Pro's/Con's Clear Bra
 

I am planning on taking a drive from coast to coast this summer. I don't want to get the front part of the car chewed up by rocks and such. I do not have a clear bra on the car. I spoke with multiple body shops around town and they differ on the clear bra. Some indicated they had seen damage/discoloration to the original paint with a clear bra, while others thought it fine. Any opinions from the experts on this site? Many thanks.

trackster22

Do you park outside most of the time?

A good quality film + competent installer will give you the protection you're looking for without damage or discoloration. That said though there's plenty of hacks out there who will leave you disappointed. You should not have any trouble finding reviews and recommendations for good installers. Also be warned that even small chips and rough paint surfaces will look bad even with proper install. Films seem to magnify existing damage.

ive been using clearbra on my different cars for years. no issue with discoloration on the paint in my case, but the bra can yellow depending on which brand and bra you use.

normal xpel slightly yellowed on me after about 3yrs.
i currently run xpel ultimate on my Z (self healing surface), no yellowing that i noticed.

im also running Scotch brand (3M) clearbra on the rockers of my Z and on my dd's front bumper. no discoloration yet that ive noticed. :)

i highly recommend you clearbra at least your front bumper before you get any major chips. GL!

I have 3m and I've had it for a little over 3 years. No yellowness yet. My car is garage kept and I wax it using 3m wax once every week. Only con I can see is that it's expensive.

Its fine if you have a good installer. Money well spent if you ask me.

Subbed.

I always disliked that line that people leave on the hood, but kenchan's idea of just doing the bumper might eliminate that look.

I'll probably wait until I get my Amuse front or should I jest get extra paint /clear coats to help protect it?

Just get the whole hood wrapped. Extra paint will still chip.

$$$.

I'll think about it for sure.

We use one of our car on freeway regularly its 3m clearbra and with intense heat and weekly sand storms its holding great 2 years+, no peeling or yellow discolouration, highly recommended if you doing freeways

Get a plotter cut one its hardly visible at the edges, you should atleast full bumper, for hood 1/3 lower part is more prone to roadchips but very less compared to the bumper, if price is good get a stripe there, you can remove that hood part after the trip then

many thanks
 

Great info everyone thank you very much, appreciated.

trackster22

3M clear bra...Regret not getting it on one of my previous cars so much chips it looked like my hood was deformed from all the touch up paint. A guy that did it for me said after 10yrs he finally saw yellowish color on the pearl white Lexus but I couldn't even see it.

I closed the garage door on my front bumper Z and if I didn't have the clear bra, I would of cried! Also tracked my Z and hit so many cones, and the bra kept the paint and bumper in prestine condition.

Get it, well worth the investment! If you take car of your car such as washes and wax then you should be fine and not worry about yellowing. Have bras on both my Z and WRX same day I took delivery, had a guy custom cut and installed.


He cut it based off of a roll of 3M bra and tucked, none of that pre cut BS where the bra ends by the hood/fender and hood/bumper

I have bumper, headlights and full hood with Xpel Ultimate with no issues at all. It does get a little dirt build up around the top edges of the bumper, where the bumper meets the fender.

yah yah yah.... :gtfo2: i installed my pre-cut xpel ultimate and it's fine, so there. :mad:




:rofl2: i do prefer using generic rolls though...

I'd definitely get the hood wrapped as well. I have a few chips on the lower part of my hood after a dozen or so trips between Nashville and Knoxville.

im all for protecting my car but every time i see a clear bra on a car all i can see is the so called invisible line! especially on the hood!

Still looks better than a bunch of rock chips.

Don't forget to cover your side skirts as well. I had the whole front and hood done with the 3M stuff when I bought the car. Not a single rock chip and no discoloration so far. Didn't do the side skirts and after one winter the paint is really beat. I'll have to have another set color matched, cure for 3 months, and covered in 3M to fix it the right way.

yah, i bought a 6" width scotch roll and did the rockers (per my earlier post). this is highly recommended especially if you have aftermarket wheels and care about how the sides look.

Got a 3M bra done today, can only see the line of the hood from certain angles. In most instances is not obvious that it is there. You can always cover the entire hood and have no lines.

