New at this and not sure if I'm in the right place?
I am looking for a covering that will protect the front of my 350Z roadster. It's in black so I'm not so concerned with a little yellowing. I have see bits on 3M and monster coatings, but do not have enough information to dial it in for my ride.
I live in Mahwah, NJ which is North Jersey.
Thanks,
ChuckZ

 

i use the nissan bra. it fits perfectly

 

I am responding in hopes that someone else in the know will also respond. I have been looking for something to protect the front of my new black 350z and had used a cloth/leather bra in the past on ford products. My Nissan dealer introduced me to the clear bra and it looked like a good idea. After much review of these online discussions I was convinced that the clear bra was the way to go.
My dealer took my car to his installer who use the Clear guard/clearshield system---not the 3m film. after spending most of the day warming the car body and working on the install, he called the delaler and told him he would not recommend using the clear bra on a black car. It seems that the film was showing all the impressions that his intall tool was leaving on the film and could be seen quite well against the black paint. He further indicated that with a lighter color these "impressions" are not visable,. His bottom line was the black paint would show all minor rubs, impressions, etc so he recommend I get a good Nissan cloth/leather bra and keep the side that contacts the paint very clean.

The dealers next thought was to use another installer that uses a Llumar (spelling) paint protection film. I looked on the internet to see what I could find about this film manuacturer but could only find window tinting film for Llamar. any thoughts out there bout the use of a clear bra on a BLACK 350Z---and how much it shows up minor rubs, etc. Also any experience with Lamar or LLumar paint protection films

 

go with clear bra; its not perfect; but its certainly less obtrusive than a giant leather bra(like covering your couch; your protecting it by hiding it; whats the point to having it then?)

all clear bras Ive seen (3m I beleive, all installed by a reputable place) were not overly noticable, it was the seam on the hood that gave them away; not the reflection. if I did my car I think Id leave the hood out; as the seam across the middle was just too apparent; around the edges of the bumper tho; its pretty hidden.

 

dont have any closer, but this has 3m film, on black. You can see imperfections up close, but not from 2 feet away, and it beats lots of chips.

 

you can see a slight imperfection to the right of the drivers headlight, but thats the worst of it.

 

Yup what everyone else said... I just got the Autobahnd brand 3m clearbra on my Daytona Blue. Its worth every penny, in my case $550 installed. Its expensive but worth it. Do a forum search on "clearbra" and you'll find more then enough info. An experienced installer is VERY IMPORTANT. In fact I was skeptical at first and opted to not get headlight covers. But after washing my car I noticed I already had a dent in the headlight plastic so I'm trying to get that on too. Of course they are going to rape you if you do it at different times (I have to shell out another $50-90 instead of only $30 more at once) so I would reccommend you get the entire kit at once.

 

I got the Llumar clear bra on my car. You can see some minor rubs close up but most people can't tell they are there.

I got a good picture of the bra. You can see the line but this was about the only position I could take the picture to make it visible.

 

I live in New Milford, which is next to teaneck and hackensack. I went to Secondary Exposure. They do phenomenal work! I had the entire hood wrapped so you won't see a seam on mine. The material isn't wide enough to cover every inch of the hood, so the extreme two corners by the windshield will have a visible seam. But they put a nice elegant curve to the seam so it fits the lines of the car. http://www.se-ex.com

Entire Hood and front bumper pics:











Let me know if you want more pictures of the seams.

 

I got talked out of the 3M film by my dealer initially. Now I have some chips and thought about getting the film anyway. What do you think? Will the chips be even MORE noticeable now?

By the way, of all the cars I have owned I have never had paint that chips as easily as the Z. It's my only real disappointment with the car. The nose takes a real beating. I wish I would have gotten the film right away.

 

low front end; along with a combo of new less durable paint and possibly questional application. its bad, but much like orange peel; youll find lots of chips on all new cars with the paint; the only question is if its WORSE than other cars...

