Clear Bra: Yes or No?
 

So I've been contemplating on getting clear bra or not. Can anyone give me the pros and cons? If yes, what kind/brand and any recommendations for shops in New York (preferably Queens or LI) that do a good job? I hear 3M is good. I got a quote for the front bumper, full hood, mirrors and rocker panels for a little over 1k, which I was told was pricey :thumbdown: Are these the right areas to have covered, btw? I have had people telling me that you can't have the clear bra on the car for more than a few years because when you peel it off, you peel off paint with it :eyebulge:Then I had other people tell me you discolor the paint where the clear bra is on...obviously not something anyone would want on their car...feeling very conflicted!

P.S. Newbie at this so any help is greatly appreciated! :wub: TIA!!!

I have had a clearbra on my last car which was a gray metallic close to asphalt frs. I only did it on the front bumper and made sure it was seamless. I believe it was 300 or 350 installed at the time. If ur going to do the hood make sure its not half or a third and its the full hood otherwise when dirt builds up u can easily see a line. Same with when you wash and wax your car, you will have a line of white wax buildup around the edges.

Its great for rock chips and lovebugs down here in florida but I personally wouldn't get more than the bumper. One of my old clients had his Ferrari fully covered and I believe he said something around 1500-2000 bucks but I can't remember for sure.

As far as paint peeling off I can't tell you anything about that cause the car got totalled before I even bothered to take it off, which I probably wouldn't have.

I have it on my front bumper, hood, and fenders. It's a good investment over having to get a new, painted bumper in a few years.

As others have said, only complaint is dirt build up in the seam. If it's clean, the line is almost invisible (the day I got it I showed it to my dad, and I had to point to the seam for him to notice it, from 3 feet away), but once you have dirt/wax/claybar build-up in it, it becomes a little more noticeable, especially on a dark car. I don't know a good way to clean it, I tried a q-tip or a toothpick but you really need something that will dissolve the dirt and wax IMO.

If you're gonna get a clear bra, pay extra and get a high-quality one. I hate seeing faded, peeling, dirty clearbras on otherwise clean cars.

you could try the 3m spray on clear bra

Dont know which clear bra to get but you should definitely get one. I wish i got mine dont a long time ago, stupid rocks.

I have a Suntek clear bra on my bumper, 1/3 hood, and mirrors.

I regret not getting the fenders and rockers near the rear fenders covered because these areas have gotten chipped.

The suntek bra is invisible, but the installers I used F'ed it up. Suntek has proprietary cutting machines that cut out the templates for your car so the installer doesnt have to. Needless to say, it didnt cut out the templates to fit exactly...so I have unprotected gaps on my bumper where the separate pieces didn't abutt properly.

FURTHERMOREEEE on the hard corners and wierd angles, the installers screwed it up by using too much heat or stretching it too much, so there are orange peely spots.

Also, the pieces covering the mirrors are 2 pieces per mirror and the top edge looks like crap and is separating.

Finally, I'm pretty sure the installers I used didnt clean the surfaces beforehand because there is crap stuck between the bra and the paint.

Paid $750 + tints (tints flawless minus ~15 miniscule bubbles on back window). Worth it for the protection but boy am I unhappy with the quality of work. You can't see any of the aformentioned issues unless you are deliberately looking for them from within 3 feet.

Hope that helps your decision making process somehow

probably one of the most expensive but best investment I have made into my BRZ so far considering it does nothing for performance... used the 3m product... if you are near central jersey go to auto image in freehold/Manalapan on rt 9. I had the full bra halfway up the hood, lights, and mirrors all coated by the plastic... can barely see it unless you are real close to car... even then its blends in nicely, paid about 1400 for full treatment, Cheers

Definitely get clear bra, I rather my bumper be covered with a plastic than to be covered with rock chips. I got mines done at a very very good price..

Had a 3M clearbra on my 02 WRX. It was just the bikini hood, but it saved the front from damage. I didn't get the bumper covered and it was chewed to crap from 10 years of rock chips.

On the BRZ I went with Xpel Ultimate. Full hood, fenders, bumpers, side mirrors, door cups, headlights, and rear bumper guard. It's expensive, but well worth it IMHO. I went with Leeberbs in Hillsborough. He's a favorite from the Subie community.

