Bray Windshield Skin Install

After a bunch of research, I settled on Bray Windshield Skin to try. There are some other windshield protection products on the market, they seem to have mixed reviews. I couldn't really find much independent info on the Bray Windshield Skin but saw a few different PPF installers use it in their videos, and @GRP recommended it so I thought I'd give it a try.

There is no model specific kit for the Emira, so I bought their generic kit which needs to be trimmed to size. The kit is $250 but shipping was $50, so the total was about $300 plus tax.

Installation is pretty straight forward. Anyone who has done DIY PPF or vinyl wrap can do this. It's relatively simple. Just follow their instructions to scrub and scrape the windshield to make sure it is perfectly clean. The only part that's a two person job is flipping the film onto the windshield. Here it is after the flip:



If you have done the windshield cleaning well, then there is no need to re-lift the film to clean out dirt. Just squeegee out the excess slip solution and make sure to chase out all water/air bubbles. The windshield has a slight bow to it, so some fingers/wrinkles will develop at the edges where there is excess film. I used a heat gun to soften/shrink the film in these areas and they laid down well after that. The kit includes a small utility knife for trimming the film, but I had a vinyl trimming knife that's lower profile and better quality and I used that instead. I don't have a photo of the film installed because it's invisible from the outside. I took a photo and it looks like nothing is there.

Tip: If you have some time, don't trim the film until the film has had a day or so to dry and develop tack against the glass. This makes trimming a lot easier. Otherwise, the drag of the knife will cause the film to lift and make it very difficult to get a clean trim. When trimming, angle the knife towards the windshield slightly to get a close neat trim.

I drove the car 2 days after installing the film. Initial reaction is pretty positive:

• There is a slight orange peel waviness to the optics with the film on. I don't know if this will improve with time. It is not severe, but it's noticeable. The effect is akin to water vapor distortion during hot days. Sometimes it will call attention to itself - for example, straight bright white lane markings will have "pixelated" edges like on a monitor screen. I'm not too bothered by it but others may feel different. I'll update this after a few days to see if it gets better as the film dries more.
• There is a very slight haze to the film, but I'm thinking it will clear up as time goes on. The haze is very slight and only noticeable if you are looking for it by comparing the view out of the side window directly with the windshield. I'll update this after a few days to see if it gets better as the film dries more.
• The instructions say that for maintenance, the film should be cleaned as little as possible. So my goal is to avoid using the wiper as much as possible. For bird droppings, bugs, etc, I would wait until I get home to clean it off with a towel. The film has good hydrophobic properties so I'll try to let rain just run off during drives.

I put the film on with about 450 miles on the car. After cleaning the windshield, I noticed that there were already some fine scratches as well as small grain-of-sand sized pits. After I put the film on, I took a 250 mile trip and had a fairly large stone hit the windshield and it made a cut on the film. I'm going to try the "auto healing" feature by applying some heat gun.

Overall, given how low the Emira sits, I feel that this type of windshield protection is pretty important for those that want to daily their Emiras.

Nice work, thanks for sharing!

Hi @Nova - curious if any updates on the film? Considering the same on mine.

Thanks!

Oh, hey.

I've been driving around with this thing and it's still wavy after two and half months. It will definitely bother some people. As you can see from the photo, it lays mostly flat on its own, so I didn't have to any stretching or forcing things into place. So I believe the waviness is just a natural character of the film.

Overall, though I am living with it, because it does protect the windshield based on at least one sizable rock that has already hit it. That one spot has not healed on its own, I guess because it did cut all the way through the film.

The film is super hydrophobic. Even at relatively low driving speeds, water just blow right off and I never use the wipers except by accident when I bump into the stalk. All the edges have remained flat and well bonded so no lifting issues.

@GRP was supposed to be working with the Bray folks to get a custom pre-cut film made, but I'm not sure where that conversation has gone. It would definitely be a lot easier than hand trimming the film, which was the most frustrating part of the whole process.

Im still waiting for Greg to come through with precut for us!

I also got a windshield “PPF” done forget the brand. It is mostly clear with a section of waviness right in my sight line. Installer claims it’s a product defect and I plan to get it replaced. I don’t mind slight imperfections outside of my sight line but right in front is a problem. This kind of thing doesn’t get better over time. It’s just the product having some slight defect apparently.

My installer said warrantied for 1 year vs my PPF with has effectively a lifetime installer warranty. Windshield is definitely more of a pain but all my windshields are pitted and I’d rather avoid with the emira.

seriously said:

I also got a windshield “PPF” done forget the brand. It is mostly clear with a section of waviness right in my sight line. Installer claims it’s a product defect and I plan to get it replaced. I don’t mind slight imperfections outside of my sight line but right in front is a problem. This kind of thing doesn’t get better over time. It’s just the product having some slight defect apparently.

My installer said warrantied for 1 year vs my PPF with has effectively a lifetime installer warranty. Windshield is definitely more of a pain but all my windshields are pitted and I’d rather avoid with the emira.

Click to expand...

Please ask about the brand.

During my research, I remember reading that the hard films are optically clearer, but 1) they are very difficult to install and 2) they don't last long because their scratches don't auto heal. The soft films like Bray are much easier to install and they auto heal to an extent, lasting about 3-5 years on average, longer if you avoid using the wiper. The downside is that they are optically not as clear.

Bray has a professional installation only film that may be somewhere in between. They also have a multi-layer film that is supposed to last longer because you can peel off a layer after it gets too damaged from use.

Ultra fit. It’s a pro windshield protector. They said they have used a few and it’s the best in their opinion. Windshield is notoriously tricky for clarity. They said this one can be treated just like a normal windshield. No special care needed. However only warrantied for a year.

I find that the PPF and ceramic ratings as long as the install is quality and you take care of the car tend to outlast the warranty periods.