Has anyone applied a coating on top of a clear bra?
- Thread starter ETIKTRD
- Start date
Ronkh
Wax Waster
I've got it on top of Expel Ultimate
Does fine.
Does fine.
David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
From my understanding, Opti-Coat is the only coating endorced by Expel to be applied over their films.
jrock645
New member
I'd thought people usually applied the film over the coating, no?
The Driver
Detailers Workshop
Jrock is correct, you don't want to add a solid brittle surface over a flexible rubberized surface. Coating first, then bra. Also keep in mind if you go with xpel ultimate you will impede the self healing properties since the coating will show swirls.
NO!! Coatings will prevent the clear bra from adhering properly to the paint.
- Oatrick
Stokdgs
dansautodetailing.com
Congrats on a beautiful Red Alfa Romeo !!!
I think I have had 5 Clear Bra's installed on 5 of my vehicles over the past decade...
You will want to have the paint polished to perfection before they do the work.
They will wipe down the area/s with something to remove all wax, etc., so the ClearBra will adhere nicely..
Are they putting on a ClearBra cut from a pattern or are they going to freehand it from big sheets?
If they are going to free hand it, you need to tell them they absolutely can not cut it with a razor blade against the paint or trim of your vehicle..
No matter how good they are or say they are, if they slip a little bit, they can cut your paintwork or leave a cut on your trim and that will never go away..
Regardless, before you pay for it, you will want to totally look at every square inch of it after its dry and has no water dripping out of it anywhere to hinder you being able to see every edge clearly..
I would not recommend coating be applied onto the paint before you put the ClearBra on.. Besides, arent you putting the ClearBra on there to protect the paint already??
You can apply anything to the top of the ClearBra but because it is plastic, it is not really going to stick very long..
All the Clear Bra cars I have Detailed had lots of light damage from the Brown Bear Car Wash, etc., and after a number of years, you cannot get all the damage to look better by carefully buffing it out with a Rotary, but you certainly make it look better to a degree, depending on how damaged it is..
You have to be very careful because its plastic and plastic does NOT dissipate heat well at all..
Yes, you can put anything on the ClearBra and it should not hurt it, I liked to use something like Sonax Net Shield on my Client's vehicles, after I carefully polished it up..
I have never had anyone come back and say I hurt their ClearBra by doing what I have just posted here...
My ClearBra installed on my '09 Black Grand Cherokee in 2009 still looks good and yes, I did put Opti-Guard on it with the rest of the vehicle 5 years ago...
But, since it is VentureShield, and plastic, I am sure the Opti-Guard is not there today like it still is on the rest of the paintwork..
It does show some light scratches from the few times I had to get a car wash while on the road between the Pacific Northwest, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and back dozens of times..
The paint underneath the entire front end of this vehicle and halfway up the hood and front fenders, back of the mirrors, is perfect and I have no rock dings or damage because of the ClearBra, so I am happy about that..
Good Luck !
Dan F
I think I have had 5 Clear Bra's installed on 5 of my vehicles over the past decade...
You will want to have the paint polished to perfection before they do the work.
They will wipe down the area/s with something to remove all wax, etc., so the ClearBra will adhere nicely..
Are they putting on a ClearBra cut from a pattern or are they going to freehand it from big sheets?
If they are going to free hand it, you need to tell them they absolutely can not cut it with a razor blade against the paint or trim of your vehicle..
No matter how good they are or say they are, if they slip a little bit, they can cut your paintwork or leave a cut on your trim and that will never go away..
Regardless, before you pay for it, you will want to totally look at every square inch of it after its dry and has no water dripping out of it anywhere to hinder you being able to see every edge clearly..
I would not recommend coating be applied onto the paint before you put the ClearBra on.. Besides, arent you putting the ClearBra on there to protect the paint already??
You can apply anything to the top of the ClearBra but because it is plastic, it is not really going to stick very long..
All the Clear Bra cars I have Detailed had lots of light damage from the Brown Bear Car Wash, etc., and after a number of years, you cannot get all the damage to look better by carefully buffing it out with a Rotary, but you certainly make it look better to a degree, depending on how damaged it is..
You have to be very careful because its plastic and plastic does NOT dissipate heat well at all..
Yes, you can put anything on the ClearBra and it should not hurt it, I liked to use something like Sonax Net Shield on my Client's vehicles, after I carefully polished it up..
I have never had anyone come back and say I hurt their ClearBra by doing what I have just posted here...
My ClearBra installed on my '09 Black Grand Cherokee in 2009 still looks good and yes, I did put Opti-Guard on it with the rest of the vehicle 5 years ago...
But, since it is VentureShield, and plastic, I am sure the Opti-Guard is not there today like it still is on the rest of the paintwork..
It does show some light scratches from the few times I had to get a car wash while on the road between the Pacific Northwest, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and back dozens of times..
The paint underneath the entire front end of this vehicle and halfway up the hood and front fenders, back of the mirrors, is perfect and I have no rock dings or damage because of the ClearBra, so I am happy about that..
