opti-coat on rear bumper only?

[tuffluck]

i had to get my bumper replaced a while back after someone rear-ended me. even though my insurance paid for it, the body shop must have used a crappy clear coat. i go to a place that hand washes my car and this bumper ALWAYS comes out marred. i`ve even asked them not to hand dry it, and it still comes out looking awful. i watch them wash it by hand and nothing seems bad...but i can hand wash mine on my own and no issues.

anyway, i`ve deduced something is wrong with the clear coat they put on the bumper and decided i either can`t go there ever again (i live in texas and only go there when it`s over 100 degrees), or possibly do an opti-coat on that bumper and not worry about it? mostly i go there because they do a great interior job, but that isn`t a service by itself without a wash.

my car is a 2012 camaro, black metallic, so scars show easily. i`ve been washing with Optimum No Rinse for 6 years and i`ve only buffed it twice in that time and no marring at all. So I`m fairly certain the issue lies with the body shop`s choice of clear. Thanks for any input.

[RaskyR1]

It will likely still marr even with Opti-Coat on it.

[RaskyR1]

Also, if you can wash it without marring then I`d say it`s more of an issue with the place hand washing it, even if the clear is cheap. My guess would be it`s their wash media, which is likely contaminated with debris, or its of low quality.

[512detail]

Also, if you can wash it without marring then I`d say it`s more of an issue with the place hand washing it, even if the clear is cheap. My guess would be it`s their wash media, which is likely contaminated with debris, or its of low quality.

that`s what I was thinking


to the OP.. where are you at in Texas?

also if you`re having the car washed in the heat of the day that is when the clear coat is most malleable and prone to scratches

[Accumulator]

Also, if you can wash it without marring then I`d say it`s more of an issue with the place hand washing it, even if the clear is cheap. My guess would be it`s their wash media, which is likely contaminated with debris, or its of low quality.

Yeah, though I suspect that their technique factors in as much as the media (gee, wouldn`t they have the media sorted out!?!).

Easy for me to spend your time, but if someplace marred something I cared about I`d 1) first have a talk with them about what happened, what they were gonna do to fix that, and how they planned to avoid having it from happen again and, 2) seriously reconsider ever letting anybody else wash it again no matter how they responded to that talk.

[Anthony O.]

Opti-Coat will still scratch, it`s not scratch proof just adds some resistance. So if a wash place is still in the dark ages with wash technique then it matters not what you have on the paint.

Get it polished out, then get clear bra protection applied. That`s your best insurance or protection against scratches from washing and drying.

Anthony