Clear Bra and/or Paint Sealant Protection Worth It?
03-06-2015, 08:31 AM
#51
AudiWorld Senior Member
drober30; you make perfect sense. I'll get the work scheduled ASAP. Will inform you of the outcome. I need to research the difference between Avery Dennison and Xpel myself. Perhaps this installer uses it because they get a deal on it? I've been pretty good about minimizing my driving lately to avoid chips and dents. I do almost no at speed highway driving and my work commute is all of 10 minutes to a small USAF installation at my location. The one noticeable chip I have is from a highway drive where some jackass Z4 driver HAD to get in front of me in the left lane only to pull off right seconds later. He went wide onto the left shoulder and sprayed gravel on me. Good thing I wasn't armed at the time. LOL. Otherwise the car looks good. Thank God Audi has great paint products. My last car, Honda Civic Si, did not. Sneeze on the paint and it would blemish.
Hope everything goes well when your car arrives. Bet you are mega excited. Congrats in advance and thanks for the input!
Hope everything goes well when your car arrives. Bet you are mega excited. Congrats in advance and thanks for the input!
03-16-2015, 09:23 AM
#53
03-16-2015, 03:57 PM
#54
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Michigan
Posts: 335
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can't put a price on a professional install!!!
Professional installer, lights on side of walls and ceiling, raised floor to let dust, dirt and debris settle below floor.
Last edited by drober30; 03-16-2015 at 05:53 PM.
03-17-2015, 08:36 AM
#55
AudiWorld Senior Member
That is an impressive looking shop! Good photo. Bet that made you happy knowing pros did the work to your car. For some reason I thought you were getting a white S3. My bad. Hope the results are what you expected and more.
Took the plunge had a clear bra installed on my car as well yesterday. Automotive Appearance Pros in Columbus. I felt good right away when they had to move a Lamborghini to work on my car. Parked the Gallardo next to a Ferrari 599. LOL. Nicer weather and the exotics are coming out of the wood work apparently. They had a picture of a Porsche Carrera GT on the wall. Used to belong to Graham Rahal, Indycar racer. They had done a full clear bra treatment on that car. Car was sold to some guy in CA. It is the same car that Paul Walker died in. Somber.
I got Nano Fusion by Avery Dennison instead of Expel. I have a lifetime warranty against yellowing, fading, yada, yada. Also had my windows tinted 50% all around (Ohio legal limit) and had Xzilon paint treatment applied. They do not do Opti Coat at this shop but it looks great and has a 5 year warranty. Interior got treated as well. The shop was very professional and the crew was great. I feel comfortable about the product and work. Guess that's what counts in the end. Still need to mount my 19 inch summer wheels and tires soon and let them Xzilon treat the wheels. Still too chilly to mount the summers. Have wheel spacers from ECS Tuning for when I do mount them however. I'm so loving this car.
Took the plunge had a clear bra installed on my car as well yesterday. Automotive Appearance Pros in Columbus. I felt good right away when they had to move a Lamborghini to work on my car. Parked the Gallardo next to a Ferrari 599. LOL. Nicer weather and the exotics are coming out of the wood work apparently. They had a picture of a Porsche Carrera GT on the wall. Used to belong to Graham Rahal, Indycar racer. They had done a full clear bra treatment on that car. Car was sold to some guy in CA. It is the same car that Paul Walker died in. Somber.
I got Nano Fusion by Avery Dennison instead of Expel. I have a lifetime warranty against yellowing, fading, yada, yada. Also had my windows tinted 50% all around (Ohio legal limit) and had Xzilon paint treatment applied. They do not do Opti Coat at this shop but it looks great and has a 5 year warranty. Interior got treated as well. The shop was very professional and the crew was great. I feel comfortable about the product and work. Guess that's what counts in the end. Still need to mount my 19 inch summer wheels and tires soon and let them Xzilon treat the wheels. Still too chilly to mount the summers. Have wheel spacers from ECS Tuning for when I do mount them however. I'm so loving this car.
Last edited by Fixeroh; 03-17-2015 at 08:40 AM.
03-17-2015, 05:08 PM
#56
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Michigan
Posts: 335
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That is an impressive looking shop! Good photo. Bet that made you happy knowing pros did the work to your car. For some reason I thought you were getting a white S3. My bad. Hope the results are what you expected and more.
Took the plunge had a clear bra installed on my car as well yesterday. Automotive Appearance Pros in Columbus. I felt good right away when they had to move a Lamborghini to work on my car. Parked the Gallardo next to a Ferrari 599. LOL. Nicer weather and the exotics are coming out of the wood work apparently. They had a picture of a Porsche Carrera GT on the wall. Used to belong to Graham Rahal, Indycar racer. They had done a full clear bra treatment on that car. Car was sold to some guy in CA. It is the same car that Paul Walker died in. Somber.
I got Nano Fusion by Avery Dennison instead of Expel. I have a lifetime warranty against yellowing, fading, yada, yada. Also had my windows tinted 50% all around (Ohio legal limit) and had Xzilon paint treatment applied. They do not do Opti Coat at this shop but it looks great and has a 5 year warranty. Interior got treated as well. The shop was very professional and the crew was great. I feel comfortable about the product and work. Guess that's what counts in the end. Still need to mount my 19 inch summer wheels and tires soon and let them Xzilon treat the wheels. Still too chilly to mount the summers. Have wheel spacers from ECS Tuning for when I do mount them however. I'm so loving this car.
