New Red car UV protection & a Clear Bra?

[Bobdhd]

Just quickly, I have been a HUGE fan (& have been in awe of so many of you) of this forum for several years but never thought I had anything to contribute, so now I am looking for some advice. :bowdown:

My wife has just bought a 2013 Beetle (Tornado Red) (her mid-life crises car I think :props:) that she puts on 100km (62miles) a day of highway driving. No need to say the front end of her cars take a beating.
Question:
1) Red cars fade, (I know all do but…) is my best bet liberal use of UV protectant sealants & waxes?
2) Clear Bras, do they work? Do they change the rate of fading?
Thanks

[HellaBroke]

1 exo and opticoat both if I remember correctly (ill re read and post again if this is wrong) but offer uv protectant
2 yes if a brand new freshly corrected car gets a lets say 3m clear bra and let the rest of the car go there will be a paint fade difference... but I have only seen this on a couple trashed cars. I have clear bras on 2/3 of my cars... expensive yes but still cheaper than a hood bumper fender repaint 5+ years down the road... my past clear bras only held up for 5 years ish before discoloration in the film started as well.... so that in it self is a little :s

Sent from my SGH-T889 using AG Online

[Bobdhd]

1 exo and opticoat both if I remember correctly (ill re read and post again if this is wrong) but offer uv protectant
2 yes if a brand new freshly corrected car gets a lets say 3m clear bra and let the rest of the car go there will be a paint fade difference... but I have only seen this on a couple trashed cars. I have clear bras on 2/3 of my cars... expensive yes but still cheaper than a hood bumper fender repaint 5+ years down the road... my past clear bras only held up for 5 years ish before discoloration in the film started as well.... so that in it self is a little :s

Sent from my SGH-T889 using AG Online


Hey thanks for those.

Clear Bra; I know, it's, which is the worse of the two evils. The front ends ususlly look like they are Grit Blasted, (sigh) either way, I suppose my touchup skill should become top-notch. LoL

[rmagnus]

If it were me I'd skip the clear bra and deal with touch ups. If it's as bad as you say the clear bra will look worse than the paint touch ups. I'd also polish out the car seal it with OC 2.0 or similar then wax it. Park it in a garage if possible but don't obsess over it as any DD will take a beating. Stay on top of the cleaning and top coating something like CG V07.

[ScottB]

get some Optimum Car Wax ... it has UV protection and can be used weekly after a wash. Literally takes 10 minutes. You and wife can do so without effort and find your paint better than showroom new.

[Bobdhd]

get some Optimum Car Wax ... it has UV protection and can be used weekly after a wash. Literally takes 10 minutes. You and wife can do so without effort and find your paint better than showroom new.
Thanks. I haven't used Optimum but I was thinking to try it, just don't want too much "stuff" at one time, it just seems to get wasted.
P.S. The wife won't be much help, she had an argument with a gas pump the other day (she forgot to press the selector button) :doh:


If it were me I'd skip the clear bra and deal with touch ups. If it's as bad as you say the clear bra will look worse than the paint touch ups. I'd also polish out the car seal it with OC 2.0 or similar then wax it. Park it in a garage if possible but don't obsess over it as any DD will take a beating. Stay on top of the cleaning and top coating something like CG V07.
Thanks. I was thinking along those lines, I really like CG V07. Lucky for her she drives from garage to garage, it's the disaster that happens in-between.