Longevity and "look" of Opti-Coat

[Chris11LE]

With all respect to you Scott because you do great work, I cannot agree that OC looks neither wet, nor glossy in any way.

When I get a chance Ill get pics of my Opti coated car. Granted its not parked outside, but its been 2+ years since it was applied. Its Malbec Black, so its a dark color. It too looks wet and glossy, and I havent done anything to it since it was coated except wash with Chem Guys citrus wash in a Gilmour foam gun.

 

[Guitarist302008]

When I get a chance Ill get pics of my Opti coated car. Granted its not parked outside, but its been 2+ years since it was applied. Its Malbec Black, so its a dark color. It too looks wet and glossy, and I havent done anything to it since it was coated except wash with Chem Guys citrus wash in a Gilmour foam gun.

I'm not saying that it looks bad, I am saying that OC to me just doesn't have a wet, glossy look to it. Black is also harder to tell with though. I could wash a dirty black car and it's going to look wet and glossy. Pics of it under halogens of the sides, different angles, etc is easier to tell for me anyway.

 

[Dan]

It's white, so it's hard to tell... that is also not what I would consider glossy. I consider glossy more of 2-3 coats of DG105.

Sorry, it was overcast, the car is white and it hadn't been washed in 350 miles.

 

[Guitarist302008]

Sorry, it was overcast, the car is white and it hadn't been washed in 350 miles.

Keep in mind i'm not attempting to say it looks bad... I have OC on my own car, so if it looked bad, I wouldn't have it on there at all. I can wash my car and it looks good... but it doesn't look WOW, if you know what I mean. It's clean, very little marring... a little here and there, but nothing that is noticed except by someone that details cars.



I have just always been more partial to that glassy, candied look and honestly... the DG105 is probably the one that I would say provides the best candied look that I have seen. I'm going to top the car with it the next time I wash it, just to see what sort of life I can get out of it. Does it need to cure longer before I remove it? I usually leave it on bare paint for 15-20 minutes before removing it.

 

[Dan]

Apply the 105 as you would to regular paint. My one suggestion is to leave an OC area somewhere on a horizontal panel so you can compare.

 

[Scottwax]

With all respect to you Scott because you do great work, I cannot agree that OC looks neither wet, nor glossy in any way.

Tried to get as many different colors as possible...

 

[tguil]

Scott,



Sure looks "wet and glossy" to me. Nice work. :2thumbs:



Tom

 

[Guitarist302008]

some of them look wet and glossy, other's not as much. Many of them look like they had just been completed or might have recently done. They all look like they obviously have had great prep work, but none of those looks still have that "wow" factor for me. It's hard to get that look though. You have to have decent paint, great prep work, etc etc. I never said OC looked bad at all. I said that it doesn't have that wow look at that type of look, and many agree with that. Rasky himself has said that in his opinion that both 22PLE and CQF both look better and actually do have that candied look to it.



Again, I am not at all putting down scott's work... he does great work. He also tests for Optimum, and that's ok too because OC is a tried and true product that works great. I'm not doubting that. I just would like to get a better look than what I have for my car sometimes.

 

[Scottwax]

Pictures unfortunately don't always pick up how wet paint looks. But every customer has been thrilled with the look, and it stays that way for a long time.



On my own car, I've played around with waxes on top of it, but I don't see enough of a difference to really do much beyond ONR wash and wax at this point.

 

[tom p.]

Scott, that very last shot of the dk red paint is superb!



As you have so much direct experience, do you find that your clients are coming back to see you less often as their cars look so good without much being done to them? Any unexpected side effects relating to your overall business for the better or worse?

 

[Guitarist302008]

Scott, that very last shot of the dk red paint is superb!



As you have so much direct experience, do you find that your clients are coming back to see you less often as their cars look so good without much being done to them? Any unexpected side effects relating to your overall business for the better or worse?

Yes, I meant to say the red looks quite excellent. It's a great color to show off different LSP's IMO.

 

[Guitarist302008]

Pictures unfortunately don't always pick up how wet paint looks. But every customer has been thrilled with the look, and it stays that way for a long time.



On my own car, I've played around with waxes on top of it, but I don't see enough of a difference to really do much beyond ONR wash and wax at this point.

