# Clear bra or 3M protection



## stoogefan (Feb 2, 2005)

Hi,

I am a newbie to BMW and the Bimmer fest. I am considering adding the 3mPaint protectant to the front of my jet black 2005 5-series. I am looking at the hood front, mirrors, and bumper and below the bumper. Does anyone have any feedback on this product.


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

stoogefan said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am a newbie to BMW and the Bimmer fest. I am considering adding the 3mPaint protectant to the front of my jet black 2005 5-series. I am looking at the hood front, mirrors, and bumper and below the bumper. Does anyone have any feedback on this product.


I don't think I have the paint protectant. Isn't it just some kind of dealer-installed spray kind of like a long-lasting wax protectant? I do have the 3M clearbra which I highly recommend to protect your car from rock chips, etc. It is practically invisible.


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## M.Wong (Jan 9, 2003)

I also have StonGard on both the E38 and E39. Would do it again. 

There are some pics on my E38 CarDomain site (click the 3-car photo below) and some also on my E39 CarDomain page


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## Carrera (Nov 20, 2004)

I just had my Silver Grey Metallic done last Thursday. So far so good, although I waited a little long to get it done, 3500 miles. The installer did mention to me that black was not the best color because the 3M material does scratch and shows up more on black than most other colors. Also, when dust collects at the "seam" a line forms that is also more visible on black.


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

The lighter your car color, the more invisible the "clear bra" is. However, when dirty, the lines of the "clear bra" will show up nice and clear. It might force you to wash your car more often! 

I _used to_ be a strong advocate of the clear bra but I'm not as strong about as I used to be. Some here know that I _used to_ install the "clear bra" on cars as a side/weekend job and sometimes even for fun.

I also did beewang's M5 at Fest '03...or was it '02? I forget....

Anyway, I'm not so sold on this protection as I used to be. I've had the "clear bra" on my 530i for almost 4 years now and it has worked great. However, the unprotected paint on the hood and various other places is now chip city.

I guess what I am trying to say is while it absolutely, unequivocably protects your paint from rock chips, etc....you may end up repainting the whole hood anyway because beyond the protection, your paint WILL suffer as mine has. I don't think I'm saving any money by having the lower 1/5 of the hood protected and the upper 4/5 unprotected.

However, at least this stuff does protect the areas that will suffer the most damage. So, in effect, it may prolong the periods in which you might repaint your whole hood since it will take the portion of the unprotected hood much longer to looking like $hit versus the "clear bra" protected areas.

I guess you need to weight the two to see if it makes financial sense. I'm _leasing_ a new 545i and probably for _that_ reason, I will not put any extra money into it but I might think twice about the protection for a car I planned to own for a while.


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

Carrera said:


> I just had my Silver Grey Metallic done last Thursday. So far so good, although I waited a little long to get it done, 3500 miles. The installer did mention to me that black was not the best color because the 3M material does scratch and shows up more on black than most other colors. Also, when dust collects at the "seam" a line forms that is also more visible on black.


That's true. I have Jet Black. But its really nothing that a wash or, intermittently, the California Duster can't take care of. It is slightly more visible but its hard not to get it for your car.


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## subterFUSE (Oct 11, 2004)

Yeah. It's like they need to make a clear bra that covers the entire front hood. Then you would have total rock chip protection. Ha ha. 



Ågent99 said:


> The lighter your car color, the more invisible the "clear bra" is. However, when dirty, the lines of the "clear bra" will show up nice and clear. It might force you to wash your car more often!
> 
> I _used to_ be a strong advocate of the clear bra but I'm not as strong about as I used to be. Some here know that I _used to_ install the "clear bra" on cars as a side/weekend job and sometimes even for fun.
> 
> ...


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## Steven L. (Feb 21, 2005)

*#1*

I have a 2004 Bmw 745 and i had the one and oringnal ClearBra it is the best out there and it isnt one of those pre cut films that 3m sells, there is no visible lines on the car they custom cut the bra and they do everthing from boats to motocycles here is a link to the website.

www.clearbracalifornia.com

or

www.clearbra.net


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

Yes, they do seal the entire hood...in fact, they can seal your whole car if you want!  I have seen good and bad applications from ClearBra but this is the way to go if you can stomach the price.

They custom fit the 'material' to your car right there in the shop so they can cover anything you want covered.


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