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    Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    On the fence with this one since I heard black shows the bra off the worse. Any input?

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I did it on my black C4s and I was not happy. It looked bad when it was dusty and it had some imperfections. I would drive it without the bra and if it gets chipped badly just paint it

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    What kids of roads are you on most of the time? On interstates with lots of traffic I can hear stone chip creation. Secondary highways, where cars are spaced out more and there's less debris, no need for clear bras IMO. IOW, you still get chips on secondary roads but not enough over time to freak you out.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Also if a rock hits your bumper with a clear bra, it can still look nasty and perhaps worse. You now have to remove the whole film and apply a new bra all over again.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Yah thats what I thought I guess I'll just avoid big highways although I plan on 5 year ownership I have no idea how I'm gonna get around that.

    Guess I'll just paint it when it gets bad.

    Thanks!

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    PandaMan said:
    Yah thats what I thought I guess I'll just avoid big highways although I plan on 5 year ownership I have no idea how I'm gonna get around that.

    Guess I'll just paint it when it gets bad.

    Thanks!



    Just wax and polish on regular basis and avoid driving behind trucks, suvs and buses and you will be fine. Like I said worst case you spend $500 every two years and your bumper will be brand new again. The paint quality on Porsche's is decent. In japanese cars I had 5 times more chips on the front bumper and hood due to thin coat of paint.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    agree, ich have a flat black with ~17.000km and a lot of highspeed autobahn traffic and it's still OK. The weak point in my opinion is the windshield, i needed two alreay, but that's another story

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    PandaMan said:
    On the fence with this one since I heard black shows the bra off the worse. Any input?



    I did not do it on my black car and now at 23k miles the front looks almost like new save from a couple of small chips from track time. my windshield on the other hand is full of chips.
    the bra shows real bad on black imo.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I'd go with VentureShield. I have my entire front end covered and it's completely transparent. Looks great and does a great job of preventing rock chips. But then again it's all personal preference. I've always put clear bra on all my cars and never had any issues. Just avoid getting 3M because your black car will look like a different shade up front where the clear bra is if you did. Ventureshield is really good about being transparent. So good that 3M bought them out but kept them the same.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    atomic 80, the problem is that depending on the angle of the impact and how big the rock/pebble is, the bumper can get damaged no matter what

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Just pure speculation on my part: but would _black_ touch up paint, applied with magnifiers and lots of patience, with a wooden dowel sharpened in a pencil sharpener, look LESS bad with black paint as opposed to ligher colors like silver?

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I agree with Atomic 80. I always install clear bra and found that as long as you cover then entire section that it looks great. I have no way to guarantee this next statement is always true but I have found that the clear bra absorbs the impact of small rocks rather well and that in doing so it prevents dents from occurring. Yes it will\may create a dimple in the clear bra, which will in turn tempt you to replace it, but I would much rather do that then sending the car in for body work. I would add that if you cover your entire hood that should also cover the entire fender. Personal preference but it looks so much better. I took it one step further and covered my doors as well. Last bit of advise, if you are in a location where sand is added to the roads for snow traction, you will get a ton of debris kicked up no matter what road type you are on. Unless you're ok with always driving 30 mph or less

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I had quite a few "dimples" on mine but when it was replaced recently with a newer version with clearcoating, those dimples disappeared and my bumper looked absolutely pristine. If that doesn't convince you guys like it did me then I don't know what to say.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    +1, clear the front with venture shield. no worry's!

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Hi Atomic,

    did you do the rear arches too.

    Rgds.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I was gonna suggest Pandaman consider a conventional vinyl bra from Colgan or similar. Perhaps driving habits might make putting the bra on and taking off for the more stone-chip-infested road travel practical.

    Now I bet the black paint might really show the smallest scuff marks from the bra bigtime.



    Looks like you should just go with the VentureShield like A80 sez.

    When it looks bad in a few years, just remove and maybe not reinstall. You might be less fussy about your car by then.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Currently have 2 vehicles w/ 3M, had 3 but recently pre-traded my S cab. I wouldnt go a day with any new Porsche or Ferrari without the film now, thats the downside you get real used to the peace of mind it brings. I have film now on a Black SUV & while it definitely is easier to spot on a black car vs. silver it's well worth it. Close to 5 yrs later on my black suv & it still looks almost new. And when it gets old enough to need replacement it obvioulsy did it's job of protecting the paint.

    I just got off the phone with my film guy to give him a heads up on my incoming black Turbo cab. He mentioned they are testing Venture film right now, the 2 owners both applied it to their own cars to see if they will offer it alongside the 3M brand (3M bought VentureShield btw)

    I don't think there are many guys that have had the film done right telling you not to have it done. For a Porsche or other high end car it really is a no brainer imo. Stone Chips are a total bummer. The downside of film on black is that it is somewhat noticeable but I much prefer that to the downside of not doing the film which is - paint damage,,,, re-spray,, etc. not fun.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    khaosai said:
    Hi Atomic,

    did you do the rear arches too.

