I think the <$100 Colgan bra is a better solution than the $3-500 clear bra. It may not look as nice, but it is very functional and removable. For those that worry about paint damage, I experienced damage to the paint on my old '00 when not using the bra and none when it was on. I made sure to keep the bra contact points clean and the front of the car well protected with Finish First (similar to Zaino).

 

I'll also have to agree that while the paint looks great, it is not very durable on the front bumper. I just hit 3,900 miles and already have quite a few chips even though I avoid tailgating and driving on the interstate as much as possible. When I had my '93 240SX the paint was not near as vibrant. However, in the approximately 110k miles that I owned the car, I did not get one paint chip. If you've seen the front bumper on a '93 240SX, you know that it's quite blunt, with a good amount of flat area going in to the wind. I didn't take any action to avoid getting chips. They just didn't happen. I wish that Honda could figure out what Nissan did right on that bumper so that they could resolve the chipping issue with the S2000.

 

I have a few rock chips, but I take them as a "badge of courage" that says, "I drive my car."

 

back when my car was silver...there was some spots of rust in the engine bay...tsk tsk...
i guess you are lucky!

 

There are of course a zillion variables in comparing one car to another, and my M3 chipped and dinged with the best of them - but how would you explain in relation to what I posted about hard and soft? Even if the urethane bumper coverings on the BMW were like granite in strength, how does this avoid the physics I mentioned? In fact, the harder "base" material would suggest that the paint takes all of the hit. I am not badgering you, just trying to make sense of the phenomenon where some cars seem immune and others look as pocked as a 16-yeard old's face.

 

Regarding durability, I read an interesting side note in R&T recently. Apparently, one of the oil companies has figured out how to process the VOCs produced by the old (pre-water-based) paint process.

It seems that it's a possibility that car manufacturers may be able to revert to the easier, more effective methods that were at their disposal several years ago.

This could be good news for paint jobs of the future.

(just a tidbit I thought I'd share).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chazmo
Regarding durability, I read an interesting side note in R&T recently.

 

BLACK LOOKS LIKE TRASH
TOO FAST TOO EASY

 

Fair enough, Chris.

In my case, after two years, my paint (suzuka) looks just great. I do try to avoid situations that might scar the car though, and the car is garaged most of the time.

 

I suppose that it's just the luck of the draw, but I'm totally unimpressed with the paint quality on both my black '94 Integra and my red '00 S2000. When either is clean and waxed, the orange peel is quite noticeable. There's no problem with inclusions, runs, or any of that; it's just that the surface isn't smooth and flat like a quality paint job should be. I've seen the same thing on yellow S2000's, although it's much less noticeable on the lighter colors.