Spring has finally sprung here in the northeast. I took advantage of the nice weather this past weekend to wash the winter grunge from my RL. What I found was disappointing. A thorough cleaning of the entire car found the entire front end of the car covered in "road rash" from winter driving. Paint chips from various elements, harsh sprays from traffic, salt kicked up from pavement, etc. I had the car washed regularly at a trusted car wash center....the same one I've used for years with all my prior cars. My only points of comparison are previous cars, Saabs, Mercedes, even my trusted Accord. None of them looked as bad at the end of the winter driving season as the RL does. Anyone else notice this lack of durability?

 

Clear bra my man, clear bra!!!

 

Yeah, clear bra is the way to go to protect the finish on all newer cars.

 

Oddly enough, I was at my local Acura dealer today and saw three used RL's. Two in the showroom and one outside. All of them showed a significant amount of paint chips on the hood and the highest mileage on any of them was 15K. My '04 TL has almost 37K on it and there are no visible signs of any dings or pits in the paint on the hood - and I do a lot of highway driving on salted roads and in construction zones around Chicago. Odd... I wonder what could be causing this on the RL or if it is just coincidence. Either way, I agree - the Clear Bra is definitely the way to go with the RL.

 

I appreciate the benefits offered by the application of Clear Bra. But, it just boggles my mind that the paint quality of my '04 Honda Accord exceeds that of the my '05 Acura RL. Spending additional dollars on Clear Bra may be appropriate preventive medicine for the RL, but why should it even be necessary given the fact that a more durable paint job is offered by Honda, as evidenced by the Accord. Food for thought.

 

Maybe the acid rain and the size of the rocks on the road have gone the way of gasolene prices!

 

There is just something wrong with this statement!

 

Just bought an RL last month. Perhaps I should get the clear bra. Had the leather bra on my TL but I hated the look of it. What is it exactly? Does it get done by the Acura dealer? How much does it cost?

 

A plastic film made by 3M that is cut to fit the front sections and mirrors of your car. Installation is usually handled by independent dealers of the stuff. It's way overpriced for what it is, IMO. I was quoted $1,000 to get it on my NSX but some people claim to have installed it for as "little" as $400. I believe $600 to $700 is about average.

 

Is it the entire car gets the film? If not, which parts of the car?

 

Front bumper, leading edge of both front fenders and hood. It covers the whole front end but only about 4 inches up the fenders and hood. There are at least two different kits and maybe more, they differ in the amount of surface they cover and of course, price.