Clear Bra Paint Protection...or not?

[freelyfallin]

Hey folks,
So I'm about to pull the trigger on a new CX-5. This being my first new car, I want to think through how to protect the car from damage.

So should I invest in a clear bra? The dealer will do it for almost $400, but this only covers the lower section of the front hood, side mirrors and maybe a bit more. I could probably get it done somewhere else for cheaper? I imagine I'd want it installed on the front bumper too, which the dealer does not do.

But more generally, is this worth it? Is it ok to go through a car wash with the clear bra installed? I don't want to bother with a clear bra if it's going to become discolored or start to peel off soon.

Matt

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I would highly recommend it. It's actually a pretty good price. I paid over $750 to have it done on my G 35.

 

[paris1]

You'll probably get as many different opinions as responses here, but I will open with a question. In your experience driving previous cars in your area, are rock chips a serious problem? Because if you had a zillion of them on your previous cars, it's likely that you have that many on your new CX-5. If not, why bother with the expense of a clear bra? It really does seem to vary from locale to locale. I live in Northern California where the roads are generally in rotten condition. But most of my driving is non-freeway and after 2 years I have maybe one or two tiny rock chips on my front end. Others here complain constantly about the CX-5's allegedly "thin paint" (you'll see that complaint on just about every automotive forum on the internet, no matter what the brand!) and the gazillions of rock chips they've acquired in the first 500 miles of driving. As for the product itself, as long as you stick with a major brand (3M, etc) you'll be OK as far as yellowing and durability goes. Even in a car wash, although I find the thought of running my personal CX-5 through one of those monstrosities abhorrent. And anyway, even if it does deteriorate over time, you can always tear it off and put a new one on.

 

[bagger07]

i did mine mysel for under $100.00 easy to do

http://www.cafr.ebay.ca/itm/Mazda-C...ction-Film-Kit-Deluxe-Clear-Bra-/171393662096

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

i did mine mysel for under $100.00 easy to do

http://www.cafr.ebay.ca/itm/Mazda-C...ction-Film-Kit-Deluxe-Clear-Bra-/171393662096

First off... not doubting your work at all I'm sure it looks great...but somehow I don't think the results that I paid for would have turned out the same had I done it myself. I probably would have needed extra material to fix my mistakes.

 

[Sekmor]

In our area, we have a lot of unpaved roads, big trucks, which leads to a lot of fine grit on the highways. It's a no brainer up here. And depending on the color, some paint chips show way more than others. Ours being red, the chips show white underneath, so after a couple years, the front end would look terrible.
So before I took delivery of our CX5, I had the 3M protection installed. Hood, mirrors, complete front end, headlights, and fog lights. Even that black bar on top of the grill. The dealer farms this out and wanted $750 for just the hood and bumper. I went to the same company and could get the entire package for less. After a little bit more wheeling/dealing, the dealer had the full packaged installed for half the cost.
This 3m protection is a lot better than 10 years ago. Don't worry about pealing or fading. I wouldn't hold a pressure washer and inch away from the leading edge, but common sense should have it last for years. Ours is actually guaranteed as long as we own the car. The only up keep, is give it a quick wipe with spray wax once a month.

 

[CC58]

For as much as that costs, wouldn't plastidip bra be far cheaper and something one could do yourself?
https://www.youtube.com/user/DipYourCarcom

 

[freelyfallin]

Thanks for the replies all! Sekmor, can I drive the car through a car wash with the protection on?

 

[freelyfallin]

It seems like most places don't routinely put the clear bra on the bumper. Is that because the bumper is made out of plastic, and therefore not going to be impacted by rock chips the same way the metal hood might be? Does it make sense to get the bumper done?

 

[Sekmor]

can I drive the car through a car wash with the protection on?

of course you can. It's not just a piece of tape stuck to the paint. Up here it's very popular and I see it done on a lot more fancy and expensive vehicles than our CX5. I would suggest going to a shop that installs this stuff and you can get a better idea.

 

[swooshusn]

We did a full frontal wrap on ours which includes the Full hood (not just the strip), Full front bumper, Full front fenders (back to the door edge), A-pillars, and a strip on the roof that ends about an inch before the sunroof. The installer also did a strip on the rear bumper, and wrapped the shiny black plastic "shield" in the front grill in gloss black vinyl, then covered that with the clear film as well. . Total cost, including tinting the front windows (all Llumar products) was just under $1000. Well spent, and I would do it again. I've tried to tackle clear film for headlights, and it's just not in my blood. Best left to the pros. They did have to do some interesting relief cuts in the fog light pockets but they turned out well.

 

[r15mohd]

I've done DIY clear bra's on a few neighbors vehicles and it isn't that tedious or challenging, however I did purchase pre-cut pieces so it became literally a soap/water spray and ease out the bubbles application, rather than having to deal with cuts and what not.

kits are usually in the $100-200 range, and just ordered the front end for my CX-5 this week...hoping to complete this weekend, or next for the latest.