I had the dealer throw in a full nose mask and thought I'd just give a litte heads up for those that care. First I applied the hood mask and tried that for a bit. It's great and helps to protect and deflect material over the windshield IMO. It can be taken off easilly. Now regarding the bumper mask it takes a while to apply. Fit is very good. When it comes time to wash, it is almost impossible to not have the thing get soaked underneath if you don't take it off. Removal is a major choir. Here's the kicker, I thought I would remove it to inspect after having it on for 3 weeks or so and there was sand trapped between the mask and the bumper. (IMO car pool driving is where the sand comes from when you follow other vehicles) Over time this would be have a nice "sanding" effect on the paint. So, not unless you want to apply it for a specific trip I think having nothing is better.(although the hood mask is worth it)

 

That's one of the reasons why 3M scotchcal is becoming more and more popular.

 

I made the same observation myself a couple months ago, and a racing site I belong to almost universally hated on it. So it's now sitting in its carrying bag in my closet. I do plan on using it whenever I expect to drive through a high insect area (PA mountains come to mind... gah that was a pain to clean afterwards), but otherwise it's staying off.

 

Well, this neck of the woods can be a high insect area almost any time, so that's why both our cars have the full masks. (Spring & fall are worst -- that's when the "love bugs" are swarming, and their innards are highly corrosive. )

 

I have almost 71K miles on my '04 and never had a mask.

There's a few "tics" here and there but overall still looks practially new.
How?
1. Slower speeds
2. No tailgating
3. Spray an in-between waxer (Memuars Gold touch-up) or something like that.
It mainly keeps the bugs from sticking too bad, and the goo from their blood.

 

I had bras on 2 white vehicles because we have lots of suicidal insects here in La,and I drive thru TX pretty frequently and it has lots of HUGE SUICIDAL BUGS!! Well,I was pretty lazy,and left it on for about 3 months.I checked underneath it,and found a couple of leaves.Worse the leaves had dyed the white plastic bumper cover-they left a light brownish yellow print there that didn't respond to anything-bleach,Comet etc. No more bras for me.I use the 3M clear stuff.
Speaking of bugs-Louisiana and TX have lots of flying bugs of all sizes, however I have to give FL the prize for having absolutely the worst mosquitos(Key Largo-1972 summer) ever-HUGE CLOUDS OF AGGRESSIVE BLOODSUCKING SUCKERS!! We were gong to camp there but we bailed after spending about 5 minutes trying to set up a tent. I salute FL mosquitos!!
Thanks,Charlie

 

I have a full bra for my '06 Mag Pearl HCH because my old car was chipped and pitted from rocks and debris coming off big trucks (try driving the Tri-State toll road from NW Indiana to Chicago O'Hare without getting close to a semi!). I did find dirt along the fender wells and a little dust under the hood part. But I think if I clean under it regulary (and yes it is little time consuming to take it off and re-install it - but I think it gets easier each time), it will be better than taking the big hits from thrown stones, rocks, boulders, etc.

 

I would recommend anyone who is interested in protecting the front of their cars look into this product.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...gard-PPF/Home/

I have put it on 2 of my vehicles and I have absolutely no regrets. It was the best money I ever spent. It has protected to front end of our Maxima like a champ. When we use to live up north, the worst thing for the front of your car was when the sanded to roads after a snow storm. Drove in snow for 4 years with this on the Maxima and not a single mark.

 

While surfing the web yesterday, I stumbled across this interesting alternative to the classic vinyl/fabric nose mask... a MAGNETIC nose bra! Seems like a great idea if it actually works as described. I'm tempted to give one a try for my HCH II.



Full details are available here:

http://www.magnetbra.com/

John L.

 

Checked out the link and it looks interesting. I wonder if it truly does not harm the paint finish. I know from experience on a company vehicle I had that the magnetic signs on ths side of the body of a vehicle can do damgage over time. That's not to say that this product will harm the paint. If there is some type of felt backing between the magnet and the paint I would assume it would be fine, if kept clean (a regular nose mask works fine if cleaned on a regular basis).