Which comes first: Opti-Coat or clear bra?

[raul]

Originally Posted by @Art_Mighty

Which comes first: Opti-Coat or clear bra?

The opti-coat won't bond to the clear-bra. It's made to chemically bond with clearcoat, not plastic/rubber trim or other items.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by raul

The opti-coat won't bond to the clear-bra. It's made to chemically bond with clearcoat, not plastic/rubber trim or other items.

May I ask where you got this information?

[drew935]

I've had clients do it either way and it didn't make a difference.
You can opti coat on top of the film or film on top of the opti coat
It's all up to you.

[raul]

Originally Posted by 911fanatic

May I ask where you got this information?

From Garry Dean. He's the owner of Custom Premium Detailing based in Tampa. He's also friends with the owner of Optimum Car Care (his name escapes me). He was explaining the details of my statement to me and a buddy of mine while he applied the product to our cars.

Opti-coat products are designed to bond with the clear coat, and while they are safe to apply on trim and other materials, it doesn't bond and will come off easily. Over a 4-year span of maintaining several vehicles that have been opti-coated, Garry has seen discoloring on black trim while paint continues to retain gloss. Wheels are many times clear-coated so it will bond to wheels in most cases. There's also a difference between opti-coat, opti-coat 2.0 and opti-guard. Opti-coat was the first product (obviously), opti-coat 2.0 was improved to allow customer application, and opti-guard is a stronger coating that professional detailers can get their hands on. So if you see any opti-coat documentation that tells you it's safe to apply on windows, trim and other items, it's just marketing lingo. There's a difference between safe and effective.

[cnk]

Here's a thread with posts from Optimum that contradict what you are stating.

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/...clear-bra.html

[@Art_Mighty]

And here I was thinking this was a simple question...

[cnk]

It's really not that difficult. If you're doing OC yourself, there is enough product to do about 3 cars. Just put it on before the clearbra and if you want, after. I just did mine yesterday, plan on getting Xpel Ultimate put on this week, and will most likely put OC on top of the clearbra afterwards.

Plus, I would rather have an even look to the car prior to the clearbra installation. If you do it afterwards and you ever take the clearbra off, there will be a delineation of where the OC was applied and where it was not.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by raul

From Garry Dean. He's the owner of Custom Premium Detailing based in Tampa. He's also friends with the owner of Optimum Car Care (his name escapes me). He was explaining the details of my statement to me and a buddy of mine while he applied the product to our cars.

Opti-coat products are designed to bond with the clear coat, and while they are safe to apply on trim and other materials, it doesn't bond and will come off easily. Over a 4-year span of maintaining several vehicles that have been opti-coated, Garry has seen discoloring on black trim while paint continues to retain gloss. Wheels are many times clear-coated so it will bond to wheels in most cases. There's also a difference between opti-coat, opti-coat 2.0 and opti-guard. Opti-coat was the first product (obviously), opti-coat 2.0 was improved to allow customer application, and opti-guard is a stronger coating that professional detailers can get their hands on. So if you see any opti-coat documentation that tells you it's safe to apply on windows, trim and other items, it's just marketing lingo. There's a difference between safe and effective.

Hmmm....I'll call David at Optimum to confirm that regarding the trim. As for Opti Coat being the first product, you're wrong. Opti Guard was the first product and it was only available to pro's. Then came Opti Coat which was more user friendly for consumers. And Opti Coat is safe on glass. They put that disclaimer on the bottles in case any DIYs mess it up and leave high spots as it could cause the view through the glass to become distorted. It won't last as long on the windshield because of the abrasion from your wipers.

[drew935]

Ken, I finally applied it on windows...two moonroofs lol

[TLC Dave]

Originally Posted by raul

From Garry Dean. He's the owner of Custom Premium Detailing based in Tampa. He's also friends with the owner of Optimum Car Care (his name escapes me). He was explaining the details of my statement to me and a buddy of mine while he applied the product to our cars.

Opti-coat products are designed to bond with the clear coat, and while they are safe to apply on trim and other materials, it doesn't bond and will come off easily. Over a 4-year span of maintaining several vehicles that have been opti-coated, Garry has seen discoloring on black trim while paint continues to retain gloss. Wheels are many times clear-coated so it will bond to wheels in most cases. There's also a difference between opti-coat, opti-coat 2.0 and opti-guard. Opti-coat was the first product (obviously), opti-coat 2.0 was improved to allow customer application, and opti-guard is a stronger coating that professional detailers can get their hands on. So if you see any opti-coat documentation that tells you it's safe to apply on windows, trim and other items, it's just marketing lingo. There's a difference between safe and effective.

I've had it on my wife's car for several years and the trim still looks brand new. It's plastic trim as well. If its not lasting that long on trim I think there is an application error.

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by cnk

It's really not that difficult. If you're doing OC yourself, there is enough product to do about 3 cars. Just put it on before the clearbra and if you want, after. I just did mine yesterday, plan on getting Xpel Ultimate put on this week, and will most likely put OC on top of the clearbra afterwards.

Plus, I would rather have an even look to the car prior to the clearbra installation. If you do it afterwards and you ever take the clearbra off, there will be a delineation of where the OC was applied and where it was not.

Do you think that the clear bra would pull off the Opti-Coat off the car?

[cnk]

Originally Posted by @Art_Mighty

Do you think that the clear bra would pull off the Opti-Coat off the car?

Not according to all the information I've read on all of the car detailing forums. OC chemically bonds to the clear coat and cures within 24 hours and continues to harden as the weeks go by. The only way to remove it is to polish it off.

[rainmonkey]

Spoke to Driven Perfection today, Alex was recommending applying the opti-coat AFTER the clear bra.

I have no idea which one's better, just reporting what i heard :p

[raul]

Originally Posted by 911fanatic

Hmmm....I'll call David at Optimum to confirm that regarding the trim. As for Opti Coat being the first product, you're wrong. Opti Guard was the first product and it was only available to pro's. Then came Opti Coat which was more user friendly for consumers. And Opti Coat is safe on glass. They put that disclaimer on the bottles in case any DIYs mess it up and leave high spots as it could cause the view through the glass to become distorted. It won't last as long on the windshield because of the abrasion from your wipers.

I might be slightly mixed up on the order of the products, but I do believe Garry knows what he's talking about. The old packages of opti-coat/guard did not have any warnings about applying it on windows and trim. Now it says not to apply it on glass, and in the near future it'll include a disclaimer about trim items. Also, professional installs of opti-coat/guard will become more expensive in the future when the warranty plan gets introduced. It's still in the works, but there's talk about annual inspections of the car to preserve the warranty on the coating.