I recommend at least 1/4 panel hood, 1/4 front fenders and mirrors.

I don't want to create issues but was wondering what installers you used. I don't want to slander anyone though so maybe a simple hint just to help other's avoid issues? Thanks for the info tho I am in the same boat as OP. Didn't realize the nice chunk of change this can cost but now I am seeing the benefits...

I went and got a quote for my car today and asked about the paint peeling issue. The guy said if your car didn't get repainted like say after an accident or something, it shouldn't peel off paint. I don't know if he was talking about all clear bra's or just Suntek which is what he uses at his shop.

Yup, your post helped. I got a quote today from someone that was highly recommended by a few people I know who had their cars done there. The guy also uses Suntek and he showed me some of his current work as well, which was excellent. The tints he did were superb and flawless (he's been doing them for many, many years). I think the installer is VERY important and that's where the pricing comes in. I think I will end up getting the full hood, front bumper, fenders, mirrors, rocker panels and tints. Thanks for your feedback and I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the installer :(

I never even knew clear bra's existed until beginning of this year! And yes, they are a pricey but good investment. A lot of people I spoke to highly recommended getting it. I'm going to stick to staying in NY but thank you for your recommendation :w00t:

Save up that nice chunk of change and GET IT! But make sure you shop around and see the person's work :thumbup:

You can check with Jayde on the forum. He got a good portion of his car done. Make sure you bring it to a well known and qualified place. There is a thread somewhere on here that details an experience where the installer installed incorrectly and cut through the paint.

Where in NY are you?

100% recommended to installed Clear Bra... I did Opti Coat (another member in this forum) and Xpel Ultimate Paint Protection Film Full hood, full fenders, side mirrors, full front bumper, A-pillar and roof, Rocker panels, Headlights and fogs @ LeeBerbs ... One year old car and still very good condition. Very rare to car wash my car and still shining everyday... :-)

If you do a lot of freeway driving, clearbras give you peace of mind from chips. I got the full hood, bumper, fenders, mirrors with Xpel. was pricey but offers very good protection. If u want to skimp a bit, just do the front bumper. the fenders dont see as much rock action. And the hood to a lesser extent than the front bumper.

As for paint peeling when removing, there is a chance of that happening. Our paint is very thin on the front bumper. In fact, my installer had to redo the bumper clear bra and the removal of the old film actually peeled off the parts of the bumper paint along the hard edge just under the weather stripping where the hood cover meets the bumper. He'd never seen factory paint peel like that before and was pretty shocking. Ended up getting the front bumper repainted and re clear bra'd. But hopefully that doesn't happen to anyone else.

Given that, I'd still recommend a clear bra at least for the front bumper if you drive freeways often.

Clear bra is a fantastic option to protect your vehicle. We offer Avery Dennision with lifetime warranty against yellowing, peeling, and cracking as we offer a certified installer to do the work. We also offer different protection packages. Let us know if you're interested.

Here we are doing a Porsche 997 with headlight protection

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe69ba6a.jpg

If you're thinking of going clear bra, make sure to see samples of the installers work. I was at the dealer I bought my BRZ from and they had a BRZ they took on a swap from another dealer. The originating dealer had a clear bra put on, you could see the edges and the seam; hideous. I would cry if that was my car...

where did you finally get urs done?

I'm currently running that and you can't even see it there. I also have the leading 1/3 of the hood.

I'm probably one of the only ones that changed their mind not to get a clear bra, but leeberbs (search on facebook) does a very good job on tints and/or clear bra.

The way I saw it, it was about $1k. The cost for a new bumper painted would be less than that. Yeah, I know it won't look like new and stuff, but I guess I prefer function over form. I put it towards header and tune. To each their own.

Yup, definitely going to go to a well known and qualified place to someone with experience. Cut through the paint?! Yikes. And I am in Long Island, NY.

What's A-pillar? And how much did you end up spending? (If you don't mind me asking. Just want to see the ballpark range so I don't get some ridiculous quote and think it's a good deal haha). Leeberbs is in NJ :( I'm in NY.

