To clear bra or not to clear bra?

[ashtray]

I'd want to do it, but would rather spend the money on other mods instead, and then if there's any maintenance involved I know I wouldn't maintain it and end up screwing up the paint rather than protecting it. I ordered the white color - if I went for a dark color I might have different priorities.

That said - I voted "no" - but if the vinyl and tint shop gives me a package deal (uh???), I might add it on.

[acetothermus]

I'm planning on it. I wish I had done it on my current vehicle.

I understand why paint has gotten so thin on all new cars, but it's shameful how bad factory paint has gotten in the last 10 to 15 years. That's the one area that should never be skimped on. Without a decent paint job what protects your car from getting cancer(rust)?

[Xdragonxb0i]

Originally Posted by acetothermus

I'm planning on it. I wish I had done it on my current vehicle.

I understand why paint has gotten so thin on all new cars, but it's shameful how bad factory paint has gotten in the last 10 to 15 years. That's the one area that should never be skimped on. Without a decent paint job what protects your car from getting cancer(rust)?

its weight reduction!!!

my friend has the bra on his old s2000, i think it looks good until you get close to it. I would get it, but not if the price is 700+. I rather spend that money on a new set of Rims, or Coilovers, or exhaust... ETC.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by blu_

More haters than fans so far, but none of the haters seem to care to say why....

Meh, it's gonna be my DD for half of the year. If I start with clear bras etc, it's gonna take me to a place where I get very angry at every little scratch, every parking lot door ding (and there are no bodyside Moldings to protect), start parking in the furthest corner of the parking lot etc. I'm not gonna bother with that, I doubt I'm gonna keep the car beyond warranty expiration date.

[brufleth]

I live in an urban area. No matter how hard I try it will get dented. Someone will bump it while it is parallel parked, someone will open their door into it, etc. I have off street parking at home but otherwise the car is going to pick up some dings. It doesn't matter if I park further away at work or the store. Someone will find the car, park next to it, and open their door into it. The odd nick in the front from a pebble is much less unsightly and I'm not particularly worried about it.

[Subaruwrxfan]

I detailed for 5 years at a Porsche, BMW and Audi dealership and saw dozens of people with clear bras, I still do not see the value in them. Most people did half hoods on their Porsches, which just looks horrendous. I find it funny because the clear bras still get dents and scuffs in them from rocks, so the clear bra looks just as crappy after a few years as your paint would have if you would have not had it put on in the first place. lol. You can't take the clear bra off without doing serious paint correction afterwards, so once you put it on, there's no going back.

Plus, being a detailer, I have an eye for all the details, and the bra would stick out like a sore thumb to me and bother the crap out of me, even though nobody else would probably ever notice it. I can buff out any scratches and blend in chips well enough if I need to. And don't tell me that I won't be able to notice it. My friend just paid BIG money to a very high end shop to apply a full clear bra on his Lamborghini Aventador. It looks pretty good, he loves it, but it personally still isn't at the point where I could tolerate it on my own car.

Don't forget that the Subaru warranty covers paint. I knew a few STI guys back in 2008 that had chipping paint so badly that Subaru paid to repaint the entire car. I think they learned their lesson with those warranty claims. They won't cut corners that badly, and if they do, then they will be paying for more repaints.

Also, with all the creases in the BRZ hood, it's gonna be hard to really make it look good in my opinion. Also, considering that this is a 25k (ish) car, spending hundreds of dollars on a clear bra seems silly to me. To me, the high cost and reduction in the paint's attractiveness are not worth it.

I plan to keep the front end relatively chip free by following people at a safe distance on the highway (especially 18 wheelers). Problem solved.

[G-Man]

I am toying with the idea of a vinyl wrap. but im not sure what i will be doing yet.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by Subaruwrxfan

You can't take the clear bra off without doing serious paint correction afterwards, so once you put it on, there's no going back.

What type of paint correction is necessary? Are you talking about scratches, or color matching due to fading?

If I decide to get a clear bra on a BRZ, I'd only do the front bumper rather than the half-hood approach. With how far up the bumper on this car actually goes I don't see the real need for the half-hood treatment. And since the clear bra would end at a natural body line, then there are no crease lines to worry about.

