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New MINI Owners - Did you order the full vinyl nose mask?
Hi,
A question for you new Mini Owners... When you ordered, did you get the full vinyl nose mask? I am curious as to how important this feature was to you.
I have had them on both MINIs. On my '03 I went w/o a clear bra and did pick up some stone chips driving in Frisco, Texas (a place I refuse to go again even to this day). When I later had occasion to have my original bonnet replaced (long story), I got a clear bra. Got one on my '07, too. The clear bra has kept both cars w/o dings.
As for what I ordered.....it's funny. I ordered a clear bra, but on my '07 the dealer out-sourced this to a local shop....it was not even an official MINI clear bra. The quality has been quite good (better than OEM, I think) and after 1.5 years not a chip to be seen.
So, the moral of the story?? Check w/ your dealer on this and discuss. You may not need to order one w/ your MINI, but have it installed at a local shop w/ access to the better products. I do think they are a reasonable mod to install...especially if you plan to drive around Frisco.
I still don't get the concept. You place it in order to avoid the chance of small chips in the paint after a few years. The chips can be seen as a cosmetic flaw....but they're small and not very noticable.
To me the solution is a bigger cosmetic issue than a few small paint chips. You end up with a giant line all the way across your hood.
I'd rather save the money, have no line, and have a few small chips (after a few years)...
I had an independent shop apply window tint and clear bra about a week after purchase, and they found two small rock chips already. My feeling is you must assume you'll suffer some road debris no matter where you drive. It's your call whether that's important enough to warrant the expense and the cosmetic compromise. If I look for the line on the hood, I can see it, but it's less important to me than protecting my paint. If you do this, don't neglect door edges.
Installer used 3M film, better than OEM quality.
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08 MC Clubman: PW/S, bridgespokes, silver bonnet stripes, HID, chrome ext, all 4 pkgs, HD radio, cloth, Whalen, VIP strut tower plates.
The only time I ever had a bra on a car was a 240Z. Had a nice clear 'line' where there were no chips forward of the line and many chips behind the line. Not sure what the clear bra will do to paint fade. The opaque ones left a nice unfaded front with a faded back. But, that's out here in the southwest desert too. It they are UV resistant you might still get different fade results.
If they put it on the whole hood and fender tops then I might consider it.
But, I guess I am a bit of a pessimist when it comes to rocks and roads. Have replaced 5 windshields in 4 years, and three chips were repaired.
I still don't get the concept. You place it in order to avoid the chance of small chips in the paint after a few years. The chips can be seen as a cosmetic flaw....but they're small and not very noticable.
To me the solution is a bigger cosmetic issue than a few small paint chips. You end up with a giant line all the way across your hood.
I'd rather save the money, have no line, and have a few small chips (after a few years)...
I don't think you could be more wrong.
One MINI with full clear bra, two without.
The one with the clear bra still looks brand spanking new and often gets complimted as such. And when I take it to car shows or just show it off, I have to point out the clear bra to most people, otherwise they wouldn't even know it's there.
The two without, especially the black one, has pit marks all over the front bumper and a few nasty chips on the bonnet which I've touched up but will never look "good as new".
I don't think the OP is talking about clear bra, but the MINI vinyl bra you can order as a dealer accessory. It is listed in the online configurator.
Vinyl bras are NOT meant to be on fulltime. They are only useful if you do a road trip where you have it on for a day or so. Beyond that, they start to do damage, especially if they get wet. Even Colgan will tell you not to keep it on for more than a day or so.
I had one for my M3 (which didn't have clearbra). I used it only for track days and highway road trips. Other than that it was cleaned and stored.
If you are thinking of using a vinyl bra to prevent day to day paint ships, then the solution is worse than the problem.
I have clear bra on my MINI, which is a great solution. I had it installed right away. I took delivery, drove home and called my installer, and left again to drop it off. I had 9 miles on the car before it got the clear bra installed.
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2011 WR Blue Subaru WRX STi 4-door
2009 JCW Chili Red/White (gone, but not forgotten) RaceTripper Photos
On my clubman we had the clear bra installed before delivery, so far no "chips" but our '02 doesn't have the bra and there are many fine chips from flying debris/rocks (then again it is 6 years old) The only bad thing that happened is when we washed our clubman, the clear bra scratched when drying it (i think the towl must have touched the ground) and you can't buff out the scratches. But otherwise it is a smart investment.