I do drive on highways often which is why I still try not to drive too much with the car being clear bra-less as of now:scared0012:How much was "pricey"? I was told Suntek is good and that peeling of the paint shouldn't occur with factory paint. If the car has been repainted, then that might be a different story. Since your paint peeled (sorry to hear about that), do you think maybe it had to do with the type of clear bra used? Did you have to pay to get it repainted?!

Like other's have mention already, my concern is what it'll look like after a couple years of sun exposure; I've seen quite a few that either look hazy or yellowish which is what I don't want.

I'd recommend finding someone that has invested in a plotter so that the fit is going to be spot on opposed to having someone cut it by hand to your vehicle. Nothing bugs me more than a non-straight edge.

I, too, also recommend having the entire hood and fenders wrapped to prevent the seam being noticable.

I wish all females were as concerned about going with a clear bra as you are :D :23:

Yea totally understand how you feel about driving without the bra. If I recall correctly on pricing: 3M comes with a 5 yr warranty from cracking and bubbling and was just under $1000 for full front: full hood, fenders, bumper, side mirrors, headlights. Xpel was $1200 with a 10 yr warranty.

Agree with the other guys to make sure they have a template that the plot from.

Xpel is a thicker film so it's a little harder to apply but experienced guys shouldn't have a problem. Ideally it wouldn't hurt to get it installed in a warmer area for better adhesion.

Thanks. You're right in that factory paint shouldn't peel. But the paint on that bumper is really thin and it doesn't help that here's a hard edge where it meets the weather stripping that the hood rests on. I wouldn't know if it was because of the type of clear bra that caused this. But it only peeled at that sharper hard edge and no where else. He was kind enough to take care of the repainting costs and install a new clear bra after.

Here's what the peeling looked like and repaint

I'm already at 30K miles i had my front bumper repainted once.


Just get a clear bra...

I have done my frs to the max. full hood, full front fenders, rocker panels, head lights, mirrors, roof and a posts, rear trunk kit, front number. Looks good but you have to keep waxing the clear film a few times a year to keep it from yellowing. If it does yellow there is a kit you can buy to remove the yellowing or have it done. Some rocks may still tear the film depending on the size and speed. But over all it is a good move to put it on your car. There is different qualities of clear film so make sure you ask about the options.

3m puts out a good film product. I live in Canada and do a lot of highway driving as well thats why I went with all the packages. Most car shops in my city have a computer that cuts out the film form them so there is no one cutting on the car. I did have a custom job done on my drivers side door, there was no computer to cut this out so the retards cut it on my door. I did not know they would be doing it this way. So ya the fuck tards cut the paint. They denied doing the damage. So I said okay went to my insurance company. They sided with me and covered the damage. Now my insurance company is sueing the car shop that did for the damages. So really ask a lot of qestions. But it is worth every penny to have on your car.

The A-Pillars are the two pillars on the left and right sides of your windshield that extends from near the hood to the roof.



I got mine down for ~$1,000 (western NY). SunTek on full hood, full bumper, full fenders, mirror backs, headlights and fog lights. An extra $300 would include rockers, a-pillers, and roof leading edge.

The installer did a superb job (except one tiny bubble at the edge of my headlight). He recommended only using Meguiar Quik Detailer and non-petroleum car wash soap.

I asked about the Meguiar Quik Wax and his response was:

Gotta protect the goods ;)

I thought about bra on my car. i can't keep thinking about Clear Bra VS Repaint
I choosed repaint later because if you would get accident, you have to get another clear bra again (hope not!)
either way, you'll be protected..lol

That is true but say you have the car for 5 years and don't get into an accident but have ugly paint chips for those 5 years? lol.

YES!

We get absolutely murdered with bugs down here in FL that will eat through your paint, and my front end looks as good as it did on the day I bought it:

https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/...70395721_n.jpg


https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/...70395721_n.jpg

What i'd like to see is a side by side at 50k miles with someone who had a clear bra install and another with opticoat. If i could do it all over again i'd probably get a bumper only clear bra and an opticoat.

My only issue with my clear bra is that its been destroyed in the last year. 25k miles in a year on almost all highways under major construction and rocks everywhere has left my front bumper all "marked" up. It's very hard to get the white of the clear bra marks out and makes me want to get it removed.

Side note if anyone has any advice i would really appreciate it.