CQuartz vs. C1 vs. Opti-Coat: Initial findings and observations from AutoLavish

DetailBurger said:
I just read the first post in this thread, but unfortunately I dont' feel like I know anything more about these products than I did before reading it.
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You may have to get some or one of these products and try them on your own. Sometimes reading so much about them can make you lose focus of what you are trying to learn/grasp/understand about the product/process at hand.



DetailBurger said:
If you're going to review a product, you need to have a consistent environment, consistent material, consistent color car, consistent application process, and consistent followup.
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The OP may not have had the access to three identical types of vehicle, nor identical colors. This did not appear to be a strictly scientific review/comparison, but it definitely did provide enough information to provide a baseline for understanding each product's actions and re-action, before during and after application.[/QUOTE]



What CAN be concluded from this post, is that each one of these products are in fact, different from one another. Opti-Coat/Opti-Guard is clearcoat, while the others are "coatings".
 
Thanks everyone, and I apologize to the original poster if I sounded like a "d*cK". I was just frustrated.



Everyone seems to have an opinion on this topic - but I wanted to point out that the original poster clearly stated his product of choice after everything, was CQuartz.



So what do you all make of that?



And secondly - more importantly - I am applying these products to bare aluminum rims. To retain their lustre and protect them from oxidation long term. Therefore *visual* presentation is extremely important to me. As well as heat resistance. My undertanding is that opticoat doesn't retain color brilliance / depth as well as CQuartz. Jet black wont look as deep of a black, etc. (when it comes time to apply it to my paint). Is this true?
 
It's been awhile Autopians!



I first and foremost would like to apologize for lack of updates and continuing to contribute to the thread. This wasn't because I don't care, but rather without having information to post.... I didn't feel a need to bump this thread more. Before I get to my personal opinion of things, I'd like to start by addressing some of the posts in this thread that concern me the most.





DetailBurger said:
I just read the first post in this thread, but unfortunately I dont' feel like I know anything more about these products than I did before reading it.

If you're going to review a product, you need to have a consistent environment, consistent material, consistent color car, consistent application process, and consistent followup.

That's the only way you can determine if there is a difference in the results.

You've got cars of different colors, being treated in very different room temperatures, using extremely different application techniques, not following directions, doing your own thing, leaving one car out in the rain all night and the other to fully cure inside, etc. No comparison on the results can be made.



I am not clear why any of the tests were done on silver.



Im honestly not sure what to conclude from all that effort you put in.



Bummed out because I have really been trying to decide which product is best to use.
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If you don't like the thread, don't read it. If you don't like how things are being done, then don't read it. If you don't feel like it's useful at all, don't read it. If you only want to complain, get a pet and complain to it.



Why was testing done on silver cars? Because this is what was easily available. You want to test of black? Then go do it. We decided to start testing because of lack of information and other testing that was available. I think we'll all agree there's a lot of hype (and therefore controversy) over these products. I encourage you and other reads to not believe anything I post and rather go do it yourself. After all, I'm just some dude on the internet. How do you know I'm even real or even did the things I say I did?





Blackthornone said:
Opti Coat is a polymer coating that is permanent. It is adding another layer of clear coat to your vehicle that is much more durable than the factory clear. It sheds dirt and water as well as sealants or waxes as well. It is not a nano coating or a sealant. It is in a totally different class of coating than C Quartz or C1. It seems that they did not apply the Opti Coat properly in their test, either. Opti Coat is meant to be applied, evened out with foam applicator before it sets up, and then left to cure without being touched. No buffing involved. No wiping off of excess after application. You wouldn't wipe off excess opti coat with a towel just like you wouldn't wipe off clear coat that you sprayed on with a towel.

C Quartz and C1 only last a year or two, while Opti Coat basically lasts the" life" of the vehicle, in that it doesn't degrade by sun exposure, or by washing.

Also, Opti Coat hardens to a hardness of 9H, which I believe is a level of pencil hardness, and is not the same as a 9 on the Moh's scale.
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Some correct, some not correct. Opti-Coat is like another layer of clear-coat, but it is not "adding another layer of clear coat." It would be much more accurate to say "it is much like adding another layer of clear."

There's no reducer to mix, and there's no hardener to mix.

You state "much more durable than the factory clear" which tells me I think you're dreaming, unless you really think Opti-Coat is going to last 20+ years. Modern clear-coats are amazing and extremely durable. Acidic bird crap and bug guts may discolor it, but they don't cause the immediate failure of the clear-coat. If a flock of birds poops on your car, you don't immediately think "oh no, my clear-coat is going to begin peeling off!" nor do you think "I better wax/seal my car otherwise the clear-coat will start coming off." Let's not forget why clear-coat was original designed and used on cars and how it's changed car-care.



