Anyone ever heard of a clear plastic coating, sold in sheets, applied w/heat gun or hair dryer? I remember reading about it in a forum, not sure it was here on NSX Prime. Have searched with no luck.
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Clear plastic coating
- Thread starter goodbread
- Start date
Are you talking about the 3M clear Bra?
My 95 was sealed with this stuff all over it - the nose, nearly the entire hood, the fenders, headlight covers, windshield posts,, strip across the top of my windshiled between the glass and my removalbe top, mirrors. It is in the shop right now having all of this removed except the protective covering on the nose. The shop said mine looked like it hadn't been on there that long (2-3 years) and it was "current technology" film whatever that is.
They told me that it would be over $1,000 to put on the amount of film that my car had on it but by far the most expensive and time consuming piece of this is the nose film due to the curvature and detail.
My impressions of protective paint film for my car are / were, in this order 1) I hate it, 2) Oh, that will really protect the paint, that's good, 3) I hate it since I can see the edge lines and the "grain" in the film a bit especially on my dark color 4) This sure will protect the car's paint, and finally 5) who am I saving the paint for?
In the end, it's like putting a plastic cover over your couch. Yeah, the couch will look like new when you take it off but do you really want to sit on plastic?
The shop tried to convince me to leave it on, saying "when you are ready to sell the car, you can pull it off and it will look like new". Well,
if you car gets rock chips in the nose, you can have it re-sprayed right before you sell it for $500 or so and that will be less than or equal to the cost of the film plus you get to look at a clean finish. I would suggest using a Speed Lingerie front mask that is color-coded to your paint finish during long highway trips and go naked everywhere else.
They told me that it would be over $1,000 to put on the amount of film that my car had on it but by far the most expensive and time consuming piece of this is the nose film due to the curvature and detail.
My impressions of protective paint film for my car are / were, in this order 1) I hate it, 2) Oh, that will really protect the paint, that's good, 3) I hate it since I can see the edge lines and the "grain" in the film a bit especially on my dark color 4) This sure will protect the car's paint, and finally 5) who am I saving the paint for?
In the end, it's like putting a plastic cover over your couch. Yeah, the couch will look like new when you take it off but do you really want to sit on plastic?
The shop tried to convince me to leave it on, saying "when you are ready to sell the car, you can pull it off and it will look like new". Well,
if you car gets rock chips in the nose, you can have it re-sprayed right before you sell it for $500 or so and that will be less than or equal to the cost of the film plus you get to look at a clean finish. I would suggest using a Speed Lingerie front mask that is color-coded to your paint finish during long highway trips and go naked everywhere else.
ISONSX said:
I could see where some people are coming from in terms of the clear bra because I've seen quite a few bad jobs myself. But if you find the right installer to do it, it is nearly invisible. When I had my installer clear bra my cars, they either did custom jobs or used some kind of different kit that tucks and wraps around the corners so that the seams do not show. IN the end, I think that I would rather have some seams rather than having to stare at nasty paint chips.
The problem I had when I simply repainted my car every year was that there was always a down time. My car would be in the shop for 1 to 2 weeks, and when I get it back, it would pick up chips again when I drive it from the shop to my home.
Goodbread, if you do decide to get the clear bra, make sure you choose a good installer and choose the right film. I have Venture on my cars and it is much clearer w less orange peel texture than the 3m I used to have. It also comes with a lifetime warranty. Do a search, and I'm sure you'll find what you need. Hope this answers some of your questions.
:smile:
Eric76,
Those are some good points.
I just picked up my NSX from the shop and I've got to say that it look 10X better without the stuff on there. A very good point about the right material. Mine had too much orange peel on it for me but the guy doing the removal (the same shop that does all of the Acura dealer's work) said the installation was very good.
When a fellow NSX owner asked me "who are you saving the paint for?" I thought for a minute and thought to myself that I want to enjoy every aspect of this car. Then when someone who works for me asked "Do you have plastic on your couch at home?" That did it for me.
Those are some good points.
I just picked up my NSX from the shop and I've got to say that it look 10X better without the stuff on there. A very good point about the right material. Mine had too much orange peel on it for me but the guy doing the removal (the same shop that does all of the Acura dealer's work) said the installation was very good.
When a fellow NSX owner asked me "who are you saving the paint for?" I thought for a minute and thought to myself that I want to enjoy every aspect of this car. Then when someone who works for me asked "Do you have plastic on your couch at home?" That did it for me.
ISONSX said:
Actually I agree with what you have said there, it is also the reason I don't like to drive with the car-bra on!
My problem is that my car has so many stone chips on it now the body shop quoted me for metalic paint
If I had put the clear bra on, my paint work would not look like I just finished the Gumball rally! Another thing is that I can't just have the paint re-sprayed... The body shop (not just one) said they would have to lift all the existing paint!
So if you can hardly see the clear-bra, I would opt for that over the accumulation of stone chips over the years...
I love my clear bras - have them on my NSX and my Prius -can not see them unless you get within 3' of the car and look carefully. Now I really don't sweat driving down the road with other traffic - no damage.
I don't leave home without it :smile:
Excellent advice/discussion, gentlemen/ladies. Thank you for the guidance. I think I'll do it sometime in the future, probably just on the nose.
Hey gang!! I just spotted this thread. If you have any questions about this product feel free to send me a PM. I would be happy to answer any questions or provide information. :smile:
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