Has anyone installed a clear bra on their CTS? I'm considering getting it done when mine arrives, before it gets any rock chips. Just wondering about the looks and cost/benefit if anyone has had it done.

For those who've had their CTS for a while: how does it hold up to rock chips, and where do they occur the most?

Thanks,
Ryan

I've had a 3M Miracle Shield ("clear bra") installed when the car had about 60 miles on it. The choices were for one with a scalloped edge (i.e. follows the body contours), or with a straight across cut. I chose the straight across cut, since it covered more of the paint. I also had the mirrors done. I have been told that it can be waxed with the remainder of the car--although I have not yet applied wax since it was installed. It is barely perceptible, and it has held up well during our winter (lots of road debris spraying up against the front of the car, especially during highway driving). The installation plus tax came to around $725 and it took him around five hours, and it appears to be a quality job.

We had the clear bra put on our CTS at the first of the year shortly after we bought it. It seems to be working fine. We live on a dirt road in the country and after a car wash it still looks like we just drove it off the lot. (Its Diamond White). Probably the real test will be to see what it looks like after a year.

I ordered and installed the Invisi-Mask clear bra kits from http://www.invisiblemask.com/site.html and the install went pretty good. The instructional DVD and tools they send with the kit made it fairly easy to install on a long Saturday afternoon. I ordered the kit with everything covered from the front wheels forward and also the mirrors and it came out to about 425 shipped to my door. If you feel like doing it yourself, it wasn't too bad (take your time and prep the surface very well).

* I don't have any association with this company. I'm just a satisfied customer.

FWIW, the headlight protectors and mirror kit was the easiest to install and would be a good place to start with.

I highly recommend it. Great protection against chips. I had the hood, forward facing parts of the front bumper, headlights, mirrors, inside of the door handles, and splash zones behind each tire done. Some one on a similar thread also recommended the strip below the trunk lid on the rear bumper. I thought that was a really good idea. Find a good installer, makes a difference.

The clear bra is fantastic. I have it on my 911 custom fit to my bumper, side skirts, lights, hood and mirrors and it was WELL WORTH the $$. You cannot see the lines of the film in which many good installers can hide nicely

BUYER BEWARE - make sure the installer doesnt cut the film while it is on the car!! This "cut on car" is a VERY COMMON practice as many of my friends had razer marks etched in their paint from lazy installers (used by many dealers).

http://www.synergydesign.com/997/GT3/3.jpg

that looks a decent one

thanks for all the responses, looks like I'm going to have to go for it!

Keep a soft toothbrush handy and when washing the car, run the toothbrush along the seam. This will remove excess wax, dirt etc.

If you Don't do this, the line will be very visible after a year or two.

I've had the bra on my Murano now for 4 1/2 years and need to make the decison as to whether to do it again.
The things DOES get ratty after awhile. It takes a lot of stones, etc and over the years collects quite a few bruises and cuts.
Of course, under this coating, the paint is still pristine!
BTW the back of the Mirrors took the worst of it.

Keep a soft toothbrush handy and when washing the car, run the toothbrush along the seam. This will remove excess wax, dirt etc.

If you Don't do this, the line will be very visible after a year or two.

I've had the bra on my Murano now for 4 1/2 years and need to make the decison as to whether to do it again.
The things DOES get ratty after awhile. It takes a lot of stones, etc and over the years collects quite a few bruises and cuts.
Of course, under this coating, the paint is still pristine!
BTW the back of the Mirrors took the worst of it.

So my question is whether you replace the bra after it gets ratty so it looks great again or are living with it and just preserving the paint for the next owner?

I don't know. I was going to strip it off and trade the Murano in on the CTS.
But I forgot to check with the war department.
Turns out that thru the years, it had magically became my wifes car.......
And she loves it.
We had to sell my beloved BMW Z3 which was just about PERFECT.:rant2:

Now.......well I am thinking that most dings and chips occur at high speed........and we are going to use the Caddy for that......the Murano will be just a grocery getter and errand mule........so........maybe I just strip the old bra off and let her go......free in the wind...........so to speak.......


Here's what I mean by "ratty". Take the bra off and she will look like new.

GM is now offering a clear bra. From the description it appears that it only covers the lip of the hood. Check it out for yourself.

