Price check on opti coat and clear bra for the whole car?
 

thinking of getting my car detailed soon. Has anybody gotten a clear bra and opticoat for the whole car? how much was it including detailing? Does Clear bra yellow? I read a forum post about someone's clear bra yellowing? I dont quite remember though. Could be thinking of something completely different

Whether it yellows depends on which film you use. Some are better than others. They're ultimately designed to be temporary, though. I never had any yellowing issues with 3Ms products. I've heard good things about XPel as well.

Opticoat just got a lot more expensive, and in line with their recommendation I had PolishedImage in Tacoma, WA use CQuartzUK instead, and it looks and performs absolutely beautifully. With window tint included, it came out to over $800. I think the paint correction and application were about $500-540 for the CQuartz alone. That's probably on the higher end of the spectrum, but they are an extremely high quality shop.

You can do it yourself, but it will kill half a day of your time to do it correctly, and if you don't have experience in detailing and polishing, it's going to be a whole lot harder.

This would be a lot better answered in the detailing subforum though.

I wanna say opticoat is around 250-300.

IMO clearbra is nice if you pay a ton for it. My brother got it installed on a budget, and to be honest, the parts they messed up would bug me more than rock chips.

Not sure if you've considered it or not.. I used optimum gloss-coat on my car last year. It's not as tough as opti-coat, but it's pretty amazing for the price! I think I paid $50, and it's easy enough to DIY. It's like opti-coat, but doesn't last as long. Definitely made my front bumper look a LOT better.

[edit] - Never heard of prices anything like doomsday said, but probably depends on location.

I got a couple things done at once. But if you want a quality application of a ceramic like opticoat or Cquartz, you're going to have to pay for paint correction by the hour. I got lucky because I got my new car in there about a week after I picked it up.
But like I said, I did not go to the cheapest shop, I went to one with stellar reviews.

My last BRZ had the dealer install 3M, and whatever wasn't applied correctly I made note of and they fixed or trimmed. It was added into my financing too, which was nice. Only bummer is they used the film cut-outs that end at the edges and halfway up the hood, you'd be much better off getting a custom job done.

After spending that much on CQuartz I balked, now with a few chips in my hood I wish I hadn't.

Realistically, you don't need 3M on plastic parts like the bumper because they're far more resielient and easier to fix. I'd worry mainly about the hood and fenders, and the area between the door and rear wheel seems to be a rock magnet.

I can tell you all about clear bra/paint protection film.

I had it installed on my entire car except the roof and trunk lid. Yes, I had the entire front, sides, back and hood PPF'ed. It wasn't cheap either!

Pricing wise, mine was $800 for the entire hood, ~$350 for the entire front and a little less for the entire back, and ~$1200 for EACH side. The price depends on how much material is required, and since the side is one solid body part with a door in the middle, they need PPF in one piece and cut it out to fit.

In the past film would yellow because of poor quality but any reputable shop that's been in business for more than 10 years wouldn't sell film that yellows or they'd be out of business pretty quick. Between the 3 main brands: XPEL, SunTek, and 3M, the best is XPEL because it's self healing apparently. SunTek is a good alternative and nothing wrong with 3M but the others are just better. 3M costs more supposedly.

As far as fitment, any good shop would have software that cuts it to exact fitment with very little gaps in coverage. If you go to a shop, ask them to see an example of their work on a car so you can see the tolerance they allow. If it's too big, ask them about it and that you want better coverage. Avoid "pre-cut" pieces as the gaps are huge. Also ask if they can curl over the edge so there's no lines at the border. My hood and front quarter panels have the edges curled over and it looks like nothing is there at all.

I wouldn't get a partial hood or roof, even though it might save you some money, you'll be punching yourself in the face when a rock hits the hood just above the film and gashes the paint and you have to get it repainted AND buy the film again. Might as well buy the entire hood and protect all of it. The advantage of film is obvious, it protects the paint, but secondly, it keeps it looking new and fresh, NO more micro scratches from washes or detailing, and you don't have to wax it as often because the film preserves the paint underneath, you just have to detail the film. If you do go with the film, you can get it detailed but don't go all out because in order to get the film to stick, they have to clean it with a mix of water and soap of some kind. A slick, waxed surface won't let the film adhere to the paint. The best thing you could do is clay bar the paint, then polish, then sealant wax then go get it filmed.

CQuartz and any expensive detailing job would make it look great, but just like any wax, it's a temporary change. Over time it'll wear out and go back to how it was before and you'll have to do it again, and it doesn't protect the paint. Meanwhile, the film is holding strong and still protecting and making the paint look fresh.

