Can afford one: clear bra or opticoat pro ?
 

Hey I'm getting my BRZ delivered in march and I want to start taking care of her right away. Do you guys think I'm better off with a clear bra to revent rock chips or will the extra thickness fron opticoat protect it a bit ? Also, will opticoat over clear bra prevent yellowing of said bra ?

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opticoat wont do a thing to protect the paint from rock chips, its basically adding another 2 micron thick layer of clear coat which has wax-like properties. once installed, you cannot do any form of paint correction as you will remove the coating. Clear bras are made and installed for the primary purpose of protecting paint from rocks and other road debris and modern paint protection films like Xpel Ultimate protect paint from UV radiation and even have their own self healing layer which returns the film to perfect condition even after heavy scratching.

Opticoat helps with washing the car IMO and keeping it clean, clear bras actually do the protection. Xpel ultimate has a 10 year warranty again yellowing so you should be fine in that department, I'm not sure how long opticoat would last with a self healing film like the Xpel

You'll need to new car prep, paint correct, & optiguard first before clear bra if you plan to do both.

And optiguard does help with rock chips (not add well as vinyl clear bra), as it's a ceramic coating, whereas the factory paint is thin water based paint. The optiguard is harder, even if only 2 microns thick.

Darker paint jobs seem to look better with c quartz instead of optiguard, I'm told.

Something to keep in mind.

I'm on my phone so if I make mistakes, blame Sportsguy83

I though paint correction was only done on a used car with paint damage... since my car is new it shouldn't need it ?




I will check out Xpel, I only had 3M in mind and heard about yellowing after 3-4 years. But it's sure that giving the car a permanent shiny look is something desired.


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Paint correction will most likely be needed because these cars have VERY soft paint. If you accidentally let the dealership wash the car... you'll need paint correction. There's already swirls, I guarantee it.

Opticoat first. Always. Get the foundation fixed then apply the bra.

Both are very good forms of protection. As thickness goes Clear Bras are way thicker but if you have paint defects underneath the bra then it's better to get Opti-Coat Pro first. A lot of new cars even from factory sometimes have defects so it's recommended to get the paint inspected, corrected in need be and then protected with Opti-Coat Pro then you can go with Clear Bra and then Opti-Coat Pro on top of the clear bra (so self cleaning properties will make the clear bra dirtier than the rest of the car where opticoat is the top layer.)

Thanks Hamza, are you from Toronto (TM3 forums)? You recommended Vlad in Ottawa for my detailing is that possible ?

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Hey Simon,

I thought your username looked oddly familiar. Yes I also sponsor TM3. Vlad is Opti-Coat authorized.

Too bad you're 6 hours from here... I'd have you do it :( I'll email Vlad again. Just to make sure, Opti-Coat Pro over 2.0 ? And how do you feel about C.Quartz/GTechniq EXOv2 ?

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Great, Vlad is a good detailer and I'm sure you'll be happy with his work. Actually I'm having lunch with him because he's in town this week so I'll make sure he does a good job. I wish teleportation was a thing so then I could travel all over the place to detail but honestly they are great detailers all over it's just hard sometimes to find them.

It's definitely a tough decision on choosing a coating and I always recommend to ask the detailer applying the coatings to your car on what he thinks.

The way I see it is if you use your car like a car (parked outside, more than 20K km a year, drive it all the time) then get Opti-Coat Pro because it provides the most protection for your vehicle. 2.0 is also a good coating but if a Pro installer is detailing your ride then most likely will be the same price, pro provides more protection.

Cquartz is good coating for cars that are driven a little bit more carefully so parked inside, babied (of course if you drive your car a lot of park outside then it can be babied as well) and if you really care about the looks then go with CQuartz because outright it looks great, it provides more depth when applied on dark colours so if your silver or white then forget about it.

Let me know if I didn't explain properly, sometimes I forget I'm not talking to other detailers but rather regular people.

- Hamza

Euuuuhh maybe some background info can help you ! The care will be babied, stored outside during nice summer days and maybe temporarely placed inside during rains, stored the whole winter in a heated garage. It's the World Rally Blue (the Subaru blue) and I don't know if that classifies as dark or light color...

I just don't know since in the end its not a lamborghini so i dont know if double the price for C.Quartz is worth it

i actually thoroughly emailed Vlad but I know he's closed for the winter. I met him once though and hes an amazing guy, really honest and dedicated.


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I'm planning on getting Opti-Coat on my new car but worry a little about how a clear bra will look after a few years. While the areas covered by the bra would be protected from UV rays, the unprotected areas will fade. I've seen this on quite a few cars, especially with paint colors that are more susceptible to UV. Would be curious if anyone who has a clear bra has experienced this.

If you want a clear bra, I would do the full front clip (ie full hood, full fenders, bumper.
And either use 3M or Xpel ultimate(baller stuff).

I use Xpel since I install them for a living and can get them for dirt cheap! Hopefully will have the whole car wrapped in 3M so it's protected and no fading, already did my full clip + headlights

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The reason for fading is because the owners don't maintain /apple any wax the 3M. That's the reason why it yellows. & you are suppose to remove and install a new bra every 5years ish

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Well this is sort of classified but actually next month there's an even cheaper coating coming out which doesn't require paint correction called Americoat (website not up yet) and I'm actually a team lead on this one which I'm testing this week. It's going to have good durability and prices are going to be lower than Opti-Coat and CQuartz. Which might help you out with your dilemma.

I'll keep the forum updated on the progress.

Well that's another reason to get the coating, Opti-Coat helps reduce fading on paint so you'll be okay when you get it applied to both parts. Plus paint correction actually takes away fading by bringing out a "new" layer of paint.

Clear bra front bumper. Wash and wax the car yourself regularly.

save the rest of your $

I recommend this route if you don't plan on winter driving it and it being a garage queen lol.
But it is a worthy investment if your city uses rocks/sands/etc on the roads during winter (like in calgary For me lol)


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You're gonna make me travel to Toronto ! Definately keep the forum updated !

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Well good news is Vlad has decided to pick up the coating if you want it applied. So don't have to come all the way here.

And would you go Americoat or OptiCoat Pro for a blue brz ?

If it's the World Rally Blue I would go with the Americoat because it's acrylic coating so it looks better and sheets water rather than beeding which keeps the car cleaner over all.

Yeah irs World Rally Blue !! And as far as durability goes, does it lasts as long as the car life (as would Opticoat) ?

Americoat will last 2+ years but with the way you're going to keep your car it may as well be "lifetime", it's advisable to get your paint coating redone every 2 years anyways because the coating will pit and gain minute scratches simply from the act of driving that will rob you of your shine but to answer your questions Opti-Coat will last 5+ years.

Alrighr thanks ! Just awaiting for vlad to answer my email !

@Upper Class Detailing

Don't want to high jack the thread, but a detailer in my area just got the Americoat and I'm interested. I have an Asphalt FR-S and wanted to see if that is dark enough for the Americoat to look good or if I should check out the other options.

It'll look super wet with Americoat, just do it.

@Hamza7, thanks for the info! I will get in touch with the detailer!

If you had to choose one, get the clear bra. Wrap as much of the font end as you can afford.
Then just give her a good wax once a month and she'll look good for years to come.

Yellowing is from crappy film. Make sure you get Suntek or xpel top coated films.