I’m thinking about adding a clear bra for my car, however, I’ve already had the car for about 2 years, and got a decent amount of paint chips from road rocks. I’m wondering if it’s still a good idea to do so, should I touch it up first, or should I get it repainted first? I’m just worried that if I ever need to remove the clear bra, it might life up the edges of the paint chips and damage the paint. What would you guys do in this situation? I’m thinking to get the entire front bumper, front hood and fenders as well as lights done. Thanks

 

suggest you re-paint, then add clear bra

 

If you can, provide pictures of the hood and bumper. Sounds to me like if you're ready for the investment, better to repaint first and start from scratch.

 

I would repaint... why would you even care to protect the paint from more rock chips if it already had alot of rock chips? Get it re-painted and clear bra it.

 

Exactly....no point protecting something that doesn't need protecting. If you got it all repainted...that would be a good reason to clear bra. Do it right or don't do it at all.

 

Leave it the way it is or get it repainted first. It's all or nothing because if you decide to clear bra the front right now, you're going to end up paying more if you decide you want to get it repainted.

 

HAHAHA that made me laugh...Repaint...scratch!

Seriously though, Its a good idea to repaint the front end ($1500ish) and then they will install clearbra for a nominal fee (usually around $200)

 

Just be careful if you do repaint it, that you ask the shop how long to wait before you can put the clearbra on it. The shop will have to take everything off the front end and paint it so there are no edges anywhere that the clearbra may pull up someday if it has to be removed. Plan on not ever taking the clearbra off unless it is damged really bad, and then make sure you know how, or you have the c/bra installer do it.
Touch up paint would be scary to use, as it might lift up if the bra were to be removed much more easily..
If you have access to a good touch up, like Dr. ColorChip, you might experiment to see how good it matches, because if it comes out perfect or almost, it would be way less expensive to touch up and c/bra it, than to repaint the entire front end with a blend into the fenders..
Good luck with this. DanF

 

I was just waiting for someone to point out my no pun intended line I was going to edit it, but then I thought what the hell...

 

$1500 to repaint the front bumper?! Make sure you comparison shop - I paid about half of that to get mine done. And most clearbra installs are between $500-$700 to cover up to 1/3 of the front.

But to echo everyone else's advice, get your front painted before getting the clearbra.

 

I agree, if you are going to spend the money to get a clear bra done you might as well have a fresh coat of paint to protect. One thing to remember is that the clear bra recommends the paint be fully cured. I had to wait 3 weeks before I could get mine done, so I used one of those ugly black bras to cover most of the front and since I had a lip kit I had to use painters tape to keep from getting any chips while driving around. Luckily I didnt have to drive it much until I got the clear bra on

 

thanks guys. I think i'm going to leave it for now, and when it gets really bad, i'll repaint the bumper and hood. It's not too bad now, so probably just some dr. chip repair kit will do the trick.

 

Well, I normally would agree with everyone on the board.

I have a SGM IS350, and when I bought it it had a bunch of chips on it. I thought about repainting and then clear bra... but the problem is that you have to wait at least 30 days before applying the clear bra. Since it was a daily driver, I would have to drive it and would definitely get more chips again.

I opted to touch up all the spots with touch up paint, wait a week, and then get the clear bra. Now it doesn't look perfect if you get up super close and inspect it, but from 2 feet it looks fine.... so just figured I'd throw that out there...

I would say the chip repairs are less noticeable with the clear bra on there then they were before hand.

 

I have the same issue... The car is about a year old and the rock chips are so bad that rust is forming already.. The body shop quoted us 200$ to repaint and 700$ for the 3M and installation. If your going to spend money I would repaint first then apply the clear bra.
Isthrizzy is right you have to wait 30 days... so get a beater or use a second car.