$300 In An Hour

Anthony Orosco said:
Well thanks Todd for the kind words and also your post and stating it in a level manner.



For the record, I have closed my on-line store. I only sell products to local detailers and even that can't be consider anything as it's barely anything because it's just not something I'm aggressive about.





Let's get serious



I have been detailing a good number of years. I have always sought to be the best, to reach a high level in my chosen craft. I wanted my name out there, to have respect from my clients and also those within my craft.



I struggled over every little detail of my details. I sought to create perfection. Spending hours polishing panels, sometimes days. I would Q-tip every nook and cranny inside and out. I did this to such a degree that I could never trust anyone else to do the same job. This may sound cocky but it's not my meaning or intention, it's just that it's very difficult to trust someone to do the same level of detailing that I do and perform it with the same passion.



No one really wants to work anymore these days. They want a paycheck but I find little passion for a craft out there among Americas young work force. If I hire someone they see it only as a job, they have nothing personal invested in the job. They did not work their tails off getting the clients, it's not their literal blood, sweat and tears which built up mine/your business.



Sure I could hire some people but then I would have to deal with all kinds of added headaches like people calling in sick when a huge day has been planned. Theft of clients stuff, them stealing from me and the worst, damage to a vehicle.



So one day, not so long ago, it came to me that I have no passion for this anymore. I've done it all, there is no challenge any longer. I see all these young guys come on these forums and talk about how they spend hours doing this and that, they spend oodles of money on all these products and feel satisfied making $150.00 for 12 hours of work. They post pictures up and sit back and wait for others to view and praise their work.



How do I know this? Because I once posted for that reason. I then realized that I was counting more on the accolades of others and their opinions were even more important than making money, hence my family suffered because I spent far too many working hours on a car and not being properly compensated for that work, I charged $300 for a detail and I spent 16 hours doing it. I lost money, I didn't make any money. This caused a fatal burn out for me and I'm not sure I'll ever detail like that again. I no longer detail for the passion but now I detail for the profit.



So all you who seek the accolades of others and that's the sole purpose of your work then be prepared for a rude awakening because those accolades can't be taken to the bank. They don't pay bills.



This is the purpose of my use of this coating. I no longer want to work 8 hours for a few hundred bucks when I can work half that time and make the same or perhaps more. Will it work out that way? I have no idea but I'll never know if I don't try. I detail now for me and my family, not anyone else.



Anthony
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This is the greatest post ever made on the internet :peace:
 
Dude, this post was painful to read. To those who have never met Anthony or don't know Anthony, the dude's a class act. He's not going to, "pimp crap" to make an easy buck off other detailers or rip off customers. If he endorses something it's because it works and he believe in it. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. Perhaps I'm naive, but it seems to me that if a person has an "issue" with a thread, geez move on to another.
 
The product name is Optimum Opti-Coat. It's classified as a "paint coating" and is different that all other products used to protect paint. This thread, to my knowledge, it the 1st time it was ever mentioned. From people's posts, you can plainly see how much resistence this product was initially met with. Now, it's use is pretty mainstream. To me, this is the wholy grail thread of OC. Well, this thread helped a bit too:yo: : http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...imum-opti-coating-durability-test-review.html
 
I put it on my daughter's 2001 Civic. For years the paint wasn't taken care of. A couple of years back I went to Anthony's place, he gave me his Flex and some Optimum polish and taught me how to polish a car. Every time I washed the car I had to wax it because the paint looked stressed. The other day I went back to AutoConcours and Ron Harris showed me how to apply Opti-Coat. The car looked incredible, we had rain last night and it still looks incredible. I'll watch it over the months under our south Texas heat and let you guys know.
 
David Fermani said:
After searching for this ground breaking thread for quite some time w/o luck, I decided to reach out to a moderator to have them help me with my search for it. It seems as if the prior administration (DavidB) felt threatened by this thread for several reasons and decided to move it away from public view. As an attempt to maintain the free will of this forum, the current administration ok’d moving it back so people can view how this product (thanks to Anthony Orosco) has evolved into what is now quite phenomenal. I hope everyone enjoys the read.
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….makes me wonder what happens to those threads I know existed in the past but I can never seem to find when I scour the forums. It’s a shame good information gets lost and forgotten this way. Thanks for bringing this one back from exile David and thanks to the moderators for realizing its worth. …..and (obviously) thanks to folks like Anthony (and yourself) for sharing these personal experiences in the first place.
 
