Newbie owner extremely disappointed..

Hello. I'm Trista and I'm new to this forum. This is my sad story about my bumper ruined by Invica_shield. (I've been lurking in this forum for a while and I finally decided to register because I have to warn my fellow Porsche owners about this product.) I've been interested in getting a clear bra installation for a while, so I did some research on this forum. Finally, I saw a few guys from Florida recommend Invica-shield so I found an installer in my area that uses it. After getting the installation done, I couldn't be more DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!! A friend of mine had their clear bra done by another installer, and it looked really nice. So that was the reason why I wanted one on my newly painted 01 996. (This other installer did not use Invica-shield) As you can see in the pics that I took after the guys left, they used 5 pieces of film on my bumper alone. It created really bad looking lines that just totally ruins the look of my baby. (If you think it looks bad in the pics, it's even worst in person.) I told the guys that that wasn't what the bra on my friend's 911 looked like, and his response was "that's the kit by invica-shield, and there is nothing we could do about it." Then I told them to take it off, and they said that I would have to pay for it. Well, to make a long story short, DON'T GO WITH INVICASHIELD!!!! I think that it is partially my fault for not researching this company's material before I had it installed. So that's why I'm not going to name names. But I recommend to all that are thinking about getting a clear bra, stay away from those using this brand of kit. Find someone who uses one piece of film for the bumper. Now I'm gonna have to find someone else to redo the bra and take off the existing one. I'm not about to pay the original guys more to take off unsatisfactory work.

Haven't seen any kit from any manufacturer that didn't come as 1 pre-cut piece for the bumper (std or turbo). Sounds more to me that your installer was lame. The basic material used is standard for the most part. The film was developed by 3M. The company (I used to work for them about 10 yrs ago) maintains a list of installers of the re-branded product throughout the US. Just remember the re-branded name isn't important....they're all 3M film product. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/_...8912/_l/en_US/ Get a reputable installer and just put this bad incident behind you. Hey, I just realized your in Sactown...I've heard very good things about Premier in the Bay area. There's a post on this board about protection film & maintainence written by Premier. Read it & give them a call.

I have the X-pel kit on my 996 and it is a great product. I have had 3 cars done by CS Specialties out of San Jose and Stockton. They will come to your house and do the installation. They have done quite a few Rennlist members and come with very good recommendations. Contact information: C S Specialties Mobile Service San Jose, CA 95148 [phone removed] [email removed]

I did Invincashield on a new 01 Boxster and it was one-piece on the bumper. I would assume the kit on a 996 would be similar. Vic 95 C4 cab

Use CS Specialties out of San Jose and Stockton. Mariano and Ken rock! The did my car a couple of moths ago...couldn't be happier.

Mine was 1-piece b/c I asked my installer if it was possible to do 1 piece and not the kit. He charged me extra (nominal fee) to custom cut a single piece for the entire front bumper on my 996. Turned out fantastic so there is no lines at all. Just make sure you get a VERY GOOD installer since the one piece install is extrememly difficult compared to the multiple piece kits.

Hi, do you have an aero car? I was going to get this stuff put on my gt3 aero but the installer arrived with the standard 911 kit. He was going to have to custom make pieces for my car. I told him, no thanks. I was curious how this would turn out. Does anyone have this mounted on an aero car with success?

Dallas, yes mine is the aero front. As I said in my previous post.....it turned out fantastic with no seams since he custom cut as a single piece. Just make sure you have the best installer you can get.

Dallas, I had the 3M kit installed on my '01 Aero. They had to have one custom cut for the aerokit, and I couldn't be happier with the install. The key to this, as many others have said, is finding a good installer. Not sure why you'd shy away from custom pieces???

Trista, did you contact the maker of the product and inquire as to whether the correct kit was installed on your car? Edit: Is it "Invica-Shield" or "Invin c a-Shield"? Here's a link to the Invinca-Shield's kit, and it sure looks like they have a horizontal seam at mid-bumper height: http://www.invinca-shield.com/asp/genkit.asp?kit=3621

Yeah...I think I spelled it wrong....I think that's the exact kit that these guys used. Thanks for finding this site for me SRL.

I contacted Premier and they said they would help me remove the existing kit and put on a one piece. I saw some of their work on exotics and it looked really nice. I'm feeling a little more confident now. Thanks for rhe recommendation.

Thanks to SLR, I found the site to the kit that they used. Here is the diagram of it.

It looks like they used the wrong kit. That kit is for a Turbo 996 or a 996 with a turbo nose AND aero. Your car looks like it has the GT3 Aero. That might be the problem.

there is something fishey in this girl's bra.. re read it and tell me it's not bogus a newbie post that manages not only perfect detailed photos but also highlights all the right buzzwords . too slick to be for real.

I was not going to say anything untill I saw your post, but yeah, thast way to good for a newbie. I don't buy it. So savy at the internet, but not savy enough to get what she wants from the clear bra guy, or savy enough to know whats the right and wrong way the kits is supposed to be??

No problem Trista. That's why these forums are so valuable... Let me know how the work with Premier goes because I plan on calling them when I get back to SF on Wednesday to do the exact same install. If you don't mind, let me know what kinda of price quote they offer and how the one piece cut works out. I just want to cover my turbo bumper nothing else.

As an educated woman and one who can learn from what she's read, I find it a bit of an insult that it is assumed I am not supposed to be able to articulate my thoughts. Being able to use the internet is part of my profession and came with my education. And I do not need to be Einstein to be able to use my camera and take pictures of my car with lines on it. Chris79SC, I was wondering if you want to try to coordinate so that we could both bring our cars in to get it done at the same time? Maybe we could get some sort of a two for one deal. If not, I'm actually thinking about going with someone else because they seemed really booked, and I want to get this done ASAP.

Yes something is bogus with Trista, she's been attacking me in the thread that Premier Mobile posted as an advertisement trying to hide it as a "tips and tricks" post. If indeed Trista is even a real person, it wasn't Invinca-shield that ruined her install, it was her installer, which ultimately means it is HER fault for not researching the installer's work better. Did she visit the shop before her install was done to see installs done on other cars? It's always easy to blame someone else for your mistakes. While I would agree that her install doesn't look great from the photos above (again assuming she's even a real person) if an installer botches a job and doesn't fix it for free, that's not an installer you want to work with. There are several other quality installers around the country, I see some listed above in this thread and of course there is a certain installer in Orlando that I use who travels world wide to do installs and who stands behind his work. I spent the time to research how these films are applied and even did a couple of cars myself before having a professional take over on a more complex job, but it was a professional whose work I had seen and who had a reputation of standing behind his work. The old saying applies, you get what you pay for... (I'm also curious about the car in the first pics, as in what wheels are those, and how does a newbie know to get bumper plugs and clear side markers? )

Trista, If you still need an installer, I know one who will fly out from Florida to NorCal to do installs if you have enough people together. Sounds like you have 2 people already, I think his minimum is 4. You should give him a call and ask him about it, check his prices, references (he has some in NorCal) etc.