dsc07

OK, went to Newport Lexus today for a wash and finally saw a car with the clear bra installed. Looked a damn sight better than I thought it would. About the only thing you could see was what looked like a scratch across the hood at certain angles. Otherwise it was clean and you couldn't even tell. This was on smokey granite and I've got starfire pearl. I'm afraid the line will be more visible on the white, or am I wrong?

If I drove under normal conditions, I wouldn't even consider it. I keep coming back to that whole plastic covers on the sofa stereotype. But 135 mi/day on the So. Cal. freeways are making me think otherwise. Already had 3 minor chips, which I was able to touch-up pretty effectively, fortunately. The car still looks showroom new at a glance.

So what do you guys think? Bra or not?

nine3es

iTrader: (3)

im with you, normal conditions never but you do drive a lot. i think the line would be less visible on the white, but lets hear what others say.

gs400jon

Lines are a lot more attractive than chips.

OBRon

I'm faced with the same dilemma. Picked up my new car last night and saw a Starfire Pearl RX with the full clear bra on the showroom floor. The line across the hood was quite noticeable. I signed up to just get the clear plastic for the bumper but it'll get installed at a later date. I don't put on much mileage in a year but you can get a stone chip from just one short trip on the Capitol Beltway.

The way that plastic lies on the hood, dirt is bound to accumulate along the edge. Imagine how it'd look in the spring with pollen and rain.

I like the idea of UV protection for the headlight lenses, though.

What I did do yesterday was get the Touch of Class interior and exterior protection package which puts a Teflon coating on everything that's supposed to last 7 years. Also added the hydrophobic coating to the windshield.

I sure wouldn't want to have stone chips on the hood but I'm not sure I want to put a third of it under a sheet of plastic. I'm open to opinions, though.

MikeE12345

I'm expecting delivery of my new 2011 LS460 AWD SWB in about 3 weeks, can't wait. Interestingly, in Canada it appears that the car comes with a full clear bra as standard. I was told it was made by 3M. I am getting the smokey granite also and looked at one in the lot with a bit of dust on it. It does show but not that bad. As was said above - looks a lot better than stone chips. I am glad to have it even thhough my driving isn't particularily punishing.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have clear bra on cars i own / keep, for sure. but i hate the line, so i do FULL hood

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yes, i remember reading in the past that canadian ls460 comes with clear bra already

dsc07

Interesting idea. That might be the way to go. Is that a specialty? How much additional are we talking? 2x, 3x?

I8ABMR

I would not own a car with no clear bra. I had a g35 back in the day that I only had the bumper done and after 5 years with that car the hood looked like a starry night. Even the roof of the car in front of the sunroof had chips. I used to do insane highway mileage with that car and learned the hardway. My GS had the full kit and my LS has the full kit as well. I am even having the door cups done on Monday and I am having the mirrors and door edges redone ( the mirrors are starting to look a little yellow ). I am very satisfied with the product and I am a total detail freak. The faint line is only noticeable if you are looking for it. My LS is white so it makes it even harder to see the line. Get the bra would be my vote

rominl

iTrader: (4)

umm, probably 60% more? the larger the piece, the higher the cost (coz' the whole big sheet can't have any imperfection

JFNash

Out of 44k miles I've driven, about 1k highways and yet the bra saved my paint from chips and even scratches when I miscalculated the spaced between the car and garage door columns.

I highly recommend it. You should also consider covering the whole hood. Never thought about it and don't know how it looks like but you should consider it. I've got a deep rock chip right in the center of my hood that could have been avoided had I had full hood bra installed.

redlight30

I have white and while you can see the line a bit many people say they hardly notice it. The bra did its job in two spots with some decent hits so I had it replaced on the front. Without it I shudder to think what those would have looked like.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

can look for pics of my ls460l or gs350, no one noticed about the clear bra at all

lexus paint is very soft (nowadays), very easy to get chipped

radiokilla

Def get the bra. My friend just drove his m3 to mexico and there was a truck in front of him that totally owned his foglights and flung rocks @ him (fogs not protected) but he has a clear bra on a carbon black car it really isnt that noticeable and his hood was totally fine. You never know what could happen!

brianlin87

iTrader: (11)

get the bra. /thread