Clear Bras and paint durability

Soliciting opinions on the paint jobs on Mazda vehicles. Brought this up because my parents used to own an old Protg (’91). The paint chipped very badly. Wondered how recent Mazdas have fared in this department…

Also, anyone thought about putting a Clear Bra for their cars? It’s supposed to be nearly invisible, and can be a DIY kinda thing. And of course, better than slapping on a loose (and ugly) front end mask (it all depends on how the Mazda paint jobs have hold up over the years). If they make a hood deflector of some sort, would be a good alternative.

the clear bra is not something you would want to attempt to do yourself. the application process is actually quite envolved. just think of it as trying to tint your own windows...seems simple...yet looks like $%^&* when you do it youself. they are quiet expensive if you end up getting a good portion of your front end covered up. then again...it is probably cheaper than getting the front end repainted. also...if you lease your vehicle and go to turn it in at the end of the lease...you might be handed a large bill to fix all of the chips, nicks, and scratches to your car. its up to you...but definately not a DIY job.

Great topic - as my Mazda3 is nearing its arrival date (April can't come fast enough), I'm having the exact question myself.

Here are the facts (and my opinions) so far:

Regarding Mazda3 paint

Fact: The Mazda3 uses a special three layer wet painting system (here's one article about it: http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=6189 ). As such, one can't really compare the durability of the Mazda3 paint job with any other Mazda (except for the Japan-assembled Mazda6, which we don't get in N. America)

Opinion: This three layer wet painting system is great for the environment and in terms of cost. However, from all the articles I've read on this painting process, my personal belief is that the paint will probably be softer, and hence more susceptable to rock chipping than a typical paint system. However, I'm not an engineer, so I'm open to engineers/chemists chiming in on this.

Regarding clear bras

Opinion: While visiting showrooms & testdriving cars last year, I came across a '01 Celica with the clear bra. It looked TERRIBLE. Part of the hood had a clear bra and that part was clearly a different color (darker and no clear coat effect on the part with the bra). I obviously don't know what brand of film was on it. Although the film did not yellow, it definitely lost it's shine (plus made the color of the hood different). I have seen clear bras on brand new vehicles and they look great (not even noticeable unless you know where to look and look closely). However, I bring up this Celica because the vehicle is three years old (and based on how bad it looked, I think it's safe to assume the bra has been there a few years).

My trip to and back from work is almost all highway so I have been thinking about the clear bra. I'm still on the fence about it. But even if I were to do it, I definitely wouldn't do the hood (because of what I saw with the Celica), so I was thinking front bumper, headlights, and mirrors only (so only the plastic parts).

But as I said, great topic, I'll be interested what the others say as well.

sort of related to intial question.....my mazda 3 gt gfx will be in sometime in march..just wondering dealer did not offer me any clearcoat or any other paint options...at previous dealers they have always offered some sort of
protection package..just wondering if this is standard on the mazda or if I have to request and if i do would you suggest getting it at the dealer or privately after i recieve the car..thanks and great info on the clear bra and paint format

delpieve said:

sort of related to intial question.....my mazda 3 gt gfx will be in sometime in march..just wondering dealer did not offer me any clearcoat or any other paint options...at previous dealers they have always offered some sort of
protection package..just wondering if this is standard on the mazda or if I have to request and if i do would you suggest getting it at the dealer or privately after i recieve the car..thanks and great info on the clear bra and paint format

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I'm surprised your dealer didn't offer you paint protection and rust-proofing. Mine did, and as you say, they typically do.

I declined both because I'm going to polish the car myself with Zaino and will probably use Krown for rust-proofing.

Just minutes ago i bought my dad clear covers for his Volvo S80 headlights (they've been replaced twice after 2 different cracks) from www.interwestdc.com While i was there i looked at stuff for the Pro5 and have seriously been considering the front bumper cover. If the 3 paint is anything like the Pro5, i'd definitlely get it. I've only had by car for a year, I can't imagine what it'll be like in 5 years.

The headquarters for Stongard is not too far from me but they want close to $500 for their full protection package. I am debating this but they do the very best work around with the highest quality 3M stuff. They also have to custom cut it since a Mazda3 package is not available yet. I had it on my previous car and it looked just fine. The only line you can see is on the hood; very slight.

I will be using Zaino next week. I also did the undercoating crap just because I am a sucker. But, to my surprise, the dealership did a really good job. They didn't get it all over the brake lines and they left the underbody engine cover alone. It's also not too thick and gooey.

When I worked at an Infiniti dealer we put a lot of clear bras on new vehicles (3m). They were already precut and very quality pieces, I wouldn't hesitate for a second if I was getting a new vehicle and did a good amount of highway driving. You could barely tell they were there unless you looked closely for the edges, but I'm sure that depends on the brand of plastic.

wongpres said:

I'm surprised your dealer didn't offer you paint protection and rust-proofing. Mine did, and as you say, they typically do.

I declined both because I'm going to polish the car myself with Zaino and will probably use Krown for rust-proofing.

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what would be a reasonable price for paint protecting & rust proofing....in canadian dollars and would you suggest getting it done at the dealer or privately..

delpieve said:

what would be a reasonable price for paint protecting & rust proofing....in canadian dollars and would you suggest getting it done at the dealer or privately..

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If I remember correctly, my dealer offered a undercoating package to me for $500cdn. It requires checks every two years. This actually wasn't a bad deal, its just that I'm not a fan of undercoating (undercoating is slightly different than just rust-proofing). In fact, in the long haul (as in over 5 years), this package would have been cheaper than what I plan to do, which is Krown ($109 per year). But I'm pretty much committed to try Krown for this car because I've heard so many good things about them. My parents' 626 uses Ziebart and it's been ok, but I expect Krown to be better.

I forgot what they charged for paint protection and interior protection (I ordered in Nov, so it's been a while now). I just remember my response to those offerings, which was "unless your package is cheaper than the $13 can of Scotchguard from Walmart and $50 for Zaino, then forget it" - they never bothered after I said that.

So we just tried to put the headlight cover on my dad's car....professional installation is ULTRA-HIGHLY recommended. It looks like s***.