follow ft86club on our blog, twitter or facebook.
FT86CLUB
Ft86Club
Delicious Tuning
Register Garage Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Go Back   Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB > Technical Topics > Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs)

Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) Wash, Wax, Details, Repairs

Register and become an FT86Club.com member. You will see fewer ads

User Tag List

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 01-11-2014, 07:19 PM   #1
Efenys
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Drives: Galaxy Blue 6sp BRZ LTD
Location: Lancaster/Hoboken
Posts: 76
Thanks: 16
Thanked 19 Times in 11 Posts
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Clear bra/Opti coat on a repainted car

Preface: I used the search button. I couldn't come up with anything that matches my situation exactly.

Car was crashed. smashed bumper, fender, door, quarterpanel. all need repainted. Insurance was going to replace my half clear bra. I don't want the clear bra to fade at different rates so i was going to just replace the entire clear bra (extra at my expense). My question is given that the car will be majorly repainted, should if forgo the clear bra and get an opticoat on the whole car instead. I'm worried about clear bra removal on top of a repainted car. I'm also questioning whether or not i should even bother since it will have been repainted anyways.

Suggestions? Thanks for your help guys.
Efenys is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2014, 07:56 PM   #2
Ranatsu
Cone basher
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Drives: 2017 Subaru BRZ Series.Yellow
Location: Dodgin cones in San Antonio, TX
Posts: 800
Thanks: 51
Thanked 256 Times in 169 Posts
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I would just clear bra the mirrors and front bumper, opticoat everything else.
Ranatsu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2014, 10:10 PM   #3
dem00n
Member of the year - 2016
 
dem00n's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Drives: Scion FRS
Location: New York
Posts: 3,575
Thanks: 788
Thanked 2,427 Times in 1,111 Posts
Mentioned: 23 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranatsu View Post
I would just clear bra the mirrors and front bumper, opticoat everything else.
Huh?

My hood has just as much rock chips as my bumper...


And my roof
And my fenders
And my door...
__________________
Friends don't let friends Plastidip
dem00n is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2014, 10:34 PM   #4
kALMIGHTY
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Drives: TRD Ultramarine '13
Location: Calgary
Posts: 1,377
Thanks: 190
Thanked 766 Times in 347 Posts
Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
My suggestion is get the whole car opti-coated before any clear bra goes on, and then put clear bra on top of that. Otherwise, your car may look dull under the clear bra in areas you didn't get opti-coat compared to the rest of the car that will look like it's been freshly waxed for a long, long time.

And if you can, try to get Xpel Ultimate put on, instead of a 3M clear bra. Xpel allows UV rays to pass through instead of blocking them, so the paint under the clear bra will fade at the same rate the rest of the paint does, so if you remove your clear bra one day, your paint won't have two different shades. Xpel also has its own clear coat and doesn't change in colour either, it doesn't yellow or fade.

I got opti-guard on my car the day I picked it up, and then got Xpel Ultimate the next day after the opti-guard had cured. I got full front bumper, full hood, full front fenders, full a-pillars, and front of the roof, and of course, side mirrors, and headlights.
Everytime I wash my car, it still looks like I just picked it up a day ago, and it's been waxed and detailed, even though it was just a quick pressure wash. Xpel is so much more invisible compared to 3M, that not a single person in the last 6 months I've had the car has noticed I even have a clear bra, unless I point out exactly where to look.
kALMIGHTY is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to kALMIGHTY For This Useful Post:
Efenys (01-13-2014)
Old 01-12-2014, 12:20 AM   #5
Hamza7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Drives: MiniVan
Location: Markham - Toronto
Posts: 581
Thanks: 78
Thanked 193 Times in 128 Posts
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by kALMIGHTY View Post
My suggestion is get the whole car opti-coated before any clear bra goes on, and then put clear bra on top of that. Otherwise, your car may look dull under the clear bra in areas you didn't get opti-coat compared to the rest of the car that will look like it's been freshly waxed for a long, long time.

And if you can, try to get Xpel Ultimate put on, instead of a 3M clear bra. Xpel allows UV rays to pass through instead of blocking them, so the paint under the clear bra will fade at the same rate the rest of the paint does, so if you remove your clear bra one day, your paint won't have two different shades. Xpel also has its own clear coat and doesn't change in colour either, it doesn't yellow or fade.