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'09 R56 DS/B Alta CAI, Forge BOV, Magnaflow Exhaust, Riss Racing Catless Downpipe, Forge Intercooler, JCW front aero kit, Megan Coilovers
'09 R55 JCW PW/B m7 Vortex Scoop, Forge BOV, Alta CAI, Beltline black out, Megan Coilovers
Previous MINIs: '75 Mini 1000, '02 DS R53, '06 SB R53, '08 HC R55
I had a quality body shop here give me an estimate for a repaint of the hood with OEM paint and was quoted $500 for just the hood/bonnet. Isn't that about the same as the cost of the clear bra and installation?
I had a quality body shop here give me an estimate for a repaint of the hood with OEM paint and was quoted $500 for just the hood/bonnet. Isn't that about the same as the cost of the clear bra and installation?
A little less actually.
Still, a repaint job over a clear bra ?
That's like not brushing your teeth, figuring the savings in toothpaste will pay for the dental work.
Previous two - did not get the "clear bra" aka invisishield but this time around I have done so. Will report back after many 1000s of miles.
__________________ First love Indi Blue/White MC '04, past MINI: PW/Black MC '06, current MINIs: Pure Silver/BLK MCCa '09 w/roof rails! And now, a 2010 MCa Horizon Blue!
Lol- ok let's not use analogies. The clear bra don't cover the whole hood right? I know I've had chips that are further up on the hood where the clear bra doesn't reach. So, paying for an incomplete protection seems weird since you can just repaint the whole panel for about the same price(not to mention have a new paint finish).
The shop I got the estimate from does amazing work so I'm sure you could get a cheaper estimate elsewhere but still.
Yes, you're correct. The nose mask only goes up the front portion of the hood rather than extending all the way back.
I noticed the same thing after driving my 02 for 6 years. I had chips all the way up the hood which obviously wouldn't be protected by this mask. So you're left with the line across your hood AND rock chips on the rest of the hood.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $300-700 for a good quality hood repaint.
Any time you want to compare the bumper and bonnet of your unprotected MINI with mine......
Let's go for it....mine's an 09 with no line on the hood and no chips
Yours will always have the line, and mine might have some small chips after a year or two of driving. And when I need to repaint...i spend a few hundred to repaint it, get to shave off the MINI emblem at no extra cost, and still have no line on my hood.
I've only ever had one stone chip above the clearbra. So, I guess it depends on where and how you drive.
And by the way, how about the repaint on the bumper ? That gets chewed up even more than the bonnet. I guess that's so cheap, you can just buy a new one.
Let's go for it....mine's an 09 with no line on the hood and no chips
Yours will always have the line, and mine might have some small chips after a year or two of driving. And when I need to repaint...i spend a few hundred, get to shave off the MINI emblem at no extra cost, and still have no line on my hood
I'd still bet my 06 with 36,000 miles looks better.
I've only ever had one stone chip above the clearbra. So, I guess it depends on where and how you drive.
And by the way, how about the repaint on the bumper ? That gets chewed up even more than the bonnet. I guess that's so cheap, you can just buy a new one.
Oddly enough I've never noticed chips on the bumper Might be the flexibility of the plastic or the perpendicular angle rather than the sloped angle?
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I'd still bet my 06 with 36,000 miles looks better.
Lol- ok let's not use analogies. The clear bra don't cover the whole hood right? I know I've had chips that are further up on the hood where the clear bra doesn't reach. So, paying for an incomplete protection seems weird since you can just repaint the whole panel for about the same price(not to mention have a new paint finish).
The shop I got the estimate from does amazing work so I'm sure you could get a cheaper estimate elsewhere but still.
A repaint is never really the same as factory, and some colors are difficult or impossible to match 100%. I have Chili Red and would hate to repaint the hood and end up with mismatched color noticeable in sunlight. You also have to consider the bumper and fenders, which a $500 clearbra job includes, and which are equally vulnerable as the hood. If you have considerable rock chip damage, $500 will not cover repaint on all those panels.
Most rock chips happen towards the front near the grill and bumper area. Doing a clear bra in that section and not all the way up the hood is a very reasonable approach, although I do have my sport stripes protected to the windshield.
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2011 WR Blue Subaru WRX STi 4-door
2009 JCW Chili Red/White (gone, but not forgotten) RaceTripper Photos
). When I later had occasion to have my original bonnet replaced (long story), I got a clear bra. Got one on my '07, too. The clear bra has kept both cars w/o dings.
First love Indi Blue/White MC '04, past MINI: PW/Black MC '06, current MINIs: Pure Silver/BLK MCCa '09 w/roof rails! And now, a 2010 MCa Horizon Blue!
Any time you want to compare the bumper and bonnet of your unprotected MINI with mine...... 
