Thoughts on clear bra
 

Considering a clear bra, but am concerned about the finish and paint after removal. Its about 500 euros. Ultimately, I'm looking for chip protection. I've had a Swizol product applied to help with bug removal. Anyone have any long term experience with clear bras? I believe its a 3M product.

I think it is the ugliest thing you can do to a car !

You can spot it 20 feets away, try to spot a small chip 20 feets away...

I have had the Xpel Ultimate pant protection film installed on our 2012 Audi Q5. It has offered excellent protection against rock chips and has been very durable. Best of all it's pretty clear and hardly noticeable. I apply the same wax on the film like the rest of the car. I have it on the front end partial hood mirrors door edges top of the rear bumper. Excellent product could not be happier.

I tend to keep my cars for a while and like to keep them as new looking as possible. I have the 3M film on the front including headlamps and fog lenses on my Monsoon Grey S5. 12,000 miles so far with no chips or pits. The lenses look like new, no sandblasting from road debris. There is a very fine line running across the front of the hood, but it is not noticeable until you are up close. I have had to point it out to individuals looking at the car, so it really isn't that visible.

I am a big fan of clear bra. I have had 3M (original), Venture Shield (now owned by 3M) and, most recently, Xpel Ultimate.

I have never had one removed, but I did a lot of web searching before my first installation. I did not hear of any problems with the removal, UNLESS you went with a company that cut the film on the car. Some experts do this, and it can go well. But if they cut a little deep, there is a line upon removal that can require repainting. My preference is for an installer that uses patterns instead of cutting the film on the car.

Of the three films I have had, the Xpel Ultimate is my favorite. It is the clearest I have seen. Also, it is multilayered (like the 3M film) so you can treat it almost like paint. The original 3M is nice, but has a bit of an orange peel look to it. Ventureshield is very smooth, and is easier to apply to complex shapes if needed.

The Xpel is looking great on my white car. On darker cars, the film is even less visible.

I have had clear bra on all my cars for the past 15 years. I would not drive a car with out it. When I pick up my cars from the dealership I use blue painters tape to cover all the parts I am going to have clear bra installed. And then drive it straight to the clear bra shop. I have never had a problem. It is installed on my 2006 chevy work truck and still looks good. I went overboard on my 2010 S5 cost was right around $1400. I just had my 2013 Ram 1500 done and it was $1100

You definitely want to go with a high-quality film and make sure you get a lifetime warranty. One thing I've noticed with mine is the line becomes visible as the car gets dirtier, so make sure you keep it clean. When it's clean, it's practically invisible. I got a full 3M front bra (leading edge of fenders/hood, entire front bumper, and headlights) plus the backs of the side mirrors. Total cost was $815 with tax, but that included 3M tint all the way around.

I wasn't able to get mine installed right away (I'm 75+ miles from the closest certified 3M installer), so I had washed my car a couple times before getting the clear bra. Now, it might be my imagination, but it seems like insects and debris are easier to clean off the clear bra than the paint itself. Specifically, the headlights were a pain to get perfectly clean before the bra and I just washed my car again today and they were practically clean after just rinsing. Again, that might just be my imagination.

In any case, I felt it was definitely worth it and would do it again. I didn't have it on my previous vehicle and I had so many little chips (granted, after about 5 years) that I wound up paying to have my front bumper replaced/painted.

I've had it on my car since January of 2012. It's virtually invisible. I don't see any variation in the paint. You will want to clean the edge carefully after waxing since there can be a line of wax buildup. That will make the film more obvious. I only did the hood in the "bikini cut" and the forward portion of the front fenders. Bikini cut is an arc that follows the shape of the front of the car. Looks nice. Others can be a straight line across the hood that does look bad.

I do have scratch lines on the film but no chips on my hood. A trade-off.

Venture Shield. I have had it on every car in the last 8 years. Just make sure you do the complete hood so you don't have a line or any seams. Also get someone that knows what they are doing and can do the bumper with one sheet, no seams. If possible also have them make it a little larger 1/2 inch and rap the hood under and the bumper also.

If you want to keep the bugs from sticking to anything get some REJEX sealer. It's the best product I have ever seen for bugs. I have it over my clear bra.
http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotS...FYSf4AodOW4AmQ

I originally didn't do it when I bought my car (mainly because of the cost). Two years later, I now regret it, because I can see all sorts of white dots on my hood that I originally thought was just crap, but I can't get them off, which means they're small chips.

Not sure if there's an option for me now (any ideas? Detail it and then apply?)

Completely agree with this - if I did do it now, I would pay up do it for the full hood for sure. I know you can't really see the line from far away on the partial hood where the film ends, but you definitely can from up close and that would drive me nuts. There's a RS4 in my building who has the partial hood, and I swear if I didn't know what clear bra was, I would've thought someone had keyed his car across the hood.