-RyanG

Despite what anyone says, I still think paint finish with clear bra will never look as good compared to a car without one. For that reason, many people go without one. Film just does not have the same qualities as clear coat, and tend to be more dull with noticeable orange peel type effects. With that said, it's better to get a whole panel done, so you done see the lines. Also if you ever want to take it off, you're gonna be in a world of hurt. I tried to replace a mere half portion of my bottom bumper/lip, and I never want to experience that again. I can't imagine taking it off a whole bumper, let alone a whole hood. I use 3M and after removing the film it's definitely more yellow and not as clear as it once was. Maybe different brands hold up better but I've had debris fly through the film and still chip my paint.

Opticoat will not protect from rock chips, only a clear bra will. Talk to a detailer and ask them about the benefits and if it would be right for you. On average 8-10 hours of color correction will cost $500-$700, or roughly $50-$65 an hour. Including optipro and color correction, you'll prob be looking around $800-$1000 depending your location and condition of your paint. My math is probably off but you get the idea.

Well you're sort of correct. Film has a very slight bumpiness to it compared to the flat smoothness of paint, however, the look of the film once installed depends heavily on the quality of paint underneath. If you just wash the car then put film on, you're trapping all the contaminants stuck in the paint under it, making the film look more bumpy. But if you use a clay bar on the paint then polish and seal, the surface will be super flat and clean and the film will also be so. At car shows, I've had people examine the paint and they're surprised to learn there's film on it, they never would have noticed unless I told them, and I've had people ask how the paint looks good.

http://www.drbeasleys.com/wordpress/...-vs-Smooth.jpg

The orange peel look is a result of a poor paint surface quality, and not using a clay bar, and a not polishing before installing the film. Again, the film is only as good as the surface it's put on. It conforms to the surface and will reflect any defects under it. A good paint surface (top of the pic) makes it practically invisible. How it's more dull I don't know your meaning, but if you mean the way light shines, then yes there is a difference, but not noticeable to the average person. If you have a screen protector on your cell phone, it's super smooth because there's nothing under it to make it bumpy. If you trapped something under it, it'll show through the film.

Agreed, again if you get a rock hit in a place just past the protected area, you'll be punching yourself for not doing the whole piece.

Unless you need to replace it for getting torn after getting hit, there's no reason to. And a good installer has a process of doing so, and it's not like it shreds the paint, they use fluids to make it easier too. Like how you would use goof-off to get rid of glue. I know this.

3M is the least reputable PPF product, XPEL or SunTek are your better choices. Stay away from 3M til they make their stuff more on par with the others.

I've had apparently a big rock hit my front bumper and it ripped a hole in the film, exposing the paint underneath. I was so worried it scratched the paint but when the whole piece was removed, the film did it's job, absolutely no damage.

Can film protect in every instance? No, there's always an exception, but normal freeway driving, stop and go traffic, daily driving, you'll be protected. If you follow behind a full dump truck for a dozen miles, you're on your own! I tend to speed around dump trucks and back off behind cars on roads with debris on it to reduce the risk.

-RyanG

Not necessarily. Depends on how well you take care of it.

I've had my film on the hood for the longest of all the pieces (I've had the front replaced because I had the bumper replaced), and the sides and rear are the youngest. The film on my hood has been there since about September 2013 and it's still going good.

-RyanG

I'll just repaint my car one day. lol

Nah, just dip that b*tch, you'll be good! :thumbup:

-RyanG

Yeah I said orange peel effect, no actual orange peel and it's more like bumpiness like you said. Mine was put on immediately after color correction, if anything the line on the hood bothers me more than the differences in texture (I have a half hood, 1/3 fenders). I went with 3M because my friend only installs their product, his work is really good and he gives me good deals.

I had to remove a portion due to a hole by debris, if you could pm or tell me more on the removal process that would be helpful. I plan on removing all the film before I sell the car in a few years, and the only tutorials I've found are youtube vids using a steamer and 3M adhesive remover. It still sucked balls.


Good luck with matching a SWP tho… I dread the day I have to paint match a panel on my car. I'd rather just sell it lol.

I don't personally know how to remove it, I've just seen the shop I go to do it, and they do it the right way whatever it is. I know it requires getting it wet somehow with some penetrator or something.

-RyanG

I opticoated my car and got the front bumper, headlights, entire hood done with XPEL clear bra. Opticoat was $400 and clear bra was $900, in SoCal. Lifetime warranty on the XPEL. Opticoat was done by James at Sunset Detailing, and Clear Bra by Elite Clear Bra.

Yea that was about the price of my hood at $800 so that's a good range. XPEL is the best if the place you go to has it.