JawJuh

I was curious about how many people out there have a clear bra or film on their cars, so setting up a poll.

Please vote below and let us all know your thoughts on clear bra. Would you get it on your next 911? Is it worth the expense?

Poll options:
1) I don't need no bra, bro
2) Front bra installed
3) Full bra, like 1950s swimsuits
4) Full bra, 7 coats of wax, and armed security guards

bmedude

I went back and fourth on this for months. Here is why I finally decided on NO.

1. It looks ugly when the car is slightly dusty.
2. If it gets damaged, you can't just replace one panel, they usually have to do adjacent panels too depending on how old the film is.
3. Dust/dirt gets trapped in the edges
4. There are very few good installers and a lot of shoddy installers.
5. The best installers in my area aren't even listed on the xpel site, go figure.
6. They can get stained
7. The car will never shine the same way as raw paint.
8. Dr Colorscratch is super easy to use and works GREAT and costs less than 100 bucks. Clear bras run about 2500 for the front clip and around 5K for a full body application.
9. Who knows what the long term effects of the glue are on the paint
10.it looks ugly.

kayjh

I'll keep my car 3 years and then trade it. If it gets some stone chips I'll have them touched up and then let the next guy worry about them. It's a car and is going to see some normal wear and tear. So, no bra for me.

NoGaBiker

Saved me a lot of typing.

I'm paying the price for my cavalier attitude -- I have several to-the-primer tiny chips. I tend to follow too close when the guy ahead is poking along and I'm trying to get around. But ces't, as they say, la vie.

Shawn C

I purchased a car with almost everything but the doors covered, Its an amazing job and you can not even tell its wrapped. My front bumper and bonnet look brand new still after 40K miles. My plastic headlight covers look brand new as well. Huge difference from my other 911's of the past. I would 100% do this to my next car as well. I think allot of people here are talking about the old clear bra, the new stuff is even self healing. I wax it as I normally would the car and just avoid waxes that dry white (Which everyone should anyway) So you cannot see edges anywhere.

Shawn C

I disagree with the won't shine like new paint comment lol. No filters

bmedude

Most reputable installers will tell you not to put film on the headlights because of almost guaranteed de-lamination issues

Gary JR

Disagree with most especially #10. Looks great and cleans up so easily to look great again.

budrichard

My 2013 Mexico Blue Boxster took a divot from rust from a semi with less than 1k miles on it.
The weak link is the aluminum substrate on the hood.
Had the divot repaired and full clear wrap on the front end, no head lights.
I also tracked that car and the track rash is very easy to remove.
you can't tell the front end is wrapped.
My 2017 C4S had a 'Sports Wrap' before it left the dealership.-Richard

Leader

Wrapped the entire "front clip" (all the way to the windshield, plus side mirrors) with 3M film. Would do it again. Shines up great. Cheap insurance against little stone chips. Did not cover the headlights or DRLs on the advice of installer.

rk-d

I'm still on the fence.

Did it with my GT4. Wrapped edges, for the most part, although there were still some edges here and there. I think that's inevitable. Anything with an edge can get dirt underneath it.

At best, it (Xpel in my case) gives a slight orange peel like effect. There is a clear difference between film and normal paint. It just doesn't have the brilliance or clarity of naked metal. Some people aren't as concerned about this and pics rarely capture it.

I might do bumper only. Maybe that and the full hood. I would not do fenders or other panels again.

StormRune

I find most of your post to be wrong. Have you actually had or even seen a good clear bra? I assume you must have seen at least one poorly done example, but I've seen quite a few very good ones.

My car came with Xpel Ultimate from the prior owner. Here are my observations on your comments:

1. It looks ugly when the car is slightly dusty.
- Well my car rarely gets dusty, but when it does I see no difference in dusting between the paint and the bra.

2. If it gets damaged, you can't just replace one panel, they usually have to do adjacent panels too depending on how old the film is.
- If you get hit by something hard enough to damage the film, guess what it would have done to the paint. And you can certainly replace just one piece. If it is old enough you can tell the difference, it needs to be replace anyway (5+ years)

3. Dust/dirt gets trapped in the edges
- I have not seen this, the edges on mine are perfectly clean after 27k miles.

4. There are very few good installers and a lot of shoddy installers.
- So find a good one. Not an excuse.

5. The best installers in my area aren't even listed on the xpel site, go figure.
6. They can get stained
- I don't think so. I have no stains that I can detect and I'm pretty fastidious about keeping things clean. But my car is Agate so I can't really say how it might look on a white car. There is certainly nothing obvious on mine.

7. The car will never shine the same way as raw paint.
- No one has ever seemed to notice my clear bra. When I tell people it is there, the only way they seem to confirm is to find an edge. It appears at least 99% as shiny to me.

8. Dr Colorscratch is super easy to use and works GREAT and costs less than 100 bucks. Clear bras run about 2500 for the front clip and around 5K for a full body application.
- The paint chip repair stuff you mention still leaves perceivable imperfections, it just fills them in with color so the chips don't stand out as much. Any chip bigger than a pin ***** will still leave a bit of a dimple.
I've used this quite a bit on a number of cars.

- I asked the place that does my window tinting, they also do Suntek, how much it will be when the time comes to replace. They currently charge $1200 for the front bumper, full front hood and fenders, and mirrors.

9. Who knows what the long term effects of the glue are on the paint
- Plenty of people do. The only time I've ever heard of a problem with a quality clear bra is when it has been left on far too many years, typically 7 more and with the car left in the sun a lot.

10.it looks ugly.
- You can't even see mine without a close examination to find an edge. How does that look ugly?! Rock chips filled with color chip repairs are far more noticeable and unattractive.

The final plus I've noticed is that bug splatters and the like clean off much more easily.

I'd never had a clear bra before, but now I always will on a top-end car.

StormRune

Agreeing with the other note that Leader's and bmedude's later post reminded me of. Porsche and most installers do not recommend using clear bra on the headlights of our cars, although quite a few here seem to have done it successfully. However, our headlights have a thin anti-UV coating that can be pulled off when the film is removed. The film's edges can pull the UV costing loose shortly after installation, resulting in a unattached film edge that cannot be repaired without pulling the film and the UV coating off of the headlight.

Penn4S

I had mine done a few years back when I got the car. Did not like the workmanship. So I had it redone by a quality installer. Did front bumper, full hood, fenders, high up on the rear qtr rocker panel, under the doors and under the rear bumper and wheel well, all edges wrapped. I polish and treat it like paint and it finishes beautifully. Would not want to go unprotected especially in the spring when there is still road crap, sand on the road after winter.

dloines

my 991 is the 3rd car getting wrapped (cayman s and corvette) and no issues at all, if didn't mention it, you would not be able to see the wrap. As many have said, its the quality of the install that makes the difference. I used a combination of Suntek for the bumper (thicker material) and 3m everywhere else. I understand the normal wear and tear and use of the vehicle, but the profile of the front of the 911 and the water based paint causes the paint to chip very easily.....