kechair Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 I've been searching for clear bra kits ever since I got the CMax back home. Anyone on the lookout - if you find one available online please post. Hoping that I don't get chips in the front end in the meantime. I have a clear bra on my Mini - it's 4 years old and nary a chip in the front. I know that some people love it and others hate clear bras - there are definitely pros and cons, I acknowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinto Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 I wonder if a 2013 Ford Focus Hatchback would fit? Very similar front ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kechair Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Hmm. Something to consider if the clear bra kits were cheaper, but not worth the risk. Hopefully someone will come out with a kit soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinto Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 The Ford C-MAX 2013 3M Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Clear Bra Upper Kit is now being listed on Ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-C-MAX-2013-3M-Scotchgard-Paint-Protection-Film-Clear-Bra-Upper-Kit-/321036223986?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4abf4005f2&vxp=mtr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNCGeek Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) The Ford C-MAX 2013 3M Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Clear Bra Upper Kit is now being listed on Ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-C-MAX-2013-3M-Scotchgard-Paint-Protection-Film-Clear-Bra-Upper-Kit-/321036223986?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4abf4005f2&vxp=mtr Thanks, I was just looking for one of these last night. This is a good sign, hopefully they will get a kit which does the whole front soon too. EDIT: wow that was fast! ;) Edited December 6, 2012 by CNCGeek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayCo59 Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Too late for me, I already got my first hood paint chip! :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kechair Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Thanks for the info Chinto! Have not been trolling eBay lately. JayCo - sorry to hear about your chip ... perhaps you should monitor when Dr. ColorChip will have a touch up paint kit available for the CMax. http://www.drcolorchip.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNCGeek Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) It looks like the c-max upper/lower kit is the most expensive (upper/lower) kit from the ebay seller - even more than their truck and SUV kits. Maybe worth waiting for other sellers to begin getting these out to save some bucks. EDIT - never mind that, I was not searching all their kits, they have some over $400 even. The price is probably reasonable compared to other sellers. Edited December 6, 2012 by CNCGeek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kechair Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) Hmmm. Not sure whether upper/lower kit is worth it. It may be. I'm more concerned about the level of difficulty of installing it. If done wrong -poof, $300 down the drain. There are some thin parts around the grill which will require careful alignment. Seems like you need a second set of hands to get the job done properly. I think I'll wait a bit more to see if other vendors offer kits. Edited December 6, 2012 by kechair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNCGeek Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Hmmm. Not sure whether upper/lower kit is worth it. It may be. I'm more concerned about the level of difficulty of installing it. If done wrong -poof, $300 down the drain. There are some thin parts around the grill which will require careful alignment. Seems like you need a second set of hands to get the job done properly. I think I'll wait a bit more to see if other vendors offer kits.I plan to wait as well, the seller says they take offers, but don't expect much. There are tons of videos on installing these kits and they make it look easy, which it is not. The main point seems to be, keep it wet until you are sure on placement. I am going to buy and install a kit when they come down about $50 at least. In the mean time I will be getting some small pieces of the 3m film to protect the pad areas on a roof rack I am buying, hopefully that will give me some practice with this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kechair Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 I have some experience installing the same material on cell phones and you are right, it is not easy to install, esp. if you are *nal retentive like me and want things precisely aligned to edges, etc. The suckiest part is trying to get all the damn bubbles out! I had a pro install the clear bra on my Mini and he took about 4 hours to do the whole thing. The job cost me ~$550, but it was money well spent. If you want bigger pieces of the 3m stuff, they sell rolls of it on eBay. You may already know that but I thought I'd mention in. Pretty affordable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayCo59 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) JayCo - sorry to hear about your chip ... perhaps you should monitor when Dr. ColorChip will have a touch up paint kit available for the CMax. http://www.drcolorchip.com/ Thx for the site. Pretty sure a 2013 Ford Focus Sterling Gray Metalic (Paint Code "UJ") is the same as a C-Max "UJ" Paint color.I ordered the 2013Ford Focus "UC" paint kit and I'll give it a go!I imagine many of the Focus items will turn out to be exact matches for our C-Max's.Jay Edited December 10, 2012 by JayCo59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kechair Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 You are welcome. Good luck with the chip repair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generalbeluga Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) I had my windows tinted by a professional and I asked him for a recommendation on a clear bra for the hood. He recommended a guy that does this for a living and works on exotic cars for millionaires here in Southern California. I thought great, if it's good enough for a Ferrari, it's good enough for my C Max! The guy came to my home and custom cut the plastic to cover the entire hood so there is no seam in the middle as there is with all pre-cut kits which