Question: How long must paint cure before clear bra?

I am having my front and rear bumpers repainted next month to return them to new condition. Someone ran their car up against my side in a parking lot and did real damage to the rear, but i just have too many rock chips and dings in the front so I am getting them both done. My questions are: How long do I need to let the paint cure on the front before I put a clear bra on? I have heard other people say several months and other say only 2 weeks. What do you experts think? Any recommendations as to who the most talented installer is in the Los Angeles (prefer Santa Monica/Venice or Calabasas areas) area who can do an excellent install particularly with the turbo style front bumper of my 40th Edition? My previous clear bra was put on by my dealer after there were already many little chips in the front and they person they used did an awful job in my opinion. thanks in advance - Rio

Longer the better. Also if you can let it cure in the sun it would be better. I have 3 cars so I was able to NOT drive the car for about 6 weeks before I have the clear bra installed. 6-8 is optimal but you can do as few as 2-3 weeks but then you are risking paint imperfections. 2 most important things in clear bra are: 1. Length of time to let the paint cure 2. Quality of installer

Never. When it gets so bad you can't stand it just repaint it. Your car will look better. Mine is over 5 years old and I have not repainted yet. If you get close enough to see the few stone chips I have you would see the clear bra line first. Just say no to any kind of bras. Bras are for sissys.

Thanks, I plan on only having the clear bra on the bumper as a full wrap, nothing going onto the hood or front fenders. So there is no line that would be visible. There is an economic argument to be made to not getting one and respraying when it gets really bad perhaps, but I am not worried about the aesthetics since I don't plan on having the visible line.

Ease up there Steve. No need to start calling people names for liking a specific product. As for the clear bra, if you have the full wrap on the bumper and it is done by a good installer you WILL NOT see it. Nobody even can see that I have it on my car. And the greatest part about it is that the car goes 50-60 miles rountrip on commute every day here in Vegas where the dirt, bugs, and ROCKS are horrible. Especially the rocks with all the construction boom we are experiencing. After a day of dust, bugs, and rocks I just spray it down and wipe it clean. NO BUGS, NO DIRT, NO CHIPS!!! Your "paint every couple years" strategy is flawed in that you will ALWAYS have chips. For me, on my darn near $100K car I prefer to have a clean looking front not one that is all chipped up. But to each his own.

I have yet to see a clear bra that I can't tell. All of the ones I have seen have a certain amount of "orange peel" to them. I agree with Steve on this one. Rio, since you are having them painted one of the things you can do is have an additive put in the paint to "soften" the paint. This will help prevent chipping. Find a good paint shop, they will know what I am talking about. Of course I don't know what color you are painting...it is sometimes difficult to match some of the more "unique" colors.

We could go on forever on this topic. Just like wheels, exhaust, etc, etc, etc,..............

Rio: I had Premier Mobile do the install in my 40th. They came to my house here in the LA area. Did the full cover bumper. You can stop by or we can meet someplace if you want to check it out. Send me a PM. Cheers.

Fast40th - That is an extremely generous offer you made to Rio. That's what I like about this forum, not only do you get a lot of sound advice, most everyone is very willing to help. However, because the members are spread across the country and the world, the help usually has to be limited to advice given via the written word. You, however, took the initiative to offer someone some assistance in person, which is not as easy as sitting in front of your PC and "clacking" away at the keyboard. Even though I am not directly impacted by your willingness to help Rio, I certainly do recognize and appreciate the generous offer you extended to him. Here is a big THUMBS-UP to you, Fast40th!

Clearbra? Only on Jenna! Right Del?

It's hot here in MN. A rare 95 degrees so we are not so nice today. Just thought I would try to get so controversy going so I have something to read. I don't think bras are for sissys but I also don't think they are worth doing. A friend of mine had one done on his Audi S4 and the installer made razor cuts that went into the paint.

I didn't think Jenna wore a bra anyway? YEAH.......JIM's BACK IN THE MIX!!!!!!!! Clever ploy Steve I thought I sensed a bit of instigation. I almost took the bait. My goodness the heat here is killin' me, I am starting to hallucinate. Oh yeah, currently we are at a balmy 118. ARGH!

Pics of Jenna in a clear bra?

Oh I wish......Jim?

Orange peel is a problem w/ certain films.....technology of film has gone quite far from its inception some 10 yrs ago. There are clearer films on the mkt, but many companies are using 3M, which does exhibit the orange peel texture you are mentioning. 2nd is installation. Those razor cuts are very likely done by someone inexperienced in this field and should not be generalized to the whole. To have the bumper custom wrapped would create a seamless look and at the same time provide protection from road debris, which is always a good thing. As for having the seam on the hood, there is film that is lg enough and clear enough to cover the whole........not many companies carry this size due to cost though......fortunately we do.

From what I hear from others, Premier Mobile would be a great company to do my install. The problem is that I am in LA and having my front/rear bumpers done the week of August 1. Premier, send me a PM if you have any ideas on when you may be down in the LA area again on an installation tour.

I waited 30 days before putting an X-Pel Clear Bra on after painting my bumper.

How long does paint need to cure before WAXING? The shop told me 2 to 3 months, but I was hoping to apply some Rejex in a couple of weeks. Will it help speed up the process if I leave the car in direct sunlight?

I'd wait 30 days at least...yea, park it in the sun, that helps....but stay away from trees or anywhere birds can poop on it.

Yeah, that makes sense. I only had the bumpers painted. Now I'm paranoid about going up driveways again. The roads in this town SUCK!

Paul - I guess you're just going to have to raise the car back to it's original SUV height again!