1 Stop Graphics HIGHLY recommends that you have your 3M Paint Protection Film (Clear Bra) installed by a certified installer so that you can take advantage of the 3M 5 year guarantee against fading, peeling, bubbling, or cracking. For those of you who wish to install your 3M Clear Bra yourself, here are detailed directions. You can even download a sample video at the bottom of this page. Keep in mind that this video is not specific to your kit. It should be used to see proper technique of film application only. Join our Yahoo Group to get specific questions answered.
Please note that not all Clear Bra Kits and Headlamp Protection Kits are installed exactly as described below. Every vehicle is different and may require different steps. We always recommend that you find a professional in your area to install your kit. 1 Stop Graphics is not responsible for damaged kits that were installed using our installation help. (Yes we had to put this here because someone did contact us saying that we should replace his clear bra because our instructions did not include 1 step that is unique to his vehicle. The real kicker was that he did not even buy his kit from us!)
Headlamp Protection Kits Dry Installation IMPORTANT: Please read before attempting installation Clean the surface of the headlamp being certain to remove all grease, wax, tar and dirt. Dry the headlamp with a lint free cloth. DO NOT REMOVE THE BACKING PAPER AT THIS POINT! For best results, both the headlamp and the Headlamp Protection Kit should be at or slightly above room temperature during installation. It is best to perform installation in a controlled environment. In colder environments it may be helpful to turn on the headlamp and wait until the headlamp becomes warm to the touch, while also being certain that the kit pieces are also at or slightly above room temperature. Before removing the protective backing paper, dry fit each piece to be certain that you are applying the proper piece on the proper light. Remove the backing paper being careful not to touch the adhesive side of the piece. Handle the kit only on the edges prior to installation. Handling the adhesive side of the piece will leave marks that will not go away. After applying the piece to the light, use the enclosed hard card to smooth the piece onto the light from the center out. This should remove all air that may be between the piece and the light. If an air bubble happens to become trapped, merely peel the piece back from the edge nearest the bubble to a point past the air bubble and then smooth the piece back down onto the headlamp using the hard card. The adhesive should cure for at least 48 hours before washing your vehicle. Wet Installation Required Hardware & Ingredients: 1 Quart Spray Bottle Heat Gun or Hair Dryer 1 Bottle Isopropyl Alcohol (70%) Ordinary Tap Water Mix 25% Alcohol and 75% water in a spray bottle. Use the mixed solution to thoroughly clean the surface of the headlamp being certain to remove all grease, wax, tar and dirt. Dry the headlamp with a lint free cloth. DO NOT REMOVE THE BACKING PAPER AT THIS POINT! For best results, both the headlamp and the Headlamp Protection Kit should be above room temperature during installation. It is best to perform installation in a controlled environment. In order to achieve a higher installation temperature, turn on the headlamp high beams and wait until the headlamp becomes warm to the touch, or use the heat gun or hair dryer to gently warm the light surfaces. It is best if the kit pieces are also slightly above room temperature. This may be accomplished with the heat gun or hair dryer. Before removing the protective backing paper, dry fit each piece to be certain that you are applying the proper piece on the proper light. Wet your fingers thoroughly with the alcohol solution. It is important that you not touch the exposed adhesive surface of the kit with dry fingers. Handling the adhesive side of the piece with dry fingers or hands will leave marks that will not go away. With hands and fingers wet, remove the backing paper and immediately spray the now exposed adhesive side of the piece thoroughly with the alcohol solution. Spray the warmed headlamp thoroughly with the alcohol solution. Apply the piece to the light and use your hand to smooth the piece onto the light from the center out. Then use the squeegee provided with your kit to force the solution out along the edges of the piece by using firm, continuous strokes, from the center out. On contoured surfaces, the adhesive will not stick to the lens immediately. In this case, use the heat gun or hair dryer to gently heat between the lens and the plastic. This will soften the plastic and evaporate some of the moisture allowing for better contouring of the material. DO NOT OVERHEAT THE PLASTIC. The material needs only to be warmed. You may notice a hazy appearance between the lens and the plastic within an hour of installation. This is caused by residual moisture that has become trapped between the kit and the light. This is a normal occurrence and it should last no longer than 1 week. Heat accelerates the dissipation of the moisture. Driving with lights on at all times is helpful. The adhesive should cure for at least 48 hours before washing your vehicle. We are not responsible for the improper application of your Headlamp Protection Kit. Paint Protection Kits Necessary Application Tools: Squeegee (Teflon coated) (2) 1 quart spray bottles Baby shampoo 70% Isopropyl Rubbing alcohol Non Scratch 3M Detailing Cloth Wax and Silicone Remover General Instructions 1. Installation should always be performed in a controlled environment with a temperature range of 50 to 90 F. Application should never be performed in windy conditions. 