Has anybody thought through the same issue and can advice me? – I am wondering whether I should get an Acura original black leather Nosemask (approx. $125 I believe) or a clear bra made by outside companies ($200-250).. Acura’s original black bra seems to be easy to put on and take off, so I can probably put it only when I feel I need such as long highway trips, but clear bras may give nicer looking all times… are they easy to put on?

 

The big question is..what color is your car??? I have thought this over myself quite throughly. For example, my gold Accord suffered multiple rock smashings before I was smart enough to get a bra (or front end cover, if you prefer :-) ) But, I am not totally thrilled with how a black cover looks on my gold car. However, this helped me decide that I wanted a black TSX largely because I wanted to use a black bra to avoid crying over massive nicks in the paint. My Accord bra is very easy to take on and off, but I never do anyways. Always good to know that I can, though. As for the clear..I have concerns about those. I don't like how plasticy they look. I think it looks kinda cheap on such a nice car. But, then again it is not that noticeable. I also wonder if it has any effect on the paint or on easy removal. I say if you have a black or silver..do the black bra. The white, red and blue may look better with the clear. Just my

 

You should have a chip/stone guard installed.

http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aer...ages/ppf.jhtml

I have a 12 inch strip across the front of my hood, just below the hood line all the way down to the bumper, and on the side mirrors.

 

you have what is called clear bra. and to answer the original posters question i would never again buy a nose mask.
for 1 the nosemask has to be removed everytime you wash it.
2 it has to be conditioned with somthing or it will dry out and look like crap.
3 it will scratch your paint after small peices of grit get under it .

i have had clear bra on my last 3 cars and i can attest to the fact that other than the slight line where the edge of it is. it is for the most part totally invisable. it absolutly prevents the hood from chips as well as the backs of the mirrors.
if you have the money have them do the rocker panels also.

if the product were a little more smooth on the surface, more like a shiny or glass like look i would have my whole car done in clear bra!

the only drawback to clear bra is people who havnt seen it before sometimes think you have a scratch on your hood where it ends. but if you are carefull about cleaning wax out of there it is for the most part invisable from more than 8 feet away from the car.

 

Thank you guys for kind comments. Although I’d seen threads on clear bras, I still wanted suggestions as to whether nosemask vs. clear bra.

Since my TSX will be PWP, and also taking Bass Mechanic’s suggestion, I think I will look for a good clear bra. Now, I have seen the following different brands and companies. Can anyone suggest which companies among the following list are reliable ? – Particularly, I will have to find a dealer that can install the bra for me, and X-pel seems to have contracted dealers; how about others??

http://www.chipguard.com/index.html
http://www.clearbra.com/ (X-pel)
http://www.stongard.com/sgcontent/default.asp
http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aer...ages/ppf.jhtml

 

Not to mention that the paint under the black bra won't fade at the same rate as the rest of the resulting in "tan lines".

 

So, if you put a bra on your TSX, will than keep the front of the car from sagging?