    Rgds.



    Behind the Wheels is even more important that the front imo. There's a good chance if you dont do the front that you will get numerous paint chips. But if you dont do behind the wheels there's a 100% chance the more miles you do the more the paint will get rough & pitted from sand, dirt on the roads. The 1st car I ever had filmed was my 2002 996 Turbo. Within 1000 miles the car was already showing noticeable little rough spots on the fenders behind each wheel. And the more you drive the worse it gets. After my 996 Turbo I always filmed my cars when they were brand spankin new, the day of delivery. Sorry, I know you asked Jason, I just couldnt help myself!

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    I might as well saranwrap the whole car then eh?

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    PandaMan said:
    I might as well saranwrap the whole car then eh?



    HAHA.

    How about these observations?

    Do you want to "work" to maintain a constantly pristine paint job? Why should you be responsible for maintaining a museum quality car? Isn't that Porsche's job?

    You can see your paint as having three or four retouchings and machine polishings in it's future. So you can let it "go bad" and then revive it.

    In a couple years you'll be muuuuch less fussy about it and it will be "just a car" (YEAH RIGHT!) that's going to get it's share of real world wear and tear. IOW, you'll treat it kindly but won't go nuts over it like you (we all) do at first.

    A brilliant and laboriously preserved paint job gets you what..., us$500? At trade in time? Not worth it unless you think getting paid 50 cents an hour for your sweat equity is worth it.



    Just thinking... .



    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    STRADALE said:
    Currently have 2 vehicles w/ 3M, had 3 but recently pre-traded my S cab. I wouldnt go a day with any new Porsche or Ferrari without the film now, thats the downside you get real used to the peace of mind it brings. I have film now on a Black SUV & while it definitely is easier to spot on a black car vs. silver it's well worth it. Close to 5 yrs later on my black suv & it still looks almost new. And when it gets old enough to need replacement it obvioulsy did it's job of protecting the paint.

    I just got off the phone with my film guy to give him a heads up on my incoming black Turbo cab. He mentioned they are testing Venture film right now, the 2 owners both applied it to their own cars to see if they will offer it alongside the 3M brand (3M bought VentureShield btw)

    I don't think there are many guys that have had the film done right telling you not to have it done. For a Porsche or other high end car it really is a no brainer imo. Stone Chips are a total bummer. The downside of film on black is that it is somewhat noticeable but I much prefer that to the downside of not doing the film which is - paint damage,,,, re-spray,, etc. not fun.



    Agree. I had the 3M clear coat bra put on my 911S just prior to delivery, and it was worth it. On the way home that afternoon, a car well in front of me kicked up a small stone that hit the front. Lucky I had the bra as it prevented any chipping.

    I think it's worth it, even though a line shows on the front end because my car color is Basalt Black Metallic.

    Jim

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Quote:
    PandaMan said:
    I might as well saranwrap the whole car then eh?



    You could if you wanted to I guess but the only parts I do are the areas that are most prone to damage from ordinary driving, the areas that always get hurt- the front & behind each wheel, you're basically guaranteed to have these areas get damaged without film. If a chipped up front bumper, bonnet & sandblasted panels behind each wheel isnt bothersome than there's no need to protect those areas. For me it's not so much about protecting it for re-sale although it does help it's really because i know a paint chip from a stone on the highway not only ruins my day but then I cant help but notice it everytime I look at the car. Grrrrr!!! I'm kinda sick I know, for me it's well worth it...............Up to you.

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    unfortunately im like stradale in that all the little stuff immediately draws my attention every time...im trying without much success to be more like the older guy i visited with at monterey this year whose ferrari 250 gt was well used with lots of stone chips to the front...looked way better than the trailer queens it was surrounded by

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    Jason, did you have two applications of Ventureshield in the past year? Why was the first install so bad? Did they replace free of charge.? Did MD do the original install?

    Re: Should I clear bra my black 997TT?

    When I got my car from Barrier, they installed the 3M material originally. I was horrified at how bad the material looked on mine. The yellowing caused the covered portion to look like a different shade of blue. I had that removed by MD and replaced with their non-clearcoated VS material (clearcoated versions weren't available at the time). Later on when MD got the clearcoat large VS then I had them remove the non-clearcoat version and put the clearcoat VS on my entire hood/fenders except for my front bumper. I'm having them finally replace the front bumper portion on Thursday. Yeah, sorry for the confusion here. I went through many stages.

     
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