2. Prepare a slip solution in one of the spray bottles, filling it with water and adding 2 or 3 large drops of baby shampoo. Prepare the alcohol/water solution using 2 parts alcohol and 3 parts water. 3. Remove any wax on the surface with the 3M Adhesive Remover and a soft cloth. 4. Contamination such as road tar, grease, oil, silicon and dirt should be removed by spraying the surface to be covered with the slip solution and wiping with a soft cloth. 5. Verify size and placement of all parts before removing liner. 6. Clean hands thoroughly, even the smallest amount of dirt on your hands will transfer to the adhesive on your clear bra, causing an undesirable appearance. Also, always keep your fingers wet to prevent adhesive from sticking to fingers, and do not needlessly handle the adhesive side of the material. It will be necessary to handle the adhesive side of the material occasionally, but make any contact with the adhesive as brief as possible. This is important as fingerprints will show through your clear bra. Hood 1. Wet the hood thoroughly with the slip solution. Then, with the material rolled up, keep fingers wet while pulling a small amount of the clear bra away from the liner on one end. With the rest of the kit rolled up in one hand, use your other hand to hold the end of the material that you have pulled loose from the liner down on the appropriate end of the hood. Then, slowly begin to pull the liner towards the opposite end of the hood, forcing the material to be rolled out on to the hood. If your clear bra kit has a relief cut in it, be careful when rolling out the material on the hood so as not to stretch or tear the material in this area. You may have to use your fingers to free the clear bra around the relief cut from the liner. Once you have gotten past the relief cut you may proceed normally. A relief cut would be considered any narrow cut-out in the clear bra which deviates from the normal hoodline for the purpose of allowing the clear bra to lay flat over heavily contoured surfaces. 2. Now that you have the clear bra laid out on the surface, it will be necessary to apply more of the slip solution between the hood and the clear bra to allow the kit to be easily positioned on the hood. Lift the clear bra from the hood one side at a time to spray the clear bra and the hood with the slip solution. It may require a bit of gentle tugging to lift the kit from the hood, but care must be taken not to excessively stretch the material. Also, spray the top of the kit with the slip solution prior to positioning the kit, so that the squeegee will not drag the clear bra out of position. 3. Now that the clear bra moves freely on the hood, you may easily position it into place. The kit should be centered with about a 1/8" gap between the front edge of the hood and the kit. 4. Once you have your clear bra in place, make several small vertical strokes with the squeegee in the very center of the hood until you have an area 3-4" wide from top to bottom that is free of the solution. The kit is now "anchored" to the paint in the center and will not move freely, which means that you do not have to worry about the kit sliding out of place. 5. Now that the clear bra is anchored in the center, lift one end back to the point at which the kit has adhered, and spray the adhesive side and the hood with the alcohol/water solution. Spray enough of this solution to wash out any slip solution that was under the clear bra. This is done to promote quick adhesion and to help prevent the clear bra from lifting back up around the edges after you have squeegeed an area 6. Lay the clear bra back down on the hood, taking care to ensure that the kit is lying straight and flat. Check to see that there is still about an eighth of an inch gap between the front edge of the hood and the kit. Also, make sure that you keep the top surface of the kit wet so that your squeegee will slide easily over the clear bra. Please note that when using the alcohol/water solution, the clear bra will dry very quickly, so it will be necessary to work quickly to achieve the desired appearance. 7. From the center of the area that is now free of slip solution, make a horizontal pass with your squeegee to the edge of the hood. Then, starting back in the center, make short, upward, overlapping strokes from the middle to the top edge moving toward the end of the hood . Now, do the same with downward strokes from the middle to the bottom edge until you reach the end of the hood. Keep in mind that firm pressure is needed, in order to avoid leaving water or air bubbles trapped in between your paint and the clear bra. 8. If any area around the edges has lifted back up, you should wrap a paper towel around your squeegee and go over the edges again. This will absorb the moisture around the edges that interferes with adhesion. 