I had the clear bra installed on my car at time of purchase. The price was within $50 of a private shop in town ... so I didn't think the mark up was out of line ... it was done at the time I picked up the car. My car is silver -- and like has been said before -- almost impossible to find the line. Also had it on my Z -- lots of highway miles -- front end and lenses still looked great when I sold it after 2 years. My S2K -- also silver -- driven 130,000 miles over 4 years -- did NOT have a clear bra -- but I had the front end painted and the head light lenses buffed out 3 times -- at about $600 a pop. SO, the $700 for the entire package including headlights, driving lights, mirrors, seemed to be a reasonable price to pay. I've been told by the dealer that there IS a lifetime warranty on the product for the first owner. On the Z when one of the edges on the hood started to curl (after about a year) the dealer promptly replaced the whole peice ... no hassle at all.

 

My hat is off to you, man! I KNOW I wouldn't have the patience to do that.

I put an Invisi-Shield on my PMP which is only 5 inches by 3 inches. Works the same way, a little stretching, lots of soapy water, and it about drove me to drink.

 

Make sure you got that in writing, my dealership said the clear bras they install only have a 5 year warranty. Which is why I went with a local installer of Venture Shield.

 

Billie’s comments to comments posted by others.

#1. It sounds like everyone thinks it's a good idea, but 800 is a bit much for me... :/
Billie: do what I did. I bought a pre-cut kit for about $225 and installed it myself. It is not hard to do. My kit covered everything on the front, the wells inside the door handles, and the depression in the rear bumper. I did this as soon as I got my new auto home from the dealer

#2: Should you decide to have the clear bra installed and no longer want it, you will need to re-apply your clear coat since the glue is very strong and will remove it.
Billie: this is not true. And even if it was, spraying clear coat is a walk in the park compared to spraying color and clear cut to fix all the dings and chips that you get without a clear bra. One more, And, I have removed the clear bra and know first-hand that clear coat does not need to be reapplied.

#3. I guess I still am unable to justify 700-800 for this
Billie: you will pay far more than this at a paint shop to have the front end repainted. And for those that spray themselves, it is nice not to have to do it.

4. have to agree with this, especially since you can, and NAMmers have, gotten chips even with the clear bra
Billie: well, sure you can. It is not bullet proof. I’ve hit things and things have hit my auto that have done nothing because there was a clear bra there. If there wasn’t, I’d be fixing ugly spots.

#5. But, I got better things to spend the $ on.
Billie: Yes, like the $50/pint paint most of these Minis use. I know, I’ve bought and sprayed it.

#6. The mirror backs are a very odd shape. The installer could not get the bra material to stretch in a way so it fit to my satisfaction, so I had them removed from the mirrors
Billie: this could be a personal thing. I put material on my mirrors and like it.

#7. I agree that $800 is high. I paid that, but wanted the security of a lifetime guarantee
Billie: I wouldn’t pay that much. Don’t blame anyone that won’t. You can do it so much cheaper and have great satisfaction doing it yourself. Get it on before the chips begin.

#8. I have never had a chipping problem with cars. Maybe I'm wrong here: Mini cars have a worse track record with chips than most other cars?
Billie: These Minis have a large frontal area and are low to the ground. They catch a lot of rocks. Another aspect of this problem is the environmentally friendly paints we have to use today do not stand up to abuse like paints from days gone by.

#9. What about just having the lower section installed that covers the bumper up to the bonnet line? Would that catch 75% of potential chips, for example?
Billie: that’s a fine idea

#10. Why would anyone cover the mirrors?
Billie: Because I could and it saves the cost and time of replacing them.

#11. Where did you get yours installed?
Billie: do it yourself. It is not difficult, is kinda fun, and saves lots of money.

#12. Is there a particular brand name I should look for?
Billie: I bought my pre-cut materials from Accuguard in FL http://www.accuguard.biz/

 

Ummm, maybe try to reformat that. My eyes are burning from trying to wade through it, otherwise. Nevermind, after the formatting problems from Billie's post corrected.

Billie, your points are good.

 

does anyone happen to have photos of rock dings etc to share? im a new new car owner and would love to see what kind of damage we're talking about to decide if i can live with it or not...

By the way Billie, your post provided a great summary

 

Which, as I am sure you know, is not the typical install. Look, for all you who got clear bra, chill. I'm not suggesting you wasted your money or the product doesn't work. I am simply pointing out that it does have some pitfalls and is super-expensive for what it is. So, don't jump all over me becuase I point out some facts you don't like.

 

I will post a picture of the small chip I received after driving through the resurfacing fiasco on I95 and a picture after I have completed the touch-up.

 

Update: I forgot to take a picture of the before and the after wouldn't show up on the camera, so I can only say how it turned out. The chip, which was on the upper part of the bonnet, was actually 2 small chips, eachy about the size of a pin head. I used the Langka pre-cleaner and then touched up with Levine Auto's touch-up paint. I let it dry about 26 hours. I used the paint applicator sticks from Griot's (the Langka "Complete" kit came with 3 such sticks, but the Griot's ones were a better size for the job at hand). I used Langka's "Squeegee" method for the blob eliminator and thenh, finally, used the Langka paint finish. A day later, I used Prima Slick. The repair is nearly perfect. Rubbing my finger over the area, it is completely smooth. Although I showed my wife and 2 of the boys where the scratch was before I repaired it, none could find it after it was fixed. I could just barely see it, knowing exactly where to look. Yes, the chips were relatively small to begine with. But, according to Langka, very small chips are actually harder to repair, as there isn't much area to hold the paint. The chips were in a highly visible place, which is often exposed to direct sun. I am very pleased, both with the Langka kit and the match of the Levine Auto touch-up paint.

