Any opinions on opticoat?

Anyone use Opticoat? Have opinions?

http://opticoat.com.au

Jamie

 

everything with the word 'coat' in the car biz means avoid.

Solids vs water and ph level response etc...

Save your cash. Wax every 3 months with a good polish.

 

I used it. Only after making fun of a friend who did it 3 years ago. Seeing his truck look like fresh wax sold me on it. His neighbor does detailing on high end cars, the sort of detail jobs that take a week and cost thousands.
It's all in the preparation. He told me to clay bar and then use an orbital polisher with a very fine polish. I said: "But it's a new car". He said do it anyways and I'm glad I did. Didn't realize it could shine better. Finished each panel with a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol. Then a few drops of Opti Coat is the fastest and easiest part. Two months without a garage and it beads like it's new wax. I recommend it, a ton of work up front, but it will be good long after wax goes kaput.

 

That or chem guys C9 may be my next step.

Right now I use Jet Seal and Collinite

 

This.

 

Technology has come a long way and theres since pretty decent products that are emerging

 

Paid $1400 for mine, and I won't have to ever wax my truck again. It all depends on the person. If you are a very busy (and lazy) person like me, and don't have an hour + every week to clean your truck and then dry and polish and wax it, it is God send. The coating is made of Silicon Carbide, one of the toughest materials. It doesn't prevent scratches and scuffs like XPEL or 3M films do. It's purpose is to add a layer of security if you go through car washes. It gives an always wet look, but only after a wash. When it's outside and dusty, its just like any other truck, not dirty or glossy because there's a fine layer of dust on it. So if it's a daily use vehicle, its dusty after a day (but then thats' the case w. anyone). Washing and cleaning the truck is made a million times easier, especially if you use the spot free rinse. The water removes the soapy suds and just flows down and disappears instantly leaving the truck waxed and glossy wet, it certainly is very hydrophobic. I don't use the car wash. I use coin wash where you do the wash yourself. High pressure soap, High pressure spot free. You don't have to dry, because every single bead of water just falls down instantly. In 15 mins your truck looks new. Would I do it again? Hmmm... I've got my opti-coat done professionally mere hours after I bought my truck and before I found this forum . After I joined, I found plenty of other ways to spend that $1400 if I had it. So no.

 

Interesting if you ever used anything such as paint sealant or coating to make such comments? It's a pity you don't try it yourself or speak to folks who actually have had it done or done it themselves to find out.

Damn...opticoat folks are really gouching folks these days for the product. Before it was lifetime guarantee, but now I believe it's a few years guarantee. I had it on a new BRZ and it was about $600 to $800...I don't remember anymore..but was in that range.

There are many other products that the DIYer can do themselves for much less and comparable results. I wouldn't pay $1400 for opticoat...for that much money, you can get the whole front clip of the truck done in Xpel or any other PPF generally. If you don't shop around or do parts yourself it tends to be expensive.

But the detailer the ones that are good... they do deserve to charge a fair amount considering the amount of work being done. On my BRZ, it was about 12 to 13 hours from start to finish prepping and applying the coating. I would agree that $1400 is not worth it...but there are much lower options...DIY is about $200 to $300 in parts (coating, polish, etc). Even DIY PPF is much cheaper too...I know because I have gone that route as well.

Issue is when folks buy new vehicles..they tend to spend more and splurge to protect the paint. I think Optimuum knows this and now charging more...but you can get same results for $300 DIY or $600+ done by pro if you go with another product.

 

my business partners are the people who test polymers and sealants.

 

So what is the reason why you don't like paint sealant or coatings such as cquartz finest, opti-coat, or dozen other products that are out there? appreciate a detail explanation please.

 

i don't NOT like them, i just dislike the uber expensive miracle promising ones.

they're all subjective "coat" descriptions of either organic, semi org, or synthetic, semi-synth <1% solid applications based on controlled testing methods with no hard and fast guidelines. its actually 1950's technology used by marinas and ship builders for consumer use.

the car polish, wax, sealer industry today -- is like the DuraLube marketing machine of the 90's early 2000's.

i have no issue with the products; just the claims. if one likes the product, buy it; but just remember, if the car companies thought these things would make cars look better and last longer (and sell them without backlash) they'd add them at the factory rather than spend millions with companies like PPG trying to make a perfect coat of paint.

there's white papers on this stuff all over the web along with patent filings.

 

Chem guys c9 is a lot cheaper and is simple diy, roughly 3 year lifespan and will protect against minor scratches, and is self healing.

 

Chemical guys is a great company for detailing needs. Went to their show room in LA, and they provide great customer service.

 

Thanks for explaining your reasons... I can see why you feel that way and there's weight to that what you say. But not everyone cares that much about paint protection. It's a percentage that care and that's why the dealership rather upsell the jetseal and other crap that charge as much as Opticoat now.

From what I see, wax or paint coating does about the same thing. It's a sacrificial layer meant to protect the clear coat. Waxing is good for a short period. Paint coating is for bit longer from 6 months to several years.

The real advantage I see if someone pays a detailer to wax their cars every month to few months that adds up to be several hundreds of dollars. If you wax the vehicle yourself...that's hours spent to do several times a year. I see it more beneficial and cost less if you select the right paint coating/sealant and initially more time to prep the vehicle, eventually it's less work. The only true paint protection is paint protection film. The paint sealant is to help the paint pop and shine for longer period of time.

Also car companies don't care that much about looks of the car...they want to make it look enough to pass the average consumer to buy their vehicle. If they really car about doing it right, they would color sand after spray paint before applying clear coat...instead it's a machine that sprays body panels in volume and then clear coat right away... Orange peel...even on high end cars like BMW have tremendous of orange peel, but hardly anyone complains. All of the tacos have orange peel as well... just depends on how pick you are about quality of workmanship.

 

Have you tested the Modesta products?

 

I don't test them. People I work with do. I'll ask.

 

I used it on a DEALER swirled black GTI. TOOK FOREVER to correct the paint but applied ($69). It myself. The next 2 years I only used rinse less car wash. And had no swirls still shines great. I did get a small spot on my leather and I couldn't get it off. Almost like a thin layer of superglue. I'm going to be doing my Taco with it before the winter. This is not a dealer sealant. At first it was very hard to get and you had to prove you owned a detailing business due to you locking in any swirl. The reason detailer a charge so much because they won't see you every 6 months. They make up for it in profit.

 

I Opti-Coated one vehicle, and Opti-Glossed another. DIY'd them.

Love the products. Works as advertised.

Frank

 

I paid $700 (discounted) for the Simonize coating....dead bugs fall off the front of the grill and bumper if I use a hose on it. Also wanted on the fabric cause of the kid and his friends...I was hesitant at first, but kinda glad I did it now...saves time on washing...