anyone have their llumar clearbra replaced under warranty? currently, mine is yellowing, and having an aspen white makes it fairly noticeable. i just wanted to get some feedback on the process: anyone ever been denied, did you have to remove your old clearbra beforehand, was there a fee, etc, etc

tia

 

You happen to have any pics??

 

who installed it and what material did you use.


Mine was warrantied once. The company switched material companies and felt mine yellowed too quickly.


Fact of the matter is that it will yellow over time. Or get dingy or beat up. Mine yellowed the first time in less than 6 months. Since then it's been about 3 years and it's doing better than expected. The next time I have it redone I'll be more than happy to pay.

So.....depending on how long you've had it and how yellow it is you may or may not have a case for warrantied replacement.

they all do it...it's just less obvious on non white cars.....my car is white so I feel your pain.

Sadly I live in the country now so mine get dirty quick. I have to constantly wash it and I try to keep a layer of some kind of wax on it.

 

after installing clearbras for six years and using all the popular films I can report that they ALL will discolor on white. Some will resist it better/longer than others but due to the 100% contrast of a stark white background its impossible to conceal any amount of discoloration at all. The fact is you can even detect a small amount of discoloration from day one on white because the film itself is advertised as 99.5% optically clear, and yes white is the only color where you can detect that .5% difference. The heat from the engine and the sun beating down on the hood accelerates the problem on the hood film, exacerbated by the fact the film stops halfway up the hood where any difference in color can be seen clearly from the covered to uncovered portion of the hood unlike the bumper where the film is typically installed out to all the edges. As of now Im advising people with white cars only get the film on the bumper, since the film on the bumper doesnt encounter the same amount of heat the hood film does it resists discoloring much better, I have a couple bumpers with the new 3rd gen 3M installed Ive been keeping an eye on since the film was released early last year and they're still looking good.

The Llumar film in particular was the worst on white, contrary to what their rep promised me. Even worse, their lifetime warranty only covers a material credit, unlike 3Ms material+labor credit, and Llumar only credits you to use the SAME crappy film you just took off!! Yeah Ive had it out with the Llumar guys a few times
That all said, this is only a big issue on white, I have even had the Llumar film on a PSM (which on a gray scale is close to white) for over 3 years now and it still looks fine. I think your best bet is to take off the llumar and go with just a 3M bumper, G'luck!

 

yup....jeremy switched me from lumar to 3m and it made a HUGE difference.

 

sorry, no pics at the moment. it was installed locally about 2.5 yrs ago and started yellowing around the 1 yr mark. i'm not sure of the exact material name but it's made by llumar.

krinkov, so what can i get out of this with my "lifetime warranty" against yellowing. if i can and do decide to replace it, how much would the labor be?

also, how much for the 3M clearbra install and materials (bumper only and bumper+hood)

thanks

 

how much was the switch?

 

Krinkov, as the film yellows over the years, if I don't take it off, will it affect the underneath paint's fading rate? That is, if I leave the clear bra on the hood for like 5-7 years, and it gradually yellows up and I don't take it off. When I take it off after 8 years, will my hood show 2 tones of color? Thanks!

 

this is a good question, though Ive taken film off cars that have been installed for 4-5 year before and detected no noticable fading. The only thing you usually notice is a difference in finish if the rest of the car had not been waxed/maintained regularly since the paint under the film basically comes out of a time capsule. The oldest install I ever removed was off a porsche 993 that had first gen 3M on for 7 years, he just wanted a bigger piece of coverage. once the hood was buffed even you couldnt tell where the film had been and where it hadnt, other than a few chips past where the film stopped
Keep in mind this discoloring is mostly only noticeable on whites which by its nature wont 'discolor' (the paint under the film wont become 'less-white') and anything darker the level of discoloration if any does not seem to affect fading, even after longterm use. Though I'll let you know when I start coming across ten year old installs.

 

It was warrantied as the install was literally 6 months old. All future changes will be normal cost. Probably $4-500. Don't know what krinkov's going rate is at the moment. I'd just PM him for a quote as I'm sure they may vary somewhat.

 

drop me a line if anyone has any questions

 

Thanks Krinkov. I guess a good wax and polish will be enough after it is taken off. I was just afraid that the hood might become like those ladies with bikini tan lines.