only cover the front one third of the hood. He charged me $240 for the whole job and I tipped him $20 for the extra care he took to do it right. He was here about 2 1/2 hours and had to make numerous cuts and solution injections to make it fit right to the rather complex contour at the side of the hood. I would not attempt to do this installation on my own having seen what this professional went through! Trust me, pay the money and have a professional do it right the first time. You'll be money ahead in the long run and be happy with the outcome! Edited January 21, 2013 by Generalbeluga GUZZI 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 I had my windows tinted by a professional and I asked him for a recommendation on a clear bra for the hood. He recommended a guy that does this for a living and works on exotic cars for millionaires here in Southern California. I thought great, if it's good enough for a Ferrari, it's good enough for my C Max! The guy came to my home and custom cut the plastic to cover the entire hood so there are no seam in the middle as there is with all pre-cut kits which only cover the front one third of the hood. He charged me $240 for the whole job and I tipped him $20 for the extra care he took to do it right. He was here about 2 1/2 hours and had to make numerous cuts and solution injections to make it fit right to the rather complex contour at the side of the hood. I would not attempt to do this installation on my own having seen what this professional went through! Trust me, pay the money and have a professional do it right the first time. You'll be money ahead in the long run and be happy with the outcome! Some have claimed excellent results doing the clear bra themselves. But, I watched my previous installation on my '09 Jetta and feel it's worth the $240 or so to have it professionally done and they will generally fix any issues free down the road (edges lifting, bubbles and so forth). In fact, they pieced a portion in on the underside of a corner of my bumper when I scraped it on a high parking curb a year or so ago for free. It took them about 15 minutes to cut the 3x10" ripped section out, clean the area, apply film over the section overlapping on the existing film, and then trimming the overlap and resealing - all for free. I'm scheduled to have a clear bra installed Monday. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNCGeek Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Some have claimed excellent results doing the clear bra themselves. But, I watched my previous installation on my '09 Jetta and feel it's worth the $240 or so to have it professionally done and they will generally fix any issues free down the road (edges lifting, bubbles and so forth). In fact, they pieced a portion in on the underside of a corner of my bumper when I scraped it on a high parking curb a year or so ago for free. It took them about 15 minutes to cut the 3x10" ripped section out, clean the area, apply film over the section overlapping on the existing film, and then trimming the overlap and resealing - all for free. I'm scheduled to have a clear bra installed Monday. :) Good point, I'd rather pay a local pro to install it, especially if they can do it cheaper than the kit on E-bay. Good luck with the install, and that's a good deal too - are you going for the full front with the hood or something more, will they install the 3M film or something else? I'm checking with vendors on CL now to get some quotes together for my C-max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Good point, I'd rather pay a local pro to install it, especially if they can do it cheaper than the kit on E-bay. Good luck with the install, and that's a good deal too - are you going for the full front with the hood or something more, will they install the 3M film or something else? I'm checking with vendors on CL now to get some quotes together for my C-max.3M film but not full hood. Price is $240 for the film + 8.8% tax and $275 for installation includes bumper, part hood, fenders, mirrors, and door pockets. Most were $599 with some charging tax on the film, some all inclusive, and some $40 more for door pockets. Door edges and rear bumper ledge added more $. I didn't get full hood or door edge guards on my Jetta and had no chips at about 70k miles. So, I opted not to do it on the C-MAX. I have the Ford exterior protection package so didn't need the rear bumper ledge. I called a guy on craigslist who comes to your home and advertised $250 installation but he never responded. tax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNCGeek Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 3M film but not full hood. Price is $240 for the film + 8.8% tax and $275 for installation includes bumper, part hood, fenders, mirrors, and door pockets. Most were $599 with some charging tax on the film, some all inclusive, and some $40 more for door pockets. Door edges and rear bumper ledge added more $. I didn't get full hood or door edge guards on my Jetta and had no chips at about 70k miles. So, I opted not to do it on the C-MAX. I have the Ford exterior protection package so didn't need the rear bumper ledge. I called a guy on craigslist who comes to your home and advertised $250 installation but he never responded. taxCool great info, thanks! The whole package seems pretty reasonable relative to the cost of the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlin540 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 $240 for the whole job-material and labor-(front bumper, partial hood and fender tips). is a great deal... anyone know anyone that can do that in the orange county-whittier, cerritos- area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 The shop that did mine is a graphics design shop using film as the medium for signage on vehicles. So my guess is that they buy a lot of film at very good prices. The other shops that I got quotes from were shops that did primarily auto glass and window tints. So, check out the graphic design shops too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSmith1915 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 This company, http://www.clearmask.com/about_our_kits.php , has the 2013 C-Max with and without the bumper sensors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11StiLimited Posted March 26, 2013 Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 subscribed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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