Spring is just around the corner and, in areas with severe winter weather, it is the time of year when road debris can do the most damage to your vehicle. Sand and rocks from winter road treatments can become destructive projectiles when stirred by vehicles or strong winds. While many are aware of the damage this road debris can do to windshields, few stop to consider the toll it can take on a vehicle’s paint job. Not only can it chip, scuff and scratch the paint, it can also damage the vehicle’s headlight covers making nighttime driving more difficult. Currently there are two popular protection options, traditional vinyl car bras or clear urethane films known as clear bras. While both products help to protect your vehicle from road debris damage, clear bras have a number of advantages that are making traditional car bras a thing of the past.
Traditional Vinyl Car Bras
Made from a stretchable black vinyl material, vinyl car bras are designed to attach to the front of a vehicle. They provide protection to the bumper, hood and sides of the fender. Although most popular in the 1980’s, the car bra has been around since the early 1960’s when three German engineers devised it as a way to protect their vehicles from road debris. Although more affordable than clear bras, vinyl bras have several distinct disadvantages.
One of the most noticeable features of vinyl car bras is their look. While some vehicle owners preferred the look of the vinyl car bras, largely vehicle owners believe they are unattractive. A number of those who installed a car bra on their vehicle also soon discovered they could actually cause more harm than road debris. One problem is that most manufacturers recommend a car bra be removed if they get wet to allow them to dry and to prevent water damage to the bra as well as the vehicle’s paint. Because this process can take upwards of 20 minutes, many found it too tedious and chose to disregard this recommendation, which often lead to damage to both the car bra and the vehicle.
Another major downfall of the vinyl car bras was their tendency to shift and vibrate when exposed to the winds generated by driving. This causes dust and other particles trapped between the bra and paint to act like sandpaper resulting in scuffing and scratching. In addition, many vehicle owners who utilized a car bra over an extended period of time reported that the paint under the car bra was darker than that on the rest of their vehicle. Fading of paint is a result of ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun cause a vehicle’s paint to fade over time. Vinyl car bras block these UV rays, preventing the paint underneath from aging, or fading, at the same rate as the rest of the vehicle’s paint.
Clear Bra Film
Made of a thermoplastic urethane film, clear bras are applied to the front end of a vehicle to protect the paint from damage. Although the material has been in use for decades, its popularity in recent years has grown as manufacturers have perfected the product. The materials protective properties and ease of use have lent it to application in other areas including air plane windows, electronic device screens, even motorcycle windshields and helmet screens to name a few.
The major difference between vinyl car bras and clear bras is that clear bra film is adhered directly to the surface it is protecting. This eliminates the sandpaper effect and water damage experienced with vinyl car bras. In addition, clear bra film can be applied to a number of different surfaces and because the material is clear it can even be applied to headlight covers. In the case of plastic headlight covers, the film not only protects against scuffing and scratching but can also inhibit oxidation, which causes plastic headlight covers to become milky or cloudy. Clear bras also allow some UV rays through so the paint underneath ages at the same rate as the rest of the vehicle’s paint.
About the Author:Technical Tinting & Clear Bra, Ltd. is a veteran-owned and operated window tinting company serving the Denver area and specializing in residential, commercial and automotive window tinting as well as clear bra, a clear urethane film applied to vehicles to prevent paint chipping. This largely referral-based business believes customer service is of the utmost importance and strives to ensure their work is not only correct but also outstanding. For more information on Technical Tinting & Clear Bra, Ltd., please call 303-906-8869 or visit http://www.technicaltinting.com
Articles Source:http://bra.ezinemark.com/clear-bras-the-clear-winner-over-vinyl-car-bras-7d38575943b6.html
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