Ok, Here is my position. I have owned my car for a little over a year now and I drive on an interstate for about 80 miles everyday (40 miles one way). I live in a area that is growing very quickly and there is a lot of trucks that haul dirt and gravel around without being covered. My cars front paint looked great when I first bought it but now it almost looks like someone tried to sand blast it. There are piviots down into the plastic on my front bumper and well into the paint on the hood. It is so bad I even have small piviots in my front windshield. I was thinking of having it repainted but it seems like a pain to have it repainted every year. When I could by a bra for about $50 bucks of ebay. I know the paint will look different under the bra after it has been on a while but at least there would be paint there.

This is what my lower bumper currently looks like. Sorry about the picture it is the best I could get in the dark.


I also live on a dirt road.

I read somewhere that 3M has made a clear film that you put on the front of your car. It is almost invisible and protects almost perfectly. Might be something for you to look into. I think it is mostly sold at shops, no DIY kits yet I think

I agree with Kuhl. There are two guys here on the board that have and use car bras...ssei1995 and Allmachtige have or have used them at one point. IMO, I think they can have a negative effect, traps water, dirt and could cause more damage.

The 3M product is something that I have heard of but never seen as of yet. Look into that. But if a car bra is something you are leaning towards, make sure you remove it often to clean out trapped debris etc.

How easy is it to get those things off anyway?

I saw the stuff you are talking about but so of the stuft that is hitting me is pretty hard and me going 80 mph just makes it hit even harder. Like I said I even have nicks in my front windshield so hit has to be hitting pretty good. I am not sure this would help that much. I try and stay away from the trucks as much as posible but you have to pass them sometime.

Ah well, if thats the case, get one, throw it on. Use it for your daily driving and take it off for weekends and cruzin.

Just make sure it stays clean under there Most of us have to deal with hwy driving and trucks all the damn time too...its sux. I usually try to keep one car in front of me and the truck and then get into a lane as fast as I can and get out of there. I have one paint nick on the hood that has been there since I got the car. Nothing major by way of flying debris damage since then.

I added a picture in the first post. Pretty bad huh.

I personally would never get a full bra for my car. I just got a hood protector since I have some knicks there. But I don't like the way it had a screen covering the grill. It didn't look that great. So I cut the screen out and it looked SO much better. The only problem with that was when I drove fast enough it started to flap violently, and that'* bad for the paint. I should have thought before I cut it out.

I'll have to figure out how to keep it from flapping, but I'll only use it for long trips. In your case I would not hesitate to get one. You just have to take it off when you wash the car because soap can stay under it and damage the paint. You should take it off every 2 weeks also and clean it and let dry before reinstalling it. But you HAVE to wash and wax the front before you put the bra on.

It would be a PITA for me since I wash my car so often and taking it off and putting it on 4 times a week would get to be annoying.

Yeeesh, I saw the pick there, ya, you gotta do something, thats a bad scene...

I'd use one in your position. I use a hood protector for now, cuz it'* easy to take off to wash. It gets washed inside and out every time I wash my car, and I always put a couple coats of wax at the end of the hood underneath it. Only takes about 5 extra minutes, and I don't have to worry about rock chips.

If you guys saw a pic of my hood protector, you'd be sold. It'* got nicks all over it that would normall be in my paint.

I have one on my car for the same reason. Millions of little pint flecs missing due to rocks and such. I also have a few "other marks" on the front from being backed into 3 times .

The bras are pretty easy to put on and take off. They cost around $100 for a new full bra which is a lot cheaper than a new paintjob (a descent one anyways ).

I would either go the bra route or look into those clear 3m covers that you could put on after you repaint the front of the car.