Which comes first: Opti-Coat or clear bra?
 

Which comes first: Opti-Coat or clear bra?

to keep it uniform, i'd opticoat the entire car first, then clear bra the front end. also, you are protecting the paint, not the clear bra. it would seem to make more sense to apply the opticoat on the paint instead of the clear bra.

I would have the vehicle detailed, and opti coated to make sure the paint is perfect before you apply the clear bra. Opti Coat is basically just another clearcoat layer, and the clear bra can go right on top of it, just like normal paint.

I'm assuming that clear-bra includes clear "film". And if that's the case, the order depends on the clear-bra because some bras/films may not adhere to opti-coat very well because they're designed to adhere to the paint (and clearcoat).

Opti Coat, simply put, is an additional layer of clear coat. So you shouldn't have any problems putting a clear bra on top of it.

Opti-coat is _not_ the same as clear coat.

i think random is right. how do you know for sure the clear bra will stick to the opticoat? opticoat was designed in a way to repel almost everything. that's why water simply sheets off an opticoated panel.

personally, i'm not a fan of clear bras and just try to give the car in front of me at least 3 car lengths.

Xpel works fine over opti guard.

From Chris at Optimum



From the horse's mouth so to speak... I promise I don't just make stuff up when I post on forums...lol

Which comes first? Egg or chicken?

Check the table on the middle of this page.

http://www.opti-coat.com/

It says that Opti Coat is a Ceramic Clear Coat. It's not the "same" as a true clear coat, but it is closer to being a clear coat than any other product in the automotive world.

I can personally attest that 3M VentureShield adheres to Opticoat perfectly. Had my entire front end clear bra'd, full hood, fenders, bumpers, headlights. Not a single bubble or peeling.

I called David at Optimum last week regarding this for a client. He said that you can most definitely apply clear bra over top of Opti Coat.

Fantastic; thanks for the tip!

The opti-coat won't bond to the clear-bra. It's made to chemically bond with clearcoat, not plastic/rubber trim or other items.

I've had clients do it either way and it didn't make a difference.
You can opti coat on top of the film or film on top of the opti coat ;)
It's all up to you.

From Garry Dean. He's the owner of Custom Premium Detailing based in Tampa. He's also friends with the owner of Optimum Car Care (his name escapes me). He was explaining the details of my statement to me and a buddy of mine while he applied the product to our cars.

Opti-coat products are designed to bond with the clear coat, and while they are safe to apply on trim and other materials, it doesn't bond and will come off easily. Over a 4-year span of maintaining several vehicles that have been opti-coated, Garry has seen discoloring on black trim while paint continues to retain gloss. Wheels are many times clear-coated so it will bond to wheels in most cases. There's also a difference between opti-coat, opti-coat 2.0 and opti-guard. Opti-coat was the first product (obviously), opti-coat 2.0 was improved to allow customer application, and opti-guard is a stronger coating that professional detailers can get their hands on. So if you see any opti-coat documentation that tells you it's safe to apply on windows, trim and other items, it's just marketing lingo. There's a difference between safe and effective.

Here's a thread with posts from Optimum that contradict what you are stating.

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/...clear-bra.html

And here I was thinking this was a simple question... :popcorn:

It's really not that difficult. If you're doing OC yourself, there is enough product to do about 3 cars. Just put it on before the clearbra and if you want, after. I just did mine yesterday, plan on getting Xpel Ultimate put on this week, and will most likely put OC on top of the clearbra afterwards.

Plus, I would rather have an even look to the car prior to the clearbra installation. If you do it afterwards and you ever take the clearbra off, there will be a delineation of where the OC was applied and where it was not.

Ken, I finally applied it on windows...two moonroofs lol

I've had it on my wife's car for several years and the trim still looks brand new. It's plastic trim as well. If its not lasting that long on trim I think there is an application error.

Do you think that the clear bra would pull off the Opti-Coat off the car?

Not according to all the information I've read on all of the car detailing forums. OC chemically bonds to the clear coat and cures within 24 hours and continues to harden as the weeks go by. The only way to remove it is to polish it off.

Spoke to Driven Perfection today, Alex was recommending applying the opti-coat AFTER the clear bra.

I have no idea which one's better, just reporting what i heard :p

I might be slightly mixed up on the order of the products, but I do believe Garry knows what he's talking about. The old packages of opti-coat/guard did not have any warnings about applying it on windows and trim. Now it says not to apply it on glass, and in the near future it'll include a disclaimer about trim items. Also, professional installs of opti-coat/guard will become more expensive in the future when the warranty plan gets introduced. It's still in the works, but there's talk about annual inspections of the car to preserve the warranty on the coating.

I would be inclined to think it's indeed the amount of sun we get here in Florida. The sun can be pretty mean down here. The only rainy/cloudy season is summer.

FWIW, I work with a film installer. I always apply OC on top of film. I've been doing this for going on 3 years; in my anecdotal experience is that it seems to help with the ongoing maintenance of film. We have not seen it fail on film. Most film has a clear coat, but either way, I am just basing this on what I have tried and have seen work. I have OC on the film on both my cars; no issues, no failure, etc. I actually OC'd an install in October 2009; saw that car a few weeks ago - OC seemed as present on the film as the paint.

OC'ing before film is fine. It makes the surface a little tacky for the installer (and is a little wasteful since you're putting film on it), but if a client requested it I'd apply before and after film.

I don't mean to resurrect this thread but i was thinking about something. When you apply a clear bra one of the spray bottles has an isopropyl alcohol solution. Wont that dissolve the cured Opti-Coat?

No. The only way you're getting OC off is to take a DA to it and polish it off or to sand it down with some sandpaper.

Reviving this thread ;D

Why would you install ceramic pro over PPF when you can just put ceramic pro right over the paint? Is it mainly to prevent a rock to chip to get through to the paint in the event that it gets through the ceramic pro?

I plan to get ceramic pro right now and maybe get PPF over the ceramic pro in the future. Can't afford both lmao