Clear Bra vs Ceramic Pro
 

Hi guys,

I'm planning to pick up my BRZ from dealer next week.
And debating on either going for a Clear Bra (front bumper,Fender, full hood, roof) or doing a Ceramic Pro coating.

A local shop near San Jose quoted me $890 for the Ceramic Pro.

I would like to hear what yo guys think and get some word of wisdom!

Thanks

As someone who has the 3M clear bra on my DD, I love it. Yeah it can potentially add a crappy line that you can only see up close but if you get the full hood or full bumper, you can't see squat.

I've literally pulled stone chips embedded in it and it's saved my deteriorating paint even further. Highly recommend it.

Also, if it gets bad enough, I can easily remove and replace.

I have no idea what ceramic pro is but be aware that clearbras only last about 8-10 years before it starts to yellow.

Clear bra.

I feel sad everytime I wash my car and I find a new chip.

I did the opticoat after I put on the clearbra. The clear bra will help with rock chips. I installed it on 3 of my cars and it's really worth it especially if you travel long distances on the freeway. I did the opticoat for the first time on my black brz. I found that it's easier to clean. I usually spray it down once a week. You still need to clay bar the car once in a while. And for fun I usually spray it with car wax to make it have a deep shiny gloss. I suggest going with the clearbra first if you can't afford both.

Only 8-10 years? That is a long ass time.

I thought you were going to say months.

That is a total non issue if it lasts 8 years.

True. I think it depends on what brand of clear bra that you get as well. The Star Shield on my Lotus only lasted about 6 years. I replaced it with 3M scotchgard that is supposed to last 8-10 years. But if the car sits outside 24 hours a day every day...I'm sure it will dramatically reduce its life. I heard that there are other ones out there that has a lifetime guarantee or something as long as it was installed by a authorized 3M installer. I think it was ventudreshield?

Thanks for all your comments guys,

BTW, folks living in the Bay Area, you know any good shop that does clear bra ?

I've installed the 3m products. I went with them because of the warrantee. If one of the certified intallers go out of business your will still be guaranteed by 3m. If you go with 3m be sure to get the receipt and register your purchase. Also make sure the info on the registration sheet is correct. One of the installer had to make a correction on mine.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3.../Where-to-Buy/

I have Xpel Ultimate on my car. Expensive, but worth it in my opinion. Subaru paint is soft...

I installed a pre-cut kit with a buddy of mine. As you know, a Lotus Exige is quite difficult because of all of the curves. But we both managed fine. It took us 6 hours....but we did it and it looks great. I suggest watching some videos online to get familiar with it. PM me if you want some tips.

If you want a pro, I would just call around and see what kind of quote you get. I know a place in Fremont that does exotics...but they also charge on the higher end($1k+). But those shops don't use a precut kit. They use one roll to reduce the visible lines and free hand all of the cuts. Definitely pro level.

These are two different things. Clear bra protects from rocks, while the other is effectively another layer of clear coat that will still chip from rocks.

Modern clear bra (Xpel Ultimate) has a ten year warranty and is self healing.

Wow, I wish I knew about this self healing product before I installed mine.

Clear bra these cars: the paint on these cars is so brittle that you get stone chips from staring at the car too intently. I had the dealer install Venture Shield (IIRC) on the front bumper / bottom of the hood and the side mirrors. I've still managed to get at least one rock chip where the paint chipped *under* the film, but judging from how other parts of the car look after 20k miles, the front of the car would probably be bare plastic and aluminum by now if I hadn't had clear bra installed.

IMHO the film is definitely worth the money. If I were buying a new 86 I'd have them do the A and D pillars as well as the area in front of the rear fender flares in addition to the front end... mine has picked up a ton of weird little stone chips on the inside edges of the pillars (where they roll over towards the glass). I assume it's from air currents channeling debris over them at highway speeds, but it's pretty surprising the places you find evidence of abrasion. It really can't be stated strongly enough how fragile the paint is on these cars.