 

Clearbra is a personal choice. I nearly fainted when I heard what Proform wanted for the MINI ... $1400. It was half that price at the speed shop in Glen Burnie. I opted to not get it. My reason ... its kind of like when your grandmother puts that clear plastic on her white sofa. WHEN do you actually get to use the sofa? When do you actually get to enjoy your paint? And not matter what anyone says, you can always see the line on the bonnet.

As to price, price is a regional thing and depends upon the material used. $800 in one state means nothing compared to another state. Further, the money is not in the material but rather in the installer. Proform is so expensive because he knows what he is doing. Clearbra is all he does and he does it for many of the local Porsche and BMW dealers.

As for the chip being higher on the bottom, you can have any part of the car clearbra'd. Your not limited to those precut patterns. If you go to Proform, he can do your whole bonnet or your whole car or free cut anypiece you need.

Finally, here is an example of what clearbra can really do. It's hard to see but look here

This is the image of the underside of my front spoiler (not a MINI). The damage was done ... hehe ... unintentionally by an unnamed individual who happened to get a bit too close to a curb



Proform took off the damaged area and repaired it. Proform rocks. The paint was not damaged.

Here is how the clearbra looked after taking it off



The clearbra did it's job in protecting the paint.

So its a personal decision. Clearly in this case, I would have had a bunch of paint scrapes (not from flying rocks but a bit of curb rash). You can get as much or as little of your car clearbra'd as you want. As in most other things in life, you tend to get what you pay for. The money is really in the expertise of the installer.

good luck in your decision.

 

My 2 cents is - a Clear Bra is the best Mod for your MINI. Yes - prices vary - it's not cheap - but well worth the $$$ in the long run...

Donna

 

I like that "plastic on the sofa analogy. I know that you can get clear bra put on virtually anywhere on the car. My points were (1) the $800 job would not have covered that area nd (2) you could spend all you want, but unless you get the whole car covered it's still vulnerable. Again, I am not anit-clear bra; I just feel it is too expensive for what you get.

 

This is exactly why I never invested in one of the leather bras on any of my older cars. With the clear bra, I feel like I get to have my cake and eat it too!

As you said, it is a personal choice, no wrong answer.

 

Well, if you are going to wear a bra, clear is best.

 

Absolutely. The vinyl bras are old technology and can damage your paint in many ways, the worst being leaving them on too long in the rain so the paint clouds. Although there are still makers of them around, I'm surprised they are still around.

 

BTW, I like the bottoms of English muffins. Not too much bread and they still hold the butter.

 

Only one minor problem with that analogy: I don't sit on my bonnet. If I did, it wouldn't be any less comfortable with the clearbra than without it, unlike the sofa.

As Kasey said, with the clearbra, you still enjoy the appearance of the beautiful paint underneath with the peace of mind that that paint is very unlikely to get damaged.

And yes, you can still get damage on unprotected areas. But it's all about playing the odds. And to me, the clearbra greatly reduces the number of chips the MINI would absorb over the course of time I own it.

 

If I was going to get it, I'd get damn near the whole car done and that would be like, what? $2500? BTW, does it do any good for door dings? I know it can't prevent dents, but what about chips, scratches and gouges from idiots opening doors against you?

 

I saw a link posted here somewhere to a spray-on clear bra. Don't see why you couldn't do the entire car. Hm.

 

I doubt stray-on would be as effective...

 

Found it.

http://armorcoat.armorauto.com/

 

hehe. I only get the bottoms. I go to open the bag, and nothing but bottoms left

But at what price? No matter what anyone says ... and this is personal choice ... I can see those lines and I hate those lines.

But analogy does hold. When do you really get to see that paint and not something preserved via artificial means. I guess going to a concours event is out

I would imagine yes. If it protected the car from a curb, I don't see why not. To actually cut through the clearbra, it has to be sharp, like a rock. Car doors are not usually sharp but the impact might dent it.

There are whole car wraps but yeah, they might be worth more than the car costs

 

Seems the armorcoat has been available for quite sometime, but I could not find anyone in the area that has had it applied to their car. Also no luck finding any shops that had any knowledge of it so passed on it.

 

I also got some magic stuff to put into your oil so it never needs to be changed again

 

I have to disagree with you Billy. I had the clear bra on 2 of my cars within the last 4 years. I had to remove it from one car and it actually removed my clearcoat. I think this is because I had it installed at a 3M authorized store and it was a high quality 3M product.

It really pissed me off to find out I had to reapply clearcoat to a small section of the hood and to the front bumper, huge incovenience and not worth the cost.

Secondly, they are noticeable, especially on cars that are darker than silver. It all depends on the individual. If you want to look at a beautiful glossy waxed car and have a dull front bumper, or have a glossy car with a few rare and character building rock chips. I prefer to deal with the occasional rock chip.

I have had bumpers painted at local auto body shops for less than the $800 it takes to install the clear bra. I think I would rather re-paint it, than to deal with the unsightly lines and lack of shining paint on a daily basis.