9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for the opposite side of the hood. Fenders 1. For the smaller fender pieces, you can use the alcohol/water solution alone to apply the part. It is usually best to start by lining up the upper edge of the piece with the edge of the fender, while also ensuring that the front edge is about an eighth of an inch away from the edge as well. 2. Make a very gentle narrow pass with the squeegee along the upper edge of the piece. Don't press too hard on the squeegee when making the first pass or you will drag the clear bra out of place with the squeegee. Then, as the clear bra begins to adhere to the paint, you may use increasingly firmer strokes until all the alcohol/water solution is removed from beneath the upper edge of the clear bra. 3. Once the clear bra is anchored at the top, you should gently pull the bottom edge down with your fingers while making sure that the adhesive is thoroughly wet with the alcohol/water solution. Then, while pulling downward on the clear bra, make a firm pass with the squeegee from the top edge all the way through the bottom. 4. Finish up by going over any remaining "fingers" in the clear bra with the squeegee. For vehicles that have heavily contoured fenders (such as the Chevrolet/GMC pick-up), you may need to wrap the squeegee with a paper towel to push out any stubborn areas. Mirrors 1. Start on one end by tacking the material down with your squeegee. 2. Apply plenty of slip solution and stretch the material across to the other side pulling firmly enough to pull out most of the excess material from the top and bottom of the mirror. 3. Once stretched into place, squeegee the remainder of the clear bra down from the center out. 4. Go over the edges with a squeegee wrapped in a paper towel to ensure that the material does not lift back up. Grille 1. You will normally find that the pieces are slightly shorter than the painted surface that you are applying them to. This is intentional and is designed to help keep from stretching the narrow pieces too much as well as making it easier to squeegee these pieces. When removing narrow pieces of material from the liner, the plastic tends to stretch to some degree. Since the plastic will stretch differently depending on how it is removed from the liner and it is much easier to stretch the material than to cut off any excess, the pieces are designed intentionally short. On these types of grille kits, start from one end by lining up the kit with the edge of the grille. 2. Stretch the remainder across to the other side and carefully squeegee the area. Use very light pressure on these narrow sections until they are tacked down sufficiently, gradually increasing pressure as they begin to adhere. Bumpers & Air Dams Bumpers & Air Dams 1. For these kits, stretching the material is imperative due to the strong curvature of the painted surface to be covered. Begin by wetting the surface with the soap/water solution and rolling out the material onto the surface. 2. Once on the surface and thoroughly soaked on both sides with the soap/water solution, center the kit on the vehicle while positioning the middle of the upper edge 1/8 inch from the edge of the bumper surface. Do not be concerned if the arc of the protection kit does not match the arc of the bumper edge. This is normal and will be dealt with in the next few steps. 3. Once the kit is in position, make a few vertical passes with your squeegee in the middle of the kit to tack the plastic in place. 4. Now that the plastic is bonded to the paint in the middle, lift the left side and wash out the soap/water solution with the alcohol/water solution. Leave some of the soap/water solution between the plastic and the bumper around the furthest left 12 inches of the kit. 5. Lay the plastic back down and place your left hand palm down onto the last 12 inches of the kit. Stretch the material outward and slightly upward so as to force the kit to follow the arc of the bumper. 6. While holding the plastic in this position, squeegee from the middle out along the center of the kit. Continue squeegeeing the upper section until it is securely adhered to the bumper. Leave the lower section for now. 7. Lift the left 12 inches of the kit back up and wash out any remaining soap/water solution from this side. 8. Place the material back down onto the bumper aligning the plastic with the edges of the bumper where necessary and squeegee the area into place. Leave any small "fingers" that have not laid down completely for now. 9. Starting back in the middle, work the lower section of the kit from the middle to the left side squeegeeing in 1-2 inch strokes then make another pass from the middle to the left making 1-2 inch strokes and so on until you have reached the bottom. 10. Repeat steps 4 through 9 for the right side. 11. Finish the kit by wrapping your squeegee in a soft paper towel and tacking down any remaining "fingers."
LICENSED SUPPLIER & INSTALLERS OF SCOTCHGUARD CLEAR PAINT PROTECTION FILMS
