I've GOT to stop spending all this $$$ on the car, but I can't help it!

My Cayman S came with a full clear bra kit from the dealer including bumpers, 1/3 hood, headlights, foglights, front wheel arch and the area under the gas cap.

I was surprised that there was no coverage on the bumper area behind the rear wheels since that area get hit with all the dirt in normal driving.

There is a local shop on Long Island called Detailing Dynamics and the consensus was that they're the best in the area. So off I go to get the rear arches done and maybe the side sills too since some passengers can be klutzes while getting out of a low car like the Cayman and scuff up the sides.

Their shop is immaculate and they normally deal with very high-end cars so my Cayman was in good hands.

After talking with one of the owners, Eddie, he showed me how the front wheel arch piece from the kit didn't really protect anything. It was glued onto the side of the wheel arch and not folded into the painted area of the arch. I'll end up with wear/chips on the edge of the paint!

So my simple installed turned into a complete side coverage up to the intake area. The ugly stock "shark-fin" piece was removed and replaced with coverage for the whole area.

The installation was excellent. I had a real hard time trying to find the seams now. At some point I know I'll be back with these guys to have the front bumper redone to remove all the seams! These guys are fanatical about details.

Here are some of the installation pictures. Once the weather clears up I'll add some close-ups of the film in direct sunlight.

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

A few more installation pictures:

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

Looks like very nice work. Gotta think it costed a pretty penny though. Too bad no one around here pays that kind of attention and detail.

-Moto

So how's that work with the detailing? Does the car have to be free of wax before that's applied? Can you wax over the clear?

Yes and yes.

Please feel free to try a search for clear bra. You may be surprised at the volumes of information available at the touch of a couple of buttons.


As to the OP, the two most important areas to protect is the front bumper and the entire hood. Then the front fenders, maybe. Every other area is just scotch tape on metal. But, if you track your car, drive in nasty weather, gravel road, heavy commute traffic, YMMV

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Cayman S - a portable amusement park

- 2006 Cayman S
- 2003 Dakota SXT
- 1963 Studebaker Avanti, R2, 4-Speed
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LL

Pete, when I saw the post I said to myself, wow, he just keeps spending. When I read the first line I just cracked up. I'll probably get the info from you Sunday and do the same thing
Rob

One warning about detailing, you really need to take some time to tape off the edges of the bra to avoid having any wax residue accumulate there. My G35 came with a clear plastic piece in front of the rear wheel arch that I never bothered to tape off while waxing.

I wasn't trying to push wax right onto the edge, but over time wax did start sticking to the edge of the film and I had to spend some time trying to scrape it off. My car is dark blue so the wax outline really was noticable.

I definitely agree that the areas I filmed are not the usual high impact zones in the front. However, I did notice that after every drive, I had a lot of dirt accumulate in the side and the area right in front of the rear arch. I plan on doing plenty of AutoX and a few track days this year so I was buying some peace of mind.

I've met another local Cayman S owner that had a 4 inch strip of film applied across the back of the rear hatch. To close the hatch normally you would have to press you hand in this area and he wanted to avoid any marring of the paint over time. Have you ever close the trunk while holding your keys in the same hand accidentally? I plead the Fifth.

I showed him the trick of keeping a window down or a door open and just pulling the hatch down using the inner handle. With the a door or window opened, the momentum and weight of the hatch is enough to have it close and lock by itself since the air pressure can escape.

So, I saved $30 right there by not needed film on that section, every bit helps!!

Now if I have a Carrera GT or a GT3-RS, I would be real tempted to wrap the entire car up, but I won't be the first one. I've read aboutsome of the folks on 6speedonline that've actually done that!

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

I was admiring that Snap-On lift and wondering if I could fit something like that in my garage . . . am I sick or what?

Okay, sorry for the OT post

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My Blogs
2006 CS Tip (Daily Driver & Part-time Track Toy)
2005 Ford Expedition (to haul the CS)
2006 Lexus RX400h (wifey's)
Gone, but not forgotten: 2002 WRX, 2004 MINI

I don't think Snap-On makes that lift anymore, but I did find an identical Bend-Pak portable mid-rise scissors lift for about $1800.

Humm.......

Mid-rise Lift

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about . . . let me see - "Honey, I realize we don't have any more room in the garage what with my 3 sets of wheels and all, but this can fit right under the car!" Yeah, I'm sure that will work.

Actually I did find a Snap-On Mid-lift online, but it's $5000

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My Blogs
2006 CS Tip (Daily Driver & Part-time Track Toy)
2005 Ford Expedition (to haul the CS)
2006 Lexus RX400h (wifey's)
Gone, but not forgotten: 2002 WRX, 2004 MINI

Hey Pete,

How long was the install and did you make an appointment?