So I just got my Veilside V1 CF lip in the mail and I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!!!!
My question is, has anyone heard of putting a clear bra or have a paint shop put a few layers of clear coat on their CF lips to protect them against rock chips? I just thought about this yesterday and searched the site, but came up empty handed. Does anyone know if this effective or worth it? If anyone has done it or knows about it, please let me know
Ahhhhh I can't wait to slap this baby on my car!!!!

 

i've been wondering the same thing. can't find anything either.

 

Ya if it's not too expensive, I'd like to put a clear bra on it. Paid quite a few bucks for that lip so I'd like to keep it looking good for a while

 

bump..

 

im sure they can put a clear bra on that. it will help with chips but you might see imperfections in the bra that might bother you once it starts getting beat up, sux either way but at least you know that the bra is taking most of the damge. the bra wont do anything for you if you curb or bottom out the lip. i would be on pins and needles driving around with a cf lip.

 

ya i know i'll be real careful not to curb it or anything once its on. anyone know a ballpark estimate of how much this should cost? or if its even worth it?

 

i would guess around $200 to 250.

 

clear coat it.

 

holy crap!!
i'll call around and try to get some estimates. but if its that much, i dont think it would be worth it. might as well save up a little more and get the nismo v2 bumper once my lip gets shot to hell

 

ya thats another thing ill look into...might also help with the rocks

 

ok so i went to 2 paint shops to get some estimates on clear coat. first i went to macco (ya i know...but i just wanted to see how much they would charge, plus theyre close to my house) and they wanted $150 for EACH LAYER of clear coat they said its expensive because they have to wetsand the lip before the clear coat and thats the hard part. i dont know if i believe that or not, but theres no way im paying that much anyways.
then i went to a hole-in-the-wall type paint shop and the guy told me for 2-3 layers of clearcoat, he'll charge me $80 which sounds alot more reasonable. also he said theres a special rubbery clearcoat which he recommends that costs $150. and rubbery clear coat sounds pretty good to me because im guessing the rocks will hopefully kinda bounce off instead of chip the lip?
so now im considering getting that $150 clear coat...but im kinda scared of them screwing up my lip ill think about it for a while and then decide what ill do. thanks for the input everyone

 

they'll bounce up off your front lip and hit your bumper instead.

 

hahaha...guess i FAIL then..

 

lol, first person ive seen fail himself.

 

If you do any serious driving, then rock chips are a fact of life brother... Just accept it. Even several layers of clear coat is going to add a negligible amount of protection. I think a clear bra is your best bet since the film is thicker, and when it starts to look like *** you can peel it off and start over. But chances are, by then you'll have cracked the thing in 20 places anyway...


Wow, I am feel negative after writing all that. But its life! Cars are made to be driven, and rock chips happen.


btw, your bed looks comfortable.

 

well i dont drive it too hard, but another member on here wrote me a message saying he bought some cheaper clear bra material off ebay and just cut the pieces himself and did it, so now thats another option. i'll decide in a few days which route i wanna take.

tempurpedic mattress FTW!!! i love my bed

 

nice lip,
why not just put the lip on, drive for a while, until there are many stone chips on it.
Then, sand it down and spray clear coat on it, its not a hard DIY job.

 

oh ya, never thought of that. thats also a good idea. how would you go about sanding the lip? what do you use?

 

i found this for you:

Surface Preparation

Use a 180 - 320 grit wet or dry sandpaper to remove rust, scratches, or bad surface damage. Then use 600 wet or dry to remove 320 grit scratches. Wet sand the entire area to be spray painted with 1500 wet sandpaper for adhesion purposes. Entire area to be painted should be dull and smooth.

Thoroughly clean the area to be repaired with dish soap (Joy, Dawn etc.) and water. Then dry completely. Use prep solvent and a clean lint free towel to assure the surface is free of wax, oil, and other surface contaminates. For better results do not apply paint in direct sunlight, high humidity, or where silicone waxes and tire dressings are present.

Mask off adjacent panels to prevent overspray. In the case of painting in an enclosed area mask the entire car with plastic sheeting if possible. We recommend a 3/4" 3M auto grade tape to mask with paper. Make a line with tape first, then tape paper to your existing tape line. Doubling up newspaper will work fine but paint has a possibility of bleeding through with excessive heavy coats. We recommend using white or green masking paper, 18" wide or longer. Use 1 1/2" or 2" tape for masking off smaller areas like tail lights and reflectors.


Clearcoat Spray Paint:

Shake clear coat well. Allow 30 minutes after base coat color has been applied to apply the clear coat. Apply 3-4 wet coats waiting 5-10 minutes in between coats. Each coat should look wet and glossy but not dripping. Wait one day to sand and polish.

Clearcoat can be lightly wet sanded with 1500 grit to correct texture and or remove dirt from the finish. Rubbing compound will remove 1500 grit sandpaper scratches from paint and will also bring the clearcoat to a higher gloss. Do not wax for one month.

 

whoaa thanks!!
sweet DIY