Well, my three months are up since I repainted most of my Max, and I can finally look at protecting my baby w/ some wax, a rock deflector, and some sort of bra to ward off the FL lovebugs that annihilated my paint for the last four years (never again!). My questions to you are:

1.) Where to purchase a rock deflector that can be installed either a. w/o mounting tape (i.e. installed with a few well-placed screws on the underside of the hood), or b. installed with mounting tape on the underside of the hood so it doesn't screw up the paint. (Before you say it, the one from CE installs with tape boo).

My idea is that I don't want a rock deflector just driving around town, but do want one for the highway, so I want to be able to install/uninstall easily.

2.) To put 'clear bra' film on my front bumper, strip on the end of my hood, on the mirrors, and along the top of the windshield will ward off the evil love bugs, but it is expensive and will cause paint mis-matches in the future. Those of you who have them, have you experienced a fading effect?

To avoid all of those issues, I'm thinking of just putting a strip of the clear bra material (essentially clear tint as far as I can tell) above the windshield and some on the mirrors, and using a regular bra for the three months of summer (when lovebugs are more numerous than oxygen molecules) and for highway trips.

So...on to the point of this long diatribe, which is: those of you that have clear bras, have you experienced any fading or problems?

Those who have regular bras, how hard are they to put on and take off? Can I get one that velcroes on to the underside of the hood maybe? Have you seen any paint damage as a result of the bra being on too long and water being trapped underneath, or is that easy to avoid?

Any and all enlightenment is welcome, including those comments ranting about how nubes always post intake questions. This is a huge decision for me one way or the other b/c I'll be sticking with the consensus until my Max gives out and I am forced to buy an Infiniti (read: at least 7 more years).

Thanks for reading this long post, I appreciate all your help!

P.S. - I'm moving to Ithaca, NY in a few months, any Northerners have a preference one way or another b/c of snow/ice problems?

 

the paint under clear bra stays the same as the un protected stuff. atleast it did on my last car for the 4-5 years I had it.

Greg

 

Given that you're supposed to wax the clear bra and wax the hood (i.e. wax both when you wax your car), assuming that you are conscientious about protecting your paint with wax you shouldn't see any difference. I only had my first one on for a few months before replacing it (hood repainted - long story, nothing to do with the bra or lack of protection) and there was no difference.

 

the leather bra looks kinda lame IMO and the paint under it can get hazy if you don't remove it and dry it everytime it gets wet. i'd go with the clear bra.

 

I have a leather bra. It's sitting in my closet after I re-painted my front-end. Trust me, don't do it unless you have so many chips in your paint that you forgot what color it is. The bra will allow dirt to get under it and leave scratches all over your hood and bumper. I had REALLY bad luck with mine.

 

I only put my bra on after the front of the car was rock chipped to hell

 

i got a leather bra for sale if u want it

 

I agree completely with all three things you said here. Assuming, of course, we are talking about women and not cars, that is

 

PERVERT!!

 

Everyone's describing the bras as being leather. I'm pretty sure they are vinyl Leather doesn't usually do very well when it gets wet.

 

Well, consensus so far says go w/ the clear bra....I'll admit that I like the look of the clear better, but not the price . Any more opinions either way?

 

After seeing what the leather bras do to the paint, I will never put one on. As far as the 3M stuff goes, they have great reviews and Ive never heard of it causing any asthetic damage.

-BTW....why you movin to NY? Right now id kill to be in Tampa! (I plan on moving there after college )

 

I have used the black bra on other cars with no problem. You need to adjust the tightness and clean underneath it every now and then. You can't allow these type of bra's to "flap" around. Stick a piece of weatherstripping under the bra around the rear edges if your worried. If I had a black car like yours I would try that first. It is way cheaper. Unfortunately I have Tungsten Blue which I dont think would look good with a black bra. I've got to do something soon before THOSE DAMN LOVEBUGS COME OUT! They must come from an abyss from Hell!!! They exist strictly to mess us guys up with nice cars.

Gears

 

I agree with GBAUER, don't get one because--HOLY CRAP-- they are really hard to put on the first time. I had my brother's help and it still took all my power to put it on the fenders!!! Plus, pollen sticks to the underside like white on rice on a paper plate in a snowstorm.