Bra Link (http://www.gmaccessorieszone.com/index.php?id=133&tx_gmshopb2b_pi1[year]=2009&tx_gmshopb2b_pi1[division_name]=Cadillac&tx_gmshopb2b_pi1[vehicle_name]=CTS&tx_gmshopb2b_pi1[sub_product_group]=Hood%20Protector&tx_gmshopb2b_pi1[type]=gm)

after reading this thread, i am curious on how easy the removal process is. Is it just a easy peel-off kind of deal similar to a static-cling sticker? and is there any worry about any type of adhesive residue on the car after the removal?

It is not "easy" to take off.
You have to wait for a warm day, otr use a hair dryer to preheat the film and then you have to "worry" a corner of it to get it started and then you have to start peeling it off and you have to pull HARD.
But I just took that nasty piece off my mirror (See pix above) and it only took about 5 minutes for that small piece.
It left no residue.
And the mirror now looks like new after 5 years.

I've seen one yesterday with this clear bra. ( it was a corvette )
My opinion, your car will look better Topless. seriously. when I looked at it. my first impression was, that something was wrong with paint job :hide:

I've had clear bras installed on 7 of my cars now. The longest running was 5 years or so on my truck.

You could see little pucker marks where some larger rocks had hit the bra, but it wasn't too obvious. When I traded in the truck for my new one, the dealer remover it. Told me it was nearly new underneath.

Washing normally. Waxing is easy. Just remember to bring your wax from the bra onto the body, not push into the edge of the bra. Soft rag works well if you have a little reside left on the edge of the bra. So if you just take a few extra minutes ever time you wax, you'll hardly even notice the bra at all.

My Vette's bra is mid-way up the hood, so I can take a close-up of the hood if anyone would like to see what I mean.

As for anybody saying the bra only covers 20" or so? My car dealer had told me that. Not true. I found my own installer instead.

My detail guy and I work out how I want the coverage. This car I'm having the entire hood done, not just half, in addition to the mirrors and bumper.
It's going to be my daily driver, and w/the angle of the hood, it looks like the odds for a chip are stacked against me.

My S2k had gotten a few chips above the bra. Not that many, but I'm kinda picky.

I've had the same detail guy now for all my bra & tint work. He does beautiful work. My CTS for tint & bra is $950. He's doing it Monday morning, until then it's waiting in the garage!

Besides the CTS, I currently own:
2007 Vette, Corsa, K&N aircharger
2007 Silverado, K&N intake
2000 Contour

I had my 2008 CTS done before I took delivery. I had the installer come to the dealership to do the installation. He also covered the headlight lenses.

I purchased the 3M material sufficient to do the hood, mirrors, and front bumber. It cast me $155.00.

I am getting my new 2009 CTS this week and I will let you know how the installation goes.

I just got my CTS yesterday, and I will definitely be putting the clear bra on. I've put them on my last 2 cars, and they are great. I bought mine from xtreme city on ebay, but only because they were the cheapest I found. All the material is the same, so don't let anyone tell you a 3M or Ventureshield bra with a 5 year warranty is any better. If you buy the cheap stuff ($50 shipped to cover the whole front of the car and mirrors), you can easily peel it off and replace after a year or two, so it always looks clean. I took my last car in to 3 places to get appraised for trade/sell, and only one place even noticed it was on there, and they first noticed the stuff I put on the rocker panels. The other advantage is bugs wipe off much easier.

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up purchasing a kit from invisible mask. It was $550 for pre-cut material to cover virtually the entire front end of the car including entire hood/fenders, headlights, the door-pull cutouts, door edges, and mirrors.

Their website says that you can do it yourself, so I gave it a try. It was nearly impossible to do. I started out small and worked up to the huge hood section. It took me a lot of time and a very smooth hand to get it looking good, plus a lot of time with the included syringe to get the bubbles out. it ended up looking alright, but I can't recommend the do-it-yourself option unless you really need to save some cash. With the full-hood option, you can hardly tell the film is there. And I promise I will remove it right away when the plastic starts to look ratty.

Ryan

P.S. wouldn't you know it, I got a nasty rock chip on the front quarter panel the day before the kit arrived :-(