2015isboy

This is awesome

Silveon

from what i have been quoted, clear bra costs around $300 for just the front while opticoat costs $500ish for the entire car. in southern california WOuldnt it be better to just get opticoat?

EZZ

Just get Opti gloss-coat and do it yourself. It'll cost $50 and be pretty easy to do. It will only last 2 years vs 4 but it's much cheaper. Get the clear bra. So-cal has too much road debris.

350Alex

My big reservation when it comes to getting the clear bra installed, is that not only are they expensive, from what I've seen, but that they don't cover a lot of the important areas. For example, the front edge of the hood is generally not covered, which can be one of the areas most prone to rock chips.



If I could find a place that would do a full front bra install, including the bumpers and the hood, for that price, I'd definitely consider it! From what I've seen, they cost closer to $1000, although, I may be wrong.


An update on the plastidip: so far so good! Better than expected, in fact! I was afraid that the coat would start peeling around the edges, in the area(s) where they weren't cleanly cut, but there is no peeling to speak of, and the coat overall looks so good, still, that I've decided to keep it on for the near future! Actually, it's kind-of funny, because none of my friends noticed the difference on the car until I pointed it out, and even then, on first glance, they still don't notice. Lexus did a good job with matching white plasti-dip when they created the Ultra White color.

MiniaLT

Nice job!
You saved probably 1500$, doing your self

prooks

Smart, I really should've done this over the painters tape solution. I drove from socal to norcal and got questions at every gas stop, looks at every intersection, and race challenges from every muscle car I came across. Not to mention half of the tape flew off on the way so it wasn't really effective. However, I did like the look!

I'm very curious to know how easy/hard it was to get your dip off? That was my only concern.

AyeBird

That's great to hear! Not only did Lexus do a good job matching Ultra White with the plastidip, but you also did a great job applying it and it shows by being practically invisible to others. Even from the pictures, it blended in very well with the Ultra White. It looks like you found a cheaper and efficient alternative to clear bra

nathantse

Any recommendations on Opti-coat?

I get alot of bug splat on my car, as well as bird sht. =\

evident

opticoat won't save you from rock chips.

Austin1210

Great Job man, it looks great!

350Alex

Haha! Actually sounds like it made your trip more interesting. Not sure if I'd recommend the plasti in that case.


But as for ease of removal, so you can get a full perspective: my car lives in a parking garage most of the time, but it does sit outside for ~20 hours a week. After a little over a week of being installed, including about 500 miles of highway driving, other assorted driving, and two car washes (including pretty vigorous scrubbing of the 'dip itself), it still looks like new, and seems as though it would peel off with no issues at all. Also, I waxed my car before application.

I've read that WD-40 or similar basically turns the 'dip to mush, in the case that it's not easy to remove. It seems like it should just wash off after you spray some on the car.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the complimentary words!

Side note: Despite the fact that I've only been on this forum for a brief period, I appreciate how encouraging and positive everyone seems to be. Of course every forum has its trolls, but it seemed like almost all of the BMW forums I've been on are just completely full of them. So thanks to everyone for being so awesome!

350Alex

Alright guys, the day has come; the 'dip had to come off! I was washing my car last night, and was spray-cleaning the wheel wells. I hit the edge of the dip at the rear of the bumper in a way that got under the plasti dip, and it started peeling off. I figured it's served its purpose at this point anyway, so I started taking it all off. Except for a couple of small spots that were applied less generously, the whole thing came off in ~20 minutes with ease! The paint underneath still looks beautiful, and I plan to reapply the 'dip before my next trip!

nathantse

Do you happen to have a link or place I can buy this brand of dip? I'm making a trip down to So Cal in a week I was planning to do something similar to this.

I do have a couple questions if you don't mind me asking.

How long was this process to complete?
Can this is done outside in the open?
Any pics of the peeling process?