[rick100]

So I m still trying to decide if I should clear bro the hood and bumper of my car or just leave it with opticoat and paint it in the future ( or have my detailer take care of small chips with touch up paint , he is actually really good)

I was ready to do clear bra the whole hood and bumper but Im reading a lot of cons about doing it that I m leaning towards just leaving it the way it is

How true are these cons

1 - Clear bra will yellow with time and it will be more noticeable with white cars ( I have the alpine white)
2 - It is harder to clean because the films can easily get damage if you do not clean it properly

It costs around 1000 bucks to get the whole hood and bumper plus headlights and fog lights clear wrap. My car was opti coated a few months ago

[NOTM3]

wow didn't realize it costed that much

[924er]

not all clear bras turn yellow over time. I hear 3M has a lifetime warranty pertaining to that issue. however i could be wrong.

there is another brand called XPEL, that one for sure has a warranty on case it turns yellow.

i know you have a white car and it could make it noticeable tho, you just have to ask around

[Alohaaaaa]

My 3m bra is 7 years old and it looks brand new. No yellowing.

[MGT81]

Originally Posted by 3SPKY5U

My 3m bra is 7 years old and it looks brand new. No yellowing.

Ditto. Never happened on the WRX I had before this either

[SSW]

At that price, it might be better just to get the hood/bumper re-painted when the chips/nicks get bad enough to warrant it.

Actually, I was planning to repaint my hood this month but have had to put it off for now. The estimate was $640. Didn't asked about repainting the bumper but I've seen estimates on the forum for around $300. So, that makes it about the same cost for a clear bra. But, if you repaint the hood and get the bra at the same time, it doubles your cost and makes it a $2k vs $1k job.

So, if you're not going to keep the car for more than the 4-5 years before you'll start getting bothersome chips/nicks again, the extra $ spent on the bra would probably be wasted BUT if you think you'll be keeping the car or a LONG time, them the extra cost would probably be justified, unless you just have SO much money that it doesn't matter.

[AughtOcho335]

What color is your car? I was quoted $550 for bumper, 18" up hood, and tapered up the edges of the fenders. Those are the only forward facing sections of the car anyways. Unless you're a tailgating SOB.

It is way more expensive than what people realize I'll say that. I've thought about it but I came up with a free alternative. I stopped following so closely, especially behind trucks. Their deep tread picks up all kinds of rocks. Learned that the hard way. I'd just repaint it one day. Nothing beats the shine on bare paint!

[Buttertits]

My car has a clear bra on it (not sure what it is as it was that way when I purchased it). You only see it if you are looking for it, it is not yellow at all.

Not the best picture but I think it serves its purpose.

[jphughan]

I love having a clear bra (VentureShield, though I might have looked into XPEL had I known about it). It gives total peace of mind when on the freeway stuck behind a semi and at the track. I paid $540 to cover my front bumper, headlamps, and mirror caps. I didn't deal with the hood because I didn't want the seam that comes with partial coverage (which is VERY noticeable, whereas the clear bra is invisible when it covers an entire panel) and I didn't want to pay for full hood coverage. Of course I've now got some tiny nicks on my hood, but nothing you notice unless you're scrutinizing the hood for issues. I didn't originally plan to get clear bra at all, but when I noticed that my front bumper after 6 months looked like my previous Acura TL-S did after 18, I decided that BMW must be using some seriously soft paint and thus I should protect it.

VentureShield is warrantied for 4 years against yellowing, and having had mine for 2.5 I don't have any issues. But honestly if it yellows in 4 years, I'll just pay to have it removed and reapplied. Cheaper than a good repaint job, no worries about a perfect color match, and it won't devalue your car like respraying does when it gets appraised and they detect panels that were repainted (through various means like the tape lines on surrounding panels).

[bmw325i]

My car had one when I got it, and I recently replaced it because it looked kind of dull. It's not that hard or expensive to do yourself. It's just like a giant screen protector

[Mardio]

I paid $500 for bumper, mirrors and ten inches up the hood. You don't see the lines unless you really look for them. Worth it in my opinion.

[ken1137]

I would just leave it if you have opti-coat. My wife's MDX has a clear bra and a bird pooped on it while I was out of town. She was of course oblivious to what happened so there is now a permanent stain. I did have the 3M clear bra on my 328 and 135 and it worked well. I dont have it on my 335. BTW...paid appr. $600 each for all three jobs at a dealer.

[mike5809]

I had VenturaSheild on mine and it didn't yellow. It looked fantastic on a black car even after ~5 years.

I think it is a great investment.

[Nebraska330xi]

3M makes a spray on one that might be worth looking into, I know it was very cheap relative to the film so might be worth your while to try that out.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by ken1137

I would just leave it if you have opti-coat. My wife's MDX has a clear bra and a bird pooped on it while I was out of town. She was of course oblivious to what happened so there is now a permanent stain. I did have the 3M clear bra on my 328 and 135 and it worked well. I dont have it on my 335. BTW...paid appr. $600 each for all three jobs at a dealer.

That was my main concerned. I keep reading that bird poo or any other type os stain can damage the clearbra. I also read that cleaning is not an easy task so you ned to be very carefull not to damage the clearbra unlike paint that can be wax or polished. I wanr thwbprorection but im just ebating on weather repainting after a few years is cheaper and easier than putting a clearbra.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by AughtOcho335

What color is your car? I was quoted $550 for bumper, 18" up hood, and tapered up the edges of the fenders. Those are the only forward facing sections of the car anyways. Unless you're a tailgating SOB.

It is way more expensive than what people realize I'll say that. I've thought about it but I came up with a free alternative. I stopped following so closely, especially behind trucks. Their deep tread picks up all kinds of rocks. Learned that the hard way. I'd just repaint it one day. Nothing beats the shine on bare paint!

I have a white car so yellow8ng is a big concern since it will be more noticea le on a white car than a black cwr for example

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by rick100

That was my main concerned. I keep reading that bird poo or any other type os stain can damage the clearbra. I also read that cleaning is not an easy task so you ned to be very carefull not to damage the clearbra unlike paint that can be wax or polished. I wanr thwbprorection but im just ebating on weather repainting after a few years is cheaper and easier than putting a clearbra.

Not sure about the effects of bird droppings on a clear bra, but that can definitely damage paint especially if the car body is heat cycled enough before being removed (i.e. you leave it there for a few days and nights), so given the choice I'd rather have it damage my clear bra than my paint. The VentureShield instructions do recommend washing it at least once per month as part of a regular car wash.

Repainting will almost certainly not be cheaper. It MAY not be a whole lot more expensive even for a quality job, but with repainting there's always the risk of a color match not being quite right, the texture of the paint itself not matching the other body panels because it wasn't applied exactly the same way as factory, and the loss in value you'll get when your car is appraised and they detect that panels have been resprayed. Clear bra has none of those issues.