Good Luck !
Dan F
Robert DiTerlizzi
Moderator
I have applied Cquartz Finest and other brand coatings over and under various brands of PPF with no ill results.
Self healing Expel Ultimate has worked just fine with Finest over it.
We've had zero issues with PPF sticking to coatings
Self healing Expel Ultimate has worked just fine with Finest over it.
We've had zero issues with PPF sticking to coatings
I applied EXO V1 and V2 plus Gyeon Can Coat over Xpel, Venture shield and 3M scotchguard PPF.
No issue and no drop in durability.
FWIW, I had my car professionally polished and PPF applied and then I applied the coating.
I do not have the self healing film as it was not available when I did my car.
No issue and no drop in durability.
FWIW, I had my car professionally polished and PPF applied and then I applied the coating.
I do not have the self healing film as it was not available when I did my car.
Thanks for all the feedback. I do plan to polish the 4C before the clear bra installation. Speaking of which..... do i need to take a different approach since the body panels are not metal like a normal car???? I have both a rupes and porter cable, chemical guys and Menzerna polishes, etc... I will wash and clay before polishing.
My clear bra installer said to NOT put anything on the car prior to installation. So, I'm going to follow his advice. It seems there are mixed opinions on whether or not putting a coating on top of the bra has any advantages. I believe I'm going to install Xpel Ultimate or Suntek film.
Any additional feedback on how to best polish the car ( I here the paint is super soft) or on whether or not a coating would be worth it is greatly appreciated!
My clear bra installer said to NOT put anything on the car prior to installation. So, I'm going to follow his advice. It seems there are mixed opinions on whether or not putting a coating on top of the bra has any advantages. I believe I'm going to install Xpel Ultimate or Suntek film.
Any additional feedback on how to best polish the car ( I here the paint is super soft) or on whether or not a coating would be worth it is greatly appreciated!
RaskyR1
Rasky's Auto Detailing
Coatings definitely help protect the film against things like bug gut etching, which many films seem prone to. I've not seen or heard of any issues with applying any of the coatings on top of PPF, only benefits of doing so.
Here is a 4C that I recently did with a full front wrap and then coated with CQuartz Finest.
Wow! The car looks fantastic! Did you polish it before hand? If so, would you mind sharing your process/technique and products? I'm going to tackle polishing mine today and tomorrow before the PPF is installed on Friday.Coatings definitely help protect the film against things like bug gut etching, which many films seem prone to. I've not seen or heard of any issues with applying any of the coatings on top of PPF, only benefits of doing so.
Here is a 4C that I recently did with a full front wrap and then coated with CQuartz Finest.
I know your kind of new here (4 posts) and with the car you have (amazing) and the question you asked, I just though I would say, unless you know what your doing let a pro polish it before the clear bra. I would hate to see you mess up your car. What Rasky used is only the tip of the iceberg. The hours he has behind the machine and the experience makes all the difference.
If you don't know you can do a perfect job, don't start. Trust me, I made a mess of a black Infiniti once upon a time and I am trying to save you aggravation.
If you don't know you can do a perfect job, don't start. Trust me, I made a mess of a black Infiniti once upon a time and I am trying to save you aggravation.
Thanks, I appreciate your concern. While I'm not a pro, I've been detailing my cars for about 7 years now and am pretty comfortable polishing them. And, haven't ruined the finish of any of my cars yet. However, if there is something unique I need to consider since the body panels on the 4C are composite I am open to having a pro do it. Can anyone chime in on special technique(s) when polishing composite body panels???
RaskyR1
Rasky's Auto Detailing
That car received a pretty extensive correction, see thread below, but he had the film applied prior to bringing it to me. FYI, the film will hide most all defects, unless they are severe. Whether or not you chose to correct the paint in those areas prior is up to you.
Alfa Romeo 4C,Paint Correction and CQuartz Finest Coating - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum
Lots of intricate areas on these cars and likely lots of defects from what I've seen with this car and the other posted on here.
Stokdgs
dansautodetailing.com
ETIKTRD -
To answer your question regarding Composite Panels, if they are NOT Metal of any type, then they are going to NOT dissipate heat very well, so the panel will get a lot hotter (from the friction of your machine) faster..
So you will have to be very careful with that aspect..
Chad's work above is absolutely the best you can get in the entire state of Minnesota and beyond, so that is why the vehicle he just did turned out that beautiful, and it had lots of damage as shown in the Before pictures..
Good Luck -
Dan F
To answer your question regarding Composite Panels, if they are NOT Metal of any type, then they are going to NOT dissipate heat very well, so the panel will get a lot hotter (from the friction of your machine) faster..
So you will have to be very careful with that aspect..
Chad's work above is absolutely the best you can get in the entire state of Minnesota and beyond, so that is why the vehicle he just did turned out that beautiful, and it had lots of damage as shown in the Before pictures..
Good Luck -
Dan F