Clear Bra vs. Re-spray

I am generally in favour of paint protection film and have had full front end coverage on my last 4 cars. With my last car however, I did have a couple of issues. The finished look of the Xpel Ultimate film was great and it was virtually invisible. However, I got a couple of stone hits on the hood and rear arch that damaged the film. Whilst the film did it's job in protecting the paint the damaged film was rather unsightly. My installer did replace the damaged sections under warranty but it was a pain as it was a 400 mile round trip. They used Suntek as replacement but within 3 months the hood had another hit with the same result. I suppose it's just down to luck. I do think however, that the newer self healing films are much thinner. It does make them virtually invisible to see and they look great but I think they're probably more susceptible to tearing if hit. The older thicker films were a bit more resilient to damage IMO.

 

My front clip has already been resprayed, so there's nothing original to protect. That and I can't stand clear bras, maybe because the idea of a car wearing a bra doesn't sit right with me? I would only consider a "full" one that the edges of the clear go to the end of a panel as I can always see them otherwise and for whatever reason it sticks out to me much more than rock chips.

 

6 years and 20k miles on my clear bra and it still looks good. And it was about $1500