Even after 2 years of careful driving of my current car, there are still a bunch of rock chips in my VW's paint. Based on my passed experience with Subaru vehicles, I don't have much faith for the BRZ's paint.

[brianbot5000]

Originally Posted by Subaruwrxfan

Don't forget that the Subaru warranty covers paint. I knew a few STI guys back in 2008 that had chipping paint so badly that Subaru paid to repaint the entire car. I think they learned their lesson with those warranty claims. They won't cut corners that badly, and if they do, then they will be paying for more repaints.

Most people aren't going to complain to the point of getting their car painted under warranty. That story has to be pretty rare. And I doubt a few instances of repainting cars under warranty isn't going to motivate Subaru to significantly improve the paint quality for all of their cars.

But, you bring up some good points...you have me second guessing my initial plan to clear-bra the front. (Though I probably still will...the front of my WRX looked AWFUL and it's not like I was out rally racing...)

[brianbot5000]

Another thought I just had... How is that clear bra going to look on the black "mustache" (as it seems to be known). That black area is sort of a matte black, and I wonder if it's going to make it look glossy or just "not right". Would a clear bra even go over that portion, or would they work around it? Hmmm...

[M-17]

I don't feel I need to clear bra. I'll just risk it and let the car be for what it is and what it will look like after 10 years. But I'll try my best to keep my car clean as much as possible.

[Subaruwrxfan]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

What type of paint correction is necessary? Are you talking about scratches, or color matching due to fading?

If I decide to get a clear bra on a BRZ, I'd only do the front bumper rather than the half-hood approach. With how far up the bumper on this car actually goes I don't see the real need for the half-hood treatment. And since the clear bra would end at a natural body line, then there are no crease lines to worry about.

Even after 2 years of careful driving of my current car, there are still a bunch of rock chips in my VW's paint. Based on my passed experience with Subaru vehicles, I don't have much faith for the BRZ's paint.

By paint correction I mean full paint detail, buffing with a wool pad, then going over it with multiple stages of foam pads and compounds to remove all the swirls and get the shine back in the paint. The extreme adhesives that are used to keep the clear bra on the car are so thick that the residue that remains when the bra is removed is near impossible to remove. We had to use lacquer thinner to get this adhesive off, and lacquer thinner is strong enough to take the paint with it, so you have to be extremely careful that you walk the fine line of being 1 rub away from removing the actual paint (not to mention you're losing lots of your clear coat during this whole removal process). By the time you remove all this adhesive the paint is jacked. The whole process takes many hours, often more than 1 full work day.

We had one less experienced detailer remove a clear bra improperly and we just sent that car out for a full front end repaint because it was damaged so bad.

Yes, they have been making improvements and enhancements to the clear bras. Maybe in 5 or 10 years they will get to the point where they meet my high demands, but for now, you couldn't pay me to put one on my car.

If I were to do clear bra, it would only be on the front bumper, but there isn't much to even cover on the front bumper. That black plastic "mustache" is positioned right where most paint chips occur on a front end.

[Subaruwrxfan]

Originally Posted by brianbot5000

Another thought I just had... How is that clear bra going to look on the black "mustache" (as it seems to be known). That black area is sort of a matte black, and I wonder if it's going to make it look glossy or just "not right". Would a clear bra even go over that portion, or would they work around it? Hmmm...

You couldn't even put a matte bra on that part because of it's bumpiness and the plastic would expand and contract. And this part is where most rock chips are, so I'm sure people will be replacing the mustaches after a while from them getting scarred. Should be an easy fix.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by Subaruwrxfan

You couldn't even put a matte bra on that part because of it's bumpiness and the plastic would expand and contract. And this part is where most rock chips are, so I'm sure people will be replacing the mustaches after a while from them getting scarred. Should be an easy fix.

Not only that, but the mustache will be black plastic all the way through. The reason why rock-chipped paint looks so bad is that we can see the primer/metal/plastic and not the paint. I don't think chips will be even remotely as noticeable on the mustache.