Clear Bra
 

I bought my A/M DB9 Volante two years ago with 13, 800 miles on it in excellent condition. The color is Ghillies Green. I drive it every day and love the car. The problem is that small chips are developing at the front edge of the hood and at the back of the flared rocker panels. I am considering touching up the chips and applying a clear bra to either just the back of the rocker panels or to the entire hood, bumper, mirrors and entire rocker panels. I would very much appreciate hearing about the experience of those who have done this and what your advice is.

I had the clear bra on all three of my vantages, almost a mandatory item. My 2015 GT I had the full clip done full hood and fenders, for about $1500. My 09 Vantage needed some correction done, was just the front partial 3M, which ended up being about $900.

to what extent would the clear bra cover/hide existing minor rock hits/chips on a 996 hood?

with no touch up paint

Car has numerous small pits from many years of lovin'




I think small blobs of touch up paint in each pit before clear bra, might even make the chip stand out more?

Clear bra was one of the best investments I made in mine. Not sure about coverage of touch-up to chips on the Green. The darker colors seem a little more difficult to blend, especially with a daily driver in sunny Florida :cool: and the potential for fading. If you were closer to Central FL I have a person to recommend, he's excellent++. PM me if you'd like his contact info. He might be able help with some professional guidance.

A clear bra is one of the best investments one can make for our depreciating assets. Having a re-spray/re-paint before having the clear bra installed is the best way to go (though it can be pricey). A clear bra might hide smaller chips slightly but any large ones will be as noticeable if not more so. In my experience, with expel and 3M film, the paint looks even shinier and the film didn't do anything to conceal the chips. I would have to look at my car from a certain angle to convince myself that the chips were gone. Frustrating.

Basically, if you haven't had a clear bra installed immediately you will have to weigh the cost of having it taken care of perfectly (or as close to it as possible) or just adding the clear bra to prevent further incidents.

I do the front bumper, full hood, headlights, front fenders, full doors (potential door ding mishaps) and mirror caps costs about $1800.

I've had good luck with them so far. Definitely fix the chips before installing, I only had a few small chips and they are more visible with the film installed.

About a month ago I was showered with gravel by on oncoming car, several pieces hit my hood (with clear bra installed) and windshield. Long story short, my hood fared much better than my windshield which now has a few small pits. Clear bras work!

I have Xpel Ultimate covering most of my Quantum Silver V8V roadster. It was costly but gives me a welcome sense of security when driving about. I recently tested out the film's self healing properties (google the videos) and was pleased with that. After cleaning the car, I had noticed a couple very small marks on the finish, so I heated up a wet micro fiber cloth in the microwave for 20 seconds and gently rubbed them away. Pretty cool! I agree with getting the paint sorted before getting any film; as many on the forum have suggested, even with a new vehicle, a professional color correction can greatly improve the look of the paint.

Have the front bumper, headlights and lower portion of the hood clear wrapped. Both passenger and driver doors are wrapped in 3M material. Was original since day one of ownership. The only drawback is when looking at the doors from various angles, it appears the paint has orange peel. The paint is pristine, but the plastic refracts lights a bit. Best investment and thrilled the original owner had the fortitude to select this option on day one.

A high-quality clear bra is worth every penny and more than pays for itself over its lifetime.

clear bra is the first item i put on my car. When I got my aston, I didn't drive it more than around town for almost 2 weeks waiting for my clear bra guy to have an open slot for me!

I had my entire V8V wrapped before it hit the road from the dealership. The full custom wrap was about $7k, worth every penny. Make sure you get Xpel as it "self heals" and protects your car from bird poop. The wraps are much more advanced and are porous so you shouldn't have different shades of paint if you remove the clear bra (so they say). I recommend you go to a professional who does custom jobs rather than factory cut. If you plan to get a clear bra, go with the full hood so it's not noticeable.

The clear wrap has already paid for itself. My drunk ex girlfriend decided to pull my car out the driveway and the right fender slightly scraped against the garage wall. Luckily, the wrap protected my paint and body 100%! Another time my investment paid off was when a I noticed a imperfection on my hood and figured it was from an airborne rock on the freeway.

I learned the hard way in the past with my black M6. After about one year, the front bumper had small white chips everywhere. Don't make the mistake I did.

Good luck!

The clear bra is a must. Make sure when you touch up the paint that you let it cure for about 30 days prior to putting on the bra.

If I have a clear bra applied to the front bumper, headlights, rocker panels and lower portion of the hood (or full hood), what do I do for washing, waxing, polishing, etc. After that?

Wash, Polish, wax as normal.

Any recommendations on the best place to have this done in the southeast?

Thx!