Good maker for a car bra?

[Benzadmiral]

Recently I've become dissatisfied with the little nicks and chips that driving in this benighted city have done to the front bumper of the Buick. I've touched them up as they occurred, but they're still noticeable when you get close.

Rather than repainting, which will just reset the chip quotient to zero and start over, I'm wondering if a good auto bra might be the answer. There's Lebra (1-piece and 2-piece models), Colgan, and some others. Any recommendations?

 

[stockrex]

don't do it, bras will destroy the paint
put on a clear sticky rock guard, don't remember the name,

 

[HemiHawk]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
don't do it, bras will destroy the paint
put on a clear sticky rock guard, don't remember the name,


I think they call it ClearBra, 3M may make it. Waaayy better than the old school bras. Those are ridiculous. They hold in moisture, dirty, rub that dirt all over the bumper. Also, they never get taken off so what are they really doing for the look of the car? between the old one and some rock chips, i'd take the chips.

 

[mazdamonky]

I think todays recommendation is to try one of the spray on bra things.

However, I think the black leather bras look super cool. I am not sure of a good brand, but as long as you take it off and wash under it alongside cleaning the bra, it should do a good job keeping the front of your car in good shape.

 

[ecotourist]

Agree with the comments about using clear plastic film. They are custom applied. Think the film is made by 3M and a good installer will have a system that cuts pieces for your car. They are then applied with water and a hair dryer (as I understand it).

I've even had one put on over recent and clean chips - with good results. The film looks fine (actually you can hardly see it), it holds up well and it's not too expensive (last one was about $200 but that was a few years ago). I've done 3 consecutive vehicles now. The oldest has been on about 14 years and it still looks good.

On one car I must have been hit by a really big stone because I had paint shattered under the film. I cut out that piece (half an inch across) and touched up the paint and that looked okay too.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I wouldn't mind spending the money on the clear thing, but will it mask the smaller/lighter blemishes in the paint?

 

[HemiHawk]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
I wouldn't mind spending the money on the clear thing, but will it mask the smaller/lighter blemishes in the paint?


It probably would for the most part, however if I was going through the trouble of adding the clearbra, I would have the blemishes taken care of first.

 

[Kawiguy454]

If you do get the bra get some matching finger-less driving gloves and some dark ray-ban's to finish the look

That 3M you can get at a good tint shop. It is custom computer cut to fit your car. It wont hide anything blemish wise but it is supposedly self healing from small rock impacts and is removable.

 

[old1]

I have been wondering if the clear plastiKote would work good for that.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Colgan and OEM are the best ones. LeBra's seem really cheaply made. Colgan bras take a couple weeks to get. You order it,they custom make it for your car,and then they ship it to you. The vinyl on the Colgan bras is also very thick and heavy.

 

[Nick1994]

Id rather have chipped paint than a bra on the front of my car. Chipped paint looks a lot better.

Why have perfect paint if no one will ever see it?

 

[JustinH]

I had one of the old leather ones on a thunderbird.

It clearly stated to take it off every few weeks, I guess to let the paint breathe. Also it said do not use it in rain.

It was sort of a useless product, but it did a nice job of covering up a rusty hood lol.

 

[901Memphis]

The lebra I had lasted many years on my Buick, never taking it off to wash it because the clear coat was already destroyed when it was first put on.

I recently had to replace it though because the mesh at the grill opening came apart from the vinyl, other than that it was fine. It was stained on the back side but you couldn't tell from the outside.

This is the new one it's only about a month old

 

[raytseng]

The term you guys are looking for is paint protection film. There are various manufacturerate xpel 3m etc, just as there are for window tint.

But yes you are correct it often is the same shops that do window tint that do ppf

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
The lebra I had lasted many years on my Buick, never taking it off to wash it because the clear coat was already destroyed when it was first put on.

I recently had to replace it though because the mesh at the grill opening came apart from the vinyl, other than that it was fine. It was stained on the back side but you couldn't tell from the outside.

This is the new one it's only about a month old

If the clear coat is destroyed, why have a bra?

 

[901Memphis]

Because I think it looks better than peeling paint. The paint on the metal parts of the car is still good, the only issue with clear is on the front and rear bumpers.

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
I wouldn't mind spending the money on the clear thing, but will it mask the smaller/lighter blemishes in the paint?

The chips I covered with clear film were pretty small so I wasn't too worried about them. They're less visible but you can still see them through the film. It probably would have been better to touch them up first, though a raised touch up might be visible too.

When I bought my last car I took it straight to the clear film application place to have it applied.

I'm very happy with the clear film. I wouldn't consider buying a new car and not have it applied.

 

[KitaCam]

I have a vinyl one for the Camry, but use it only on night-time 2-lane highway runs when it's most vulnurable to chippin...it takes only a few minutes to attach...

 

[Subdued]

i didnt know these were still a thing, i never see them anymore

 

[aquariuscsm]

I think a bra is worth its weight in gold for highway runs. Friday I took the 1 1/2 hr drive to go see my dentist for my 6 month cleaning/checkup. I forgot to put the bra on and when I got back the entire front of my car was covered in bugs. I scrubbed all day getting all that [censored] off when I got back. We used to get these things down here called love bugs that would literally destroy your paint. Haven't seen them in years.