I bought the factor front end mask for my red 8 because I have to drive a road with lots of gravel trucks so I wanted protection from flying rocks. I washed and waxed the car prior to installng it like the instructions called for. My fear is that it will damage the paint. Mazda says it will not but I was wondering if anyone has long term use exp with one on their 8.

 

I have yet to see an bra that didn't damage the paint of an car !!!! And have never seen one that looks good on as well . That is way I installed the clear bra from clear-guard . And Love It you can't even tell that there is one on the car and they come pre-cut to fit our cars and you can get just the parts that you want . I hope that this will help .
Pat
http://www.clear-guard.com/paint_page.asp

 

I don't use one myself but some say long term use is actually hard on the clearcoat ,since it moves around and can wear paint finish,as well as hold in elements that scar finish. just what I heard...Later guy..............

 

After ~15k mi or so there are so many paint chips on the nose that I can't tell whether its even worth putting the bra on anymore. Not that I did, I could never figure out how to stretch it enough. Get a friend to help.

Anyway, I recommend using it for things like long distance trips and maybe track days. Anything involving lots of driving in a relatively short period of time

 

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-exterior-appearance-body-kits-27/front-end-bra-not-clear-bra-50876/