Clear Bra Paint Protector

A clear bra is an excellent way to protect the front end of your car from rocks and other road debris.  Once applied the clear bra isn’t noticeable from a few feet away.  Although clear bra application isn’t inexpensive, it’s almost always less expensive than repainting the front of the car.

Clear bras come in just about any shape and size. (pun intended)  The key things you need to know are:

Hood portions of the clear bra can vary from 10 inches from the tip of the hood backwards up to 24 inches.

Typically painted front bumpers cost significantly more to have clear bra applied.  The reason is due to all the curves and recesses of the bumper.

The important thing to know is that most bumpers are painted with a flexible additive mixed into the paint.  This gives the paint on the bumper a big more durability and clear bras are not quite as necessary.

It’s very smart to pay the extra $75 to $100 to have your headlights covered with clear bra.  In modern cars they are a durable plastic, but rocks hit and mar them with every mile you drive.  A single headlight replacement can run hundreds of dollars, so I think it’s a very smart investment.

Some installation shops use precut kits and simply apply them, while others cut it by hand on the vehicle.  I personally think that a custom cut clear bra application can look considerably better than a precut kit.  For example,  the shop I use IDS South, in Littleton Colorado, actually rolls the clear bra under the edges of the hood for example.

Remember, it’s ok to be picky and don’t accept any bubbles under the film after a week or so.