Any point to wax, clay, and polish if your car have a clear bra on it?

[g35]

I notice that my car paint is chipping off easily. I been reading on the infiniti forums about new cars and my g35 possibly having cheap paint on it or the paint being soft. Some people suggest installing come clear film from 3M or clear bra.

1) If a clear film or some similar protective layer is placed on the paint, would waxing, polishing, and claying be any beneficial?
2) Does wax or polishing help protect the paint better from rock chips?

Of course, depending on the size of the rock and impact, paint will chip off. However, I notice I have 1-2 paint spots chipping off completely. I am dissapointed in the quality of the paint job of my car. Any advice?

Thanks^^;

[Murr1525]

Waxing will help prevent the smaller chips... polish doesnt protect.

I think plenty of people have used the clear bras, with good results. A good cleaning before putting it on will be best, the installer will say whether you can wax or not under the bra.

You would want to be carefull around the edges of the film, and I think you can wax the film, maybe even using a mild cleaner on it like DC#1, to keep it looking shiny. Rubbing lighty of course. I would think claying can work on it too.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Any point to wax, clay, and polish if your car have a clear bra on it?

Strange... I replied to this late last night, and I must have clicked on the wrong button as my reply is missing? Oh well.... try again...

Originally posted by g35
I notice that my car paint is chipping off easily. I been reading on the infiniti forums about new cars and my g35 possibly having cheap paint on it or the paint being soft. Some people suggest installing come clear film from 3M or clear bra.

1) If a clear film or some similar protective layer is placed on the paint, would waxing, polishing, and claying be any beneficial?

Clear bras are very soft and pliable they are not malleable or workable, by this we mean that they don't lend themselves very well to polishing/abrading with the effect of producing a smooth, or level surface. There is a sweet spot between too hard and too soft and clear bras are outside the range on the soft side.

When a clear bra is brand new, it will look clear and swirl free, (assuming it was not scratched-up in the process of putting it on), with time and wear & tear, it will look like most paint in that ti will be filled with fine swirls and scratches and when you place the sun on it you will see cobweb effect.

With paint, you can remove swirls because in most cases it's workable, that is it lends itself to polishing/abrading in a way that lets you level or smooth out the surface so the scratches are gone.

With clear bras, you cannot do this.

You can apply a pure polish like our M10, or a light cleaner/polish like our M17 and improve the appearance of the plastic but not remove the scratches.

2) Does wax or polishing help protect the paint better from rock chips?

Of course, depending on the size of the rock and impact, paint will chip off.

I think you answered your own question.

Wax is a thin, sacrificial barrier designed to protect the paint by taking the brunt of attack through exposure to the environment. One or two thin coats of wax will not stop a rock that is flying through the air towards your car's paint from removing paint upon impact.

As much as the idea of layering waxes is touted on other forums, at the end of the day, the surface of your car's paint will only hold so much wax before the point of diminishing returns is reached. In other words, you cannot build-up a measurable, or perceptual film-build using a car wax, (or paint protectant by any other name), that will shield the paint from the impact of a rock flying through the air.

Hypothetically speaking, any wax or paint protectant that can build up a measurable film-build must be 100% clear in the bottle, and/or clear upon drying or any film-build it could build-up would not be clear but opaque and thus defeat the purpose of apply the wax to the car assuming one of your goals is to make the paint look good.

However, I notice I have 1-2 paint spots chipping off completely. I am disappointed in the quality of the paint job of my car. Any advice?

Thanks^^;

It could be you're expecting too much. Infinity builds a quality product. I've never heard or read where a consensus of people thought the paint finishes on Infinities were of poor quality.

Fact is, when you drive your car, rock chips are a reality. I know it makes us all cringe when we're driving down the freeway and we hear a ting... reverberate inside the car.

Until someone invents an invisible force field, I'm afraid rock chips are just one of the ill consequences of driving our cars.

[chrisx]

In addition to what has been said above, most clear films have UV protection so it isn't really necessary to apply any polish or wax on it. Just don't use anything abrasive on it. Very light cleaning is ok. Either way I wax my clear bra when I do the rest of the car, but just be careful on the edges of the film as wax can get on there and is a pain to get off sometimes. I have got myself some paint-safe masking tape and will be using this next time to protect my edges. Also, getting a clear film for the bumper is a good option as there is really not much else that can protect that area.