PAINT

I know from past experience there is a penalty to pay for paint on a car body, even if the paint was done for a strictly cosmetic reason. I had a car "keyed" once, and even though I took pictures to show why the car was painted, there is ALWAYS a penalty for paint, at least on trade ins, that is. My question is this: when there's enough road rash on a bumper, do you guys paint it, or ignore it. I like my cars to look good, hence the dilemma.

repaints for road rash are fairly common. i don't think a future prospective buyer would care too much as long as it was done properly and matched to the rest of the paint on the car.

Just had my GT3 front repainted and the clearbra'ed. I wouldn't think it would devlaue the car..but then again I plan on never selling the car....ever. Bt the way, nice avatar Richard Cheers, Dell

The front bumper is very hard to keep nice.

Get a clear bra. It is the best investment I've made for my car so far.

There's a lot of people that repaint the front bumper. Since it's a poly part, the little gauges dealers use to gauge paint thickness don't work since the poly isn't magnetic. So I wouldn't worry about it.

As Trista said........CLEARBRA. 1 time investment, no paint chips! I had it on my previous bumper and not having applied to my new GT3 bumper. Probably will do the hood and fenders this time as well.

Hi LVDell. I love having the clear bra on my 996. I'm actually thinking about having a part of it redone. I want to have my entire hood covered this time.

I am thinking of getting the whole hood done vice the 1/2 hood most usually do. Somebody recently posted that they had the 1/2 hood done and of course they had a few rock chips the next week just after where the clearbra ended on the hood

Clear bra is great for light colored cars but after seeing dark vehicles (it shows) I'd say I'm going to have to pass... 1) Drive further back from the car in front of you. 2) Don't worry about the re-sale, make yourself happy. 3) I would be happy to buy a car that's been cared for, even if it means some new paint on the front. -Eli

Thanks for the tip on the avatar, Dell....as far as the teams, my blood bleeds Yankee Blue, but in a friendly way....can't handle the fanatics who pop blood vessels over the rivalry!!!!! So glad Baseball is on the horizon, and can't wait to go to a few games!!!!

All great points Eli, but....... 1) Drop back and open the gap and somebody WILL jump in. And teh amount of construction out here in Vegas has turned the roads into a flying rock mine field. 2) I plan on NEVER selling the P-Car. 3) N/A My car is arena red and the first clear bra I had on the original bumper was virtually undetectable (unless you were up close). I would have to disagree with you on the darker color. If anything, the clearbra installers will tell you that white is the worst color to put it on.

I have black.... I seen a burgundy recently and you could see all the lines from about 15 feet back. -Eli

Maybe, but they are not eyesores. Also, as long as the installer does a good job you will not see them easily (or in my case not at all--no lines). For example, I had my installer install a custom piece instead of the pre-cut pieces so that it was one piece that covered the ENTIRE bumper and wrapped around the edges. Pretty much undetectable.

If its ugly, paint it.

huh?

The only way I care if a car's had paint work is if: 1. it's a concours car. But I wouldn't buy one of those anyway. 2. the paint work is/was shoddy. Seriously, it's the real world. Cars are driven, stuff hits them. Sometimes, *ssholes even attack them on purpose. As long as the work was done as well as at the factory, I don't care. In fact, some of the work I've had done is better than factory. My '87 Carrera had a full repaint, all glass/mouldings out, and it's as beautiful as any factory paint I've seen, and doesn't detract in the least from the value (IMO). As far as bumper road rash is concerned, paint it!

How noticeable a film is on a car depends on two things: 1. installation quality 2. film quality 3. exposed edges First of all, if the texture of the film has "orange peel" then, it will make it very noticeable on a darker colored vehicle. Films with noticeable texture is 3M, Clearshield, and Avery. As everyone already knows, black shows everything the most (scratches, swirls, etc.). 2nd, if the film is not installed properly, stretch marks, "dimples", dust and debris make the film very visible on dark colored vehicles. 3rd, how much gap is between the edge of panel and the film also creates a more visible look on darker colors. If the film is installed 1/16" to the edge, then it doesn't show up quite as much. Many of our installs wrap the edges of hoods & bumpers to create as seamless of an install as possible. As any fad in an industry, many people will try to get in........unfortunately, this brings on many inexperienced installers to the market. Most of these installers have yet to perform high-quality results. Window tint is a good example. Most tint installations on the market are plagued with bubbles, fading, purpling, dust filled installs. This is no different in paint protection. Again, quality of installation plus the quality of film is an important point in how the film looks on dark colored vehicles. Here are some up-close pics of black cars with wrapped edges: Here are some up-close pics of our installs as examples. The first two pics are installs from a local competitor in which this customer had it redone 3 times before finding us. The first shows what "orange peel" texture is along with stretch marks. The following shows solid wrinkles on the film. Following that are some pics of our redo:

Clear bras remind me of those people who put plastic covers on their sofas so that they'll last longer. Yuck.

Cars get rock chips because they're driven. Who the heck cares! I'm with Paul on this one...

Totally different Paul. The analogy you need to make is scotch guard on a sofa. Inivisible Protection.

I agree that my analogy was a bit harsh, but clear bras are not clear to me. Plus, when they get scuffed etc. it looks even worse. Cars get chipped when you drive them. Big deal. Eventually you repaint it. Nothing lasts forever, but I expect to be driving my car for quite a while longer. I've already gone through 3 bumpers on mine just from bottoming out all over the place. I get them on eBay - and then get them painted. No problem.

Had my first clear bra for over a year and never saw a scuff. This is one of those discussion like tyres. To each his own right? As for the clearbra, I like not seeing a single rock chip when my car is clean versus having my front bumper look like a bb gun went to town on it. Trust me, out here in Vegas where construction is just crazy you need it. Driving here is like driving thourhg a mine field of flying pebbles! Also, after those long road trips bugs, etc. just wife right off. Very easy to clean and maintain.

I totally agree with you LVDell. I like knowing that when it comes time to remove the bra, I'll still have untarnished OEM paint underneath.

Yup....and when you do it doesn't hurt the paint one bit. Not that I would ever remove it (except to maybe get a new one installed in 5 years or so )

This is just one of those products that either is or is not for an individual. However, from experience, we've noticed that SOME people against it have a good reason to dislike it........they've seen it and it didn't look good. How clear it looks really depends on the installation and quality of film.........Below are some pics of shoddy work..........believe it or not, this is the average standard. Keep in mind, these are high-end cars where the customers thought they were getting good installers..........crooked cut lines, orange peel, lifting of film w/ dirt getting underneath, air pockets, trapped debris, wrinkles, etc. Installation is the KEY and the quality of film only compliments a great install.