Clear Bra: Yes or No?

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by muffinz

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

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

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by jaymannj

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

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

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by Steve201brz

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...

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

[chutrain]

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?

[RL_BRZ]

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... :-)

[Techfl3x]

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.

[PrimeMotoring]

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

[gily25]

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...

[frs10]

Originally Posted by babylobster

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

where did you finally get urs done?

[Simply_the_best]

Originally Posted by subaruferrucci

you could try the 3m spray on clear bra

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

[hyper4mance]

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.

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by chutrain

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?

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.

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by RL_BRZ

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... :-)

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.

[babylobster]

Originally Posted by Techfl3x

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.

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 nowHow 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?!