Just picked my 2017 up Saturday. Thoughts on protecting paint?

Roman

Member
:
2017 Mazda CX-5 GT Premium
So I joined the club! I was just about to bite the bullet on a 2017 Civic GT Hatch, but after testing out the 2017 GT CX-5 I was sold. I've never purchased a new car before, but I tend to hang onto vehicles until they reach the point where one thing after another starts giving me hell. Last car I purchased was in 2007 and I never really invested the time / effort required to keep the paint looking as good as it could have. After dropping over 30k... I'd like to do my homework with this beauty.

I'm considering investing in a clear coat / bra that will go over the front end but I'd like to know generally, what are some good practices to preserve your paint job through the daily commute grind / weekly car washes / harsh summers? Does waxing every once in a while do anything to help paint? Can I apply a new clear coat at some point later on after a couple years? I really really want to take care of my CX-5. I'm so freaking excited about this car, it's beautiful, drives / handles ridiculously well for something that's not a compact car and I want to see this thing to the point where it either falls apart or I can afford a Tesla.
 
Last edited:
Roman, first off welcome to the club!
(that's odd coming from me since I don't yet own a CX-5 but you get the point... :) )

Clear bras are a great option to help against rock chips that you can get while daily driving a vehicle and though they can be a little pricey up front, they are still cheaper than having to respray the bumper. I've had a clear bra on my RX-8 for about 5 years and it's definitely paid for itself a few times over.
As for helping the paint last, I highly suggest regular wax / polish treatments on the car especially if the vehicle is subjected to the elements frequently (stays outside most of the day, no garage, etc)
Meguiars or Zaino are my favorite polishes but there's plenty of other great options out there as well.

what color did you get?
 
Thanks man! I got crystal blue mica, but I was very VERY close to going with machine gray. Good advice, I think I'll have to get some of that polish here to add on to the weekly car wash routine (don't think I've ever polished my car before!).

I think I may have to just sacrifice some future purchases here and get the clear coat bra ASAP. I just read on another post here that Mazda seems to be generally looking toward environmentally friendly painting practices and people are talking about way more rock chips overall comparatively speaking than similar cars. After reading that post, I went into my garage and inspected the hood carefully ( got a carwash this morning )... and low and behold there's a tiny little spec of a micro chip in the hood. Since I got it only Saturday, and have taken it through one car wash... this is quite concerning. Clear bra is a must I think.
 
Welcome to the club. If you're going to get something like a bra, as Jedi said, go for the clear ones that stick on. Those "leather" ones are not only ugly, imo, they trap dirt underneath them.
Absolutely waxing helps.
You could look into ceramic coating too, if you really want to go nuts. It can get pricey but it works.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
Absolutely, those leather ones are just... gawd awful. I got a quote from a local place just now, which charges 599 for the bumper, 18 inches of hood, side mirrors, and I think a small stretch along the bottom sides. Either way, I think I need it before I drive it even 1-2 more days.
 
Ceramic coatings if you wanna go the extra mile, or get the XPEL clear bra. I'd prob get the kit that covers into the side panels too. These guys are the best around if you wanna see the process and see pricing...

https://www.ecolorsautopaint.com/paint-protection-film.php

They do all of the BMWs in NA if you take the performance delivery.

It's tempting for me as well, but rather pricey. I'm planning to go by this week and check it out again and look into ceramic tint (will prob bite the bullet and get it).

Enjoy your new ride and keeping it in pristine condition. You do not need to polish every week, nor do you want to, as that would require waxing too.
 
Absolutely, those leather ones are just... gawd awful. I got a quote from a local place just now, which charges 599 for the bumper, 18 inches of hood, side mirrors, and I think a small stretch along the bottom sides. Either way, I think I need it before I drive it even 1-2 more days.
Looks like they want $399, and then it gets expensive. Lol guess the $399 is doable though.

https://www.ecolorsautopaint.com/news/2017/04/new-car-paint-protection-by-extreme-colors-auto-spa/
 
Ceramic coatings if you wanna go the extra mile, or get the XPEL clear bra.

Good tip on that XPEL clear bra. I'm looking at their kits and it seems to be about what these local guys cost with install. I wonder how difficult it would be to do it yourself?

I don't think I could invest more than $600 right now, feels like a pretty decent chunk of change to spend on any protective covering like this but I know I'll hate myself if I don't do it immediately. I think the most vulnerable spots are certainly the bumper and first foot or so of hood space. Wish I could afford the full fender / hood and bumper kit.
 
Good tip on that XPEL clear bra. I'm looking at their kits and it seems to be about what these local guys cost with install. I wonder how difficult it would be to do it yourself?

I don't think I could invest more than $600 right now, feels like a pretty decent chunk of change to spend on any protective covering like this but I know I'll hate myself if I don't do it immediately. I think the most vulnerable spots are certainly the bumper and first foot or so of hood space. Wish I could afford the full fender / hood and bumper kit.

