To clear bra or not to clear bra?

[Pakjk89]

I wanted to see how many people are clear braing their BRZ and how many are not. I have very little knowledge of it and not sure whether to do it or not.

[GrimmSpeed]

I always advise clear bra'ing a Subaru. Subaru's paint is, unfortunately, one of its low points. Does anyone know if there will be any clear bra/rock blocker from the factory? The new WRX we just picked up had it from the factory...maybe the BRZ will too.


Justin

[Ryephile]

Clear bra is always a good idea. It'll take a bit of investigation to determine the most effective [vulnerable] locations to place it, however more is almost always better.

[Draco-REX]

I have a clear bra (LaminX) on my STI. I love it. I've driven enthusiasticly on dirt roads behind a friend and I have no rock chips. It tends to be a little pricey. I paid $700 (4 years ago) to do the nose, front of the hood and fenders, headlights, and mirrors. However, compared to a respray, it's cheap and the car stays looking good rather than slowly looking worse and worse.

A few things to be sure of first, however:

1. Make sure the paint is as perfect as possible before taking the car in. You wouldn't want to have a fixable blemish under the film for the rest of the car's life. Most shops will clean the paint before applying the film. But they won't do any paint correction.

2. The film should have a lifetime warranty. If it yellows, you should be able to get it replaces.

3. The film MUST NOT block UV rays. You want the paint under the film to fade at the same rate as the rest of the car. Otherwise, later in the car's life, you'll look like you have a cheap '80s bra on it.

I plan to clear bra the BRZ when I get it.

[blu_]

Really recommend doing it and doing it quickly, before you start getting rock chips. The plastic will often times make existing rock chips look worse if they are already there. Like the others have said Subaru paint sucks. I am getting a white BRZ largely because of this.

[Pakjk89]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

I have a clear bra (LaminX) on my STI. I love it. I've driven enthusiasticly on dirt roads behind a friend and I have no rock chips. It tends to be a little pricey. I paid $700 (4 years ago) to do the nose, front of the hood and fenders, headlights, and mirrors. However, compared to a respray, it's cheap and the car stays looking good rather than slowly looking worse and worse.

A few things to be sure of first, however:

1. Make sure the paint is as perfect as possible before taking the car in. You wouldn't want to have a fixable blemish under the film for the rest of the car's life. Most shops will clean the paint before applying the film. But they won't do any paint correction.

2. The film should have a lifetime warranty. If it yellows, you should be able to get it replaces.

3. The film MUST NOT block UV rays. You want the paint under the film to fade at the same rate as the rest of the car. Otherwise, later in the car's life, you'll look like you have a cheap '80s bra on it.

I plan to clear bra the BRZ when I get it.

Sounds like great advice.

[Poobalooba]

I was actually considering having mine vinyl wrapped soon after getting it, http://www.topvinylfilms.com/product...yl-1947-0.html

I figured it would protect the paint and make it one of the only/few yellow BRZs out there.

[blu_]

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

[Pakjk89]

Originally Posted by Poobalooba

I was actually considering having mine vinyl wrapped soon after getting it, http://www.topvinylfilms.com/product...yl-1947-0.html

I figured it would protect the paint and make it one of the only/few yellow BRZs out there.

WOAH!...it looks awesome...how much do you think that would cost?

[blu_]

Originally Posted by Pakjk89

WOAH!...it looks awesome...how much do you think that would cost?

Its over $2k as far as I know... Too expensive in my opinion.

[switchlanez]

I had a clear bra on a silver car. Never turned yellow in the 5.5 years I owned it and the next owner I sold it to kept it on. I garaged it and applied polymer sealant directly onto the clear bra and body 2-4 times/year. The paint on the whole body was maintained/dent free. The front end is normally the only part that really gets chipped but the clear bra kept it flawless so basically the entire car still looked new when I sold it.

I even brushed my front right corner against a car in front of me when I miscalculated my egress out of a tight parallel parking space. It only scratched the bra and didn't penetrate the paint. The 3M bra was so thick that it skimmed only a bit off the top and exposed some of its adhesive. It collected some dust (you can see the mark above the fog light) but never bothered me.

[Giccin]

Nipple stickers.

BUT!

Yes to clear bra.

[Dark]

I would do it, at least on the front bumper.

[brianbot5000]

I plan on it. It'll be my first car I've done it on, but I had regretted not doing it in the past with my previous WRX wagon, which looked like it has been sand blasted for a few years.