johnnyC4S

I am interested in your thoughts on whether to go for a good quality protective film for the front bumper and hood. It is in near perfect condition and want do what I can to keep it that way.

I have already done the Fister Stage II and installed Bilstein PSS10s (thanks to Darin at FD. Replacing the HiFi door speakers this week and thinking I want to protect the nose and hood for the next project...

Thoughts?

mike cap

No question that it is worth doing. Front bumper, hood up about 1/3 of the way, headlight surrounds and back a bit. Also do the headlights and foglights. Side mirrors and also do where the fenders 'roll' behind each wheel down low. The factory has you covered forward of the rear wheels on the left and right.

It will save your paint and you'll be glad you spent the money. The Xpel system is good, the secret is finding an installer that will take the time to do a perfect job. The guys here can probably point you to a high quality installer in your area.

crw

I have used it on all of my cars:

- front bumper
- full hood
- lights

@ 500/car

- well worth it - wil keep everything like new and very hard to detect if done right

NC TRACKRAT

It's my understanding that there are different qualities of film. For dark colors such as yours, the best is much clearer and will not be as noticeable.

Van Larson

The new "Premier" film from Xpel is really something special, IMHO. Had my wife's LS460's hood redone (slight bubble issue) and it is almost undetectable at least on white. No orange peel whatsoever, and it is "self-healing" with heat. Also, bug stains are said to be a non-issue. Will have the 993's hood redone with this stuff shortly.

IXLR8

John, you may have seen this thread already, but just in case you haven't...

Porsche Carrera S - Custom clear bra install using Xpel Ultimate Self-Healing Film

These clear film and paintless dent repair (PDR) guys are a joy to watch in action; I've seen the latter.

Van Larson

that's what I meant--duh

johnnyC4S

I had not seen this... very helpful. These guys are amazing the way they apply the film. Too bad I am not in New England... I have a detail guy here that is outstanding (Robert Willis - Auto Concierge). I will ask if he knows a shop here in the SF Bay Area that can do the job right.

Thanks so much.

kjr914

+1
Except, do the ENTIRE hood. My first chip was 4" above the end of the hood's clear bra (its about 25% of the hood). Wish I had done the fenders behind the wheels...

solomonschris

When I was a kid there were commercials on tv showing clear plastic covers for your furniture. It showed kids jumping up and down on the couch while holding drinks that were spilling. This covering was protecting the furniture for what! A future buyer? Who wants to sit on plastic? I feel the same way about this protective film. I bought my Porsche for ME to enjoy, not to protect for it some unknown future owner. I take obsessively good care of my car but I'm not about to cover it with plastic for the next owner. After that diatribe, I have to say that my bumper and mirrors have unsightly film on them. My position is as clear as mud! cheers".......Chris

coreseller

I'm interested in the responses here since I recently took other Rennlisters' advice and will be having the front of my 993 resprayed by Dale at Euro Classics. I asked him about his thoughts on clear bras.....he isn't a fan from what I gleaned from our conversation. Prior to his remarks it was going to be a given mod after a few months paint cure, his opinion gave me pause.........


Con Reasons Given............film yellowing, potential for paint pull up upon removal and lastly (if I remember correctly, don't want to put words in his mouth) a respray isn't much more than the clear bra and install.......my 2 cents (and likely worth it all).....

johnnyC4S

Your comments are similar to what my concerns have been - so I am very interested to hear others experience.

To balance the approach of putting on the film vs. a repaint of the hood and front bumper. I really don't want to see a film over the paint if it takes away from the color or shine.

Still thinking.

il pirata

Except in very limited cases I find this hard to believe. A number of the colors as they age are very hard to match if you are doing a partial respray.

il pirata

Ask Robert...his eyes are as good as anybody's...if he thinks it takes away then there you go. FYI I am not a fan of film (at least the ones I have seen...too obvious to my eyes plus other potential issues

coreseller

I am far from a body man.....lol, but from what I've heard Dale is......the figures he quoted me were not far off from what I've seen charged for clear bras installed.