Just talked to the girl about us getting the $399 XPEL kit here. Tempted to do it. It includes a wash, clay bar treatment, paint correction (will get the spot you're seeing) and 2 year warranty. This thing seems to like picking up bugs and pebbles. See if I can get a combo deal if I get the ceramic tint too (still trying to figure out if it's worth twice the price of carbon).
 
As far as the install on the XPEL, I think you could do it, but it is definitely one of those items where the installer is just as important as the product. XPEL is definitely a quality product...
 
Just talked to the girl about us getting the $399 XPEL kit here. Tempted to do it. It includes a wash, clay bar treatment, paint correction (will get the spot you're seeing) and 2 year warranty. This thing seems to like picking up bugs and pebbles. See if I can get a combo deal if I get the ceramic tint too (still trying to figure out if it's worth twice the price of carbon).


Interesting. Where do you live? I'm in Salt Lake City, UT. I'm wondering based on the price they show for the kits you can order online if that reflects the same price as the provider / locations where you can buy / install it ? I see they have a couple authorized places here locally but I'm wondering how much extra on top of the price they show in their online store it would be to get it locally installed. Gonna have to call one of them tomorrow when they're open but I think I'm going to do this tomorrow for sure. What $399 kit are you looking at exactly? Is it just the bumper, or the fender / hood kit?
 
I got the XPEL put on mine. Honestly after the fact I'm 50/50 if I should have done it. I had the whole front end (bumper, full hood, and full fenders) done. I elected to leave off the headlights and the mirror caps. It ended up running me $1,300. The bikini cut (half hood/fenders) was only $600, but I did not want to have the lines across panels. Overall from 3-4 feet away you can't tell it's on at all and the guy got close on all the edges, but there are a few places where some things such as a spec of dust or a small thread got stuck under the film which is a little annoying because of the cost. I can bring it back and have it redone, but I'm debating if it's worth it right now.

At the end of the day, $1,300 is a lot of money and the chips might be harder to spot on a color like my Machine Gray since the primer is also gray. That and $50 Dr. Colorchip always worked great with my 2014 CWP.
 
I got the XPEL put on mine. Honestly after the fact I'm 50/50 if I should have done it. I had the whole front end (bumper, full hood, and full fenders) done. I elected to leave off the headlights and the mirror caps. It ended up running me $1,300. The bikini cut (half hood/fenders) was only $600, but I did not want to have the lines across panels. Overall from 3-4 feet away you can't tell it's on at all and the guy got close on all the edges, but there are a few places where some things such as a spec of dust or a small thread got stuck under the film which is a little annoying because of the cost. I can bring it back and have it redone, but I'm debating if it's worth it right now.

At the end of the day, $1,300 is a lot of money and the chips might be harder to spot on a color like my Machine Gray since the primer is also gray. That and $50 Dr. Colorchip always worked great with my 2014 CWP.

Thanks for the info. Just to confirm, you are kind of 50/50 about the whole thing due to overall cost or just how happy you are with it / installation quality? That certainly is a good amount of money, but I hear you on not wanting lines across panels mid way. Currently, that would probably be my only option, going halfway onto the hood and covering the full bumper because of cost but it seems necessary for Mazda paint the more and more I sit here and read / scare myself haha.

Do you think Xpel would be the way to go again? I'm reading about others as well such as clearcoat nano and other brands that seem decent. Xpel seems like the overall gold standard though for clear protective bras.
 
Thanks for the info. Just to confirm, you are kind of 50/50 about the whole thing due to overall cost or just how happy you are with it / installation quality? That certainly is a good amount of money, but I hear you on not wanting lines across panels mid way. Currently, that would probably be my only option, going halfway onto the hood and covering the full bumper because of cost but it seems necessary for Mazda paint the more and more I sit here and read / scare myself haha.

Do you think Xpel would be the way to go again? I'm reading about others as well such as clearcoat nano and other brands that seem decent. Xpel seems like the overall gold standard though for clear protective bras.

I did a fair bit of research and it seems like XPEL was the way to go. I found a lot of negative things about 3M, but that might have been because it was their older films that weren't as good as new technology. I ended up with the XPEL Ultimate. There were a couple of other films mentioned such as SunTek that were rated pretty good, but XPEL is what most people carried by me.

I'm 50/50 because of both cost and I'm still slightly paranoid that it could somehow mess the paint up when I take it off. I know if you do it correctly that's not going to happen, and I plan to have a certified XPEL installer remove it, but I might get it taken off in 3.5-4 years just to be safe that it doesn't sit on the car for too long. If it lasts the 4 years (which it should) that really breaks down to around $300 a year, which I guess isn't as bad assuming it keeps your front end looking brand new.
 
Also try to avoid any carwashes that use brushes of any kind. Very harsh on paintwork.

A hand wash using a microfibre covered sponge is the best.

With a new car, the Meguiars Ultimate Wax is really easy to apply and buff off. My car is garaged and not parked out in the sun every day in a carpark since I retired, so every 6 months is fine. If it was parked outside every day in the weather, might be a 3 monthly job.

