GRAND FINALE -Optimum Opti-Coating - Durability Test Review!!!

not_a_virus.exe said:
Okay, that makes sense.



But since OC is not 100% scratchproof, when it does get that inevitable marring, do you polish it out? Can you even just spot polish? Or do you layer with some sealant or wax to fill up the scratches?



What if you get a deeper scratch that can't be simply filled up? You gotta re-polish the whole area and re-apply OC?
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That's partly why I was asking.



It seems like this is a great product for those who either wash very meticulously and only need to polish paint once a year or less often to get perfect paint, or for those who don't care much about the swirlmarks and are after the long term protection.



I am extremely curious though how much this prevents actual swirl marks in the paint, and also if the actual coating can get swirl marks but not the paint, since it's so hard and resistant?
 
Hi Guys :



We are a Subaru performance shop here in Chile and also a detail shop . I´m very interested in trying this product

since as you all know Subaru paint is in another league in softness . This product could make our life here a lot better

Please let me know to whom should I send our information to be able to buy this product . We have a purchasing office in Miami so

the product will be ship to Maimi .



Cheers ,

Jean Paul
 
LUSTR said:
That's partly why I was asking.



It seems like this is a great product for those who either wash very meticulously and only need to polish paint once a year or less often to get perfect paint, or for those who don't care much about the swirlmarks and are after the long term protection.



I am extremely curious though how much this prevents actual swirl marks in the paint, and also if the actual coating can get swirl marks but not the paint, since it's so hard and resistant?
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I may be wrong, but I think the idea with these products it they actually form a coating that is harder than paint; so they are harder to marr. They will inevitably marr, of course, so the question is how to maintain them. My guess (again this is just a guess) is that you can lightly polish the coating to remove marring without impairing the integrity of the coating. If you get a RID/deep scuff etc then you will need to heavily compound and re-apply the coating.



I think the idea is that the coating is applied to mitigate the need to polish at all, since the coatings hardness > the paint.



This is all supposition, but from what I've read and the people I've spoken to about OC/Aquartz this is my general understanding.



As an aside; right now I normally recommend to my clients that they claybar/lightly polish a properly washed car once a year. With OC/AQ I'd imagine that might go up to as much as 3-4 years. To me that alone is worth the cost on a DD. Even if you have to re-apply every ~4 years to maintain a perfect finish, you're still talking about 4 years of the car looking good and being protected, and in the end the cost to the customer is likely still less.
 
jpochile said:
Hi Guys :



We are a Subaru performance shop here in Chile and also a detail shop . I´m very interested in trying this product

since as you all know Subaru paint is in another league in softness . This product could make our life here a lot better

Please let me know to whom should I send our information to be able to buy this product . We have a purchasing office in Miami so

the product will be ship to Maimi .



Cheers ,

Jean Paul
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Here's the link to OPT's contact page.

Search Results
 
Picus said:
I'm offering it only on new cars (as an addition to a new car prep), I add an hour of prep time then the cost of the product. I normally don't bother with product cost but being as this isn't cheap I'm including the cost. So far I've applied to DDs of previous clients, most of whom have weekend/fun cars I also work on. I may start to offer it on non-new cars, but the bulk of the cost there would be the prep. I'm not going to put OC on anything but perfect paint, I don't really see the point.
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If an Autopian Detailer, or say another non-approved by OPT detailer were to bring you a car they had personally prepped, would you apply the coating after inspecting it to meet your standards at least?
 
WhiteStripes said:
If an Autopian Detailer, or say another non-approved by OPT detailer were to bring you a car they had personally prepped, would you apply the coating after inspecting it to meet your standards at least?
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I can't speak for Picus and I can only assume, but I would never do such a thing... 1. you don't know what exactly the other person's idea of "prep" is and 2. you don't know what's actually on the paint after the "prepping"... meaning it's not properly prepped for the Opti-Coating
 
LUSTR said:
I can't speak for Picus and I can only assume, but I would never do such a thing... 1. you don't know what exactly the other person's idea of "prep" is and 2. you don't know what's actually on the paint after the "prepping"... meaning it's not properly prepped for the Opti-Coating
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That makes sense.

I however was thinking along the lines of a full correction using whatever that particular detailer wanted to use (SIP/85rd, 105/205, etc), and then of course an IPA wipe down or wash upon arriving to have the coating applied.
 
I really don't think this type of coating is meant for the car/detailing enthusiast. It's more for the people who don't have the time or desire to wax a car on a regular basis, let alone polish one.
 
WhiteStripes said:
That makes sense.