Well, that was an... "interesting" read, to say the least - many thanks, David, for pulling to have it reinstated on the public forum. With the benefit of almost three years of hindsight, during which the product has been tested and proven to work by experienced and credible detailers around the world, and even released to the public at large, I wonder what all the naysayers and skeptics who posted on this thread are now thinking?



I get the feeling that we're on the brink of a revolution in detailing industry, with these new coatings coming out. Undoubtedly other companies will be following suit, and there will be competition on durability, ease of application, and looks, to the benefit of all end-consumers. I do feel that the "losers" here will be products like Collinite 476 and KSG - those products whose biggest selling point is durability, rather than ease of application or looks. Beauty waxes such as Souveran or P21S will probably still survive - after all, people don't really buy these for their long life - but why would I want to apply 476 to my car, when Opti-Coat has it beat on durability, protection and water-repelling capability?
 
amcdonal86 said:
I'd pay $500+ for a coating if it could allow me to go to machine washes without getting swirl marks!
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That might be asking a bit much, depending on the carwash involved :think:



umi000 said:
.. but why would I want to apply 476 to my car, when Opti-Coat has it beat on durability, protection and water-repelling capability?
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Because you can easily spot-correct a small area and rewax, whereas correcting a small area that's been OptiCoated is a more involved process. And some of those durable waxes and sealants are more forgiving of minor flaws. The looks are perhaps too subjective for meaningful discussion, but I've used 476S specifically *for* its appearance (and that was on a concours competition car).



No, I'm not slamming OptiCoat (and much less :argue with you!), just pointing out some reasons why it's not the right LSP for every situation. I used it on a set of wheels, and I expect to find it just fine for that, but I'm already wondering just how I'm gonna polish it away when the time comes to redo them (just enough odd surface contours that polishing, which wouldn't normally be required given the finish involved, will be a huge PIA).



Now when they develop a quick and simple way to get around that spot-correction problem, I'll be all ears. Maybe some sort of solvent that'll easily wipe away the coating :think:



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia! Hope I didn't come across too negatively responding to your first post here :o
 
Accumulator said:
That might be asking a bit much, depending on the carwash involved :think:
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I was wondering this myself. Would it hold up through repeated touchless car washes? Would it be the ideal touchless carwash coating due to how easily it sheds dirt and water?



Accumulator said:
Now when they develop a quick and simple way to get around that spot-correction problem, I'll be all ears. Maybe some sort of solvent that'll easily wipe away the coating :think:
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I'm wondering if something like 3M Adhesive Remover (Xylene-based solvent) would take it off. I've used it in the past to completely strip my car of waxes and sealants (while using rubber gloves and a respirator!). I think some auto body shops use it to prep a surface for painting to be sure it's free of oils and residues.
 
animes2k said:
I was wondering this myself. Would it hold up through repeated touchless car washes? Would it be the ideal touchless carwash coating due to how easily it sheds dirt and water?
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As long as you didn't do a touch-type drying it oughta work well, but once the dirt-shedding starts to drop off even a tiny bit any touching while drying might lead to marring.







I'm wondering if something like 3M Adhesive Remover (Xylene-based solvent) would take it off. I've used it in the past to completely strip my car of waxes and sealants (while using rubber gloves and a respirator!). I think some auto body shops use it to prep a surface for painting to be sure it's free of oils and residues.
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I can't find my fave version of the 3M Adhesive Remover any more! Ticks me off as I found that stuff sooo useful. But anyhow..I don't think that'd remove the OptiCoat. As I understand it, the product is pretty resistant to such solvents (I sure wouldn't mind being wrong about that).
 
This is the stuff I've got. Haven't gone through a ton, but it is very useful:

5166EWDYE8L._AA280_.jpg




Apparently they still make it:

3M
 
Accumulator said:
That might be asking a bit much, depending on the carwash involved :think:







Because you can easily spot-correct a small area and rewax, whereas correcting a small area that's been OptiCoated is a more involved process. And some of those durable waxes and sealants are more forgiving of minor flaws. The looks are perhaps too subjective for meaningful discussion, but I've used 476S specifically *for* its appearance (and that was on a concours competition car).