We clearly state in the first post the issues we had and why. I think it's important to talk about, because it shows potential issues if applied wrong. Even more so, it shows the "permanent" nature of the product in that it must be polished off: not even mineral spirits touched it. I could talk about another 12+ cars we've used it on, but I wanted to talk about initial findings.



DetailBurger said:
Thanks everyone, and I apologize to the original poster if I sounded like a "d*cK". I was just frustrated.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on this topic - but I wanted to point out that the original poster clearly stated his product of choice after everything, was CQuartz.

So what do you all make of that?

And secondly - more importantly - I am applying these products to bare aluminum rims. To retain their lustre and protect them from oxidation long term. Therefore *visual* presentation is extremely important to me. As well as heat resistance. My undertanding is that opticoat doesn't retain color brilliance / depth as well as CQuartz. Jet black wont look as deep of a black, etc. (when it comes time to apply it to my paint). Is this true?
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I understand being frustrated, we've been frustrated. It was frustrating to try to master each product as quickly as possible. It's frustrating when things don't go your way. I can relate.



When did we state CQuartz was our product of choice?



We've found Opti-Coat does add depth and gloss for sure and without a doubt.





AviCP said:
Hi

you might all want to see this video for heat retarding of cquartz coat ,

tested on car paint panel:



cquartz on fire ! .wmv - YouTube
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I don't understand what this is supposed to prove. I could care less about fire retardation and if a product will survive an all out blaze. This means absolutely nothing to 99.99% of the people that will use this product.
 
Now for the more "update" type of post.



TL;DR up front: Opti-Coat reigns king and nothing can touch it.





Over a dozen applications of Opti-Coat has taught us a lot, but more than anything, time has been the ultimate test. After all, we're not talking so much about shine, gloss, ease of application, or price as much as we're concerned with durability when using one of the "coating" products.



I've seen Opti-Coat stand up to quick detailer, alcohol, mineral spirits, washes, and more than anything; time itself. The product is amazing. I've even seen David Fermani's test car in person after a thousand mile road trip through bugs and bad weather. There was a very clear and definite difference in the Opti-Coated side versus the bare side 18+ months after application.

With the emergence of Opti-Coat 2.0, the product is even easier to use and results in less streaking problems.



With using any version of Opti-Coat, we've found it to be easier with two people (especially with version 1), with the second person armed with CarPro's Reload and a suede style microfiber towel. Not only does this take care of streak marks, it seems to give the finish a more silky feeling.





CQuartz has been used one two vehicle which were closely watched. First, my wonderful girlfriend's Saab 9-3, in which it didn't last 8 months. The application and issues we had are clearly laid on on page one. Wanting to give the product a fair shot, it was also used (by request) on the "cleanest GTI" which is here: http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-...nest-gti-stepping-up-our-game-autolavish.html

We're over 6 months out after having worked on that vehicle and there's no appearance that the CQuartz is still there. We have 100% confidence we used the product correctly, and I have personally washed the GTI twice since detailing it (using Reload post wash each time), and I'm amazed by the lack of tight beading, lack of slickness, and the amount of contamination the finish is getting despite being garage kept. If these weren't the EXACT same issues I had with the 9-3, I'd think maybe we did something wrong. In reality, durability is nothing impressive and we won't be ordering more of this "coating."



Gtechniq C1 is the wild card. In direct talks with GTechniq, we've found the C5 "Wheel Armor" is basically the same product as the C1. This is important to note as we used the C5 on the wheels of the GTI linked above. The problem is the owner sold the stock wheels and has new wheels on it that we didn't coat. In short, I can't confirm or deny durability of any kind of C5/C1 when used on wheels.

Paint is also a problem. The Maserati Gran Turismo C1 was used on was sold prior to our 6 moths "check-up." The only saving grace is we applied it to our new work vehicle (Honda Element SC). The Element was polished and Opti-Coat 2.0 was applied on half, to include half of one of the front wheels, while C1 was applied to the other half, to include half of the other front wheel. Incredibly, we can see a defined line on each wheels still and half of each has remained clear the the non-coated sides. While this vehicle was done a month and a half ago, it hasn't been washed since, so I can't give an update aside from that.





Take away what you want, and if anyone has questions, I'll try to help answer them appropriately.
 
MarcHarris said:
I understand being frustrated, we've been frustrated. It was frustrating to try to master each product as quickly as possible. It's frustrating when things don't go your way. I can relate.
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Don't forget that it's frustrating when someone wants more than $350 to detail and OptiCoat a BMW....



I don't understand what this is supposed to prove. I could care less about fire retardation and if a product will survive an all out blaze. This means absolutely nothing to 99.99% of the people that will use this product.
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If I said a Ginsu couldn't cut through it, would that impress you? (kidding, nobody go out and take a knife to your car!)
 