I however was thinking along the lines of a full correction using whatever that particular detailer wanted to use (SIP/85rd, 105/205, etc), and then of course an IPA wipe down or wash upon arriving to have the coating applied.
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I understood what you meant. My point however is that unless you did all that in front of me (even then I wouldn't be as eager to apply it) I have no proof of what you have done. If you're my brother, or cousin or best friend, basically at a level where I can trust you 100% (in other words if you're someone where if you say I did it wrong, and maybe even sue me, I'll kick your a$$ and change your mind) then it's fine and I'll do it going by your word. Otherwise it's simply a bad business decision IMO. Same reason I wouldn't do a polishing step on a car that a client will wash, clay, drive over, and seal after I'm done with it (was asked to do this twice by the way!). Either I do it or I don't do it.
 
WhiteStripes said:
If an Autopian Detailer, or say another non-approved by OPT detailer were to bring you a car they had personally prepped, would you apply the coating after inspecting it to meet your standards at least?
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LUSTR said:
I can't speak for Picus and I can only assume, but I would never do such a thing... 1. you don't know what exactly the other person's idea of "prep" is and 2. you don't know what's actually on the paint after the "prepping"... meaning it's not properly prepped for the Opti-Coating
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I agree with LUSTR. If I'm not the one doing the prep I don't want to be the one applying OC (or anything else for that matter). I do see where you're coming from, WhiteStripes, but at this point I don't want to take any chances with a these products. Why? Well even though I've tried to make it clear to the people I've used OC for that I can not warranty it; the nature of the product itself implies at the very minimum a decent amount of durability; so when I apply it I want to make sure it's done properly.
 
MichaelM said:
I really don't think this type of coating is meant for the car/detailing enthusiast. It's more for the people who don't have the time or desire to wax a car on a regular basis, let alone polish one.
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When this product first came out I thought to myself why would I ever want that? Now I'm not sure I'd want to be without it! ;)



Working full time and detailing part time does make it hard to find the time to work on my own car these days, so it's definitely nice having the coating for me. It makes cleaning easier and it also stays looking nice longer. It's definitely not for everyone though and I'm curious to see how it hold up to marring in the long run.
 
It seems like everyone is making a big fuss over OptiCoat application. I consider myself to be just a regular Autopian enthusiast that likes to keep his car looking good and spends more than I should chasing different hyped products. My 1999 GS400 daily driver receives an ONR wash anywhere from 1-3 times per week, gets clayed about once a year, and I try to polish with a PC at least every other year but I am still pretty much a novice. I just want a nice looking ride with a minimal amount of hard work (I don't consider an ONR wash much work at all). I took my car to Integrity Detail and Chris looked it over and said all it needed was some very minor spot paint correction, a final polish, and then applied the OptiCoat. It did not cost an arm and a leg and has been everything it has been hyped to be after only a few weeks.



I say just bring your cleaned up ride to someone, let them do whatever prep is needed (shouldn't be much for most regular Autopians) and try out OptiCoat. If durability is even in the ball park of what has been discussed I will be thrilled. No doubt whatsoever that the car cleans up much easier and need washing less often. There are times I have driven in downpours and then the next day I wonder how it can still look so good ..... I think the water and the dirt both sheet right off during the rain. I am very curious how it will do during pollen season next year....I am thinking it might make a big difference.



Sign me

Happy Camper
 
OutlawTitan said:
There are times I have driven in downpours and then the next day I wonder how it can still look so good ..... I think the water and the dirt both sheet right off during the rain. I am very curious how it will do during pollen season next year....I am thinking it might make a big difference.



Sign me

Happy Camper
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Yeah, the rain definitely cleans it up a lot more and it seems to move most of the dust where you would normally still have a dust spotted car. It's not freshly washed clean, but it's definitely a noticeable difference compared to traditional waxes/sealants. LOL, I'm actually not that upset when it rains now! :)
 
I'll be putting my Opti-Coated vehicle through the touchless tunnel wash. It does a good job of blow drying at the end. So no swirl marks or watermarks for me as I won't be touching the paint.



And this product is a set and forget option. Not for everyone on this forum, but good for millions of others.
 
So I'm getting my car re-conditioned and then Opti-Coated by Josh @ Flawless Finish Mobile Detailing this Sunday. I think we may be the very first in San Diego to have this Opti-Coat done too. Josh is a great guy and he only charged me extra for the Opti-Coat itself, which makes sense since the prep work is the same as applying any other sealant or coating. I see no reason to try this product even if you like to detail your car every few months. Just apply your sealant of choice over the Opti-Coat when the time comes, yeah?



Flawless Finish Detail - Home



I'll try to remember to take before and after pics too.
 
The prep work is the same, but the application does take a little more time. Either way, that's a good deal. :) Have fun w/it; it's continuing to impress me.
 
MDRX8 said:
C2 is a product that you can use and get about 8 months out of it. It is one of the new coatings
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C2 is more sealant than coating in terms of application and durability, especially since it can be diluted to be a QD. It utilizes similar technology to C1, but it surely isn't in the same league (and category IMO).
 
My friend has a black H3 that he actually goes off roading with--ummm would OC be a bad product? will I even have enough to cover it? myconcern is that he's the branches folliage and the crap in the rivers and lakes etc will scrape it up and make it pointless...
 
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