WRB paint quality question.

[gily25]

Originally Posted by brzninja

I was afraid these were the answers I was going to get. Coming from a white subaru legacy for roughly 10 years of ownership that only had maybe 3-4 chips, having 5 already in less than half a year is either bad paint or bad luck!

I'm taking my car to the deal for the auto butler protection next week. I'll see if they have any recommendations for these kinds of things.

Thanks again for everyone's input. I'm very OCD about it and with never chip of paint that happens, part of my heart breaks.

Keep in mind hte legacy sits up higher, the rocks that did come up probably bopped off the lower bumper. You'll need to stay further back in this car...remember you want to be able to see the tires of the car in front of you, if you can't, you're following too closely.

[RazBRZ]

You should see my front bumper from rallyx and winter driving. Unless its a garage queen show car, who cares. My car is a race car, it's not supposed to look pretty

[clintavo]

Anyone with white?
My GF has an '06 Rav4 with what appears to be the same color. It has held up quite well.

[hanabie]

I don't think any coating or clearbra will help the chip.
Unless the coat or the paint is harder than the stone when hitting your car.
The clear bra is just going to hold the chipped spot together. It still cracks no matter what. It is just like your windshield.

I do not think opti coat will add hardness layer. It will just refine the surface roughness which significantly reduces scratches.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[DSOmegaX]

Originally Posted by aceangel

There is nothing you can do to protect it against paint chips unless you stop driving it and leave it in the garage.

I'd just get it opti-coated or opti-guarded by a respectable detailer to protect the paint from the elements. For the existing paintchips, just touch it up w/ a toothpick.

The opti-guard might help with protecting against small stone chips because I only have a few stone chips on my bumper and I drive 50/50 highway/city for 2 hours day.

I don't think a clear bra would help much against large stone chips.

Opticoat/optiguard does NOT protect against chips. It's pretty much just a permanent wax on the car to help lessen the washing maintenance required. It's like expecting a traditional wax to protect against stones. Not going to happen.

A clear bra is designed for just this. You'd be surprised how durable the newer materials are. And with XPEL and SunTek, the films have a minimal self-healing ability (mileage may vary here)

Originally Posted by brzninja

Thanks for all the input! As much as I would love to buy a glass garage and just stare at it all day, I need to go to work to pay for the thing.

Desperation is the best motivator to reach goals. I found a place nearby that does the clear bra service so I ordered the cut and it should be in within 2 weeks...hopefully I don't get anymore by then.

Again, thanks for everyone's input.

Hope it works out for you!

[aceangel]

Actually, anything with less than a pencil hardness of 9H will not scratch the surface so there is a little bit of protection for anything softer. It's also not really fair to compare it to wax since its more of a slightly thicker clearcoat.

[brzninja]

Originally Posted by Subarudood

-OP, Make sure they are using 3m or another quality brand. There are a lot of cheap knock off's that cost 1/2 the price shops will use to get a profit. Also I recommend ordering the rockblocker for the lights, as the hid's on these cars are not cheap. I'd also recommend mirrors if the kit doesn't come with them. If your car is white you can have them custom a small square by the exhaust tips that can be replaced once it turns color from exhaust. IF YOU want to be crazy in the meantime, since you are 2 weeks out. The blue tape from an autostore will work. Some people have taped their new cars up for first track days etc.

I enjoyed the pic! They are using Xpel and it is a pretty reputable place so I'm not too worried about that...also very friendly! Thanks for the advice though!