Opticoated car + Xpel overtop of it + OptiCoat on top of the Xpel

Hi, @gnychis,

You might just want to search this forum with keyword "opticoat", there are a bunch of relevant threads.

I don't know that there is a definitive answer about the layering of Xpel and OptiCoat. In my case, I chose to put the OptiCoat layer down first, on the theory that the vehicle's soft paint deserves all the protection it can get directly. Then, I layered Xpel on top of that. Later, if I needed to, I could remove the Xpel and still have the OptiCoat that was originally applied directly to the paint. If I had applied the OptiCoat to the Xpel and then needed to remove or replace the Xpel, I'd have to redo the OptiCoat on the affected section of Xpel (or on all of it).

I know that other folks then do a layer of OptiCoat on top of the Xpel (total three layers of OptiCoat/Xpel/OptiCoat).

I've seen no hard data that confirms any particular layering order. Just anecdotes. And two layers seems sufficient, one of each.

I'd rather spend the extra dollars on widening the coverage, e.g., Xpel for the whole car.

Alan

Alan

gnychis said:

I saw a thread relatively recently about this, but I can't for the life of me seem to dig it up. It talks about whether something like Opticoat goes under, or on top of Xpel. My car is being opticoated, and then we are putting Xpel on it. The question I have is whether Opticoat should go on the Xpel kit. Will it take away its self-healing properties? My intuition says it would as it is now the top layer. But, maybe I don't understand how Xpel exactly works. Should you put Opticoat over top of the Xpel kit? I know that from searching, Optimum says it's OK to put it on top of Xpel: it will bond and there will not be issues. The Xpel kit will still help prevent against rock chips, etc. and protect the original paint. But will it still self heal, or will marring now show up in the top layer of Opticoat?

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Because the OptiCoat layer has been broken, I would expect to see a difference. Xpel won't heal OptiCoat.

I went for doing the entire car, and I'm glad I did--even though I used Suntek rather than Xpel.

The two are alternatives. If you do Xpel Ultimate, there's really no benefit in doing Opticoat, above or below. A proper paint prep under the Xpel will suffice. Any benefit of the Opticoat will be lost under the Xpel, and might make it harder for the Xpel to adhere.

You can put any wax or sealant you want on top of the Xpel, but no real reason to spend so much for Opticoat when you have a self healing, clear coat film top layer already.

I did the Opticoat-Xpel-Opticoat sandwich. I've driven about 4400 miles so far and have had no issues. I haven't noticed anything on the front to suggest rock damage, so its hard to say if the Opticoat affects the Xpel's healing properties.

I think Opti-Coat is one of the few coatings over which you can apply PPF because it is not really super slick. Optimum says you can put either under or over or both. Frankly, based on my personal experiences, the only place I would put Opti-Guard/Opti-Coat is UNDER PPF in order to provide a sacrificial barrier for the eventual removal of the PPF/adhesive. (I should qualify this statement...I have never had Opti Coat applied to PPF, just to bare paint, and I was not happy with it). There are supposedly some other coatings that will not interfere with PPF adhesion like UNC v2 (out of the UK). From my prior research, many/most of the [other] coatings will not permit appropriate adhesion of PPF, (like Gtechniq EXO or Modesta) so choices are quite limited for what can go under the PPF. The cure period for Opti Guard (pro version) is relatively long (I think a week minimum as I recall), making coordination of installation an issue. As I understand it from the folks at Max Protect their UNC v2 cures in 6 hours at min 20c temperature.

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jerry33 said:

Because the OptiCoat layer has been broken, I would expect to see a difference. Xpel won't heal OptiCoat.

I went for doing the entire car, and I'm glad I did--even though I used Suntek rather than Xpel.

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I also considered Suntek. Never pulled the trigger. (heavy sigh). There are just so many different opinions and not a lot of long-term data on so many products, as they change so rapidly. My biggest worry is knowing WHEN to take the PPF off and get it replaced, before the PPF itself becomes a liability. Seen the horror stories about detailers having to scrape degraded PPF off of cars (when left on too long) and there are also many different opinions about whether current technologies are better than legacy products. I finally arrived at conclusion that if I have to trash the paint to remove the PPF in X years, was it really worth it. I guess it all depends on how long one expects to keep the vehicle. For anybody who likes to turn cars over every 3 to 4 years, they will never have to confront the potential problem of degraded PPF. That was not my plan but I never found a solution that seemed to address all concerns vs. just creating different concerns. Infinite loop for me.

Hi, @gnychis,

A thought about the doors: dings from other cars in parking lots. I try hard to park where other cars *aren't*, but there are too many times when there's no choice but to park next to or between other cars. In the olden days, you'd have a rubber strip along your door to help prevent door dings. Now, you've got nothing. So I made sure to have the Xpel added to my doors, front *and* rear, and the installer thoughtfully wrapped all the Xpel around the door edges. I've subsequently experienced too many doors swinging into mine; my family and even me swinging the car's doors into other cars or into other objects; and so on. I've become pretty comfortable with the value of wrapping the doors.

Alan

gnychis said:

Thanks for the responses, guys! It seems like there are many different ways to do this. I'll keep searching the forums, too. Opticoating my entire car is being done for the same reason you mention, Pollux... to try and protect the soft paint as much as possible. Additionally, I will not have Xpel over every panel. Just the major impact points (full hood, full fenders, full rear bumper... but not the doors). But, my detailer mentioned that he was going to then opticoat the Xpel. I was curious as to why. He said that it's because Xpel still requires waxing. Putting the opticoat on top of the Xpel is like an alternative to that wax, and it is more permanent. However, I suspect what Jerry said: Xpel won't heal the opticoat. So, I guess there are positives and negatives to each of these different routes of application.

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Just to add some notes here, yes I know this is an old thread but.....Years ago when I was first testing Opti-Coat we would apply it to a hood, we then put on some XPEL hood film and while the film did go on the soap/water mixture (slip solution) did not sheet on the paint surface but rather pooled together and ran off the surface. This left many areas of the hood without sufficient solution to adjust the kit as needed. We eventually removed the Opti-Coat and applied the film to just clean paint. The slip then had much better consistency.

Today both the Xpel film and Opti-Coat have been updated to newer releases but in our shop we only apply Opti-Coat to the surface of the Xpel film kits we install....and yes we apply Opti-Coat to all of the XPEL workers cars. It's a win/win.

Anthony

FWIW, there's no need for a coating UNDER the film. Removal of the film can safely be done by a professional down the road.

I believe if a coating is doing its job of repelling things, why wouldn't it repel the adhesive to some degree causing potential failure down the road.