I had Ziebart put on a clear bra (3M-type urethane film) on the front edge of the hood and front fenders today. Unfortunately, they did a HORRIBLE job. The lines between the fenders and hood were badly misaligned, the film wasn't rounded and cut to the contours of the fenders, and the strip on the hood itself was so crooked that there was an inch of difference from left to right! Just awful.

Naturally, I raised my objections to the owner, who agreed that it looked terrible. He said his "usual guy" was in Florida and that the guy who put it on "doesn't like to do the Z-shield." Well, boo-hoo! What's a guy like that doing working for a place that DEPENDS on being meticulous?

The owner told me to keep the existing film on until Monday, when his primary installer would be back, and he'd make things right. He was pretty decent about the whole situation (and I could tell he was steamed at his guy), but I'm still scratching my head over why he'd let this goofball touch my truck. Suffice it to say he won't be touching it again. I'll keep you posted. If I can't get satisfaction, I'll buy a roll and do it myself.

Photos?

Its worth it (when done right)...I have the 3M on my hood/fenders/headlights/fogs. It blends in perfectly and doesn't stand out at all (of course you can see it but only up close). I drive alot on the highways and it has definitely saved the paint and headlamps in the month or so I've had it on there.

I was planning on some pictures today, but got tied up doing some other stuff. I'll snap some tomorrow to post, but suffice it to say for now that it looks like a kindergartner slapped Saran Wrap on my truck.

P.S. bpdA, did you get a headlight kit, or did you have somebody do those? The Ziebart guy tried to discourage me from doing it, but I think it's only because they don't have a wide enough roll to do them (he claimed a "possible heat issue" but I'm not buying it).

I'm not very confident in those guys at this point and am thinking about a refund instead of a re-do.

Yes, I got the headlight/fog kit. It came pre-cut for the X (saw the pieces before they installed it). There was a slight "haze" for about a week afterward, but it has since gone away and you can't even tell its there. The pieces for the lights themselves are quite a bit thicker than the paint kit is since these are more vulnerable locations.

I got a refund today from Ziebart. Fortunately they didn't hassle me about it. When I popped the hood for them to remove it, the guy had just kind of wadded up the ends and stuffed them under the edge of the hood (it didn't occur to me to look prior to this morning). What a hack job.

I'm checking with another local installer to get a quote for the headlights, hood, and fenders. Gotta wait a couple days, though, since the poor guy is sick as a dog. I might go your route, though, and just install it myself. Did you find it pretty easy to do? And from where did you get the kit? I see quite a few places offer it online.

P.S. I didn't a chance to take photos, so I'll have to leave it up to the imagination as to how poor it looked.

TropX,
Let me clarify, I did not install any of the clear bra pieces myself. I went to xpel.com (which uses the 3M product) and located a local certified installer in my area. I found one and through the installer they have access to any of the kits you find on the xpel website (incl'd the hood and headlights kits). They did an excellent job (and even came to my home to install it in my garage) and where very reasonably priced. Plus, w/the certified installer, you get the nationwide warranty which was important to me. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the clarification. The guy I called is an Xpel installer in Kalamazoo. I'm still waiting to hear back from him as of this writing, though. I hope it works out, as there are very few clear bra installers in this area of the state. More to follow . . .

how much are we talking for your whole set up? just a ballpark figure.

Sorry for the delay in replying--busy busy . Haven't gotten a reply from my local installer yet, though I finally got a message from him last week. Turns out the poor guy was in the hospital with pneumonia, which explains why he didn't get back with me. I'll see if I can get a price estimate.