I know this has come up in the past and I have read several posts but a lot of them are older. I have an 11 year old car (VW) that has a few chips but nothing too bad. I am trying to decide if I should do something on my soon to be CX-5. Part of me says it isn't worth the money but it sure would be nice to keep the car looking good. If I do anything I may do the bumper and fenders and get the reflector thing for the hood. I can tell you that the clear bra does not look so great around the edges after being on the car for a while. My VW came with it on the top of the rear bumper and in front of the rear wheel wells. The edges pick up dirt that is impossible to remove and they also get a worn looking. The bumper protection would not be noticeable but the hood would. What are you people doing in this regard?
Clear Bra
- Thread starter jtl
- Start date
I've had a 12" wide chunk of it (3M) on the hood of my Z for about 5 years now and it looks fine at the edges. I don't know if it is the material or the installation that would cause it to pick up dirt. Mine will get a bit of wax stuck there but then I just slide my fingernail across it and it comes off and the line disappears again. I've seen some of the bumper ones that look like they are pealing up and almost more like contact paper but a good clear paint protection film installed right shouldn't have any issues at the edges and should age pretty well. I have heard that if you use the wrong product on them they will yellow and age poorly.
We just did that install ourselves but it was a nice flat section with inexpensive bulk material so it was cheap enough that if we had to redo it it wouldn't cost too much.
I got a quote of $750 for the bumper and front of the hood on the CX5 which was more than I wanted to spend.
We just did that install ourselves but it was a nice flat section with inexpensive bulk material so it was cheap enough that if we had to redo it it wouldn't cost too much.
I got a quote of $750 for the bumper and front of the hood on the CX5 which was more than I wanted to spend.
If I were to do it I would just do it myself on the bumper for about $140, could do the headlights for another $40. I just don't know if it is worth the effort. In SW Florida we have something called love bugs a couple of times per year and they can destroy paint if you don't get them off ASAP. They have some kind of acid in their body that eats right thru the clearcoat and into the paint.
puddle.jumper
Member
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- mazda cx-5 touring 2013
when going with a professional installer, you can request to have the edges wrapped. so, i did the full hood with the edges wrapped instead of the common 1/3rd "bra" installation. it may cost more in the long run to have pieces with the edges wrapped but might be worth considering.
not all clear bra films are the same -some resist orange peel longer yet some withstand acids from bugs and bird droppings better. in florida one might consider something like 3m or other product that resist petroleum products better. one should research what's best for their environment.
i have ventureshield since in my area i was more concerned with a longer lasting film that does not show orange peel. from what i read, it's more susceptible to marks from bird droppings and not recommended to use petroleum-based products on it.
with wax buildup some have suggested using painter's tape to tape off the edges first as a preventative precaution before applying clear bra-safe products -eg. waxing.
not all clear bra films are the same -some resist orange peel longer yet some withstand acids from bugs and bird droppings better. in florida one might consider something like 3m or other product that resist petroleum products better. one should research what's best for their environment.
i have ventureshield since in my area i was more concerned with a longer lasting film that does not show orange peel. from what i read, it's more susceptible to marks from bird droppings and not recommended to use petroleum-based products on it.
with wax buildup some have suggested using painter's tape to tape off the edges first as a preventative precaution before applying clear bra-safe products -eg. waxing.
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dad of jon
Member
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- cx-5 se-l 2.2D
puddle.jumper
Member
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- mazda cx-5 touring 2013
in addition to the full hood edges wrapped, i have the full bumper, headlights and black front piece above the grille protected with ventureshield. the interior side of the grille is also covered in pet screen and gutter guard combo to prevent bugs and rocks from entering and damaging the radiator. my main focus is on the brunt areas of the front end of the car since i sometimes do desert driving. one might also consider covering the side mirrors.
to preserve the film edges and eliminate wax build-up, you might want to look at the 'tape' section of this article on prepping the car for polish/wax:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/tutorial-how-to-prep-a-car-for-polishing/
to preserve the film edges and eliminate wax build-up, you might want to look at the 'tape' section of this article on prepping the car for polish/wax:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/tutorial-how-to-prep-a-car-for-polishing/
$30 will get you two spray cans of Plasti-Dip Clear and a spray can of Plasti-Dip Glossifier. An hour of prep and spraying later and you'll have an effective spray on car bra that's easy to peel off.
This is my Mazda 3 with one spray can. I would do two next time just because if the Plasti Dip is too thin, it's difficult to peel off. While I was following a car that was leaking oil and sprayed my car to hell, I found that you only need a 3-4 inch lip on the hood, 12 inches was overkill.
This is my Mazda 3 with one spray can. I would do two next time just because if the Plasti Dip is too thin, it's difficult to peel off. While I was following a car that was leaking oil and sprayed my car to hell, I found that you only need a 3-4 inch lip on the hood, 12 inches was overkill.
but how often are you going to get it resprayed to keep it looking good compared to the clear bra staying that way for years and years? And it is going to add more to that price to get the hood sprayed too and then are they going to blend the tops of the fenders for color match?
A lot of it depends on where you drive. On regular 2 lane roads if you follow at a reasonable distance then chips aren't that much of an issue. But I find driving on multi-lane freeways you may be following the car in front of you at a reasonable distance but the ones to the left and right are almost always in good positions to throw rocks up at you. And then they will jump over into the small space in front of you.
Another fun one now that people are so often looking at other things while they are being bothered by driving is the cars in front tend to wander over to the edge of the road more where they pick up lots of junk to throw at your car.
There's a part of my commute that I can either go surface streets on or multi-lane freeway for about 30 minutes. On my last car it looked great until I stopped taking the surface street when the traffic caused it to more consistently take 40-45 minutes for just that part. As soon as I switched to the freeway for that part of the drive my bumper and hood got pelted. Every weekend I'd find several more chips on the front of the hood and more than I could count on the bumper. Throw winter into it with cars coming down from the mountains caked in muddy snow and it just gets worse.
If the only concern is resale value then respraying may be an option. But if you want it to look good throughout the time you own it the clear bra works better for me.
And if where you drive you only get a couple chips I wouldn't bother with it either.
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dad of jon
Member
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- cx-5 se-l 2.2D
hood is best only the tips are not done.
the front bumper with template is ok but not super it does have nice cutouts around the front parking sensors but misses a bit too much around the fog light surround, this is super close though with camera on macro. You can't normally see it.
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Yes, even in the short run.