Yeah, i've used the ONR over the OC as a quick detailer and it brings out a bit more of a wet finish for me.... it just doesn't last very long.

 

[Envious Eric]

well, case in point...



lady has been in contact for me the last few months...going back and forth between 22PLE and opticoat.

she has another detailer do her car with opticoat and was waiting to see his work and the results of opticoat before having me do her "baby" of a car. She was less than pleased with his work, and 2 weeks later, dissatisfied with OC after "one rain storm left a lot of waterspots that a wash and a quick detail spray didnt remove, not to mention it doesnt look all that great either"



if you are going to detail the car once a year, or once every two years, why not get a better looking products on it? 22PLE or CQF from a authorized pro.

 

[Scottwax]

I don't know what happened with the car you are talking about but the Fisker Karma I did last year still looked amazing this year. So he had us Opti-Coat his BMW X-Drive and Opti-Glass the windshield on the Fisker. Most of the people having Opti-Coat applied (at least around here) are looking for a product that will protect for a really long time and don't want to have them regularly detailed, at least on the exterior. I know the guy with the brown Mini I posted was more than pleased with the look and now wants Opti-Coat applied to his X-Drive once the rocker panels are refinished.



Again, not having seen 22PLE in person, I can't refute what you are saying about the appearance. All I can go by is how nice OC looks on my own car and that everyone whose car I've applied it to have also been really pleased. So given the added longevity of OC, I don't have a compelling reason to switch to another coating right now. And since I am so familiar with the product, prep and application I think it helps me get the most from the product.

 

[Scottwax]

Scott, that very last shot of the dk red paint is superb!



As you have so much direct experience, do you find that your clients are coming back to see you less often as their cars look so good without much being done to them? Any unexpected side effects relating to your overall business for the better or worse?

1. I am getting customers I might not otherwise get. Seems that many of them are looking for long term protection for their paint, not someone to come out and detail their car regularly.



2. They refer me to other, similarly minded potential customers.



3. When they get another car, they want Opti-Coat applied to it.



4. Some still have me come out to do interior details and wash the exterior. The owner of the red Corvette we recently did still wants us to come out every 6-8 weeks to detail it. Won't have much to do on the paint of course, but the wheels, wheel wells, interior, etc still need regular attention.



5. Last year was the best year I've had and Opti-Coat jobs were a big reason. And we are up again this year.



Having a good, quality coating option is a great way to grow your business and offer your customers something 99% of other detailers can't.

 

[tom p.]

Scott, excellent to hear that. Thanks for the reply. I figured the existing customers would be creating all sorts of new referral biz for you. Glad to know it's working out so well. I believe these long-term coatings are going to take more and more market share as times passes.

 

[Kean]

well, case in point...



lady has been in contact for me the last few months...going back and forth between 22PLE and opticoat.

she has another detailer do her car with opticoat and was waiting to see his work and the results of opticoat before having me do her "baby" of a car. She was less than pleased with his work, and 2 weeks later, dissatisfied with OC after "one rain storm left a lot of waterspots that a wash and a quick detail spray didnt remove, not to mention it doesnt look all that great either"



if you are going to detail the car once a year, or once every two years, why not get a better looking products on it? 22PLE or CQF from a authorized pro.

It’s just my humble opinion but with the initial impression this other detailer left with his client, I would have doubts about his competence in general (including the proper use/application of products, prep, etc.).



Having said that, I will agree (at least I noticed) that OC lacked something when I applied it to my wife's gold metallic Forester (our DD). However, that's far from me saying that the finish was devoid of any gloss or that it necessarily diminishes the overall appearance of the finish. ….it just doesn't seem to add anything extra. On the other hand, some of the results I have seen from others (including some of the ones Scott has shared) I would be quite happy in regard to how OC looks.



I will agree that for those who are still planning to correct their vehicles every year or so, a more aesthetically pleasing semi-perm coating (or even a sealant/wax) might be a better choice. While OC may be permanent (and perhaps even harder than the OEM finish), we all know it is not impervious to scratches. I can see a day that I will need to correct my wife’s Forester again (if she decides to keep it). It was a bit of a struggle for me to decide whether I even wanted to use OC on her car. My final decision to do so was partly based on the realization that my priorities were going to change soon and I may not have the time nor the will (beyond cleaning/upkeep) to maintain the same level of attention to her finish I once could. Later discussions regarding reapplication of OC on existing layers (without complete removal) helped quell some of my other concerns regarding touch-ups. After nearly two years, I am quite happy with OC’s performance. ….and it will likely be another year or more before I even entertain the idea of another full correction/detail on that car. In all honesty, she will probably trade it in before I ever polish it again.



