Re: http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp
TomT said:
How much did you pay for your clear bra?
Has anyone out there installed one themselves?
I found several places to order one off the internet. Info here:
http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp
$700 installed with lifetime warranty.
The website that you mention is where I ordered the kit for my wife's Camry. My suggestion is do not order the pre-cut kits, though, as they are cut slightly small and do not quite reach the edges of the body panels. There is a bout 1/8" between the end of the bra and the edge of each panel.
On the Rav, they used rolls of the film and cut the pieces a little big so that they would wrap around the edges of each panel.
People that I know have installed these themselves have had mixed results. My biggest concern is that it's an awfully expensive product to take a chance on messing it up. The material itself is going to run you a minimum of $300 - $400 to get coverage for the bumpers, fenders, and hood. Imagine messing it up and have to buy it all again. At least if it's installed by someone else, should they mess it up, it's on them to replace what they messed up.
Having seen both the pre-cut kits and the rolls, I think that pretty much anyone can do the install on relatively flat, straight areas like the hood. It's areas like the bumper and grill areas that will create the most problems, especially for someone who hasn't done it before. They used a 30" wide roll to do the grill and bumper area on the Rav and it's all one piece, so you're talking a piece of film that was probably 6 to 8 feet long and 30 inches wide that you have to not only get is nice and tight, but you have to make sure that it is properly aligned with the body panels you are working on.
My searches on the Internet showed that there were no local installers (Tulsa, OK) of the product that were licensed by the manufacturers. So, I called my Toyota dealership who advised me to call a local tint shop, who advised me to call the local Lexus dealership as this product ia available from the factory on Lexus vehicles (I didn't know that). When I talked to the Lexus dealer, they outsourced their installs to local auto specialty shop because the guy had been installing the same brand of product for 13 years and was a licensed installer which gives a lifetime warranty on the product only if installed by a licensed installer. So, call your local Lexus dealership and find out who they use.
James