How much do these run normally? I got a quote of $630 the other day from someone and that seemed very high. Also what are peoples opinons on clearbra's? I've never gotten one and all my previous cars have looked amazing when I sold them even without a clearbra. Input welcome.

 

I think for TSX owners, the real purpose of the ClearBra
isn't to keep the vehicle clean. Honda paint seems to be relatively
thin, thus chips can occur fairly earily. places like the front bumper
and hood are especially vulerable. The ClearBra offers some protection
against this.

 

I'm getting mine done sans headlights this weekend. I'll be paying $540. I'll post pics once it's done/cured.

 

Thats cheaper than my quote, but I thought it was like 200-400 dollars? Perhaps I was wrong.

 

Depends on what you had done..

I had my hood, but the front fender next to hood, and 2 mirrors + 2 washes. I think it was 296 + tax.

Didn't get bumper or others..

 

There are many clear bra auctions on ebay, all precut 3M, some offer diff types of "kits" some have longer hood bras, and also some that cover the bumper, hood, and mirrors.. this sells for 160usd, and im sure installation is easy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-...spagenameZWD1V

 

Anyone know where or if you can the lower piece for the OEM front lip piece? All the places I have conatacted thus far don't have the template for it. I cannot see doing it unless I can the lip protection as well. Thanks

 

Try asking the seller of the auction i listed, they may be able to do it. Or try the other listings and ask them, im pretty sure SOMEONE can do it..

 

$630 You can buy an after market front end and have it painted for that much and have a spare front end sitting around.

If you drive on the interstate all the time, it is well worth buying the clear bra! I wish I bought it when I got my car since Honda paint chips easily and I now have little rock chips up there. But $630 is way too much.

 

HAHAHAHAahaha!

No.

I ordered from a web-based business (there are two that I found), and it was pretty tough! I think a professional could have done it better and with fewer errors. It was nice to have the peices pre-cut, and to have some tools included, but it is still hard, as you have to get the "feel" of how to apply it without screwing it all up. It is probably similar to doing window tint. I'd probably do a bit better next time, but I don't know that I want there to be a next time!

Although, I saved hundreds of bucks, and bought other mods with the difference.

 

lol, yeah i guess the aid of an "expert" would be good. What are your opinion though, is it visible a lot? I have a PWP would it be less visible on that?

Thanks

 

I paid about $500 for mine. full bumper, lower lip, fenders, mirrors, headlights, and hood. I watched the "professional" installer work on it for the first 2 hours and it did not look easy. Especially around the curves under the headlights, around the fog light area, and just curves in general. Also to keep the large precut piece straight without applying it crooked only to find out at the end when it doesnt line up.

Its way more difficult to appy than tint because of the numerous curves. Also the surface has to be cleaned and prepped, any specs under the material will show as well as existing any chips or scratches. I drove mine immediately upon delivery from the dealer straight to the clear bra place less than 1 mile away.

 

I paid $595 for mine and the guy even came to my house to install it. It included the front bumper, hood, and side view mirrors. Worth every penny.

 

Is the mask visible? I have to be within a few feet, I guess. It is visible on any color when reasonably close, but not visible at a normal distance. I can see flaws when I'm standing next to the car looking at it, but it looks fine from several feet away, so I'm not going to obsess over it. I think it's looking a bit better over time, but it still has a bit of an orange-peel look to it. There's one place that I might give some attention to eventually, but most of it is good enough for me.

I didn't do the bumper, just the hood, fenders, and mirrors.

 

i found these clear bras for the TSX its a precut clear outer coating for the hood the bumper and im pretty sure the Fenders its only like 119.99 plus like 25 bucks shipping or something along those lines. go on ebay and look them up save yourself a few hundred!

 

Pics Pics Pics Pics. Please mother, May I see Pics?

JK, but seriously a picture would be helpful.. Spank you berry much


just to see how well in blends in

 

I got my sister's TSX done a week or so ago. Chose not to do the hood or the fenders since its noticeable. Got the full bumper, oem lip, headlights, foglights and mirrors done for $500. I can't tell at all unless I do a real close-up. I'll get pics up as soon as I install the fogs and kit.

 

I am in Toronto area and paid approximately $150 Canadian ($120 US approximately) to have a clear bra installed on the front of the hood and on front
edge of front wheel opening, and the two mirrors. The installation shop is a very reputable one.

They said the bumpers do not require it, since they are soft and not as prone to chipping. They used a name brand (forget what it was) but they did not use 3M. They showed me the difference. The 3M bra on a car in the shop was not nearly as clear and had a much more noticeable hazy appearance. The material was custom cut on site using a programmed cutter.

They also tinted all the windows with 35% Formula One Pinnacle film. (www.formulaone.com). This is a ceramic based film and recommended for TSX because any metal based film applied to the rear window will interfere with the antenna.

$300-$500 US sounds awfully expensive for what you are getting IMHO.

 

That's what most people seem to be charging, though.

I, too, decided to not do the bumper, and it was real cheap to get the pre-cut materials (for the hood, fender corners, and mirrors). Installation was still tough. It is visible if you're within a few feet, but if you read the fine print about this material, they don't claim it's invisible that close. But yet when you're further from the car, you can't tell at all. I'm fairly pleased. I would rather have had a pro do it, but I'm not paying over $500...

Tint, however, is pretty cheap. I haven't had it done, tho. (Anyone know what percentage the stock tint is?)

 

If you have a dark color, you also have to keep it clean actively. The clear bra dusts up faster than the rest of the car, which makes it visible. When the car is clean, you can't tell it's there.

 

Does any consider to get a hood deflecter? It is much cheaper, but it makes the car looked ugly.

 

Thanks for all the info. people.
But one important thing is missing:

Soo many posters having ClearBRA and no pics?
Come-on people, post those pics so we can see!

