Nospinzone

My car handles so well I just dodge all those pesky pebbles!

350Dave

Robarapta looks like the right person to get 'bra advice' from!

Mallory H.

Sorry, but to me clear bra and 5 year wax protection where the only thing getting waxed is your wallet is just not worth it. You will get chips beyond the point of the clear bra and on places that you can not place the protective film. Lexus paint is not the best, interior or exterior and at the end of the day the dealer will still find some lame excuse as to why you can't get top dollar for your trade. Try not waxing your car for 5 years, no for 1year and you are asking for trouble, any professional detailer will tell you it makes a good conversational piece and that is about it.

jettie1767

Your dealer should have them in-house or know where to go.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i am a detailer and i definitely don't agree. clear bra helps so much in protecting the paint. even though it doesn't protect against all chips, it still helps a lot. you have no idea how customers come in with the front end all chipped up and they expect to get the car back like new. i don't know what to tell them.

and just get the whole hood / fenders covered, more money but you get the best protection / look

Mallory H.

I agree that it does help but I just question it's benefits in the long run.
For the money spent Lexus should do better with the paint.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i agree the paint on lexus got worse, but that's been the case on most cars even for other brands like acura, infiniti, bmw, mb, audi. if anything acura's paint are the worst. that's all coz' of the law to go from oil base paint to water base to save the environment, which makes the paint a lot softer. really a pain if you ask me

on the other hand, i didn't have clear bra on my acura back in 01, very nice to see my first big paint chip after 2 weeks owning the car. starting my gs400, is300, sc430, i have had clear bra all along and they have served very well. in fact on my sc430, one day i noticed that a rock hit so hard that the clear bra peeled off. but the paint was all intact

Luxofreak

This link has pictures of my car with the clear bra installed. I highly recommend it.

Before installing it I had the car treated with Matrix Coating (ceramic) and I am 100% happy with it, I wash the car less because dirt just won't stick to the car.

Note the clear bra on the trunk area too - it avoids scratches when pulling stuff out of the trunk.

In my case, the clear bra covers bumpers (behind the front license plate too) and the headlights and fog lights, the rear view mirrors and 1/3 of the hood.

Johnny

I agree, if I was really worried about paint chips (or purses with heavy metal hardware dangling from them, or kids using the car as bouncing wall, or shopping malls, or vadalism, keying, dirt roads, or accidents in general), I'd never take it out of the garage.

zzzzdoc

I was warned off using Venture on my Lambo. It looks much better on initial installation, but develops severe orange peel and looks crappy in time. The 3M has aged well so far. I did the whole hood, as I don't like the line. Not cheap, but has protected the car well (and it's a much lower bumper hood than the LS460.

I'll probably use it on my LS600hL too.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yes that's correct, the older venture had no clear coat and over time all the dirt and stuff eats into the clear bra and makes it look dull, etc... i had the venture tape and i went through the exact same thing

the new one they have clear coat and better quality. i compared it side by side with the 3m, the 3m actually has more orange peel still

moreover, in order to cover the whole hood on the ls, you need to go to venture tape coz' they are the only one with large enough roll i believe

and yes, i agree, full hood would look a lot bteter, though on the ls you will probably need to do full fenders as well, due to the design of hood/fenders

zzzzdoc

No, you can get 3M large enough for the hood. Or at least large enough for the hood on my Lambo. I guess the LS hood is bigger, but I think you can still get the whole hood with 3M now.

Yes the 3M does have some orange peel. Which is a crime on my car which doesn't have any. But rock chips look worse, so what can you do...

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yup, very true, you just have to find a balance

keep us posted if there is big enough of a 3m film for the ls hood, that'd be interesting to know if people have options. i *think* you need 56" roll

fteiii

I had the clear protectant put on my LS and a good thing I did. Seems that the paint is delicate. The smallest piece of road debris seems to take the paint off all the way to the primer. If you do your car, do the front of the top, A pillars - everything that faces the air stream. And i've even got paint chips 12" from the rear of the hood. Cover the painted surface in front of the rear wheels too -- mine is being ground away by road debris. The paint is waaaay too delicate. Pay the price of the coating, it's better than a paint job.

fteiii

If I had it to do over, I would definitely do my whole hood. I've got BB sized paint chips almost to the wipers. And when I have one it goes to the primer. Looks like the paint actually flakes off from the impact. I have no idea how it happens from that angle. And be sure do to the front of the A pillars. EVERY front facing part of the car. I've only got 12k miles and it looks like I've been hit be a shot gun. I drive mostly interstate hwy, speeds 5-10 over the limit. I expect to need a paint job by 25k at the rate I'm going. The paint is delicate! PS: NO problems where the clear bra covers paint. I have it on an 06 vette with absolutely no damage. And yes, the 460 is fine car!