I recently got back a 2001 VW GTI VR6 and the previous owner left on a front end bra for over 2 years! Obviously, there is paint damage(white lines that look etched into the paint) where the edges of the bra were. I have washed with meguiars deep crystal, and the paint cleaner. Nothing is even helping a little bit (I even spot tested the carnuba wax and it did nothing). Any suggestions???
What a misleading title to my voyeuristic mind!
Hehehe, sorry to disappoint you! 
I have often wondered why people spend hundreds of dollars to destroy the paint on their cars…PT Barnum was right…
Well I can’t blame you for the bra and you already used this opportunity to warn others about them, I guess I have to offer my only suggestion short of a paint job. Try a cleaner wax or a light rubbing compound. I suspect the only fix is going to be a paint job. A really good painter should be able to do just the hood and make it look good.
Worked for me too.
To the OP:
I’m afraid but you’ll have no choice other than repainting if there is a paint damage.
For someone who has the ability, or knows someone who does, a spot repair can be done at a very reasonable cost. The area to be spot painted would be stripped of wax, sanded with 600 - 800 wet-or-dry sandpaper, and spray painted. An excellent quality, and color-matching, spray can (Yes, SPRAY CAN!) paint can be gotten from: www.paintworldinc.com. Get the paint color code off your car. A 12 0z. can of spray paint is about $19 + about $5 for shipping. ** It’s an excellent color match, and quite durable. Yes, I’ve used it. — me_art12
Sometimes you can’t do much to fix the damage completely; even repainting fails at times. I was at a service station when a woman came in and asked about “the bra”. The owner had spoken with the woman on the phone, so he knew that she would come to make an offer. He was so distracted that he couldn’t remember anything about it and almost fell over after she spoke. If his wife had been there, I’m sure he would have broken his neck looking to see if she had heard what was being said.
White residue is from the clear coat. If only the clear has been scraped and its not into the color coat underneath, you can try polishing the abrasion with rubbing and polishing compound. If it is into the color coat, it must be repainted. If the abrasion is very severe on the clear only, you might be able to get by with spraying a new coat of clear. Best would be to have a detailer or body shop take a look.
I would take it to a good detail shop first, and see what they can do. If they can’t get it to look acceptable, you are probably going end up writing a significant check to you favorite body shop for some paint work.
you might be able to get away with buffing the scratches out. I would have a body shop do this for you - if your technique isn’t good you can damage the paint further.
Bras have their uses, but should never be left on the car full time. If I know I’m going to be in a gritty area (driving through the desert, a known construction zone with flying dust and debris) I’ll put a CLEAN bra on my CLEAN car (if either one is dirty, the dirt will scratch the paint you’re trying to protect). It comes back off as soon as I’m back in normal conditions.