spolier. The impact was taken by the bra - not the spoiler. It left a tiny tear, but no damage to the paint. It paid for itself in that moment. The big challenge was for the installer to get every corner of the aero kit front spoiler to stay stuck. There are about 3 or 4 spots in corners where it has come detached a tiny bit. But, it doesn't bother me yet. If it does, I'll call the guy. As for the wrinkles, they never entirely went away. They got better, but never vanished. If it was a brand new car, I'd have pitched a fit. But b/c it already has some "blemishes", I felt the creases were small and insignificant. Hope this helped. Bob

whats a clear bra? Can I get one for the wife? Seriously, What is it?

Hey, Kyle - It's a clear plastic protective covering. It's invisible to the eye until you get within a foot or two of the car. The cost and complexity of the installation obviously depends on how much painted surface you want to cover. My clear bra was about $650 - which seemed like a lot. But, my bra covers half the hood, the headlights, the entire nose and the 2 mirrors. That's a lot of material. Bob

Just noticed this thread. I've got Scotchguard 3M protection film on my arctic silver 986S; the PO had it installed by ForeignCarsItalia in Charlotte NC. (I bought my car in Cary, but the PM had moved there from Charlotte.) The install was top-notch, it's on even with no bubbles or other visible flaws, and it's protecting well- I've had no damage penetrate it, so it's been entirely successful there. There are a couple things I don't like about it, though. I don't like the subtle yet visible lines it leaves on the hood and quarter panel. It's harder to wax to a shine than paint, and it lacks protectiong the ridges on the left and right sides of the bumper where I hit most of the cones in autocross and am most likely to get road rash or other damage. Probably best, as cone marks are rather a pain to clean off of it, heh.

Thanks for your post sjfehr. I think I've been looking at my installation the wrong way. I'm motivated to call the guy and ask him for some adjustments. +1 on the subtle lines and the tough waxing. But, I have very thorough coverage all over the front of my car - no gaps more than a fraction of an inch. Bob