 

my parent's 3 year old camry has WAY less rock chips on the bumper then my <1yr. old Z!!! and they drive about 80 mile round trip to NYC AT LEAST 5 times a week...i guess i should've gotten a clear bra, but i don't know if that thing would help me...i think it may be the way i drive, i don't wanna slow down cause the car has cheap paint...i don't even care how bad the bumper gets anymore, i'll just get a new one, or repaint it in a year or something...

 

my 1.5 year old s-10 only has 2 rock chips, and no protection.

 

I had the same problem with the bumper and hood chipping like crazy. Actually the first day that I got my car, I was in the fast land and a car transport truck pulled in front of me and chipped the crap out of my car before I was able to jump into the middle lane. As time passed my car got so chipped up from rocks and what not.

7-8 months later, I had the pilot holes for the front license plate filled, the front bumper repainted, and a clear bra installed. I haven't had a single ding since (on the hood and front bumper).

As ares pointed out, I think we are more susceptible to dings and chips because of the low bumper, the quality of paint, and so on.

 

Hi folks
I am glad so many people responded. since I originally posted my earlier note I have done quite a bit of research on the Llumar film.. found out it is manufactured by CPFilms in Virginia. Although they are best known for their window tinting films they just started offering the paint protection film. I guess they demonstrated it at the 2003 SEMA. In any event, they offer a "lifetime warranty against cracking, pealing, turning yellow, gloss loss, etc. The nissan delaer that is having this installed for me IS backing the warranty for as long as I own the car. CP films also says that their new product is the "most optically clear" product on the market. So, I guess I will go with this.

 

A few things about Llumar film(yes you spelled it right with 2 "L"s )

First off, Llumar makes arguably the best window tint on the market, its not the cheapest, but I know many tinters that have used all popular tints on the market and will use nothing else.

Their new urethane paint film differs from others in that it is manufactured with ta mylar top layer that is removed prior to installation, this mylar top layer allows the film to be extruded with a completely smooth surface as compared to other conventional films such as 3M, Venture, and Avery, that have a "orange-peel" texture on the surface. This makes it much more attractive on black and close to black colors where the other other films texture is much more apparant than it is on lighter colors. as for the scuffing, that is more an issue with improper squeegee technique, its crucial to keep the surface you are squeegeeing wet and not to apply excessive force, or any of these films may scuff. BTW, someone mentioned Clearshield. Stay AWAY from this film, its a urethane/PVC(VINYL!!!) compound, this film is marketed mainly to tinter/part time installers since the film is cheaper and easier to install than a quality urethan film, and the clearshield patterns are sub-standard at best

The only real drawbacks we have so far with Llumar is its a bit more expensive and since the SEMA show its been hard to get. We ended up with a good amount before the SEMA show since we are close with a Llumar rep, heres a new GT3 we did recently with Llumar to see what it can do for black

 

Hey! Whos cool WRX STi is that next to that little black car?...

 

The film is still a bit wet in this pic so it really doesnt do it justice to how smooth it really is, as of now, it is hands down the best choice on very dark colors. If anyone has any other questions about paint protection film feel free to drop us a line!

Jeremy
Invisiguard@sbcglobal.net

 

For the installers out there, is it a waste of time to put on the film after there are some chips in the front end? I can't decide whether to do it now and live with what is there or wait till it gets worse and then repaint and then apply the film.

I don't care how low the front end is, this thing should not chip this easily. I have 5,000 miles and my front end is peppered. It ain't right. I've had finish problems with my other Nissan vehicles and I think this is another one of the factory issues.

 

the film works well to conceal very small scratches and chips, but large chips and scratches show right through. If theres only a couple I think you would be much happier getting a clear bra installed and living with the chips there knowing you wont pic up any more, and installing over a coupe chips wont affect the material at all. But if your the type of person that just cant stand knowing theres a chip or two under the material, just remember to wait at least 6 weeks after a repaint to get an install so the paint has a while to cure.