I'm thinking of getting this leather-like bra for my mini for protection from rocks and road debris.. only because, I'm planning a trip cross country 1,200 miles ... and I'm afraid of paint chips on this journey.. do you think this is a good investment and will it work for avoiding paint chips..I'm not getting the clear bra, cuz , I already have the racing stripes on my mini ...

 

I don't want my mask to look like this guy... but this mini coopers mask style looks and reminds me of this dude.

 

No reason you can't get clear bra over your stripes. And it's a FAR superior product to those 70's-style bras. I have had it installed on my last 4 cars, and will never own another new car without adding it, at least not as long as I live here in the desert, which is brutal on car front ends & windshields.

As for the vintage style, if your main purpose is protection on a long trip, and not leaving it on full-time, then it might not be a bad solution. But left on, they can chafe at your paint, and if not removed in wet weather, trap water underneath and cause other paint issues.

 

Yea, I thought it would look retro.... but I read that it was not good to put clear bra over stripes, because of a gap and overlap?? But I'm thinking about just using it for a long trip...and I must drive on highway 40 west.. ..Arizona and New Mexico? is this a brutal highway?????

 

Arizona is brutal for gravel, blowing sandy crap, etc.

I wound up in a dust storm a few years ago, and wound up parking off road as it passed through.. my windshield afterwards looked like it had just been driven 200k miles.

 

Go clear bra. Leather... eek!!

 

Definitely a bad thing. I had one of these on my Porsche and you wouldn't believe all the sand and grit that gets inside of it. It acts like sandpaper on everything the bra covers. So once you have it on, you will always have it on to hide all of the scratches.

 

Go bra-less! The plastic stuff looks terrible and has its own issues -- some people who replace the plastic stuff have reported chunks of paint peeling off with the plastic. A bad thing.

 

I've used both. Clearbra is superior, and if you get a decent installer, they can cut the clear bra properly to handle the stripes. I've had Clearbra removed and it won't damage paint, although an incompetent installer might. Clearbra is more expensive but considerably better.

With one of those Colgan-style vinyl bras you must take them off each day to clean the paint surface and the inside of the bra. Otherwise you'll damage the paint. I used one on a Carbon Black M3 for road trips and track use, and usually had to use a machine polisher to repair the paint under it. I never had any permanent damage, although it always came off and got cleaned at the end of the day.

 

Looks terrible?? You have to get your snout right up next to it, and at the edges, to even see it on my car. What "issues" are you referring to? And chunks of paint peeling? Utter BS, unless maybe if it's applied over some shoddy Earl Scheib paint job.

My MCS is the 4th car I've had a clear bra on, and all of them have performed fantastically.. would never buy another new car without adding it immediately.

 

+1

Keep in mind, the fabric bra does not protect the full bonnet and you can get damage above the top edge, as I have. If you're concerned about getting chips, maybe you should get the clearbra and have full time protection. As for me, I subscribe to the touch-up paint crowd. Can't protect your entire cars paint from everything if you like to drive it, although I've seen some who have tried...

 

I use the leather bra on mine for those extra long trips and sometimes I just use the top part. It works fine as long as you don't leave it on all the time. I might leave it on for a week at a time at most and I've seen no damage what so ever underneath.

 

The parts of the Mini that get dinged are the front up to the top edge of the headlights and the windshield. I'm sure you could use one of those tacky vinyl bra things for a few days. I've driven I-40 lots of times, it's no different than any other 4 lane interstate full of 14 wheelers. Clear bra can be installed with stripes no problem. I with I'd gotten one myself.

 

Go ahead and laugh at me but I've seen people put on 3M Blue Painter's Tape for the trip - it peels right off when you get to your destination.

 

^ You beat me to it. I actually painters tape my car whenever I travel more than 100 miles. It might look funny and I get weird looks from people as I pass them, but guess what, no paint chips and it only costs like $6. Just remember to clean your car before you put it on. Also if it gets wet that is ok is it just a little harder to peel off no big deal.

Edit: Now that I think of it painters tape is better than any kind of leather bra because you can protect things that the bra does not. I mean if you are really concerned about any kind of anything hitting the front of your car, you could tape off the entire front of your car. It would look really funny, but hey it works .

 

I like how my car looks with the leather bra.

 

If you get that, you need to get a great big whip and lash it to the top of your MINI.

 

another vote for painters tape ....

doesn't cost much ... no issues of the long term effect and without arguement, it works . . .

 

I think that what you're saying would be true in reverse. If you had a clear bra already, applying stripes over the clearbra would make for a noticeable transition from the paint to the clearbra, but clearbra over stripes should work with no issue.

+1 on what everyone's saying about the old bras. The problem is that most people who have this style of bra leave it on all the time instead of using it as a trip protection measure only. If stuff gets under it, it will destroy the paint. If nothing gets under it you'll have a two tone hood if you remove it after a couple of years. Lose-lose.

If you only need the protection for the trip, I can verify that the painters tape works. My wife moved from florida and we drove her car across the country with it. No rock chips, just some bug saturated tape to peel off.

 

Painter's tape reminds me of these guys: http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/19/2...oad-trip-ever/

(unfortunately, the original forum post is registered users only, but you get the gist from the autoblog entry.)

 

I got a clearbra and then decided I wanted stripes, so they go over the clearbra. There is a tiny bit of a ridge for the transition. No big deal. Clearbra rules! Beats vinyl bras by a mile. I used to do the vinyl. It worked, but caused uneven fading and scratching from the grit that got under the edges.

 

I have seen a car after wearing a leather bra with tiny scratches from dust that had gotten behind the leather. I would stay away from leather.

 

Not sure why people keep thinking the Colgan-type car bras are leather. They aren't. They're vinyl.

 

I had a vinyl bra on my first new car (VW Jetta) and it slowly got loose over the course of a couple of weeks. One day on the highway, air got under the front edge and it started flapping around....scraped the heck out of the paint. I personally would never use one after that incident.

I've never tried it, but you might try one of these temporary spray-on bras for your trip.
http://www.autobarn.net/duplicolor-spray-on-bra.html
Supposedly you spray it on and then it washes off with soap and water at the end of your trip. Not sure how easily it would come off. I remember that Griots used to have something similar to this in their catalog, but I haven't seen it for a while. You might give it a try. Sounds ideal for a temporary barrier on a road trip.

 

[quote=Ladyvalea;2959776]I'm thinking of getting this leather-like bra for my mini for protection from rocks and road debris.. only because, I'm planning a trip cross country 1,200 miles ... and I'm afraid of paint chips on this journey.. do you think this is a good investment and will it work for avoiding paint chips..I'm not getting the clear bra, cuz , I already have the racing stripes on my mini ...


I have an '09 Cooper S and purchased this very same bra (and mirror covers) in "carbon fiber look" and couldn't be happier with it! I've been using the bra since I took delivery of my car last May with no ill affects to report. I remove the bra roughly every two weeks in dry weather to clean away what little debris can accumulate after a while. However, in hot, humid conditions the bra must be removed and allowed to air dry should it get wet/rained on! If you leave it on wet the paint on your bonnet could very well become discoloured. And this bra fits very snug and secure...absolutely no worries about it flapping or coming loose at high speeds!




I've grown to prefer just having the bottom half of the bra on though....

giving my Cooper S a more menacing look in my opinion......