Stone Chips

[Vidge]

Has anyone noticed a high volume of stone chips? i have done 2000 miles and have some huge stone chips on the bonnet and believe it or not the ROOF!!! i have only done about 500 miles on motorways too!!!!

oddly the chips are on the bonnet and the roof, but there appears to be none on the front bumper??

I am not impressedi dont want to put a bra on the car, but if after a little over a month and 2000 miles it is this bad, how bad will it be in 3 years and 40,000?????

[M3_Dust]

get 3M or venture clearbra ASAP, they can put it on any part of the car and if you maintain it properly it is virtually invisible and will still look good after years

[UR2SLOW1]

I drove my 135i home from the PCD and by the end of the trip I probably had 10-15 little nicks on the front end and hood.... very disappointing. The first thing I did was have a 3M bra installed and now my babys paint is safe.

[chewablechain]

I actually just got my first stone chip (and I'm devastated), but I don't want to put the clear bra on. I've known many people who have done this and after about a month the plastic starts to look a little ..funny. It also isn't good for the paint underneath either, at least that's what my old friend said (I worked at a Classic Car Restoration Shop). I'm buying the Dr. ColorChip system myself, I've used it before and it works very well! ----> Drcolorchip.com And if your car is the Sedona your color code is A79

[M3_Dust]

Originally Posted by chewablechain

I actually just got my first stone chip (and I'm devastated), but I don't want to put the clear bra on. I've known many people who have done this and after about a month the plastic starts to look a little ..funny. It also isn't good for the paint underneath either, at least that's what my old friend said (I worked at a Classic Car Restoration Shop). I'm buying the Dr. ColorChip system myself, I've used it before and it works very well! ----> Drcolorchip.com And if your car is the Sedona your color code is A79

maybe you don't know that they have new generation film that does not yellow and is virtually invisible. It has been on my car for 2 years and looks as good as ever, it looks exactly the same as the paint next to the film. I have it on the front 1/4 of the hood, entire front bumper, headlights and the fronts of the fenters.

[cracka]

Originally Posted by chewablechain

I'm buying the Dr. ColorChip system myself, I've used it before and it works very well! ----> Drcolorchip.com And if your car is the Sedona your color code is A79

That's the route I'm going as well, though this'll be the first time I've tried Dr. ColorChip. Montego is A51.

[chewablechain]

Originally Posted by cracka

That's the route I'm going as well, though this'll be the first time I've tried Dr. ColorChip. Montego is A51.

It's very easy to use, and you can't tell where the chips have been.
If anyone else is considering going this route the other color codes that you'll need to fill out the order form for this product are as follows:

Sedona Red - A79
Alpine White - 300
Crimson Red - A61
Jet Black - 668
Cashmere Silver - A72
Titanium Silver - 354
Graphite Metallic - A22
Monaco Blue - A35
Black Sapphire - 475

And Cracka was kind enough to give us Montego Blue

[crzy4135i]

Originally Posted by Vidge

Has anyone noticed a high volume of stone chips? i have done 2000 miles and have some huge stone chips on the bonnet and believe it or not the ROOF!!! i have only done about 500 miles on motorways too!!!!

oddly the chips are on the bonnet and the roof, but there appears to be none on the front bumper??

I am not impressedi dont want to put a bra on the car, but if after a little over a month and 2000 miles it is this bad, how bad will it be in 3 years and 40,000?????

Yep, I plan on scheduling a clear bra install the same day I pick the car up, or the next day. I planned on taking blue painter's tape with me had I gone with the performace center delivery. It looks bad but at least you could drive home without a bunch of chips.

[Matt60158]

People who are getting moderate paint chips this soon, what kind of roads are you driving on? A lot of loose gravel and such? Larger following distance behind traffic can help avoid chips.

[chewablechain]

Originally Posted by Matt60158

People who are getting moderate paint chips this soon, what kind of roads are you driving on? A lot of loose gravel and such? Larger following distance behind traffic can help avoid chips.

There's a lot of construction going on around me. I got 1 chip (yeah, it's slightly small and I'm probably the only one who notices it) driving very far behind everyone else. Since that didn't work I decided to drive to work a different way. I take back roads now which puts an extra 2 miles on my car, but at least I don't have to deal with hearing small rocks bounce off the front of my car..

[FleaDog]

Its really a shame when people baby the heck out of their cars, and after a few years of normal driving, the entire front end is rittled with chips, only for the rest of the car to look mint... only if they'd have gotten a clear bra, the car would literally look brand new. That will fetch the $$$ it deserves come resale.

Do this, next time your driving on the expressway, hold your arm/hand out the window and just feel all the little cr*p that is smacking into the front of your car, its amazing.

[Doolab]

Out of curiosity, how much does one of those clear front end wrapping jobs cost roughly?

[vivid]

Originally Posted by M3_Dust

get 3M or venture clearbra ASAP, they can put it on any part of the car and if you maintain it properly it is virtually invisible and will still look good after years

what maintenance is required to keep the bra looking good?

[SCSedona1]

Wash it, wax it... Mine looks fine on my 06 TSX. Wouldn't have a new car without it. As 4 the price, depending on how aggressive you get with coverage, it can get expensive. I'm doing full coverage; hood, fenders, bumper, A pillars and Roof. will cost around 1500. But the normal kit for bumper and maybe 10 inches up onto the hood and fenders is just a few hundred dollars. I'll be driving mine 2 Atlanta the day after I get it for it's installation.

[rag1983]

Originally Posted by M3_Dust

maybe you don't know that they have new generation film that does not yellow and is virtually invisible. It has been on my car for 2 years and looks as good as ever, it looks exactly the same as the paint next to the film. I have it on the front 1/4 of the hood, entire front bumper, headlights and the fronts of the fenters.

What color is that M3 it looks amazing!

[Robert]

Jet Black is my guess

[runNgun]

M3_Dust,

Off topic, but that's a sick looking M! :w00t:

[JAMS 135]

Maybe Carbon Black?

[JAMS 135]

BTW, my clear bra installer is located less than 1/2 a mile from the dealership.. drove straight there, for the install, before even driving it home.

[M3_Dust]

yeah it's carbon black, I'll post some other pictures that show off the color even more in another thread. sorry for the OT

[Spook]

"I don't want to put the clear bra on. I've known many people who have done this and after about a month the plastic starts to look a little ..funny. "


I looked at a 2 yr old clear bra today and it looked great. Did someone say they put it over headlights? Thought the removal method was with a heat gun?

[ichiban]

There are a lot of different companies producing clear bra material right now. I think the most durable would be ventura, as it comes with lifetime warranty. So if there's any yellowing, cracking, you get a new one free of charge. I'm getting a full coverage on my car. No lines, will post up some pictures this weekend.