I just removed my clearbra on one of my sideview mirrors, which I've had on for over 3 years, and I did not notice any discoloration of paint and removal was a breeze. There were no adhesive residues left and I used a heatgun on the lowest setting.

I have half the hood done and honestly, I only really notice the line because I know to look for it, not that bad.

Many people are surprised that I have the clear bra and then I have to point it out. Been 3 years now. The edges are starting to curl near the wheel well (was a bit of overlap) but outside of that its been perfect.

If I have money lying around for this year I might just change it out....If I drive down to something like Z nationals or something this year, I still might consider painters tape too lol.

yah, typical lifecycle for me is 3yrs. at $100 a year, or $16/month (only driven 6months out of year) or less than $4 per drive, that's perfectly fine for my hobby car. :tup:

For that somewhat visible line on the car at the edge of the Clear Bra, be sure to wash your car properly when there is one on. Basically, you want to wipe (whatever you use to wipe) from Clear Bra off onto bare paint. Going the other way will catch wax/soap against the edge and eventually start working underneath, making that line very visible.

Larry Kosilla of AMMO NYC has some really excellent vids on the topic:
clear-bra-invisible-paint-protection
How to Clean Your Clear Bra

I need to get one on my car this year. But have to deal with two terribly tiny chips first. :(

on my dd that also has the clearbra, honestly dont pay much attention to the direction of the wash mitt when i run along the edges. :) no issue that i can see.

^+1 I use painters tape on the edges of the clearbra when waxing only.

^^ yah, THAT i do. :tup:

lol Cheater! :)

Me Three! :tup:

No build up of wax or dirt after 30 months. To me, the clear bra is a no-brainer.

Had 3M clear on my old black Silverado. Drove 215,000 miles. Took it off. Paint still looks brand new and not a chip in sight. On my 2014 Track, I am going to wrap the hood in 3M CF and clear 3M the bumper, side mirrors and rocker panels. Great investment IMO and even better I can do it myself so if it looks like crap, I only have myself to blame. ;)

Bumping this thread as I have a clear bra question that I haven't seen answered during my research.

I'm looking into picking up a Z within the next month or two and will be going with a clear bra install as one of the first things I do to the car.

I'm in NNJ and live in an apartment so the car will be parked outside overnight. It will also be my daily driver and driven year round.

I'm curious if keeping the car parked outside overnight and daily driving it year round in NNJ conditions will affect the bra. Will I have to wash it more often than usual? Will there be any discoloration from being outside all the time?

^I believe the color will fade more quickly, by that I mean the clearbra will start to yellow. I've had my clearbra since 2010 and I'm noticing some fade to them and I keep my car garaged.

There is a greater chance of discoloration.

Look into XPEL (ultimate I think), they claim less yellowing.

just remember clearbra is a wear item. i replace mine every now and then.

currently running xpel ultimate on the front bumper. so far so good, but i can already
see some wear on the bra after a yr's use, so i will probably replace it late next yr or the following yr.

im happy that my bare bumper didnt take the direct hits though. :D

baller! :tup: not everyone can diy a clearbra like you kenchan. stop braggin' :mad: I do however need a new set also... I'm seeing a lot of scratches

^ Great forum here. 3 good replies within 15 minutes. Can't beat that.

Appreciate the input. I'll look into the Xpel Ultimate and see what that has to offer.

:icon17: haha.. should try diy-ing your next clearbra. :tup:

I had 3M installed by the dealer before it came off the lot. One third of the hood, front fender, mirrors and rocker panels.

Right now, I do not regret it in the least...I will let you know 3 years from now.

My Z is pearl white - do other colours stand up better to yellow than pearl white?

I had 3M clear bra (Scotchgard) installed on my Pearl White when it was new. The line on the hood is barely visible and not intrusive IMHO. In the meantime, no rock chips and bugs literally wipe right off with just a little waterless wash or some Plexus. I do regret not getting the rocker panels done, so I just ordered some 6x84 Scotchgard off Amazon and I'll install it myself in that location. Scotchgard is warranted against 7 years from the date of purchase, and includes coverage against defects, yellowing, bubbling and cracking for 7 years.