Hey guys,

I know on the fx2 and I assume fx4, the front bumpers are painted and the fx2 has that painted valence thing on it. I despise paint chips and was wondering how durable the paint was in this area considering how close it is to the ground and being painted. It seems common for alot of vehicles to have crappy/thin paint these days and was wondering if the fords were any different. I really want the fx2, but I dread it being all chipped up on the front..thx alot

 

Mine has held up well but I clear bra'd the whole front end (Headlights, bumper, grill surround, hood and fenders. If you are worried about chips I highly suggest you do the clear bra. We get a lot of sand and gravel put on roads during winter and I have gotten chipped windshilds but whole front end is fine.

 

I have the clear bra on my E55 and on my wife's C320 with great results.
Somehow I never thought mush about it for my truck until last week. Better late than not at all

 

well i drive a lot, down rock and dirt roads....probably 35,000+ miles a year. And my FX2 did get chips on the front valance. About 7 or 8 places. I had an accident and got a new bumper and repainted (not OEM) but the color match was dead on and no chips now. (no change in driving activity) I guess the OEM paint just sucks. But then again...i am putting some pretty harsh driving on my truck

 

Paint is going to chip. Its as simple as that but so is the fix. The 3M Clear Bra, once you use it you'll never go back. Its barely noticeable on light color vehicles. It's a little more noticeable on the darker colors, only the edges though. It's still better than having rock chips in your paint though!

 

Us two-tone Lariat drivers don't have things much better. The beige lower portion of my bumper gets the crap beat out of it by rocks and such.

 

E-55 and C320 eh? That's the stuff I work on every day!

Anyway, I put the 3M clearmask on the front lower portion only after seeing 2 chips very shortly after I got it, and since then I have had none.