"Permanent" Coatings

[bad penny]

I was always very skeptical of this Permanent claim.
Now that Coatings have been out for a decade (or more) I notice the word Permanent has been replaced with Ceramic.
I can`t help but wonder if the name change is due to the fact that time has caught up with these companies and their false claims.

Those of you who sold these Coatings as "Permanent" how are you dealing with the aftermath when a client returns and the Coating has failed?

[Setec Astronomy]

I think it was only Optimum that suggested that Opti-Coat was permanent. It`s an SiC coating, rather than an SiO2 coating. I do believe it`s pretty much permanently on there if it`s applied properly. And so is the paint, but if you let the clearcoat sit outside for 5 years without doing anything to it, it`s not going too look too great...and same for the coating. Except the coating is way thinner than the clearcoat.

As far as the aftermath...I think you can look at the forums every day to hear about customers that thought a coating was going to be a force shield and are disappointed.

[bad penny]

I think it was only Optimum that suggested that Opti-Coat was permanent. It`s an SiC coating, rather than an SiO2 coating. I do believe it`s pretty much permanently on there if it`s applied properly. And so is the paint, but if you let the clearcoat sit outside for 5 years without doing anything to it, it`s not going too look too great...and same for the coating. Except the coating is way thinner than the clearcoat.

As far as the aftermath...I think you can look at the forums every day to hear about customers that thought a coating was going to be a force shield and are disappointed.

The far fetched claims have always been more then I can stomach. Ad knuckle dragging installers acting like they`ve developed rocket fuel makes me want to slap somebody.

[Stokdgs]

I think it was only Optimum that suggested that Opti-Coat was permanent. It`s an SiC coating, rather than an SiO2 coating. I do believe it`s pretty much permanently on there if it`s applied properly. And so is the paint, but if you let the clearcoat sit outside for 5 years without doing anything to it, it`s not going too look too great...and same for the coating. Except the coating is way thinner than the clearcoat.

As far as the aftermath...I think you can look at the forums every day to hear about customers that thought a coating was going to be a force shield and are disappointed.

In my experiences with this, the original Optimum Opti-Guard product did indeed last past 5 years on my Black Grand Cherokee, through several thousand miles of highway driving between WA, Northern CA, to Texas and back many, many, times, seeing snow, sleet, hail, dust, rain, bugs, etc., and always looked great when I got there..

The first time I made that trip from WA to Texas (3,000 miles, 1-direction), with the Coating newly applied and cured, it looked like I had just washed that big Black Grand Cherokee.. It barely had any road dirt stuck to it.. Yes, this Coating was that good for that trip.. It diminished a bit over the next years, but it was still on there doing its job..

As far as I know, Optimum back then, was the one of the first companies that not only developed their own product, but did extensive testing for several years on real-time out in the world vehicles, before they released it to the public..

They eventually priced most of us Detailers out of their market as the price they charged us kept going up and up, and they wanted to lock me in to buy xxx amount of the product every year, or they would not sell it to me any longer.. I left...
Dan F

[RaskyR1]

In my experiences with this, the original Optimum Opti-Guard product did indeed last past 5 years on my Black Grand Cherokee, through several thousand miles of highway driving between WA, Northern CA, to Texas and back many, many, times, seeing snow, sleet, hail, dust, rain, bugs, etc., and always looked great when I got there..

The first time I made that trip from WA to Texas (3,000 miles, 1-direction), with the Coating newly applied and cured, it looked like I had just washed that big Black Grand Cherokee.. It barely had any road dirt stuck to it.. Yes, this Coating was that good for that trip.. It diminished a bit over the next years, but it was still on there doing its job..

As far as I know, Optimum back then, was the one of the first companies that not only developed their own product, but did extensive testing for several years on real-time out in the world vehicles, before they released it to the public..

They eventually priced most of us Detailers out of their market as the price they charged us kept going up and up, and they wanted to lock me in to buy xxx amount of the product every year, or they would not sell it to me any longer.. I left...
Dan F

That`s because it was a lot better when it first came out. All the revisions they made (likely to try and improve gloss and application) ruined what was so great about the coating and I know several peeps that used it from early on who would agree with me. I coated my co-workers G37 in 2010 with it and he raved about it until he finally traded the car in last August. Granted it was very well cared for, garaged, and only had around 40,000 miles, but 9 years with no boosters and still showing life.

[Accumulator]

I`d be pretty surprised if any reputable Pro actually told a client that a coating was "permanent". I`d put that in the "you oughta know better.." category.

[Ron Ketcham]

Over a century of thousands of chemists, manufacturers and developers of auto paint---none claim "permanent" products.
Logic dictates if they don`t make such a claim--well, think it through.

[quebert]

My favorite is when I see products that are touted as "semi-permanent" So it`s permanent, but only for a bit of time? Got it!

[bad penny]

My favorite is when I see products that are touted as "semi-permanent" So it`s permanent, but only for a bit of time? Got it!

It`s the Toppers that really get me. If it needs that just maintain your be better off polishing and waxing imo

[BudgetPlan1]

It`s the Toppers that really get me. If it needs that just maintain your be better off polishing and waxing imo

Perhaps toppers for a coating are no different than someone squirting Beadmaker on top of their Powerlock/Collinite 845 combo.

Not truly necessary but an `entertaining enhancement`?

It`s much the same as the ill-informed decrying the maintenance involved with a coated vehicle. I wash with a shampoo, maybe once a month add a topper. For the Powerlock/845 guy, they wash with a shampoo and top with a spray wax...probably after every wash. Same steps, different bottles.

As for permanent, well, as likely a lot of people in the heat of Arizona can tell you, clearcoat isnt even permanent. The use of phrases such as permanent and semi-permanent are mostly marketing. Probably sounds better and more `serious` than Really Long Lasting!

[Billy Baldone]

If you have a specific example of who exactly claimed “permanent” give the example.

[bad penny]

If you have a specific example of who exactly claimed “permanent” give the example,

See the first reply to this thread.

[bad penny]

If you have a specific example of who exactly claimed “permanent” give the example

Here you go buddy. Plenty of experts throwing around the term permanent


https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...0-cquartz.html

[Accumulator]

My favorite is when I see products that are touted as "semi-permanent" So it`s permanent, but only for a bit of time?

Heh heh...aw man, I *like* that term! I almost posted something about it earlier on this thread. As I understand it, the idea is that the product is indeed, more or less permanent in that it doesn`t "fail" just due to the passage of time. E.g., put multiple coats of KSG on something and wax on something else; put both in climate-controlled storage for ages; the KSG will stay OK indefinitely but the wax will eventually degrade/dissiapate/"go away". (That`s an IRL example too; the KSG on some bits of my mothballed Jag is still OK after over a decade but the wax on the rest of it was dead many years ago..although it lasted a lot longer than some might`ve expected.)

[BudgetPlan1]

Heh heh...aw man, I *like* that term! I almost posted something about it earlier on this thread. As I understand it, the idea is that the product is indeed, more or less permanent in that it doesn`t "fail" just due to the passage of time. E.g., put multiple coats of KSG on something and wax on something else; put both in climate-controlled storage for ages; the KSG will stay OK indefinitely but the wax will eventually degrade/dissiapate/"go away". (That`s an IRL example too; the KSG on some bits of my mothballed Jag is still OK after over a decade but the wax on the rest of it was dead many years ago..although it lasted a lot longer than some might`ve expected.)

Any thoughts on to why the wax degrades over time given the lack of `harmful exposure`? Cuz I havent a clue which, according to the better half, is par for the course for me