Clear bra question

I recently had my bumper, hood and new grill painted and was thinking about getting a clear bra installed. I was quoted $750 for half bra. not covering the whole hood.
Was wondering if anyone has had this done and if it's worth the expense.
Pro vs Cons?
Thanks.

 

Received mine as a SE Toyota factory option...absolutely love mine.

 

BigArt,

Congrats on the fresh paint, that's always an exciting time. $750 for the half bra is within the range of pricing based on how much of the front end is chrome. Typically, when thinking about the partial front end package: front bumper, headlights, side mirrors, and 12" - 18" up the hood and fenders, that costs around $995. If you were to upgrade to the full front end which included the entire hood and fenders then it would be around $1,995 or more.

What we'll recommend is to think about what you truly use the truck for. If it's your daily and you don't do a lot of off-roading of any kind, then the partial front end is a good route. But if you do any sort of off-roading then you'll want to consider protecting the rocker panels as the front tires can throw up debris and stones along the bottom sides of the truck including behind the rear tire. Rocker panel packages for trucks will vary based on the size of the film on each panel but you could assume $495-895 for both sides.

Additionally, if you use your truck to haul friends and family around, then you may want to consider protecting the wear and tear areas such as
- The door cups. The installer will put a piece of film inside the door cup where you and your passengers reach to open the door. This area can often get scratched by rings or fingernails.
- The door edges. As trucks tend to have large doors, an installer can put a piece of film on the edges of the doors so that you and your passengers don't damage the paint on the edges of the doors in case they accidentally get opened up into a garage, parked car, pole, etc. --
- The door sills. When entering and exiting the truck it's common to drag feet and shoes across the opening that can get scuffed up. An installer can place a piece of film there to help protect it.

We hope this info helps, let us know if we can answer any questions or be of any service to you.

 

This is awesome and Exactly the type of input I was looking for. This gives me a lot to think about.
I will definitely look into some of those other options as far as door edges and pillars.
Thanks for all the detailed information!

 

I have never seen any of those films look good over time. All of them I have ever seen either discolored, chipped, peeled, bubbled....something ugly years down the road. Trucks, cars, even high end sports cars.....5 years down the road look crappy. I suppose you could just remove it and put a new one on when it goes bad.
I can't see spending money for something that will be a problem later down the road.

 

I had one put on about 8 months ago on the hole front of my truck. It cost me 750 and I love it, the new clear bra film they us is much better than the old stuff but I'm guessing I will have to replace it in 5 or 6 years. It's still cheaper than replacing paint due to chips in the paint

 

Yeah, I just paid $1500 to have the front of my truck repainted. I think this is cheap insurance.

 

You're welcome! Good luck with your decision.

We completely understand where you're coming from. Older clear bra technology just wasn't quite there. That said, for the same reasons you chose Tundra over another truck based on quality, durability, etc. Not all clear bras are created equal. If you want the tough, durable, and reliable clear bra, you've got to do your research. Modern PPF's (paint protection films) are generally warrantied for 10 years against yellowing, staining, discoloring and more. Parts and labor. Modern PPF's are also much easier to clean (way easier than your paint) due to its low surface energy (it's basically just extremely slippery) which means that bug guts and bird droppings will clean off of the PPF with ease.

 

Welp I've been dealing for the past week on my wife's 2011 Avalon. She had the half hood done and the entire front bumper cap. We haven't really done any kind of preventative maintenance on it to speak of. I started doing a paint correction on her car which hadn't had one in about 4 years. I decided it was time for the clear bar to go.

The hood, mirrors and doors came off without too much fuss. The bumper cap is a totally different story. I took two days pulling that piece off. It left a ton of residue. I mean a ton. I've tried ever dang thing to get that adhesive off and it just won't come off. Mineral Sprits, Goof Off, Acetone and yes even a wheel eraser. I am tired of screwing with it and just ended up getting a new bumper. For $60 it's well worth it. Got a friend who is going to paint it for me.

After all that I am not sure I'd ever put a clear bra on another vehicle unless I was going to replace it every 4 or 5 years.