Clear bra - Is it worth it?
 

Thanks to a young girl who didn't think the red light was for her, I just got my black '03 back with a new front bumper, hood, and driver's fender.

The bumper and a bit of the hood had significant rock chips from 40k miles, looked terrible. I know this is a common problem with the stock paint, particularly black. Word is, the body shop used a high end paint called Glasurit, wondering if that might help going forward.

Called a number of clear bra installers in the Dallas area that were recommended here in the forum, cost for the basic kit (bumper, partial hood, fenders, mirrors) is around $700 total on average.

So the options as I see it are:

A) Bone up $700 for the bra
B) Skip the bra and see how the better paint holds up
C) Skip the bra, it's cheaper to just repaint the bumper once a yr.

Please give me your feedback...

I didn't realize clear bra was that expensive. I'm sure its cheaper to do bumper only. Maybe $200-$250.

Get the bra. It's well worth the investment. As soon as you get your first chip, you'll regret it, if you don't. $700 sounds about right for an install, from a pro.

Of the $700 total, about $400 was bumper only and about $300 is for fenders, partial hood, and mirrors. Bumper is harder to install, so they tend to charge more.

Going bumper only is something I'm considering as well...

wow thats a high quote. I got my 3m clear bra put on for $250 total. With the new paint, you will want to wait about 90 days before putting on the clear bra though...

I'd say, go for all of it. If you can't afford to do it all at once, do it in stages. Good luck.

$250 is what i got quoted aswell. $400 seems pretty steep.

5 quotes now, all basically the same amount, ~$700. Best deal so far includes 3M with 5 yr warranty covering bumper, 24" of hood, fenders, mirrors for $670. $390 of that is the bumper.

I'm surprised to see quotes around $250 for the bumper as the best deal I found online to order the material is $210 before shipping. Either your shops are getting a significant discount on the kit or they're charging almost nothing for labor.

$550 installed with material for a Clear Bra install.

But FYI, it costs the same to have your bumper repainted and the hood. Since you have better paint now on the front of your car I can almost gurantee you that it probably will not chip near as easy so its probably not worth it.

Might want to look into the starshield bra. It's supposed to be better than the 3M. I'm thinking about getting it when I get my front end redone after zdayz

http://www.starshieldarmor.com/

Looked at Star Shield's site, looks like they use 3M (look under material specs). I keep hearing 3Ms the best, especially considering the 5yr warranty against yellowing, bubbling, etc.

I recommend Lumar or other similar bra's that are completely clear and do not make the paint look like orange peel.

Yeah maybe I'm thinking of venture shield. I believe they used dupont plastic instead of 3m which is supposed to be smoother (less orange peel) and be better against yellowing.

Appreciate the feedback/info guys.

Any other opinions on this?

3M FTW

I installed the clear bra on my '06 Z last year a couple of weeks after I bought her. It's one of the best investments I've done on my Z. For $700, the 3M clear bra was installed on my bumper, hood, fender, headlights, side mirrors, and door edges.

The price they quoted you is too high for not including the other areas that I had done. Check the website below for the nearest 3M dealer in your area:

http://www.xpel.com/products/dealersearch.asp

The 3M dealer in SA came to my house and installed the clear bra in my garage. Took about 4 hours and the results are amazing. They normally install the clear bra on high end cars & SUVs -- Porsches, Ferraris, Lexus, etc. So if it's good enough for these cars, I figured it's good enough for my Z.

Mobile Tint did mine for $550 with Llumar on a G35. They did all that you said as well including a lifetime warranty. I know this place has had to remove a lot of the 3M ones due to fading and orange peel after time.

Do it
 

I had a VentureShield bra installed for $550. $700 seems a little steep, but if you got a bunch of quotes for around the same price, it must be the going rate in Dallas. Either that or there's some anti-competitive behavior happening :icon8:

Anyway, I guess you could say it was my first mod, and I'm really happy with it. No orange peel, you can only notice it from certain angles, and driving on the freeway is definitely not as stressful as it used to be. Why even deal with repainting? I say even for $700, go for it.

Can anyone recommend a good clear bra installer (preferrably that comes to you) in Los Angeles?
Thanks!
T.

Edit - VentureShield, StarShield Armor and Xpel all seem good - just wondering if anyone has objective comparisons on which is least visible/most resistant to damage?

I got my AMUSE bumper clear bra'ed by Starshield Armor. Immaculate work!

Thanks! I'll call them :)