I got opti-guard on my car the day I picked it up, and then got Xpel Ultimate the next day after the opti-guard had cured. I got full front bumper, full hood, full front fenders, full a-pillars, and front of the roof, and of course, side mirrors, and headlights.
Everytime I wash my car, it still looks like I just picked it up a day ago, and it's been waxed and detailed, even though it was just a quick pressure wash. Xpel is so much more invisible compared to 3M, that not a single person in the last 6 months I've had the car has noticed I even have a clear bra, unless I point out exactly where to look.
Calgarians are so much more lucky then Torontonians in terms of clear bra. I was hearing a stat the other day that clear bra job in Calgary is on avg. 7.5/10 in terms of quality of installation where T. is 3.5/10. Shadow shield which is the main trainer in Calgary is a excellent place where to learn to install clear bra properly, hopefully our facilities will be there as well one day. I hope you went to Carlos for your Opti Coat Pro (Opti Guard)
Hamza7 is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Hamza7 For This Useful Post:
Efenys (01-13-2014)
Old 01-12-2014, 12:38 AM   #6
kALMIGHTY
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Drives: TRD Ultramarine '13
Location: Calgary
Posts: 1,377
Thanks: 190
Thanked 766 Times in 347 Posts
Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamza7 View Post
Calgarians are so much more lucky then Torontonians in terms of clear bra. I was hearing a stat the other day that clear bra job in Calgary is on avg. 7.5/10 in terms of quality of installation where T. is 3.5/10. Shadow shield which is the main trainer in Calgary is a excellent place where to learn to install clear bra properly, hopefully our facilities will be there as well one day. I hope you went to Carlos for your Opti Coat Pro (Opti Guard)
Yup, definitely went to Carlos. He was highly recommended. The night I picked up my car, the paint was so badly scratched by whoever washed the car at the dealership before delivery that the car looked like it was at least two years old. There wasn't even an inch where there were no scratches. Carlos took all of them out without any problem and Opti-guarded it.

I had a private installer do my Xpel, not a shop. He was a friend of a friend, but somehow an authorized Xpel installer by the Xpel company, and he came to me and installed it all in my garage while we chatted. He did a flawless job.
kALMIGHTY is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to kALMIGHTY For This Useful Post:
Efenys (01-13-2014)
Old 01-12-2014, 03:54 AM   #7
Ranatsu
Cone basher
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Drives: 2017 Subaru BRZ Series.Yellow
Location: Dodgin cones in San Antonio, TX
Posts: 800
Thanks: 51
Thanked 256 Times in 169 Posts
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by dem00n View Post
Huh?

My hood has just as much rock chips as my bumper...


And my roof
And my fenders
And my door...
Can't help if you drive behind gravel trucks lol.
Ranatsu is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Ranatsu For This Useful Post:
Efenys (01-13-2014)
Old 01-12-2014, 01:21 PM   #8
Efenys
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Drives: Galaxy Blue 6sp BRZ LTD
Location: Lancaster/Hoboken
Posts: 76
Thanks: 16
Thanked 19 Times in 11 Posts
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Anything i should be mindful of here due to repaint? I know i should be waiting a month for it to cure but other than that i'm in the dark.
Efenys is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2014, 02:59 PM   #9
Pacific Auto
Master Installer
 
Pacific Auto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Drives: Scion FRS
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 216
Thanks: 4
Thanked 144 Times in 57 Posts
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
I recommend to wait a minimum of 2 week to let the paint cure before install the clear bra.

If the painting is quality and properly cured before installing. Then there should be no risk in removing the paint protection film in later years.

The only time I have seen paint peeling is due to bad paint work.
Pacific Auto is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Pacific Auto For This Useful Post:
Efenys (01-13-2014)
Old 01-13-2014, 04:38 PM   #10
Hamza7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Drives: MiniVan
Location: Markham - Toronto
Posts: 581
Thanks: 78
Thanked 193 Times in 128 Posts
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efenys View Post
Anything i should be mindful of here due to repaint? I know i should be waiting a month for it to cure but other than that i'm in the dark.
With Opti Coat Pro, you can apply it directly after a paint job. It has no curing period. The paint doesn't have to off-gas, cure, bake etc. with Opti Coat Pro.
Hamza7 is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Which comes first: Opti-Coat or clear bra? @Art_Mighty Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) 33 11-06-2016 12:37 AM
Which comes first? Opti coat or clear bra Raven23 Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) 16 01-23-2014 08:51 AM
Opti-coat and Clear Bra benoh Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) 14 07-19-2012 08:53 AM
clear-bra or opti coat jarviz Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) 1 07-06-2012 10:21 AM
opti coat + clear bra wallace03 Cosmetic Maintenance (Wash, Wax, Detailing, Body Repairs) 21 06-21-2012 08:09 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:00 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2026 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.