Bravo and thank you for the great update Marc!



The only thing that's bothering me a bit is your findings of CQuartz not having that long of durability time.



You think you guys can test out AQuartz Titan PPF in the future?
 
Rei86 said:
Bravo and thank you for the great update Marc!



The only thing that's bothering me a bit is your findings of CQuartz not having that long of durability time.



You think you guys can test out AQuartz Titan PPF in the future?
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Thanks for taking a look. I'd still encourage everyone to think critically and do your own testing. While I'd like to think CQuartz has more potential, I'm not willing to give it any more shots to find out. We stand behind everything we do, and I don't much like having to re-do coating applications. Perhaps others might have better luck.



I don't know how many differences there are between CQuartz and AQuartz, but at this point I doubt we'll be trying out too many more "coating" products as we've gone through three, and we know we have a real winner in Opti-Coat.

As always, I welcome the reviews of anyone (hopefully multiple people!) in their findings of competing products.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Don't forget that it's frustrating when someone wants more than $350 to detail and OptiCoat a BMW....
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Is it weird that more than a week later, these jokes still crack me up?:nana:



Thanks for the updates, Marc. I'm glad you're being open and honest about your experiences and not sugar-coating anything. :rockon1:
 
It's awesome to have something 3rd party like this.



I can't help but think of the differing stories, withheld information, all the changing info and product switches and all the other stuff from one of the manufacturers that only parallels the results you have found with one of the coatings in this test. I am floored that this issue is not talked about more.



Thank you Marc for keeping it real :).
 
Many thanks for the update, Marc. It is always useful to see how products actually work out in real-life tests. There have been a fair number of coatings that have come out in the past year or so, and I'd not be surprised to see more in the future, but you've again highlighted the importance of going with one that has actually been proven to work, rather than just believing all of the claims being made.
 
umi000 said:
Many thanks for the update, Marc. It is always useful to see how products actually work out in real-life tests. There have been a fair number of coatings that have come out in the past year or so, and I'd not be surprised to see more in the future, but you've again highlighted the importance of going with one that has actually been proven to work, rather than just believing all of the claims being made.
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Once people realize a "coating" can be made of anything, everyone wants their little piece of the pie, and unfortunately try to capitalize on people who trust fact that even no-name companies with zero experience in actual detailing should be putting out a quality product. Marc's test has unfortunately showed us all what the real deal is.
 
I will jump in, I have not used the Optimum product or the G-Tech gear as well but I have used CQuartz and AQuartz and can say without a doubt the Aquartz is much more user friendly and CQuartz was miserable with hard water spotting etch as the whole reason to utilize a "Coating" is to have much better performance than a traditional sealant/wax.



Aquartz in my experience in conjunction with re-load will actually change the appearance of the finish, and the hydrophobic capability is fun to watch on a rainy day or when you are washing the car, I also "Ditched" the hurting little applicators CQuartz provides in thier kit as the coverage is hard to accomplish with them and used a 100ppi applicator.



Great documentation Marc/Jacob and as Mike said(Not Mike Nap lol) thanks for "Keeping it real".
 
Auto Concierge said:
I will jump in, I have not used the Optimum product or the G-Tech gear as well but I have used CQuartz and AQuartz and can say without a doubt the Aquartz is much more user friendly and CQuartz was miserable with hard water spotting etch as the whole reason to utilize a "Coating" is to have much better performance than a traditional sealant/wax.
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Just to let you know Bob, CQuartz in the last four months have updated their formula to 'resist' water spots and to sheet water.



MarcHarris said:
I don't know how many differences there are between CQuartz and AQuartz, but at this point I doubt we'll be trying out too many more "coating" products as we've gone through three, and we know we have a real winner in Opti-Coat.

As always, I welcome the reviews of anyone (hopefully multiple people!) in their findings of competing products.
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Hey Marc the product I was talking about AQuartz Titan PPF is actually not the same as C/AQuartz. Its actually not a ceramic glass coating but Titan PPF film in liquid state.



wunghv.jpg
 
One thing I've learned over the years about detailing chemicals, if they use a flame or spray paint in any of the demos, you can be sure the product is junk.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Don't forget that it's frustrating when someone wants more than $350 to detail and OptiCoat a BMW....
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I was quoted $1000 to $1500.



Thats why I do all my detail work myself, every time I talked to a pro about having some work done they quoted me about twice what the rates on their webpage were.
 
KneeDragr, Charlie's comment was a hidden joke. Please do a search with the keywords "fermani, brand new bmw, $350"...



However the quoted 1000-1500 bucks are on the brave side.
 
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