 

I've been generally happy with my clear bra. I've received absolutely no chips in the protected areas. Though I do have a few complaints:
1. Bumper is VERY hard to do well
2. Edges tend to allow dirt to build up so you have to really detail the edges
3. Corners and edges can allow dirt in if not installed properly (use alcohol on all edges to "tack them down". I have a couple points where dirt has slid under the edges which are noticable up close.
4. Minor discoloration on lighter colors after a year or so. I'm considering using my warranty since my bra is very slightly yellow now. And I'm ALWAYS in the garage - even at work. IIRC, there is a 5 year warranty from this yellowing so I plan to pursure this at some point.

All in all, I highly recommend this over the alternative. The negatives above certainly aren't near as much of an eyesore as a full black bra or the chips on an unprotected front end. How-to is on my site.

 

Well, looks like the consensus is in and I'll go for the clear bra....but how about those rock deflectors? Anyone have one that is easy to put on and take off; should I go w/ the stealership, Stealin', CE, or Ebay? Can't have that paint unprotected for long with the buggy season on the way here in FL and lots of truckers on the highway....

P.S. - Maxima-Ness, I agree with you about moving up north; if only those Honda-owners had turned the map right-side up they would have put Cornell in Tampa where you can actually visit the beach several months out of the year...

 

how much to clear-bra the hood?

And are you guys doing it urself or you bring to a specialist??


Thanks

 

Okay.. I've found the info here:

http://www.invinca-shield.com/asp/genkit.asp?kit=3231




so basically you only cover the front end of the hood, correct? so what happens if you wax the whole car and the hood under clear bra cannot be waxed? can you see shining differences??


Thanks

BB

 

I'd go with the invincashield! and professional install. I read Housecors "how to" (great site by the way!! big ups!!) and decided to try it on my wife's MDX. After spending $550 for the whole kitchen-sink kit and 3 1/2 hours of the most foul language tirade you've ever heard, I ripped off the two pieces I attempted to install and called a professional. It was money well spent! It looks fantastic and was done in 1/10 the time it would have taken me. This is a case of it looks easier than it really is!!!!! I even have the "how to" video from Invincashield with a tiny little woman doing an install on a Ford F-150. God it looked soooo easy! Don't be fooled like me, spend the money on a pro and just enjoy.

Bborges: I had mine done at Cartunes/Attention to detail in Middletown if your intertested. Ask for Joe.

 

NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


thanks..i'll check into that!

 

If you get the Invinca-Shield clear bra (3M material) then it runs roughly $400 even to cover the front bumper, strip above windshield, strip along frontmost 3" of hood, and strips vertically along front of front wheel wells. In addition, I'm going to get some put on the A pillars and mirrors, which is another kit I'm pretty sure, which will bring the total to around $450 installed. If you live in the southeast and have ever been through a lovebug storm (especially if you have a black maxima) you want to protect all of these areas!


Still looking for info on rock deflectors if anyone wants to chime in...

 

does this thing work at all against stones?

http://weathertech.com/store/vehsear...tem_group_id=5

 

How much does Professional installation cost on one of these?
I am definately thinking of getting one when i repaint my front clip

 

Nice info. Are you getting the headlight strips too? Just curious. I am considering this...
Gears

 

how much did you guys pay to repaint your front ends, those of you who have...because my 02 is quite bad, it was in TX for 100k miles and TX is terrible with all that wind and sand, not good for the thin paint on 5th gen max's...im just wondering around what range it would be to repaint the front...

 

Gears,
I wasn't planning on doing the headlights because I will be replacing them with the '02 HID's when a.) I've moved out of NY (hopefully) and b.) I can afford to blow $700 on installing them. Plus, my MAF is about to go I'm pretty sure, so I really can't afford anything else besides that and the clear bra right now. I know that they do make the film to cover the headlights though.

Dustr,
I got a whole bunch of repair work done, put in the '02 front end and grille, and repainted the roof, hood, new bumper, and three quarter panels for around $1,500 all told. Look on my cardomain site for pics, etc. I would guess if you have no damage and just want to repaint the hood and front bumper, it would run you around $500.

 

I talked Nissan into repainting mine at no charge - hood and front bumper, but ti only had something like 10k miles on it at the time. When you get it painted, keep the receipt with description of work so you can prove the car wasn't hit!

The actual dealer quote was $550 for both, and they did a great job. Also, with thicker paint on the front bumper, it's picking up a lot less nicks and chips than the original paint. Installed a 3M clear bra afterward, the hood now has one (count 'em, one) chip on it where a large rock managed to punch through and actually dent the hood. Otherwise pristine.