10 Series - Clear Bra or Repaint? What are you doing?

[Obsidiank]

Originally Posted by Marchy

Clear bra all the way, and now a days just about every film is self healing, xpel was just the first to market their film that way.

just an fyi

False. The only films that 'self heal' are xpel and avery nano. Venture and scotch guard don't.

My buddy works at 3m and he told me they haven't changed the formula for scotch guard or venture since early 2000s.

[jube]

Went with cowl ultimate. Custom bumper, full hood, partial fenders, and side views. It wasn't cheap but it gives me peace of mind and I know I will own this car for at least 10 years. Worth it to me.

[switchlanez]

I've been using clear bra on my cars since 2004. First the 3M ScotchGuard first which was great, never yellowed in the 5+ years I had it, functioned to deflect some chips, and sold the car with a bumper that still looked new. Now the "latest and greatest" XPEL Ultimate which also has deflected about 3 chips so far. I have faith it's going to keep my front end looking shiny and new.

[bestwheelbase]

Why don't you just cover the entire car? I'm not poking fun, genuinely curious. How do you care for the paint?

Gotta admit though, it makes me think of this:

[Obsidiank]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

Why don't you just cover the entire car? I'm not poking fun, genuinely curious. How do you care for the paint?

Gotta admit though, it makes me think of this:

Haha. I would cover the whole car except it would be ridiculously expensive.

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Obsidiank

Haha. I would cover the whole car except it would be ridiculously expensive.

Yeah but what if the sides/back/top get blemishes over time?

I mean, isn't that the same rationale for getting the front done?

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Marchy

its about 4-6 grand to cover the entire car, i did the full hood, partial fenders and full bumper. thought about doing the a pillar and roof but figure meh if they get hit they get hit. I also plan to wrap the roof in black vinyl down the road so i'm not too worried.

Wow, I am surprised it costs that much. Now it makes sense to me why people focus on the most damage-prone areas, such as front bumper, mirrors, hood (bonnet).

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Marchy

yeah its really the time it takes to wrap an entire car. with 2 people it can be done in 30-40 hours, you could cut that down but if you rush the job it'll turn out like crap.

Well I certainly appreciate the value of a skilled craftsman with an attention to detail.

My current car has many chips in the hood. I think it's finally time for a repaint (the car is 14 years old as of last week!). Perhaps I should give more consideration to this type of clear protection.

It doesn't hurt the paint, being stuck on their for years at a time?

[thill]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

Well I certainly appreciate the value of a skilled craftsman with an attention to detail.

My current car has many chips in the hood. I think it's finally time for a repaint (the car is 14 years old as of last week!). Perhaps I should give more consideration to this type of clear protection.

It doesn't hurt the paint, being stuck on their for years at a time?

No it does not hurt the paint. This is the third car I have clear bra'd now and I swear by it. The paint on the twins is pretty soft, it does not take much to get a chip. When I traded in my last car the dealer noted the clear bra and told me he was giving me more for my trade-in because of it.

[spitfire481]

the shop i work with has done a full clear wrapped brz in xpel. kind of excessive in my opinion but hey, its their money. i wrap my full hood/fenders/bumper/mirrors/headlights on my cars in xpel. works great, no lines to be seen

[losjackal]

Originally Posted by Obsidiank

I found a guy that does custom venture and he was like, just do the front bumper as 90% of chips happen there.

Which kind of film does he use? And how do you like it?

[Obsidiank]

Originally Posted by losjackal

Which kind of film does he use? And how do you like it?

So I broke down and decided to spend $600 on xpel and a full bumper and half hood wrap instead. My OCD got the best of me and even though it was more money than I wanted to spend, I did it anyways. Here's what I learned

1. Clear film is the same as putting a protective screen on your phone. The technology is virtually identical which means the same issues that happen on your phone can happen on your car. (Dirt trapped, hair, etc). It's not going to come out perfect so if you're OCD, it's never going to be good enough.

2. xpel comes primarily as kits and I think that if I had to do it again I would do custom. The kits leave too much space between edges which means that dirt and other things can get trapped.

3. My installer did a good job but he wasn't top grade meticulous. For example, after he installed the left fender I noticed a black line underneath. turns out there was still some glue residue from dealer stickers that showed up after he had cleaned the car. It was really hard to see but I saw it which meant he should have too. He pulled off the sheet after it had already been on too long so he stretched it a bit. Then when he put it back on, the hood was up drying so he didn't align it perfectly as the other side. It's only maybe 1-2cm higher and no one would notice but me, but still..as I said OCD.

4. Despite this, unless you were hunched down in front of the car examining, you would not even know I have clear film on, so besides me noticing, no one else will. Overall, I am happy with the results...had it come out perfect I would have no buyer's remorse.

5. Final thoughts. It took him about 3 hrs to installed. I watched him do it. I have pretty much 85% confidence I can install it myself. If only the barrier to entry wasn't so costly. Basically if clear film cost $300.00 to buy, I would do it myself.

[tCsonfrs]

I'm getting my full bumper, fogs(because their glass), partial hood, and mirrors done on tuesday by a local custom shop; they quoted me $800 and I have to leave my car over night.

I had an incident with a tire on the highway that left me with 5 paint chips and a few light scratches; I wanted to cry.

[raul]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

I've never put a clear bra on any of my cars... I like to live dangerously...

In Puerto Rico? Yeah you do, lol.