 

Do a search.

 

It's hard to get the clearbra to show up on camera when it's applied.
When a car is clean, it sort of blends in with the paint. I saw it on display at a dealer one time. A TL in the showroom had one on it. I didn't even notice it until the salesperson pointed it out. That's how well it blended in.

 

Here is a post with some pics https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=clear

I have to admit that I had never heard of a clear bra before, I always just had a stone/bug deflector before.

Gary

 

I have never had anyone notice mine before I point it out. I have a red car and unless you get the right angle you don't notice it unless the car is dirty. I had an RSX-s which was covered with chips on the front @ 40,000 miles when I got rid of it for the TSX. The chips on the RSX bothered me far more than the barely noticable clear line on the TSX hood does.

 

For those people that have the clear bra on their car,...........how long did it take the dealship to put it on the car. I bought my TSX last wednesday (aug31st), the dealer got the car today because it had to be shipped from another dealer,......and they wont have it ready for me until friday. They said they had to send it somewhere to get the clear bra on the car. Is it normal for the dealer to send the car somewhere else to get the clear bra put on? Takes a week?

 

I would imagine a ClearBra install would take at most, one day. But depending on how busy the dealership is and what factory options you got, not unusual for the dealer to take 2-3 days for prep/install. I only ordered Protection Package and the dealer wanted to schedule a pickup 3 days after the arrival of the car.

P.S. How do you miss Waterloo? I spent 8 months in there and found it the most boring place in Ontario. Everyone I know that goes to UW leave there each weekend to come back to Toronto.

 

When all your friends go to UW and hang out there,.....its a good time. I lived there the last 4 yrs while going to UW,..JUST graduated. I know so many ppl from there,.......but now I have moved home (and a lot of my friends have moved back to where they orig came from) so im stuck with my parents in Toronto for now till I find a job. I dont like Toronto anymore,.......I have become acustom to smaller cities and the country. I guess you just have to know the right ppl to have a good time in Waterloo haha.

Im basically alone in Toronto,......but a bunch of my friends are back at school now after being gone from coop,........so I would rather be there.

Anyone looking to hire a university grad with an Honours psychology degree?

 

Ah, ic ic... I guess I was the opposite of you. All of my friends were in Toronto and was the only one in Loo. So you're picking up your TSX this friday?? I've still got 6 more days til I get mine on Monday.....

 

I watched the guy do mine. It's a 3-4 hour process in 1 day. If they did the bumper one day, and the hood, the next it's possible to slide out a day, but generally it's a 1 person 4 hour job. Most dealers, from what I know, contract it out to a separate installer. Save yourself the middle man costs and go directly to the installer after you buy yourself. You'd probably save quite a bit.

 

I went to the dealer today and asked about the clear bra because I was not aware of them prior to this thread.

He showd me a black MDX with a clear bra on it. Up close you can see the line and a slight finish change but a few steps back and you cannot notice it.

They install the 3M kind and it costs about $519 Cdn/436 USD.

I read about it after goggling it and it seems like a great product. Another thing to add on when I buy the 06 in December.

Excited

 

On the 3M website there is a short film on the clear bra. Here is the link. It helped me understand better how it is applied: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4g3Mg4CSYGYxqb6kW hCjhgiRsZeGGKW7liU-SDEfD3yc1P1g1Lz4kOD9b31A_QLckOBIKLc0VFREQAkbHo5/delta/base64xml/L0lJYVEvd05NQUFzQURzQUVBLzRJVUZDQSEhLzZfMF8yM0svZW 5fVVM!

Excited

 

Thanks for the info. Too late to wait though, because they already sent it to get done. I got it included in the price of my car anyway,..........told them to throw that in and they have a deal,.......so im not paying for it anyway,.hehe.

 

I actually cant make it in before 6 on friday, so Im picking it up Saturday morning now. This week is not going by fast enough for me,.........Im sure you feel the same way HoRRo,.haha.

What colour etc is your TSX,.........i probably read it before somewhere on the site but cant remember. Mine is NBP with ebony int,.6MT,.......was tough to get my hands on it.

 

Does the paint fade differently until the Bra compared to the paint on the rest of the car?

Excited

 

Don't know yet. However, make sure to keep your car sparkly clean. If you park in dusty areas it will be visible.

 

I just picked up my new TSK yesterday (NBP/Ebony) with the clear bra on the front. I didnt realize they only put it on the top front of the hood and the mirrors. I thought that it went all the way down to the bottom of the front lip,.....like where the fog lights are etc. I didnt have to pay,....so its not like a big deal,.....but I didnt realize this,........darn. Guess I just assumed that it covered the whole front of the car,..........but I was wrong.

Can I get more of the front of my car clear bra'ed?...........ex get the dealer to do more, or go somewhere else. I dont want to get stone chips on the front etc,....a concern of everyone im sure,...........so im not sure what to do now that I have looked at where the clear bra was installed and wasnt installed and thought about it a bit. Any suggestions,......or if this is in a nother thread,..just paste it,.cause im sure it might be somewhere haha.

 

Just had a clear bra put on two weeks ago after purchasing my car. It was done by same shop that tinted my windows. They put the clear bra on the front of the hood, the mirrors and in front of the front wheel wells. I asked about the bumper and they told me it can be done, however the plastic bumper is far less prone to chipping because of the soft plastic.

So you can get it added to the bumpers ($), but it is not as useful as on the hood.

 

I hate to disagree, but if I had the choice between just the hood or the plastic bumpers, I would choose the plastic. On my RSX the bumper, which appears to be made of the same stuff as the TSX had chips all over it after about 40k. I have the clear bra on both so its not an issue, but like I said, if I had to choose, I would pick the front bumper over the hood. Just my opinion.