Hi everyone,

I am consider the possibility of getting a clear bra for my future Fit as soon as I get it. I will be drive a lot of long distance so chips and scratches are common. However is it worth paying 500 plus to get a bra installed instead of paying that amount later (say, before I sell the car in 3 yrs) to have it repaired/repainted? How much does it approximately cost to repaint the whole car of this size? hundreds? thousands?

The last car I had, a leased Camry, had 400 dollar repair bill, that covered all the wear the tear on paint and hub caps, after 3.5 yrs of driving. I never baby it, and I only washed it twice! It seems like cheaper than getting a bra on, and honestly I don't know what a clear bra will look like after a number of years of weathering.

 

yes its well worth it getting a clear bra. saves the paint, hood, headlights, and bumper on the car. i wish i got a clear bra when i first bought my fit. i will get one installed when i get my mugen bumper and new headlights

 

its worth it.. i regret not getting one...

 

i got it... now i have less fear of chips.

and it makes the car nice if you want to sell it.

 

I think it's a good idea. Your car will look great and you'll be more relaxed. That said, I'd check around on pricing. I called a place here in metro Detroit last week and for a 3M product they wanted just $299 for the hood (partial) and the front bumper. You can go for the full monty with the mirrors, roof, etc., so I'm curious to what degree others have gone. Keep us posted!

 

I got an estimate of $3-4000 from Honda to re-paint a brand new Fit. I'm sure you could get cheaper estimates from other body shops but the paint almost always fades, so...

Got an estimate of $495 for the clear-coat. That's the entire front end, hood, bumpers, fenders, mirrors and door handle indentations. Not the roof of the car. In 4 or 5 years the price of paint will go up higher, maybe the clear-coat as well. Almost all of that is labor, of course.

 

Is "clear-coat" same as a plastic bra? or is it just a coat of transparant paint? I think a bra layer should be more durable against chips and minor scrapes than a coat of clear paint right?

 

They must be pulled off at least once a week to clean, the sun leaves a darker area, the spots where they "clip to the car cause paint rub outs etc. In other words THEY SUCK. The only REAL protection is the 3M full coverage paint protection which will basically protect your entire car but you better find a top of the line installer and be prepared to drop at least 500 and more like 700 on a quality install./ I paid to have 5 or 6 cars protected so I have the experience,

 

Yeah, I just hate the term "bra!" I wear one every day but my car doesn't need a bra!

I can call it front-end clear plastic shield if you like. Just can't call it a bra.

 

to me, these bra things traps moisture and just makes me think that the car is going to rust faster...also the sun spots.

 

got one on my car...love it and didn't have to pay for it, came on the car when i bought it!

 

Sorry I have to chime in here, you do NOT have to take them off every week. They can be safely left on for up to a month, it all depends on what kind of weather is in your area. If it rains, then yes you need to take it off the next chance you have to clean your car. With that, as long as the car is cleaned properly and waxed properly a regular bra will not harm the car. As well as long as regular care is taken of the bra itself it will work very well and last you a long long time. And yes the fit is NOT my first car to have a regular bra.

Clear bra's depending on which one you get can work, however they are still a layer of material between your cars paint and the sun. Here in FL the sun is in a word BRUTAL! And I can say from seeing clear bra's fail I would NEVER put one on my fit. First, you can NOT remove it to correct the finish of your car, meaning if there is a swirl mark or hologram in the finish it stays there until your clear bra is removed, so definitely have the car professionally cleaned and polished before doing one. Second, they can yellow, peel, and depending on the color of the vehicle will show a paint color difference if you have it removed, there is a 2005 Kia in my driveway that is living proof of it. Do they work, sure but they are not for me.

I am a bit of the clean freak to where I spend 3-4 hours cleaning my fit weekly. My bra goes on every other week during regular season, and during lovebug season it stays on and is only removed to clean the car. The Fit's have SOFT paint, it's just something we as owners have to live with no matter what choice you decide to use to cover your front end, just make sure it is what you can live with maintenance wise and what you want.

 

Definitely get one. Honda paint chips so easily. After three months of owning my car, I got half a dozen chips already! Repainting will never be the same.
Although they do yellow a bit and is more noticeable on a white car. There are ways to clean the film if you look around detailing forums.

 

I've come full circle...and then some...

A little over a year ago, I bought my Fit. Due to research and information, some of it from this very site...I decided to have a clear bra installed with purchase.

I have a black 2010...and had 3M clearbra installed on the front. I thought it looked fine after being installed...and a year later it still looks fine.

The Negative: There is a line where the clearbra ends...IMO you can barely see it and it's not an issue. However? It's a little more of a pain when you go to wax or polish, as I personally work to avoid getting wax or polish on the edge..if you do..it can make the line more visable and result in a little more elbow grease..also not a huge issue.

The biggest negative I had? Very shortly into ownership with the clearbra some bird droppings got on the clear bra'ed part of the hood. It wasn't on long...and I quickly and carefully washed it off..however? The droppings left a very visable cloudy spot, that try as I might I could not get to disappear. Long story short? I ended up taking the vehicle back to the installer who had to use professional skills and equipment to remove it...what I was told was that it probably would of faded on it's own over time....I can say it's not visable today. Maybe I simply was not patient enough to wait and see if it faded on it's own...but while it was on the clear bra, it looked horrible. Again, it was removed and today is not visable.

The Positive: I think outside of the Bird Dropping "incident"..the clear bra has held up over a year very well. My hood looks very chip free..especially in comparison to some spots on the side where I have picked up small rock chips.

It's hard to know how much better it looks today vs. how it would look had I NOT had the clearbra installed but my front hood looks great and I've been driving for 1 year and 16000+ miles.

So I've kinda come full circle. When the bird dropping incident happened? I really thought having the clearbra installed was a mistake. I vowed at the time that I would NOT have clearbra installed ever again. But now? I think it has helped.

I don't know how much it would help in resale..if that is your main goal. And if you typically don't spend a lot of time on vehicle appearance maintenance then hood protection might simply not be a great enough benefit to you. You said you only washed you previous vehicle twice....

But I can say...outside of "evil bird" droppings I think 3M clearbra has offered protection from rocks and chips...and I think my hood looks better today than it probably would if I had not had it installed. I however "care" more...I'm not a kamikaze detailer type...but I do try to keep my vehicle looking good, which means I wash it at least every few weeks...and wax and polish routinely.

I think whether or not I wanted a clearbra might hinge on how big a deal the appearance of your vehicle is to you...and not so much on how much it might bolster or not bolster any potential resale.

If you're trading it in? A dealership, isn't going to admit to an advantage or give you much "more" just because you have clearbra and the hood looks better than average. Even if on their end..they know they are going to later sell it for more because it does have clearbra and does look better....

Make your choice accordingly...

 

Hmmm... interesting point you bring up. I think its the bumper that needs the bra most though, and the hood doesn't get it that bad really... would you still do just the bumper?

 

get the clear bra. if i ever get my cars painted, i will definitely install some 3m film.

 

I don't like bras...I can never figure out how to take them off.

 

Well Hood/Bumper, whatever, you are going to have a line on the edge.

It's up to you. Like I said, I don't think it's an issue, because basically it's pretty invisible.

Most installation includes hood and portions of bumper...to me? I wouldn't bother doing either/or....the aerodynamic shape of The Fit leaves the hood vulnerable to a lot of rock chips.

If you are paying for installation, be sure to know exactly what portions are being covered.

 

i would do bumper/half of the hood/mirrors

 

I'd do bumper, the entire hood, mirrors.