Clear Bra Advice

[SliverBrz]

Originally Posted by speedy racer

I did DIY venture shield under 300, looks Great.

yeah i have no complaints lol

[Young_makaveli]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Opticoat doesn't protect against rock chips, its just an overhyped sealant.

Sounds like a bad clear bra job, don't go cheap.

Im actually thinking of getting opti guard pro on my car right before winter

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by Young_makaveli

Im actually thinking of getting opti guard pro on my car right before winter

Its basically a long lasting wax, don't expect miracles. No such thing as a end all product when it comes to shine and protection for car paint. Never will be.

[Young_makaveli]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Its basically a long lasting wax, don't expect miracles. No such thing as a end all product when it comes to shine and protection for car paint. Never will be.

I keep hearing it being referred as "a second clear coat"

Figure ill give it a shot :p

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by Young_makaveli

I keep hearing it being referred as "a second clear coat"

Figure ill give it a shot :p

Nah, it'll give you protection for the clear coat and paint but don't think of it as an end all product. The shine is a bit plastic looking to me.

It isn't for me, but for most people it works since they don't really wax or clean their cars often. Great if you live somewhere you can't clean your own car.

[Young_makaveli]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Nah, it'll give you protection for the clear coat and paint but don't think of it as an end all product. The shine is a bit plastic looking to me.

It isn't for me, but for most people it works since they don't really wax or clean their cars often. Great if you live somewhere you can't clean your own car.

I think it might be good for me since ill drive the frs during winter so I wont have much chance to wash it every week like i do now

[dnieves]

Getting the front bumper and entire hood wrapped in Llumar on Friday (thicker than 3M, non yellowing, no partial PPF seam on the hood). Will see if I can get under the door handles done too. Learned my lesson from my '08 Scion tC and '06 Civic Si -my series 10 will not get suffer the same fate!

[g0ast]

I spent a little over $2000 getting my whole car protected minus the roof, trunk lid, and most of the rear bumper (the fender just behind the rear wheels is covered though). I may do the roof eventually, too. The entire front bumper I had done just after I bought the car, the rest happened later.

I couldn't be any happier or have spent money wiser, the peace of mind I have that rock chips or even parking lots are not as scary thoughts (but still not out of my mind) is PRICELESS!

Functionality wise it's not likely the sides of the car would ever need protection but just like wearing a seat belt; you'll be glad you wore it when the 1 time you need it happens.

XPEL is great but Suntek is a very close second choice, I have both. I heard from the 3 installers I worked with (the 1st who did my front bumper, the 2nd for the hood and front fenders and 3rd for everything else) don't use 3M material and run away from anybody that uses it, 3M is known to yellow and isn't as durable.

[m.wood0213]

Originally Posted by whaap

I too have read all the comments about thin/cheap paint and as far as I'm concerned they're fairy tales. I've got over 12,000 miles on my FR-S and I have yet to find one paint chip on the front of my car. I know that luck plays a large part in this but there's nothing thin or cheap about the paint that's on our cars. I'm sure a large part of this is because I don't tail gate or drive like a demon.

I had two freakin chips in week 1. Lucky B@$T@RD.

[Anaxilus]

I'm sort of caught between Xpel and Suntek. It seems Xpel rules for protection and self healing but Suntek is close and seems to have better optical clarity and maybe a more conforming/disappearing looking shield.

Anyone have experience w/ both?

[Ninjin]

Originally Posted by Anaxilus

I'm sort of caught between Xpel and Suntek. It seems Xpel rules for protection and self healing but Suntek is close and seems to have better optical clarity and maybe a more conforming/disappearing looking shield.

Anyone have experience w/ both?

I have heard a rumor that they both come out of the same factory. I would not be surprised if it's the same product with two names.

Sent from my GS4.

[kALMIGHTY]

My car is really new still. Less than 2 months old, and I got it opti-guarded (not opti-coated, there's a slight difference) the night I picked it up from the dealership. I drove straight to the guy who applied opti-guard and polished my car for me. The dealership washed my car before delivery and put scratches literally EVERYWHERE on the car that they couldn't fix even after an hour of polishing. I took it to the opti-guard guy and he fixed the entire car and put on opti-guard. Completely scratch free.

Anyway, next day, I got it covered in Xpel Ultimate. Got front bumper, headlights, entire front fenders, full hood, full a-pillars, front mirrors, about the front 12 inches of the roof, and the top of the rear bumper right in front of the trunk opening. I paid $1100 to have it installed professionally installed by a certified Xpel installer.

Anyway, I love the material. I can't even see it's there, let alone a stranger who's taking a look at my car. Clear as glass. No orange peel texture like other clear bra's do. Looks like the car has been waxed and the Xpel material itself has its own clear coat on top. Plus the material heals itself in sunlight if you get scratches on it. Seriously I thought that was just a marketing gimmick, but it does work!

Some might say it was totally unnecessary for me to spend $1400 on the car (paint correction, opti-guard, Xpel) but it was totally necessary. The car was literally scratched up the night the dealership gave it to me and said they tried to fix it but couldn't. Second, here where I live, during the winters when I'll be driving my car as well, they sprinkle gravel on the roads instead of salt to "increase" traction on the snowy roads. So yay for no rust, but also bad because all cars take a hell of a beating from gravel flying around. It's like you're rally racing sometimes, it's that bad. So all this protection was a must for me. It might be necessary for you, might not be. Your choice.

[Anaxilus]

Originally Posted by Ninjin

I have heard a rumor that they both come out of the same factory. I would not be surprised if it's the same product with two names.

Sent from my GS4.

I don't think so, maybe certain models of film or for the CAD cutting. The sheets I've seen seem to be different mil. Suntek definitely seems thinner and many installers seem to agree that Xpel is more bulky to use.

Seem to be running into a lot of X is the same as Y product rumors these days. James transformers are made on the same line as Tango, Blackfire Wet Diamond is made by Menzerna, Zagg shield is the same as the knock off Chinese Ebay films, Xpel is the same as Suntek, etc. All likely wrong, the first three definitely are. Who knows, you could be right but I don't think so from what little I have seen. It's also not uncommon to have the same factory make two different products that are different based on specs provided. Pretty common these days. Same factory does not equal same product.

[PSORngr]

I have Xpel Ultimate on the front of my car (partial hood, not full). I really like it. You can only see it when you are close to the car.

As another guy mentioned, I kind of wish the rocker panels just in front of the rear wheels had been a part of the two packages I bought because I do have a scratch in the clear coat there already.

Xpel and Suntek are different. The installer I went to mentioned some differences between the two (said Suntek was more pliable and easier to install, but the Xpel seemed to protect the paint better and was more resistant to discoloration).