Clear Bra / Ceramic Coating Price Paid

[Lust]

Hey guys,

For those of you who had a clear bra or ceramic coating done, how much did you pay? What did they do exactly? Looking to get a rough idea how much it should cost. Recommendations for a detail shop in the Bay Area are also welcome.

[DrinkenBeeRZ]

I had the full nose, head and fog lamps, mirrors, inside depression of door handles, and rear quarter panel flairs in front of the rear wheels done for right around $800US. This is in CO though so can't help you with Bay Area recommendations.

[Lust]

Originally Posted by DrinkenBeeRZ

I had the full nose, head and fog lamps, mirrors, inside depression of door handles, and rear quarter panel flairs in front of the rear wheels done for right around $800US. This is in CO though so can't help you with Bay Area recommendations.

That's a reasonable price. The quotes I am seeing are near 1500...

[lightdir]

expel clear bra on hood,front bumper, front fenders, and mirrors. With everything ceramic pro 9h including wheels, headlights, fogs lights. was quoted $1500.00.

[86geek]

Originally Posted by Lust

Hey guys,

For those of you who had a clear bra or ceramic coating done, how much did you pay? What did they do exactly? Looking to get a rough idea how much it should cost. Recommendations for a detail shop in the Bay Area are also welcome.

For the ceramic coating it shouldn't be that expensive since your car is brand new. Paint correction is expensive so for a brand new car it shouldn't have much swirls and marring. Unless the dealer created them by the way it was washed. Optimum Opticoat Pro has a long warranty than Cquartz Finest. I paid $400.00 to get my car ceramic coated with Optimum Opticoat Pro. Detailer told me not much paint correction so it didn't take him 8 plus hours to do my car. Best investment I made on my car.

My sig says Opticoat Pro and Cquartz Finest because my car trunk got keyed last year. Paint shop that repainted trunk got over spray of white paint on the entire drivers side of my car, roof, front hood, windows & side view mirros. The detail shop had to use a aggressive clay to remove all the over spray. Thus I lost the Opticoat Pro and the detailer now only uses Cquartz Finest. So part of my car still has Opticoat Pro (passenger side) and rest of car is Cquartz Finest.

http://opticoat.com/page/opti-coat-pro

http://cquartz.com/

Expel clear bra is expensive for me anyway. I don't know any SF auto detailer shops. You can ask in the Northern California forum.

[Lust]

Out of the two is there one you like better? CQuartz or Opticoat?

[86geek]

Originally Posted by Lust

Out of the two is there one you like better? CQuartz or Opticoat?

The Opticoat Pro because longer warranty 5 years.
Cquartz Finest is only 2 years & much more expensive.
Both are good products. Depends how much you wanna spend.

Labor cost is expensive because of the prepping of car before ceramic coating is applied. Wash car, Iron x to strip off wax & any residues. Then clay bar car & wash again. Paint correction & polish then apply ceramic coating. Long process but worth it.

[MR2]

I had the full bumper, full hood, half fenders, and mirrors done with SunTek film. It cost me $1,050 in Columbia, MD.

[Xxyion]

Not sure if you've already made your decision. But i went with Ceramic Pro. Whole car done. Gold package which is 4 coats of 9h and a coat of Light (super hydrophobic coat) and it comes with lifetime warranty.

The 9h is the actual ceramic which with that many layers actually forms a hard layer on top of the factory paint and lasts forever. Will only come off if you use something abrasive (like polish).

The coat of Light, works like Wax. Super hydrophobic and makes the car incredibly shiny and glossy. Lasts about 6 months to 9 months depending if you park outside or in a garage. You go back every year for a new coat of light. Doesnt cost anything. During that time they also inspect the coated parts and touch up whats needed.

Total Cost Paid: 1600$ at Whitaker Bros' Autodetailer in Stockton.


Honest opinion on the stuff. Worth it. Good protection against minor scratches and rock chips. 9H has added UV protection and since i park outside i dont have to worry about the car fading as fast. Since it essentially replaces the clear coat on the car, i dont really have to worry about "clear coat peel". And long term the car will look like it came from the factory.

Protection wise. I'd say a solid 7/10. Doesnt work as well as a clear bra. And defiently doesnt protect against someone keying your car (like all the videos seem to show). However the benefit is that due to its hydrophobic layer it DOES protect against paint and other similar forms of potential vandalism. Also washing the car is a breeze. Dont need to wax the car ever due to the coat. But i like to just in case.

Protects really well against swirls. Since i live in an apartment complex i have to wash my cars by hand and i use a no rinse wash. Generally they work well but theres a higher chance of swirls. Had my car for a year and i wash it about twice a month. zero swirls.

Hope this helps!

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Lust

Hey guys,

For those of you who had a clear bra or ceramic coating done, how much did you pay? What did they do exactly? Looking to get a rough idea how much it should cost. Recommendations for a detail shop in the Bay Area are also welcome.

Auto Salon Works in Belmont. Guys name is Andrew and he works out of his house. Great guy. He has a 5 star rating on Yelp. He has done lots of peoples car on this forum. Here you can see what he did for me. Package was $850.


http://autosalonworks.blogspot.com/2017/04/swift-thursday-subject-curts-16-scion.html

[TofuJoe]

Front bumper, headlights, partial front fenders, first 20" of hood, mirrors, inside of door handles, and leading edge of doors quoted at $835. Decided to add the first 20" of the roof and the A-pillars up to the same spot and it was $1080 out the door. 3M VentureShield Ultra at JG Audio in West Berkeley. Juan and his team are friendly and experienced: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jg-audio-and-alarm-berkeley-4

[Sapphireho]

Btw, did you get your shifter fixed?

[Lust]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

Btw, did you get your shifter fixed?

I haven't taken it in yet. My car is still in the shop getting the Varis kit painted and installed plus a few other things

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Lust

I haven't taken it in yet. My car is still in the shop getting the Varis kit painted and installed plus a few other things

I would have the dealer fix that shifter spring sooner than later.

Now back to opticoating.