No, I'm not slamming OptiCoat (and much less :argue with you!), just pointing out some reasons why it's not the right LSP for every situation. I used it on a set of wheels, and I expect to find it just fine for that, but I'm already wondering just how I'm gonna polish it away when the time comes to redo them (just enough odd surface contours that polishing, which wouldn't normally be required given the finish involved, will be a huge PIA).



Now when they develop a quick and simple way to get around that spot-correction problem, I'll be all ears. Maybe some sort of solvent that'll easily wipe away the coating :think:



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia! Hope I didn't come across too negatively responding to your first post here :o
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Haha, no worries - thanks for the welcome, just realized that was my first post here! Been lurking for a fair bit longer though. I do remember reading that you don't need to completely polish off the coating if you need to re-apply - just abrade the surface with a polish (I believe Hyper-Polish was mentioned) so the new application can stick, and then re-apply. Let me see if I can find the link...



Here it is (see posts 8 and 14 from Chris@Optimum - I hope there aren't any issues with linking to another forum...):



If you do need to reapply for some reason, just compound and/or polish the panel to scuff/disturb the surface and reapply. We recommend doing a panel edge to edge if a repair is needed and not just spot repairs.
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I have successfully re-coated a panel without fully removing the first coat. This would be comparable to scuffing before painting. I haven't done in depth testing to see what the minimum polishing needed to accomplish this is, but a couple of passes with Hyper Polish and a white pad worked on the vehicle I'm referencing.
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Still wouldn't quite be spot-repairing, but less work than removing the entire coating using a compound/heavy polish. Of course, if a spot has no coating left (due to the need to polish to remove say a deeper scratch), I wonder whether it'd look slightly "patchwork" if you then re-apply to the whole panel this way...



Edit: David mentioned something similar in this post:



David Fermani said:
Bill - this product sounds perfect for your application. Also, please keep in mind that if you choose to apply a second layer after the primary has cured, you'll need to "scuff" down the existing coating for the new one to stick. You can do this with something like a finishing polish like 85rd/106/M205.
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Also, as you mentioned, perhaps as the technology continues to evolve, additional methods for easier re-application will be found - seems as if we're still early into the development cycle for these coatings, and it's likely that there'll be a lot of movement in this space in the future.



Oh yeah, I have read your 476 story - the one where the "expert" was sure it was Dodo Juice :happy:.



animes2k said:
I was wondering this myself. Would it hold up through repeated touchless car washes? Would it be the ideal touchless carwash coating due to how easily it sheds dirt and water?







I'm wondering if something like 3M Adhesive Remover (Xylene-based solvent) would take it off. I've used it in the past to completely strip my car of waxes and sealants (while using rubber gloves and a respirator!). I think some auto body shops use it to prep a surface for painting to be sure it's free of oils and residues.
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I think David has been bringing the car in his long-term test in for monthly touchless washes (and weekly Dawn ones!) - seems to be holding up pretty well after 16 months in the video he posted (in the thread he linked here).
 
umi000- SO glad I didn't come across badly!



Yeah, the posts you linked to are in line with what I read at the Optimum Forums. My interpretation was that spot-repairs aren't feasible and that to make any full-panel repairs Accumulator-proof (as in, maybe "scuffing" will be sufficient, but it's not a guaranteed approach) you'd need to hit all of the OptiCoated surface with a fairly aggressive product. I might be making a mountain out of a molehill (and different people will see each of those differently ;) ) but it just sounds incompatible with how I go about this stuff. The spot-repairs issue is my main concern, as that's pretty much all I do any more with regard to anything remotely aggressive.



I was all set to use it on the undercarriage of the S8 until I started thinking about how in the world I'd ever polish all those nooks and crannies when it came time to redo it :confused:



Heh heh, believe me...if they got a hard, marring-resistant, durable coating that I could maintain my way, I'd be all for it :D

As it is, if I were renting/leasing a vehicle the OptiCoat would probably be my choice. And I wouldn't mind finding some application for this nice big syringe of it that's just gathering dust! I hardly used any at all for the 4 Tahoe wheels/caps/lug covers.