….my black Challenger (weekend car) is another story. I currently have DGPS on it (free sample that’s lasted me a couple of years) but have been looking at other products including 22PLE (I have no interest in using OC on it). I haven’t corrected it in over two years but will soon. My wife’s gold color is very forgiving. ….my black car is not.



Anyhow, if there's one thing I learned over the years on these forums is that user experiences can vary when it comes to the different products, tools and techniques that are discussed around here.

 

[Guitarist302008]

for me, my OC has a tendency to spot. In fairness, the town water here is more than horrible. I used to use a filter that I forgot to remove from the hose line during winter... so it broke. It wasn't expensive so i'm not worried about it, as even with that it would still leave spots. I can go to my mother's house where she just has well water and if I don't dry certain areas it will spot, but those types of spots will come off. I have had some areas with OC where the spots wouldn't come off, so I had to do a very light polish pass to remove them... that I don't like.



Everything is going to have it's good and bad points though. The hardness of OC I do definitely find as a plus.

 

[Guitarist302008]

It’s just my humble opinion but with the initial impression this other detailer left with his client, I would have doubts about his competence in general (including the proper use/application of products, prep, etc.).



Having said that, I will agree (at least I noticed) that OC lacked something when I applied it to my wife's gold metallic Forester (our DD). However, that's far from me saying that the finish was devoid of any gloss or that it necessarily diminishes the overall appearance of the finish. ….it just doesn't seem to add anything extra. On the other hand, some of the results I have seen from others (including some of the ones Scott has shared) I would be quite happy in regard to how OC looks.



I will agree that for those who are still planning to correct their vehicles every year or so, a more aesthetically pleasing semi-perm coating (or even a sealant/wax) might be a better choice. While OC may be permanent (and perhaps even harder than the OEM finish), we all know it is not impervious to scratches. I can see a day that I will need to correct my wife’s Forester again (if she decides to keep it). It was a bit of a struggle for me to decide whether I even wanted to use OC on her car. My final decision to do so was partly based on the realization that my priorities were going to change soon and I may not have the time nor the will (beyond cleaning/upkeep) to maintain the same level of attention to her finish I once could. Later discussions regarding reapplication of OC on existing layers (without complete removal) helped quell some of my other concerns regarding touch-ups. After nearly two years, I am quite happy with OC’s performance. ….and it will likely be another year or more before I even entertain the idea of another full correction/detail on that car. In all honesty, she will probably trade it in before I ever polish it again.



….my black Challenger (weekend car) is another story. I currently have DGPS on it (free sample that’s lasted me a couple of years) but have been looking at other products including 22PLE (I have no interest in using OC on it). I haven’t corrected it in over two years but will soon. My wife’s gold color is very forgiving. ….my black car is not.



Anyhow, if there's one thing I learned over the years on these forums is that user experiences can vary when it comes to the different products, tools and techniques that are discussed around here.

This is ALWAYS a big question. If you are using or are planning to use it, really IMO it should be left on long enough that if that towel you wipe it off with doesn't grab or feel a bit tacky... then IMO you didn't wait long enough. If it's a hotter day... i'll wait 5 minutes.. if it's say 55 or 60 degrees, i'll wait 7-10 minutes. Lately though I will go over the same area about 3 hours later with a very light amount just to ensure full coverage.

 

[Scottwax]

If you are using or are planning to use it, really IMO it should be left on long enough that if that towel you wipe it off with doesn't grab or feel a bit tacky... then IMO you didn't wait long enough.

This is key. If you wipe over the coating while it is still tacky, I feel it can compromise the look. Seems like the less I touch it, the better it looks. And it just takes practice (probably done 100 cars or so now) with OC to really get the feel to apply enough to cover but not too much that you have to touch it excessively.



If you wipe it when it is a bit tacky, best to go over it again lightly with the applicator and more OC. On high spots that are slow to flash off, first course of action should be to knock it down with the applicator.