What do people think of Clear Bra Paint Protection?

370zlove3

I know I have asked this before but it seems to get unanswered every time I ask. So here goes again !

Other than the hood and the bumper, what other places should be well protected? Are the rear fenders need to be protected? etc. etc. etc.

Zultimate

Headlights, mirrors and windshield pilars. I've had the 3M product on 3 different vehicles now and can't say enough good about it. I'm having the full hood, full front fenders, as well as bumper and lights done on my new 370Z. It's more expensive to do the full panels but that way you don't see any lines. Not a big deal if you have a light color paint but the lines do show on dark colors....like my black Z. As far as cost, it going to cost $1050 for everything.

steveg78

Thats a damn good price for FULL hood and fenders. I'm gonna ask the installer again how much for full hood again to make sure I heard him right... 500 extra sounds pretty steep to do full hood for me.

rbratton

In addition to the areas mentioned above, I suggest the rocker panels on low to the ground cars like the 370Z. Rocker panel protection has really saved my 370Z off and on the track. To me priority to coverage is bumper, hood/fender, lights, and then rocker panels/wheel openings if you have the $$$ available. Full hood and fender coverage is not something I recommend or normally go with as covering the leading third of most hoods is more than adquate. Most impact damage from road/track debris will be focused to areas with large frontal areas like 370 bumpers and then to areas where the tires kickup debris. As the hood tapers off to a horizontal angle, the liklihood of an impact also decreases a bit. That being said, you never know whats going to happen...

I did not participate in the dispute about the effectiveness of this product, but the good stuff works (Xpel, Venture, and 3M). The cheaper stuff, not so much...

Zultimate

The only advantage to doing full hood/fenders is you don't see any lines. Like i said before, on light color cars most people would not see the lines. On the darker colors they are noticable. Just a matter of personal prefererence but i say if you have the $$$ then do the full wrap. My installer charges $550 for partial hood/fender, bumper, lights and mirrors. Adding FULL hood and FULL fenders adds another $500.

40th370z

Not sure if it was posted earlier, but given a choice on a dark paint,which looks better? the bikini cut(has a curve) clearbra or the straight cut,they say the bikini might be a better choice for a dark paint , any feed back would be great.

rbratton

The idea behind the bikini cut is the the trailing edge of the hood film is less visible. The downside is that you have slightly less coverage in the center of your hood than you would with a straight cut hood. On the contrary, the bikini cut cut offers slightly more coverage on the fenders. If installed properly, either cut will look great. The type of film will make more of a difference than the cut. Does your installer offer a "premium film"? Most manufacturers offer two grades of film. Two different manufacturing procedures provide one film that has less texture (orange peel) and this is the premium film. It really is better and makes a huge difference on dark colors like your car. I'd say go for the bikini cut with the premium film!