Clear Bra - worth it?

[snell617]

Hey, so, I've heard some noise about clear bras. I tried searching for threads but I couldn't find much...

I do a descent amount of highway driving to and from work, and it's about to increase because I am moving. I was thinking of getting one. I couldn't really find much on the sites I usually use (college hills, handa-acc...)

Where can I find one?
Are they easy to install?
Are they ugly when put on the car?
Would just getting a black one be better?

Any advice would be great.

[onewheelup]

Clear bra's area worth every penny. If installed properly, they are practically invisible. Most places that do tint jobs can install the bra.

Just say no to the old school bra's. They look like crap and can cause more damage than they prevent if someone isn't carefull.

[Aviography]

Do a search and you will find overwelming conclusion that the clear bra is a great idea, I wished I had on my last car so I wouldn't have to have the front end painted twice, which is far more costly than the clear bra!

[pittpanther]

Anyone have any installer recommendations in the Baltimore/Philadelphia area?

[bruceleroy]

i was thinking about clear bra but people said over time it can turn yellow is that true? and if you remove it then you have 2 different color paint because the part that was protected blocked more UVs then the regular paint thus aging differently

[pittpanther]

i was thinking about clear bra but people said over time it can turn yellow is that true? and if you remove it then you have 2 different color paint because the part that was protected blocked more UVs then the regular paint thus aging differently

I have had clear bras installed on 4 different vehicles now, and have not had discoloring issues (the vehicle's colors were White, Black (twice), and Silver). All were the 3M Xpel kits. With that said, the longest I had any of these vehicles was 3 years - so I am not sure how they held up beyond that. Never had to remove one - but it should not affect the paint... I believe the installers use a special adhesive remover to safely remove it.

The one problem I have seen is with applying the clear bra to foglights and/or HIDs, which has led to the clear bra's adhesive burning due to the excess heat these lights produce.

[dbassett74]

Don't know about clear bras, but regular bras definitely discolor the underlying paint over time. I am interested to find out about clear bras though. I would imagine that any tendencies for paint discoloration with the clear bra would be much less pronounced than a regular bra considering the UV rays will still hit the paint.

[lldsandsll]

i hear great stuff about em. what's the cost? i saw an IS-F with one the other day. if i drove that, it would be for damn sure that its safe.

[onewheelup]

Depending on the coverage.... I got a few quotes of $500-$600 for the entire front end, 18 inches up the hood, the head lights, and both mirrors. It's definately not cheap.

[dcfella]

Worth it. I got my front half of the hood, bumper, and side mirrors clear bra'd for $500. I wish I'd spent the extra dough and covered the entire hood. From looking at the clearbra, it's definitely saved my car from some good scrapes in the past 2 months. It's not that noticible either. BTW, I've got a black car.

[clewttu]

concur ^
they also put a small strip on the doors edges as well on mine

[pittpanther]

Worth it. I got my front half of the hood, bumper, and side mirrors clear bra'd for $500. I wish I'd spent the extra dough and covered the entire hood. From looking at the clearbra, it's definitely saved my car from some good scrapes in the past 2 months. It's not that noticible either. BTW, I've got a black car.

dcfella - where did you have yours installed?

[force61]

Worth it. I got my front half of the hood, bumper, and side mirrors clear bra'd for $500. I wish I'd spent the extra dough and covered the entire hood. From looking at the clearbra, it's definitely saved my car from some good scrapes in the past 2 months. It's not that noticible either. BTW, I've got a black car.


I had my entire hood, both fenders (whole fender), bumper, and mirrors covered and I am extremely happy with spending the extra money. In all it was about $1000 but I think well worth it. Not having any lines across the hood or fenders is awesome. I do a lot of highway miles here in Arizona which is horrible for rock chips, and my last car (04 coupe V6 6MT EX) I had rock chips all over the hood. The reason it's so much more to have the entire front end covered is because of the huge piece you need to cover the entire hood in one shot. :nuts:

[dbassett74]

Seems like you should just do the whole car with this stuff. I'm sure it's much more affective than the "coating" that the dealer offers. Seems like it would never need waxed or polished. Do you lose any clarity/shine in the paint with this stuff?

[dcfella]

dcfella - where did you have yours installed?

I got mine installed here:

http://www.getclearbra.com/index.php

Took a few hours and the owner was nice enough to drop me off at work and pick me up(with their car) so I didn't have to wait around the shop.

[dcfella]

I had my entire hood, both fenders (whole fender), bumper, and mirrors covered and I am extremely happy with spending the extra money. In all it was about $1000 but I think well worth it. Not having any lines across the hood or fenders is awesome. I do a lot of highway miles here in Arizona which is horrible for rock chips, and my last car (04 coupe V6 6MT EX) I had rock chips all over the hood. The reason it's so much more to have the entire front end covered is because of the huge piece you need to cover the entire hood in one shot. :nuts:

Yeah, it would've only cost me like $200 more to cover the whole hood. It would've been worth it looking back now.

[stevencrosbie]

It is worth a lot more than you pay.

Get it while your car is new. Once it is to late....you'll regret it.

[force61]

Seems like you should just do the whole car with this stuff. I'm sure it's much more affective than the "coating" that the dealer offers. Seems like it would never need waxed or polished. Do you lose any clarity/shine in the paint with this stuff?


Actually they say to wax it just like the paint. If you it extends the life of the product just like wax does for paint. As far as loosing any clarity or shine you can't even tell it's on there when the whole hood is covered unless you touch it because there aren’t any lines to give it away.

[Aviography]

Depending on the coverage.... I got a few quotes of $500-$600 for the entire front end, 18 inches up the hood, the head lights, and both mirrors. It's definately not cheap.

I don't feel so bad now about the price I paid, it was $600 with 24" on the hood, plus the full bumper, headlights, fenders, and side mirrors.

It was also a custom job, awesome job.

There has been only 2 noticeable nicks after driving on the highway all the time over the past 10 months, and those would have certainly taken out a chunkc of paint if the Clera Bra wasn't installed.

[Inspector1]

For local installers of Venture Shield clear film check this site..........................
http://www.ventureshield.com/

I1:)

[oneclu]

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9052/opt3qq6.png :thmsup: