Alright. Give it to me straight. Convince me whether or not to get 3M tape for the front of my car. I saw some on a black WRX at the dyno Saturday and it didn't look nearly as obvious as I thought it would. It seems like it would preserve the paint really well in the harsh winter months.
if you are talking about a clear bra then yes! I put one on my 11' almost immediately, and have been very happy with it.
I was going to have one put on our 2010 Escalade, I waited a week and there are already rock chips on it...... Damn it!
I waited a week before I put mine on and there were already rock chips too. Other than that I am happy with the clear bra. Wax build up can be an issue right along the edge. The wax builds up and makes the edge a lot more visible. Flawless Front Ends did the work, great price and quality work.
I've never been a fan of clear bra's on white cars. It just looks off and it's pretty easy to tell its there. I've had clear bras on 3 cars now including white, black and WRB. Black and WRB looked great and it was hard to tell it was there. I have no problem noticing it on my white car. It kind of bugs me actually. That said, I plan on wrapping part of the hood on the new STI before I take delivery. Like others said it takes very little time for the small rock dings to start showing up.
Adam, if you want to see what it'll look like on a SWP 2011 you're more than welcome to take a look at mine. I had Chris from Flawless Frontends do a ton of it on my car, I had the front bumper cover, headlights, front edge of the hood/scoop, fenders, lower 1/3 of the doors, leading edge of the roof, door pockets, behind the front and rear wheel arches, rocker panels, A pillars and also a strip on each of the wheel arch inner surfaces. It's very tough to see unless you're right up next to it. With as thin as the paint is on these cars, you're going to want as much protection as you can get. Chris did great work, and he charged a lot less than a number of places I looked at with no compromise on quality. He also does a great job on tinting taillights if you've got a hatch. I'd rather have a slight difference that I can't tell from more than a few feet away than have the car look like it's been sandblasted after a couple of years.
Do it. My front facia is scratched to hell and it hasn't even been a year. Do the hood as well as I just noticed a few chips there too. Actully, you should probably just wrap the whole car
Mine was tough to spot for about the first year as well. After that it started getting more and more noticeable. Chris installed mine as well. Hopefully yours doesn't do the same thing mine did but there's more then a few complaints with clear bras on white cars out there.
You can spend a little more and have the whole hood clearbra'd. Also, some maintenance is required to keep it looking good. When it gets marred up and if it starts to discolor it is definitely very noticeable against white and some metallic silvers. Tekko, for the buildup either tape off the edge beforehand or use a soft brush and your choice of wash shampoo. Just dont try to get it out with clay bar. That **** will really get stuck in there lol. You could also pressure wash it if out but be careful about the edge peeling up. Im thinking about having my whole fenders and bumper done after the bumper gets rresprayed. Kinda gave up on the hood tho lol
They are definitely not a one time expense. The nine year old one on the Outback looks like hell, but is still protecting the paint after 150,000 miles. The five year old one on the LGT is starting to get smeary/foggy and Xpel cleaner and protectant (two separate products) make no difference in the appearance. And like idget says, it catches clay bar like crazy and the clay is very hard to remove completely. Still, it is better than bare paint and no comparison to an old fashioned bra.
Sounds like at a wholesaler discount I can get the car done with a super discount and can redo it every so often if it really starts looking bad. Thanks for the opinions, guys!
Just got it done earlier this afternoon in Ham Lake. Let me know if you want my contact who has been doing this for local dealers for 20 years. He did the hood up to the top of the scoop, beginning portion of the quarter panels up to the line of the piece on the hood, inside the scoop, mirrors, and the back edges of the doors. $225. PM me if you want more info. It looks great.
