TheNewGuy

Do you guys know about this clear wrapping?
Is it worth it?
Can you wash, wax, detail, and remove scratches if you have a clear wrapping on your car?
It won't wrap the whole car but the parts like bumper, hood, side, etc.

GoFightNguyen

iTrader: (14)

If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, it's called clear bra. It's a clear film that covers you actual paint job. It protects from minor chips and scratches. You can wash it, wax it, and detail it. Ideally, there won't *be* scratches in the car to fix.

A few guys get their bumper done, good results from what I hear.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

It can be very expensive, but when done right by a tech with skills, virtually invisible from a few feet away.

If you live in an area that uses a lot of crushed granite in the roadways, if you drive a lot of highway miles, if you are the kind of guy who freaks out with road chips in the bumper... then it's totally worth it.

Research local Tint Shops. That's typically the place you get this done.

san~man

Get it done, but not by the dealer.

Check around your area for shops that do it, as your dealership probably sends the work to them as a "subcontractor" and then jacks the price up they're charging you.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Be sure to find an installer that has good reviews, be sure to see some of the work they've done. Often times they'll have a couple price tiers w/ various options such as wrap over hood protection rather than having the clear bra stop right before the hoods' edge. There's also different grades of clear bra films, it's best to do some online research to see what's best for your budget. There are no-name generic films & top of the line films and the difference between them is night & day, so buyer beware.
I believe the best modern films have a top clear coat film that acts like the self-healing clear coats in factory paint.
Infiniti paint is some of the most swirl & chip prone paint in the industry, so anything you can do to protect it is a good idea. The best prevention is following Rochesters' advice for proper distance when driving and always be on the defense when it comes to road debris, closely followed by paint protection Expect to pay $800 or more for full front protection w/ the best film and a highly rated installer, just a partial hood, mirror & front bumper partial runs in the $400-500 range.

movinon

I had the clear film installed by an independent shop, six days after I bought the car, for around $800.
It worked great for 3 years, then I ran into something in my garage which put a crease in the bumper and a small smudge on the front of the hood, so I removed all the film and had a body shop repair the damage.
I paid for it myself, rather then file a claim.


Now I drive more defensively, to avoid chips, since I don't have the film on.
Tom

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

After owning my last car for 9 years since new, the front bumper was like sandpaper, there were so many chips. I was about to have it dipped and painted (or simply buy a new bumper... about the same price), but then I sold the car.

With my G37, I vowed to be far more aware of distance between me and the cars in front on the highway. Two years and 16K miles later, my front bumper is virtually spotless from chips. Not 100% perfect, but it is a just car after all, and you do have to drive it.

So: $800 for a clear bra, or constant defensive driving. Both have their pros and cons.

movinon

I mostly watch out for trucks, especially dump trucks and P/Us with large aggressive tires.
The first thing I look for is to see if it has mud flaps.
Whenever I pass a suspect vehicle I hold back a safe distance until the car ahead has almost completed the pass, then I can shoot around it fairly fast. If you get trapped trying to pass, by a slow slug ahead of you, your vehicle has a lot of time to be peppered by road debris by the trucks tires.
When I am on an interstate with enough lanes I try to get over two lanes when passing certain vehicles.

STownSaint

Considered this when I bought my car (new), for the right amount of coverage (bumper, hood, mirrors) and reputable installer, it was looking like close to $1K (in NJ)

Figured that by the time the bumper is bad enough, I'll either be ready to sell my car or repaint the bumper (likely less cost than the clear bra)

Now the headlights on the other hand, at $500+ each, I plan to very soon protect them with LaminX film (clear)
Infiniti G37 Sedan (2010, 2011, 2012) Headlight Covers

I think these are a worthy investment. Infiniti/Nissan headlights look bad after a while. Sure you can use kits to sand/polish the lenses, but to me the result is not as good and they tend to fog back over quicker. After 75k mi, my old car's headlights (2006 Altima) were awful looking even after repeated attempts to clean them up. Granted the front bumper was a battlezone as well, the headlights brought the whole look of the car down

Like mentioned, not driving aggresively in traffic is big in preserving the front of the car