Of course it depends on what is most important to you but I'll share my own exp. with Opti-Guard. I think for UV protection and long term preservation of underlying surface it is fine but to maintain a certain "look" to your finish, not necessarily.
IMO I'd put it UNDER PPF to be a sacrificial barrier against the inevitable film removal process, but I would not put it on top (see #4 below).
Just remember, there is a cure period for Opti-Guard so you cannot immediately put PPF on it. That was one big challenge I faced.
However, for on TOP of the PPF, I'd probably try one of the products with silica + nano Carnauba for a combination of repelling different types of contaminants and water. I researched coatings and sealants exhaustively for more than a year before most people even knew what Opti-Guard was and decided it was probably the coating for me. I considered Gtechniq EXO which I think was just being introduced at the time, and CQuartz looked really good (Of course, since then there have been many new hybrid coatings and as I type, probably new products are being introduced as this is a big business.) However, I settled on Opti-guard due to purported to be "more permanent". However, had the little voice of "doubt" about Opti-Guard claims so I tested on other car first (dark blue/grey Pruis) and found it was not something I'd put on any other dark colored car. Perhaps white or silver okay, but nothing darker. Not disparaging Optimum products as I think they have some awesome things especially maintenance products like ONR. However, my opinion re: where it did not meet expectations. (I'd love to know where others have had better real life experience with other coatings because the biggest problem for me is up until recently, few people have been talking about these coatings other than the people who are making money applying them.)
1) Big water spotting problem - even after the cure period had passed. I think you will be doing the vinegar bath thing regularly even with this coating if you don't like seeing spots all over the car. Since "nothing sticks" to OG, finding something to put "on top of the coating" to combat water spotting has traditionally been a problem. More recently some of the installers are using Sonax Polymer Net Shield but I don't know how that is working out.
2) Although "nothing sticks to it" meaning bird dropping and such are relatively easy to remove, staining is there, creating the dull spots of "injury" to the coating. Granted, this is ostensibly "in the coating" vs. in your clear coat and can be polished out, your finish will not be looking that great in a hurry.
3) Spider-webbing and swirling no matter how careful you are in washing. Trust me, it takes me HOURS to wash a car because I am so afraid to drag a towel across paint, I am a "gentle dabber" when I wash and dry it, using only the softest microfiber chenille wash media and high quality towels. By contrast, I have managed to avoid this for the most part on my Tesla for 7 months washing it myself without Opti-guard on it, as I managed to avoid on the Prius for the first year before I put Opti-Guard on it.
If you are the type of person who takes the car to a pro detailer to "buff it out" every month or so, then Opti-Guard is probably okay for you. However, there are some other coatings that look more interesting to me now. One that comes to mind is "Polish Angel Cosmic 9h". They have some other well reviewed Carnauba products. Dream Detail in VA is the recently established U.S. distributor for Polish Angel. I am trying to find somebody locally who I trust to do the paint correction and apply this coating. I may just have the Opti-Guard polished off the Prius and test it there again first.
4) Chips from road debris happen "easier" and smaller ones on front of bumper are more noticeable. I am not kidding. I know some people will not and do not believe it but I can tell you that I drove the Prius for a year on the freeway before having the coating applied. I had only small and relatively unnoticeable marks. Within a month of putting OG on it, drove it first time on freeway and got a nice chip out of the hood on first strike. Coincidence? I don't think so because all the little hits on the lower edges of the bumper are even more noticeable. I think because it is not super slick, the debris gets a better hold on the surface when it hits. I had the car for a mere 3 months and got slammed with a shower of concrete debris kicked up from a bus running over it and had no time to maneuver out of the way. Even with that, the few little chips I got on the car were amazingly not too bad. Nothing like the big old chunk that came out once Opti-Guard was put on it. That's my personal experience = others may vary. The people who install this will tell you it is not true. Putting on top of PPF is of course not so much an issue.
I think Moe Misty uses a product that may be somewhat similar to Polish Angel formulation. There are so many things out there that are similar, but not so many like this yet that I have found.
It is too bad that, as rumor has it, the industry has engineered most of the products to bead water vs. sheet water because consumers traditionally think that beading water shows protection. Having the little water beads sitting on your paint to dry out is not the best scenario. Better to sheet the water off but since people just want to buy things that bead, there we are. As I also understand it, the Polish Angel product is good at sheeting as well as beading.
As far as PPF installers, based on my conversations with several, I think Protective Film Solutions is one of the real deals but I believe Moe Mistry, although he probably is more boutique, smaller operation, will also do a similarly thorough job.
Hope you find some of this helpful. I started researching paint protection technologies a year before I got my car and I still haven't found the magic bullet that will live up to my expectations. As far as PPF, XPEL ultimate seems to be the current winner. Suntek gets some good rep but is not used as much. Just like coatings, PPF market is constantly changing too.
My problem is nobody in L.A. is full service to coordinate full package of protection. You are lucky you are in O.C. because most of the pros are there. You have named some and I have name some, but not all.
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theres a big thread on here regarding proper steps. you definitely want to apply the opticoat AFTER ppf, not before. the ppf wont stick to opticoat or really any other polish. you want the ppf on the bare clear coat.
Actually PPF will stick to Opti-Guard. It will not stick to a lot of coatings but OG is more "grabby" and not super slick so it is one of the few where it will work. My problem is that I cannot find a coating with a shorter cure period to put under PPF and I am afraid of adhesive issues putting PPF on bare paint that has every molecule of wax stripped off the entire surface.
