XILAR8N

I may be in the minority here, but I don't recommend the 3M clear bra. I have it installed on my wife's 07 Honda Pilot and although it looked fine for the first year or so I think it looks terrible now. It has "rub" marks all over it from washing the bugs off, so now there are all kinds of streaks all over the place. Sure, it's helped prevent rock chips but not all of them. Wouldn't you believe a rock hit just below where the bra stops at the leading edge of the hood (only about 1/16th of an inch below)? That's a bummer. I stopped by and talked to the installer, who also installs for the local Infiniti dealer, and he went on to tell me that the bra is actually much softer than the clear coat so I need to be careful when washing it. He went on to tell me that the bra does a great job resisting rock chips (and I agree), but it will develop "rub" marks or streaks if youre not careful washing it off. I have to say I was very surprised by this. I don't "scrub" the damn thing either and use two buckets as to not comtaminate the "wash" bucket. Overall, this really pisses me off.

My advice is find someone local that's had it installed for a while and see what you think for yourself.

I didn't have it installed on my 09 Sport/Prem/Nav and I spent a LOT more money on the G than I did the Pilot. I'd rather have the bumper resprayed after a few years than live with the "lines" where the bra stops and the "streaks" that it develops over time.

That's my $.02, cheers.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

I agree with you 100%.

majin ssj eric

Just wait two-three years and when your front bumper looks like swiss cheese you'll regret not getting the clearbra just as I did....

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

nope. haha I won't ever put a clear bra on my G unless it was covering the entire front bumper/hood.

I even pulled the "clear bra" crap off that is in front of the rear tires, I hate the lines...sure it might protect that little area but it looks stupid to have lines where the clear end and the paint starts

RaiderSuby

iTrader: (1)

I highly recommend it. you can get the full hood + bumper + mirror + fender for about $1k, but I think full hood is over kill. The only reason for full hood is to hide the line, is it worth extra $500?

I have 3M Clear bra in both my old 05 STI (traded in for the G37) and now the G37. Both time i bought the DIY kit and did it myself. most of the people can't see the line unless I pointed out to them. It is not as perfect as a pro can do but really, I only have little problems at the very curved area.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

It's not worth any money to me. I feel like it's a waste of money b/c either the clear bra is going to get messed up or the paint is and if you have the clear bra not only do you have a messed up front you have all the lines of where it ends.

I just don't think it looks good and I don't think it's worth it. I'd rather use the money for mods and if it really truly gets that bad I'll repaint it. The clear bra will have to be replaced at some point also...

indycase

Here are my two cents on "ClearBra". I just got mine done only on the bumper last week with about 2,000 km on the odo (was just debating if I should do it or not and if it's worth it). After three weeks of driving and acquiring a few stone chips on the bumper, I've decided to go with the VentureShield Ultra which is better than the 3M product from the perspective of "yellowing". The 3M product is harder and more resistant to scratches but the VentureShield is softer so easier to install (i.e. can be stretched and installed easily especially on the bumper because of all the curvatures) I was surprised how easily the film scratches but that's because I was scrubbing it with a kleenex to get some graffiti off (damn kids!) ... besides, you shouldn't be scrubbing the bare bumper anyway so it's not like you're worst off when it comes to scratches. I only put it on the front bumper because I have a white car and the black plastic underneath shows up very clearly with any type of paint chips. On the other hand, the primer under the metal (i.e. hood, fender, etc.) is whitish so paint chips on those parts wouldn't be too apparent. Furthermore, the hood is aluminum so it wouldn't rust. I also don't like the line that the film will create on the hood and fender because I have a white car and I'm scared of the paint fading at a different rate (even though people say it won't) or dirt build-up on the hood. You don't notice it at all when you do the whole bumper so I'm happy with it. Lastly, I don't want to spend more than $400 on paint protection films so I just stopped there. PS: If you want to see what the film will look and feel like, just look at the two small patches that came with the car - it's right in front of the rear tires on the side sills.

So ... it really depends on how picky you are with your car. What paint colour you have? How much do you want to spend? Just FYI, I got one stone chip that went through the film so it's not 100% stone-proof! :P But I'm happy with it because I see a few indents on the surface of the film when I looked closely which I am sure would have been more chips on the paint otherwise .. and I like how easily the bugs come off and in case you ever scratch your bumper on something (God forbids), it will save you a whole bumper repaint. Some people may feel they can just take the bumper off to repaint for about the same price but how many times can you do that - and no, we don't want to ever remove any body parts as it will lead to rusts!

Finally, I leased my car so it's not worth spending too much money to protect it as I have the option of giving it back when I'm sick of it (including the leather creases) ... :P

Hope this helps.

movinon

I had the clear bra put on my 2010 GS color sedan, before it had a chance to get any chips. I also had it put on my Lexus Black Cherry G430.
Before then I had a BMW and a Porsche that didn't have it on, because I hadn't heard about the protective film.
The Porsche seemed liked it would get new chips on it every day. Everytime I washed it I would have to fill in the new chips with touch up paint. The front of the car looked like it had measles. I had the BMW for 4 years and can't recall how badly chipped the front got on it.
In SW Florida we have love bugs that get really bad, twice a year. There are times where you can take a 20 minute drive and have so many love bugs stuck on the front end that it is hard to tell what color car you have. If you don't get them off your car within a day or so the acid in them etch into your paint, regardless of what model car you have.
The clear bra gives additional protection against the love bugs.

PascalT

so many contrasting opinions on it. Does it really get yellow and what not fast? Does it last at least 3 yrs? and is washing it a big problem?

The guy i talked to would charge me $500 for most of the front and the mirrors and backsides.

RaiderSuby

iTrader: (1)

It is more of do you want to see a few new rock chips every week, or do you want a slow decaying plastic protecting your bumper/hood.

In the end, the cost of repainting hood/bumper and a new clear bra in 5 years is about the same. It is really what bugs you more, more and more rock chips every week or the "lines" from clear bra and "may be" yellowing in a few years.

To me, I take the slow decay over unlimited rock chips popping up randomly.

The old 3M clear bra I had in 05 STI did turned a very very little yellow after about 3 years, but it is more noticeable because the STI is white. If you have darker color car, I am not sure you can tell the "yellowish" firm. More on this, when I was researching what to put on the G37 2 months ago, I read that 3M now is actually better on not turning yellow compare to how they were 5 years ago.

PascalT

My car is black so i guess it wouldn't really show too much. And yes chips would bother me. I had a scratch on my door the other day and every time i get in the car i see it and i cry inside.

Is 3M the best brand to go with? I've heard good things about the Venture film. Less resistant than the 3M one though.

RaiderSuby

iTrader: (1)

I went with 3M because of price.

Venture firm is thinner but I can't really find someone that would sell me DIY pre-cut kit.

xpel DIY kit is expensive, the cheapest I saw is $500+ for bumper, 1/3hood, fenders and mirror. It cost me $200 for the 3M kit for the same area.

eksigned

iTrader: (1)

all cars have "soft paint"
nicks and scratches are inevitable; even WITH a clear bar, you'll get chips and dings. plus, i've noticed that on the OB G's, the paint color under the actual paint is black.

here's a picture of my last recent car...raced, etc. with no clear bra

can you really tell?


here's a close up


note: car's 5 years old with 110k+ miles...and like i said, raced (yeah, i know) and beat on like none other being more careful and driving less on the freeway, i could've gotten a better "last picture" with less chips.

PascalT

hmm is it normal then for the scratches on my car to show white? Or is it like that because it's a surface scratch?

SM_Shadowman