Oh, and I'm impressed that you remembered my 476S/Dodo story! That was just one of those cases where a particular approach (SRP + 476S) gave a specific look that was just right for a certain car. Heh heh, note all the qualifiers like "particular", "specific", and "certain"!
 
Wow....WOW.....what a surprise to see! I was notified by David that he was able to resurrect this classic thread and now upon visiting it I see it really did happen. So a BIG thank you to David, he's a class act and I consider him a good friend even though we have never meet.



I call it a "classic" thread not because I started it but because it went viral in minutes after posting it as the topic seemed to touch a nerve among the detailing community here at Autopia. I can remember trying to reply to someone one page one and by the time I posted the reply it was already half way through page two! It kept on growing so fast it blew me away.



Then I got that "Your banned" email from DavidB.....lol, my second ban from Autopia in like 2 weeks. That's old news now but this thread sure took on a life of its own and so happy to see it back again.



SATRACKER - Thank you good sir for your kind words. We like your company at the shop and thanks so much for the surprise Pizza lunch!!



Flash Gordon - Thank you also for your encouraging words regarding that post, very humbling. I still feel the same today as I expressed in that post which is why I do not post up much on any forum. I will perhaps again one day but for now I am just working on creating a business that will grow and in short and truth, create wealth for me, my family, business partner Ron and our employees. "Wealth" though is not always associated with money.



Thanks all,

Anthony
 
Anthony - after finally finding your shop (not easy for a non-local BTW), I will have to comment that you have a class-act shop! Hope to get down there again and possibly give you something not as boring as all those exotics.



Harry
 
Accumulator said:
umi000- SO glad I didn't come across badly!



Yeah, the posts you linked to are in line with what I read at the Optimum Forums. My interpretation was that spot-repairs aren't feasible and that to make any full-panel repairs Accumulator-proof (as in, maybe "scuffing" will be sufficient, but it's not a guaranteed approach) you'd need to hit all of the OptiCoated surface with a fairly aggressive product. I might be making a mountain out of a molehill (and different people will see each of those differently ;) ) but it just sounds incompatible with how I go about this stuff. The spot-repairs issue is my main concern, as that's pretty much all I do any more with regard to anything remotely aggressive.



I was all set to use it on the undercarriage of the S8 until I started thinking about how in the world I'd ever polish all those nooks and crannies when it came time to redo it :confused:



Heh heh, believe me...if they got a hard, marring-resistant, durable coating that I could maintain my way, I'd be all for it :D

As it is, if I were renting/leasing a vehicle the OptiCoat would probably be my choice. And I wouldn't mind finding some application for this nice big syringe of it that's just gathering dust! I hardly used any at all for the 4 Tahoe wheels/caps/lug covers.



Oh, and I'm impressed that you remembered my 476S/Dodo story! That was just one of those cases where a particular approach (SRP + 476S) gave a specific look that was just right for a certain car. Heh heh, note all the qualifiers like "particular", "specific", and "certain"!
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Yeah, I suppose re-application would be more suited to the one big yearly polish scenario vs spot-repairing - different strokes and all that. I remember reading your posts asking about the undercarriage - man, I am really in awe of the way you take care of your cars :hail::hail::hail:



The 476/Dodo is a good one - can't remember if you mentioned it, but did you tell the judge what was really on the car? Love to have seen the reaction :chuckle:



Oh, regarding that nice big syringe, I'm pretty sure I can find a use for it :eyebrows: Shipping would be a bear though :down
 
umi000 said:
The 476/Dodo is a good one - can't remember if you mentioned it, but did you tell the judge what was really on the car? Love to have seen the reaction
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Nah, I wasn't there and my pal couldn't remember what I'd used (guess "Collinite 476S" doesn't exactly resonate with normal people). He did get Best in Class so he was happy...the whole job only happened because he got it covered with overspray (and scratches) at a pal's shop and he'd been prepared for a complete repaint.



Oh, regarding that nice big syringe, I'm pretty sure I can find a use for it :eyebrows: Shipping would be a bear though :down
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Heh heh...I'm still hopeful that I'll find uses for it.
 
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