Found someone who is just as obsessed with quality as I am to install my new Z's clear bra. These urethane film kits use 3M material, and so the trick is to choose which kit you like the best, and someone who knows what he is doing.

I have had the clear bra film installed on two other cars, and one did "wrap" the edges, and one didn't. I had no yellowing, or unsticking problems on either car, the longest I owned was 6 years. Paint is fragile where metal turns sharply, and this edge wrapping is Stongard's claim to fame. You can find them at www.Stongard.com.

After checking out the degree of difficulty with Stongard, Keith Garwood, owner at FormulaOne Performance Automotive Film in Raleigh, North Carolina, decided to do the work himself. Boy, am I glad he did. He does great work. You can reach him at 919 954 1860. The film is invisible from a few feet away, and provides real paint protection. The deluxe Stongard kit for the new Z does the nose of the car, wrapping around to the headlights, the bar below the grill, about ten inches up the hood and the mirrors. I added another kit to cover the headlight lenses and keep them from sandblasting.

I am delighted with the results, but for those thinking about doing the work yourself, unless you are really good at this, forget it. It took Keith 5 solid hours, and he's been in the business 12 years. Now, he's a perfectionist, but that's who you want to do this kind of work, right?

Anyway, I thought this might be useful information. Protecting this chip-prone water based paint on the new Z's something lots of us are interested in.