Old Dog learns a new trick with "coatings"

[rotts4u]

I started detailing cars in High School as a summer job around 1980.I was instantly hooked on trying different products and since I also worked at a large discount store I was always trying different products ( I borrowed them to wax one car and put the slightly used cans back). Way back then it was Shine like the Sun, TR3 resin glaze, Classic, Turtle, Mirror glaze, Rain Dance etc.

I have tried to stay current over the years and now with the interwebs, finding out info on sites like this makes sharing info a lot better than back in my early days. Over the years I have spent the biggest part of my considerable budget on LSP products because I rarely had any major swirls on my vehicles and I have bought way too many LSPs. Usually trying them once and then moving to another one looking for the holy grail.

When all the coating talk started I thought there was no way this could be as good as my favorite LSPs. But I finally decided to give one a try so I called Auto Geek and after talking it over I bought the $99 two tube special of Gloss Coat it was their suggestion. This was actually a few months ago just before I bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland in Deep Cherry Red Crystal Pearlcoat. The color is stunning to me and I was hooked as soon as I saw it. The vehicle had been built in December of 2015 and I bought it in January straight off the lot with no dealer washing or prep etc. I drove it home and spent two full days prepping it to my level of ability.

After lots of washing, clay bar, buffing etc I used the Optimum paint cleaner and went to work with the Gloss Coat. I did all painted surfaces including door jambs, hatch area as well as the 20" alloy wheels (no windows because it said not to use this on glass). I did the hood and roof (most of it is glass with the huge panoramic sunroof) paint areas a few times each. I was amazed how easy this was compared to something like Klasse High Gloss Sealant. Even Wolfgang is harder than this I think.

The coating cured as specified and here I am 3 months later. My observations are that I have never before experienced anything on the surface of a vehicle that makes water behave this way. Its beyond normal beading. Water dances on every surface like nothing I have ever seen. I realize I am only 3 months in but it seems now to act exactly the way it did the week I applied it. Clean up during normal washing is super easy and of course it looks great too. I was so impressed I finally did the same thing to my wife`s 4 year old Ibis White Audi. The initial results are the same on it as well so I expect it will behave the same.

Since this is the only true coating I have used before there may be better ones out there that offer advantages but this one was priced right and its easy to use and performs great. I did the Jeep counting the parts I did 2-3 times plus the Audi and I still have a little left over in the first 10cc syringe so I was frugal with its use.

If you are on the fence with a coating my suggestion is to try it. I don`t know what it will be like to not "wax" our vehicles for a year or two as I am normally trying something every month or two but I am going to give it a try and see how long I can "not wax" them to see how they last.

Its hard for me to describe the "look" of a LSP but in my eyes on the dark red jeep I would say its sorta Zaino like. Lots of gloss almost plastic shell like. The color of the jeep always looks deep with lots of pearl showing so its very nice even without a carnauba on top for the glow like some people do. The white Audi looks nice with lots of pop for white but its not that different as the color doesn`t allow much ability to tell the difference between Gloss coat and Klasse or Wolfgang etc. White always looks pretty good and so does this.

As you can tell I am pretty excited about this and welcome other viewpoints on Optimum Gloss coat vs other coatings since I have not tried any of the others. I may do my parents cars soon as well so if you have a coating you like better let me know. Of course if I can find something that works as well for less $$ that will not hurt my feelings.

[yg1829]

Awesome job I`m happy everything came out great. I`m excited to dive into the coating world this spring.

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[Stokdgs]

rotts4U -

Welcome to the Forum - sorry if I missed your posts before..

I am glad you had a very positive experience with Optimum Coatings...

You have no doubt also noticed how much cleaner the vehicles stay because most dirt does not stick as easily, allowing you to go longer between washings if you want to..

I love this stuff !!!

If you want to keep it looking its best, I have had the best results from a Car Pro product called Reset; a car wash shampoo made for coated vehicles...

All kinds of gunk will eventually want to stick to the coating and even some soaps leave a residue on coatings that does not really help them...

I personally found Car Pro Reset to be the best product to really clean the coating and leave it looking like new again - with no extra gunk in the coating like other soaps leave...

I did the complete wheels about a year later and was again amazed at the smaller amount of dirt I found sticking to them even on the inner wheel area...

And when you think of the time you have now gotten back not spending X amount of hours out there - well to me anyway, its a no-brainer...

Great job, man !
Dan F

[RaskyR1]

Congrats on the new ride and results with your first coating!


It`s funny you mention how the water behaves on the coated paint, as that was the very first thing I noticed with the Opti-Coat Pro coating. What`s even more funny is that I get people commenting on my videos all the time saying any wax will behave the same way. I just ignore then because clearly they haven`t seen it first hand. LOL

[mjlinane]

Having done OptiCoat (GlossCoat`s predecessor) on several vehicles, I must type that I am also quite impressed with GlossCoat.

[rlmccarty2000]

Being an "old dog" too, I used many of the same products you named, there were not many choices back then and no internet to find new choices. Coatings are the new thing. When I got back into detailing it was sealants, now coatings make sealants almost obsolete. One of the newest things is the spray on and wash off coating by CarPro (Hydro2). It doesn`t last as long as a coating (3 to 6 months) but the ease of use makes it great for us "old dogs"!

[LEDetailng]

Congrats on the new ride and results with your first coating!


It`s funny you mention how the water behaves on the coated paint, as that was the very first thing I noticed with the Opti-Coat Pro coating. What`s even more funny is that I get people commenting on my videos all the time saying any wax will behave the same way. I just ignore then because clearly they haven`t seen it first hand. LOL

I could not believe it when I saw water running off a coated car (Cquartz) for the first time. The water literally runs/flows faster off paint`s surface. It`s unlike any traditional sealant or wax.