Flop

Good afternoon,

Any Ottawa folks that have put the 3M Clearbra on their 8's... what was the price and how satisfied are you with it? Whereabouts did you get it installed?

I have 2 (yeah, sad) nice stonechips already on my car and it is only 2 months old. The damn Queensway isn't swept more than 1 or 2 times a year... arg (and no I don't follow closely, if you see me in a white 8, often going 100k in the slow lane to avoid chips!)

Thanks for your info/advice

Frostee

i dont think they sweep the queensway at all... they pretty much just hope the runoff and rain takes care of it

one of my brotheres friends had it done, i'll ask next time i see him (although his is on a civic)

scoop

I don't really like that stuff, I have seen it on a few 8s and invisible it is not, a touched up paint chip is less visible in my mind. Besides that probably half the stone chips on my 8 are where they don't even put the clear bra. i.e. in the centre of the hood, A pillar, sides of fenders and above the windshield. The car is so low that anything up front is fair game, a bottle of touch up paint and some match sticks are my friend. The whole nose is plastic anyways so tiny chips there won't rust and turn the thing into a mess like on some cars. I guess if one were to drive in winter it might keep the front of the car from getting sand blasted off. In my mind, money would be better spent on oil cooler and condenser screens, you don't want a rock in those places, that's as far as I went . . . If you are still keen there was a guy with a yellow 8 in town with clearbra that I ran into, he had a bunch of stuff done at Goldwing Autocare, I am pretty sure they do it.

Flop

Good info... We have that same clearbra stuff on the car from the factory for the area just in front of the rear wheels, and you're right, it IS noticable...

The two chips I have gotten are where the clearbra would go... just a coincidence I am sure!

I'll check into Goldwing and see what the cost is. I haven't seen a yellow '8' in Ottawa, so it'll be good when there is another meet!

Cheers,
Todd

r042wal

What do you use matchsticks for?

Gord96BRG

I'll disagree about how easy it is to see - if the car is clean, the clearbra is pretty near invisible. I've had it on my 8 for over 2 years now, and I have no stonechips on the nose (obviously) - I'd far, far sooner have the clearbra than a chipped up paint job.

The easy way to find an installer is to check out the dealer locator on www.xpel.com.

Flop

I think maybe it is the color I have (white) that makes it more obvious. Grime or just small amounts of dust build up on the trailing edge of the film (ahead of the rear wheels) and you can see the film more easily. I suppose I should just wash the car more!

scoop

I use he back end of book matches to apply very small amounts of touch up paint. The brush in the bottle is way to large and will leave a big blob . . .

In terms of colour, I think that makes a lot of difference. I have seen in on a silver 8 and it was barely noticeable there, I could see it much more easily on yellow and the factory patches are very visible on my red so I won't go there. I am also worried about different rates of fading on red, the hood might end up being two colours down the road, not sure. It's a summer driver and I try not to take it too many places where it will get damaged. Gord96BRG on the other hand is from the land of broken windshields, I had heard a lot of people complain about that in the past and then I got to experience it first hand last year near Drumheller :-( My 8 is on it's second summer and has just a few small chips, by comparison the noses on my Audi and Subaru are a complete mess and I ended up putting a plexiglass deflector on the Subaru because I am always trekking to ski hills in the winter and the cars take a total beating. There are applications for clearbra, depends a lot on when and where you drive the car. There are a bunch of factors to weigh that's all . . .

The FOG

Does anyone know where to get the 3M clearbra (purchase and install) in or around Hamilton? Does anyone with a blue 8 advise for or against it?

Gord96BRG

Again, the easiest way to find an installer is to use the dealer locator function at www.xpel.com - enter your postal code, they'll tell you the nearest installers.

Regards,
Gordon

The FOG

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I checked their site and the closest dealers/installers were in new york state and pennsylvania... none in ontario.

RX-8 friend

Ming Plating does it, and guarantees their work. You'll have to check with them to get a quote - just phone them

I have it on my RX-7 and my Pathfinder. If a small rock hits it there is no visible mark. If a large sharp rock hits it then a tear results, but usually the paint is fine. The tear looks like a small clear bug or something is on the front. You can see the edge where it ends, but if you keep it clean it's just a faint line. It does reduce the shine a bit. I like the fact it's there when I have to "scrub" off the bugs! I know I'm not scratching the paint! It can be removed and new stuff applied if it suffers too much. There is a bug here in Alberta whose guts will stain it a faint orange. I have a few spots like that on mine.

Bottom line, I guess I like it a lot!