Factory Clear Bra on Painted Fenders.. Self Healing?

[lightsout]

My Sahara has a clear bra type material that is installed by Mopar on my painted fender flares (I assume all painted fenders have this stock from Mopar), Does anyone know the material that Mopar uses and more importantly if it is self healing (meaning any scratches can be removed with a heat gun).

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[mwilk012]

It's just 3M tape.

 

[WhyUMad]

The Mopar material isn’t all that great, firstly it doesn’t cover the entire piece, so you’ll see the outline of it & with time it’ll be more noticeable because dirt, wax, etc. builds up. The material itself is pretty thick & protective, but it also starts getting a yellowish tint (from my experience with Jeep/Dodge) to it with time. I took the Mopar stuff off & covered my fender flares & entire front cap covered with Xpel protective bra (only the painted parts because the protective bra doesn’t adhere all that well to textured plastic; has to be that extremely smooth paintable plastic for it to adhere correctly). The Xpel stuff is self healing, but I don’t know if the Mopar stuff is. If you want to be safe, the fender flares alone are relatively cheap to have protective bras applied to.

 

[lightsout]

The Mopar material isn’t all that great, firstly it doesn’t cover the entire piece, so you’ll see the outline of it & with time it’ll be more noticeable because dirt, wax, etc. builds up. The material itself is pretty thick & protective, but it also starts getting a yellowish tint (from my experience with Jeep/Dodge) to it with time. I took the Mopar stuff off & covered my fender flares & entire front cap covered with Xpel protective bra (only the painted parts because the protective bra doesn’t adhere all that well to textured plastic; has to be that extremely smooth paintable plastic for it to adhere correctly). The Xpel stuff is self healing, but I don’t know if the Mopar stuff is. If you want to be safe, the fender flares alone are relatively cheap to have protective bras applied to.

My fender flares are completely covered in fact the fit is very good. I asked about the self healing as I think I am going to do the 4-Doors and Hood with a self healing film as there is alot of brush and overgrowth on the trails here in the NW.. I also have a couple little scratches on one front fender (from mechanics at dealer) and want to confirm before I put the heat gun to it and if it is not I will have those redone as well.

 

[mwilk012]

Can you show pictures of the fender being completely covered?

 

[robaw]

Can you show pictures of the fender being completely covered?

Here's a pic of mine. There was a thread a couple months ago discussion this. Apparently some are partially covered, some almost fully covered. I had to really look on mine to see the edges.

 

[lightsout]

Can you show pictures of the fender being completely covered?

It is not something you can photograph it is clear and the edges are just a fraction off the plastic trim, you can feel it and see it but you have to look close. In fact I did not even know it was there until other reported it here on the forum several months back and when I went out to check it definitely have a Clear Bra like covering. I also have it on my Tesla and the front of our Class A Motorhome.

 

[robaw]

Here's the previous thread... https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/2019-rear-fender-protective-film.19624/

 

[lightsout]

It is not something you can photograph it is clear and the edges are just a fraction off the plastic trim, you can feel it and see it but you have to look close. In fact I did not even know it was there until other reported it here on the forum several months back and when I went out to check it definitely have a Clear Bra like covering. I also have it on my Tesla and the front of our Class A Motorhome.

I will dig the heat gun out (maybe hair dryer 1st) and see if it is self healing, I would think it would be, however it does scratch easily, since my JL is Black scratches are more obvious which is why I am more concerned about trail scratches

 

[viper88]

I apply paint protection film to all of my cars. I had self healing paint protection film on a few. I can't say for sure it was drastic improvement over the films that were not? Newer films do hold up better to dirt and the elements hough. PPG has/had a clear coat paint that was self healing also. The sun would start the self healing reaction and scratches would minimize.

 

[lightsout]

I apply paint protection film to all of my cars. I had self healing paint protection film on a few. I can't say for sure it was drastic improvement over the films that were not? Newer films do hold up better to dirt and the elements hough. PPG has/had a clear coat paint that was self healing also. The sun would start the self healing reaction and scratches would minimize.

I was at the Detail shop that specializes in wraps and clear covers, they demonstrated the healing, it was absolutely amazing they scratched the test area with keys creating deep scrapes and the heat gun eliminated any sign of scratches in just a few seconds. My Tesla clear bra and M/H clear bras I do not believe they are self healing (never tested though).

The hard to justify part on the jeep is cost. I just bought a Rubicon hood for my Sahara and it cost $350 out the door for paint and the clear cover is $400, so I could also repaint for similar cost (assuming no bodywork required).

 

[WhyUMad]

My fender flares are completely covered in fact the fit is very good. I asked about the self healing as I think I am going to do the 4-Doors and Hood with a self healing film as there is alot of brush and overgrowth on the trails here in the NW.. I also have a couple little scratches on one front fender (from mechanics at dealer) and want to confirm before I put the heat gun to it and if it is not I will have those redone as well.

Oh, mine was only like a 1/4 of the read fender flare. If that’s the case, you should be good.

 

[mwilk012]

Here's a pic of mine. There was a thread a couple months ago discussion this. Apparently some are partially covered, some almost fully covered. I had to really look on mine to see the edges.

That's a front fender, I guess I should have asked more specifically if the rears are fully covered on the 2019's.

 

[robaw]

That's a front fender, I guess I should have asked more specifically if the rears are fully covered on the 2019's.

My rear ones look the same, fully covered.

 

[viper88]

I was at the Detail shop that specializes in wraps and clear covers, they demonstrated the healing, it was absolutely amazing they scratched the test area with keys creating deep scrapes and the heat gun eliminated any sign of scratches in just a few seconds. My Tesla clear bra and M/H clear bras I do not believe they are self healing (never tested though).

The hard to justify part on the jeep is cost. I just bought a Rubicon hood for my Sahara and it cost $350 out the door for paint and the clear cover is $400, so I could also repaint for similar cost (assuming no bodywork required).

Jeeps are a different animal then a Porsche or any other enthusiast car. I don't know how much a re-paint would affect resale value on a Jeep. Jeep owners are probably more forgiving. In the Jeep world a scratch is a badge of pride or honor to many. Mods are common and encouraged. The huge aftermarket reflects this. The Jeep crowd is definitely a easier going carefree group. A re-paint on a Porsche would definitely affect resale in a negative way. Most P-car owners want original everything down to the staples on the original paperwork. lol .

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