I hate to resurrect an old thread, but I saw a clear bra for the first time today. It was on a dealer's car that came up from Houston. The car was Obsidian Black with a very light coat of dust on it and the clear bra was VERY visible. I thought it looked terrible. The edge of the bra stood out very visibly. I was told when the car was cleaned up you could hardly see it. So, when you wax your car with a bra on it, doesn't that make the edge show up?

 

rjm, most clear bra owners don't use the compound wax when getting close to the edge. the best way to take care of the edge is to use a sprayable wax to prevent wax build up along the edge. if there is some wax build up, i'm sure removing it can be done with a few toothpicks, just don't let it sit forever and harden up.

 

just did our obsidian black LS with full clear bra 3 days ago from Premier Mobile Group.

Great job and can barely see it.

Its all about the installer..........

 

the trick is to put masking tape over the edge when you wax

 

I didn't go the 3M route. Went with Venture Shield instead. Here's the thread with pics:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=288349

 

A clear bra on a Lexus reminds me of my Great-Grandmother who had all of her living room furniture covered in a clear plastic covering. And the fact that it is necessary on a Lexus because of the soft, inferior paint that they are using really steams me.

 

that's pretty biased comment isn't it? i see clear bra on almost any other brands too, including lambo and ferrari. it's a type of protection, but not coz' lexus has soft paint (which i agree)

 

Had my LS installed with the 3M clear bra and it looks awesome. Had my hood and fender and side mirrors done. The installer I used was awesome.

 

Of course it's a biased comment. You either like them or you don't. I just happen to fall into the latter category. But what bothers me is that they are necessary in the first place because of the soft paint they are using (which, I think, you apparently agree). My choice would be to drive without the bra installed, and when I go to sell the car, have it professionally touched up. I just simply don't like the looks of the thing on the car. I think it cheapens an otherwise very attractive car.

 

It's worth pointing out that Rominl said he has the whole hood covered ... that would explain why no one can tell it's been bra'd. The ones that show are the ones done the usual way - front quarter of hood - and the cutline DOES show. It's just a matter of how badly it bothers you.

I happen to be one of the people it does bother (as does the price ). My own solution is a good paint detailer once a year or so. For $100., I can get the whole front end returned to stock condition. And BTW - black shows chips a lot worse than my Smoky Granite.

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My car is at the dealer today to have the 3m clear shields installed. If I've known what I know now I would have done this from day one.

$600, complete front end, fenders, mirrors, rear rockers and rear trunk lid shelf.

 

garyr- sounds like a good deal! good job!

 

That's dealer cost, they are not marking it up.......They usually tack on 20%.

Cliffud, I clicked on your link and tried to contact someone in my area but after repeated calls I could not get him to call me back.