So, I was washing my 2009 Fit Sport myself for the first time since October (I know I've been lazy) and noticed a bunch of chips (or nicks) on the front of the hood and on the bumper. They aren't noticeable when the car is dirty (so I never knew) but now that the car is clean, they are.

I wanted to fix/ prevent further damage. Is a clearbra the right thing to apply? I'd get it done at a local installer. Can they "fix" the current chipping with touch up paint or is that a lost cause?

Thanks.

 

Fixing is a lost cause. Honda uses cheap paint and chips alot. You could repaint bumper and hood. Then apply clear or black bra to keep this from happening again.

 

It's not really that is cheap paint, they just don't apply coat after coat after coat. At least you weren't bullying a SL500 and a rock came shooting out and put a decent size dent in the bonnet as well as took paint away. Guess that will teach me to try and make slower cars get into the slower lane...NOPE it won't. MOVE your ass to the left(right over there) if you are slower than thou.

 

I don't want a repaint/ new hood yet as the car is 2.5 years old. I'm happy to have a clearbra installed and then hope to prevent further damage. This sucks!

 

I've had clear 3M film on my Fit since it was new. A friend of mine applies it to every vehicle I get, when new. Keep in mind the precision cut kits for our car (and many others), don't extend down all the way to the leading edge of the hood. They start about 1/4" - 1/2" from the edge. There will still be some exposed surface area. That's just the way the patterns are cut, otherwise they would lift from the edges.

 

XJP5, is that true even if the dealer installs it?

ROCKGUARD Paint Protection Film

These guys are in my area, so I was thinking of using them.

 

Depends on how the pattern for the specific car is cut. I've had it dealer installed before on one of my cars and it was the same way.

 

More on the same topic:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...advisable.html

 

I had a pretty big scratch on my hood. The scratch mark was through the paint, and exposed the primer I think (white paint)? I used a touch up paint purchased from my dealer and now it looks works. The paint is blotchy, not flush at all and looks like a total eye sore.

Any reomendations to remedy this problem? maybe use a really low grit sand paper?

 

blaze- check out Langka for your chips and fix those before you apply the clearbra.

goodluck!

 

this is an ideal time to bring up, "get clear bra?" vs "skip clear bra, repaint when ready to sell"

clear bra option looks like it would have won if OP got the bra on the first place.

OP- you can try using touch up, then having the bra installed. but if i were you, depending on how many chips there are (if a lot of chips) I wouldn't bother with putting on the bra.

 

mole. It's not horrible, but I kind of want to protect the paint. I only have 22K miles and I'll put at least 15K on this year, based on my new job.

Will the hood ever rust? I'll see if the bra place can touch up the paint on Monday.

 

I just called for the price of installing the clearbra, and it's about $650. That's a lot, and may have been worth it if new, but now I think that I should just wait for the hood to look like crap and get it repainted (although Blackberry Pearl paint will likely be expensive)!

 

hood will rust as it's made out of steel unless you touch it up.

 

$650? That's a bunch of money. I got mine from the dealer when it was new and it cost $500 when it was bundled up with other stuff I thought was unneccessary. There should be a bunch of places in Philly that will do a clear bra install for less than that. Check out window tint and custom car audio shops. I got a quote for my roommate's Civic for a bit over $300 at a local tint shop.

 

if you want to try applying clearbra yourself, buy from here. it's not super hard to do and doesn't require any special equipment.

ryan is the owner here and he's a nice guy:

www.autopaintguard.com

 

I would spend $600 for cabon fiber hood instead of clearbra, IMHO.

 

^^CF^^ - also considering local body shop painting it black - heavy duty I use the upper OEM car bra. No issues - does the job.

 

Well, rust spots have formed .

I bought a rust-oleum scratch and repair kit yesterday and hope to apply it & touch up paint this weekend.

Walmart.com: Rust-Oleum Scratch & Chip Repair Kit: Automotive

I basically want to get a few more years and then can get the hood/ car repainted or get a carbon fiber hood.

Any experiences/ tips with using the rust-oleum product (I can still return it!)? Thanks.

 

I've never used it, but have used their rust killer stuff with good results. Following the instructions w/ rustolium usually works. You finish touch-up w/ OEM color, right?