Originally Posted by ruxtpin

Aye - My fellow Z owners, I'm in a situation where I'd like to gauge what others would do. I've had my Z for about a year now, it's still in fantastic condition all around, less than 10k miles, when I don't have it out it gets garaged, etc. Shortly after purchasing the Z I found out about clear-bras for and figured it'd be a good way to protect my investment.

After several quick detailings over the last couple of months I noticed a number of rock chips/pits on the front bumper and leading hood area. I expected these - stuff happens - but I'm unsure of the best path to take.

Option 1: I could find a body shop or cheap kit to repair the rock chips/pits as best as possible, and then have the clear-bra installed. I'm unsure if the clear-bra will highlight these imperfections and make them look worse (air bubbles, etc), or make them less noticeable.

Option 2: Get a full respray on the front bumper and hood, and then have the clear-bra installed. Problem in this situation is cost.

Option 3: Forget both options above and keep the car as clean as possible in-between drives as I do now. I mention this option because there's a high chance that in 3-4 years I'll trade the Z in for something new.

Any thoughts on what you'd do in my situation? Or recommendations?

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

If you are going to get rid of the car, touch-up the chips with a novice kit like Dr. Colorchip or the Langka system and be done with it. If you plan to keep the car, have the bumper painted and have a professional clear bra installer put it on. The LAST thing you want to do is put a clear bra on a car with paint chips that have been fixed. That's like going on a date with Halle Barry and instead of taking a shower first, you just gob on some cologne. Nasty.

I do mine differently. I just paint my bumper every year after the driving season is over because I drive the crap out of my car. The catch is, I know how to paint cars.