Once a year I do a polish with Meguiars Ultimate polish as well.

I carry a spray bottle of Meguiars quick detailer and a microfibre cloth in the car, so any bird poops can be removed effectively ASAP.
 
I expect to have either a Machine Grey or Soul Red 2017 cx-5 in the next few weeks. As soon as physically possible I will be getting it in for Opti Coat Pro and XPEL bra. My bank account is gonna cry, but after researching the benefits of the coating and clear bra (and which one of each to go with) I know it's the way to go if I'm buying a new vehicle that I plan on owning for years.

It might not completely pay for itself, but it will certainly come close when you factor in the guaranteed routine maintenance (polish, wax, my time) as well as possible rock chips that will be avoided or minimized making it far less likely I'll need a bumper/hood/fender repainted at some point. This is not to mention peace of mind AND how awesome it makes the paint look. Washing will be easier and car will look better. Maybe even help a bit on resale years down the road?

Years ago I had less money and more time. So regularly polishing and waxing my vehicles was necessary if I wanted them to look good and preserve the paint... plus I loved doing it. :) I'll probably miss that a bit, but truth is I just won't have the time to do it often enough and well enough now. And yes I am partially using this thread as an excuse to justify this in my own mind... it ain't cheap!
 
Interesting. Where do you live? I'm in Salt Lake City, UT. I'm wondering based on the price they show for the kits you can order online if that reflects the same price as the provider / locations where you can buy / install it ? I see they have a couple authorized places here locally but I'm wondering how much extra on top of the price they show in their online store it would be to get it locally installed. Gonna have to call one of them tomorrow when they're open but I think I'm going to do this tomorrow for sure. What $399 kit are you looking at exactly? Is it just the bumper, or the fender / hood kit?
The $399 is this, at my local shop in Upstate, SC...
 
new-car-paint-protection-by-extreme-colors-auto-spa
 
Paint Protection Film Packages
Paint protection film, commonly referred to as “clear bra”, is an essential asset in preserving the “newness” of your vehicle’s painted surfaces. This film provides the ultimate protection against rock chips, road debris damage, bug acid etching, and other harmful materials that can damage your vehicle’s paint. Our paint protection film is virtually invisible, self-heals from light scratches, and comes with a 10 year nationwide warranty. Our paint protection film will keep your paint in brand new condition, which will allow you to enjoy your vehicle more and receive a higher resale value when you go to sell or trade.

Here’s a list of our Paint Protection Film options with prices and starting prices:


City Package
Partial Hood (18-24″ from leading edge)

Partial Fenders

Mirrors

Most Vehicles ………………..$399.00



Highway Package
Partial Hood (usually 18-24″ from leading edge )

Partial Fenders

Mirrors

Front Bumper

DoNew Car Paint Protection by Extreme Colors Auto Spa
APRIL 11, 2017 BY EXTREMECOLORS







Paint Protection Film Packages
Paint protection film, commonly referred to as “clear bra”, is an essential asset in preserving the “newness” of your vehicle’s painted surfaces. This film provides the ultimate protection against rock chips, road debris damage, bug acid etching, and other harmful materials that can damage your vehicle’s paint. Our paint protection film is virtually invisible, self-heals from light scratches, and comes with a 10 year nationwide warranty. Our paint protection film will keep your paint in brand new condition, which will allow you to enjoy your vehicle more and receive a higher resale value when you go to sell or trade.

Here’s a list of our Paint Protection Film options with prices and starting prices:


City Package
Partial Hood (18-24″ from leading edge)

Partial Fenders

Mirrors

Most Vehicles ………………..$399.00



Highway Package
Partial Hood (usually 18-24″ from leading edge )

Partial Fenders

Mirrors

Front Bumper

Door Edge Guards

Most Vehicles ………………..$999.00



Cross Country Package
Full (wrapped) Hood

Full Fenders

Mirrors

Front Bumper

Door Edge Guards

Headlights

Most Vehicles………………..$1999.00



Additional Clear Bra Options
Headlight Protection……………………$199.00

Luggage Area Protection………………$199.00

Full Door Protection (per door)……$349.00

A-Pillar/Roof Front Protection……..$299.00

Rocker Panel Protection (2 piece)…$449.00

Rocker Panel Protection

(Multi-piece)………………………………..$599.00

Door Cup Area Protection (per door). $24.99

Door Edge Area Protection (per door).$24.99

Our paint protection film packages come with a professional hand wash, clay bar treatment/light paint correction of all areas getting protected, and factory-matched touch-up to any minor paint chips.or Edge Guards
 
I have the 2016.5 Crystal Blue Mica as well. Haven't looked for paint chips in the front, but I have to park it outside all day at work and generally get kicked out of my garage b/c of teenage boys' sporting equipment. Have been hand-washing with Meguiars, and the car is gorgeous.
 
Back