Took the plunge had a clear bra installed on my car as well yesterday. Automotive Appearance Pros in Columbus. I felt good right away when they had to move a Lamborghini to work on my car. Parked the Gallardo next to a Ferrari 599. LOL. Nicer weather and the exotics are coming out of the wood work apparently. They had a picture of a Porsche Carrera GT on the wall. Used to belong to Graham Rahal, Indycar racer. They had done a full clear bra treatment on that car. Car was sold to some guy in CA. It is the same car that Paul Walker died in. Somber.
I got Nano Fusion by Avery Dennison instead of Expel. I have a lifetime warranty against yellowing, fading, yada, yada. Also had my windows tinted 50% all around (Ohio legal limit) and had Xzilon paint treatment applied. They do not do Opti Coat at this shop but it looks great and has a 5 year warranty. Interior got treated as well. The shop was very professional and the crew was great. I feel comfortable about the product and work. Guess that's what counts in the end. Still need to mount my 19 inch summer wheels and tires soon and let them Xzilon treat the wheels. Still too chilly to mount the summers. Have wheel spacers from ECS Tuning for when I do mount them however. I'm so loving this car.
I'm sure you feel great knowing your car has protection inside and out now!
Post up some pics!!!
09-29-2015, 11:57 AM
#57
Hello, my first post on this site. Nearly pulled the trigger on a slightly used 435i GC when the new B9 S4's were announced and after much ingestion of fresh data, decided to get in line for a new 2017, which gives me more time to save up. In Canada first builds will arrive in Nov 2016 (A4s in March). The new S4 looks amazing to me, and the new dash, interior lighting, and headlights really did it for me. As for 335/435 vs S4 -- the B8 S4 with sport differential felt slightly better than the BMW, and I'm a BMW fan and have never owned an Audi.
So moving on, been lurking for a bit reading up on various options and other threads and heard about the clear bra and read up on it and came here. At first I figured it might be worth investing in this, but after some thought, I do have a few questions, but also some significant concerns against it. And while I didn't read every part of this thread, I don't think getting into a car accident scenario was discussed.
What happens if you get in a car accident that damages your front? Will car insurance cover the cost of replacing the bra? Or does the bra-dealer provide some sort of replacement plan? Also noting that if you get in an appropriate car accident, you get a new paint job.
Will you have to take the car to two places instead of just one (body shop + install shop) post accident? Extra time wasted.
Doesn't the high cost of the bra exceed the difference in resale value when it comes time to sell the car?
If you were to lease a car, would you ever consider paying for an clear bra? I imagine the answer is a resounding no... unless leases ding you a lot for dings. To me clear bras seem to only be considered for people buy a car to keep for more than 5 years.
People are talking about how great it looks after freshly installed, but I would have grave concerns about longevity and so called tan lines due to the protected paint aging differently than the rest of the car, which to me seems a lot worse than having a few surface dings. Also it seems protected dings look worse than actual dings.
So moving on, been lurking for a bit reading up on various options and other threads and heard about the clear bra and read up on it and came here. At first I figured it might be worth investing in this, but after some thought, I do have a few questions, but also some significant concerns against it. And while I didn't read every part of this thread, I don't think getting into a car accident scenario was discussed.
What happens if you get in a car accident that damages your front? Will car insurance cover the cost of replacing the bra? Or does the bra-dealer provide some sort of replacement plan? Also noting that if you get in an appropriate car accident, you get a new paint job.
Will you have to take the car to two places instead of just one (body shop + install shop) post accident? Extra time wasted.
Doesn't the high cost of the bra exceed the difference in resale value when it comes time to sell the car?
If you were to lease a car, would you ever consider paying for an clear bra? I imagine the answer is a resounding no... unless leases ding you a lot for dings. To me clear bras seem to only be considered for people buy a car to keep for more than 5 years.
People are talking about how great it looks after freshly installed, but I would have grave concerns about longevity and so called tan lines due to the protected paint aging differently than the rest of the car, which to me seems a lot worse than having a few surface dings. Also it seems protected dings look worse than actual dings.
09-30-2015, 02:01 PM
#58
AudiWorld Member
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Florida
Posts: 439
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My one and only accident was an altercation with a wild boar - a story for another day.
My car had 3M on the front end, after everything else was done it was replaced as part of the package. The end result was great. One caveat. The 3M had not been on the car long. If it had I may have wanted it all replaced - not just the damaged bumper. So insurance, in my case, was not an issue.
It is more resilient than paint so fewer dings than without. I have done this several times and would do it again - but I agree I do it on cars I plan on keeping or were worth a lot more than my S3
My car had 3M on the front end, after everything else was done it was replaced as part of the package. The end result was great. One caveat. The 3M had not been on the car long. If it had I may have wanted it all replaced - not just the damaged bumper. So insurance, in my case, was not an issue.
It is more resilient than paint so fewer dings than without. I have done this several times and would do it again - but I agree I do it on cars I plan on keeping or were worth a lot more than my S3
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
520
Auto Detailing Discussion
8
10-21-2005 02:46 PM