Protecting New Paint

[langers_sydney]

Fully Opticoated up now. Looks the bomb. Highly recommend Dave at Reflect Effect. Great work and i'm loving the 5 year warranty on the inside treatment as well.

Looks far better than it did at the dealer.

[paulb]

I also got mine done by Dave a week ago, with Opticoat, fabric protection and tint. Agree with all other comments regarding Dave and the products. I haven't washed it yet, but still looks great. Hope that it will keep that new car look & feel longer

[Firstgolfr]

Brisbane based Opti-Coat installers

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a good detailer who can apply opti-coat here in Brisbane?

Cheers

Sean

[fuzion]

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a good detailer who can apply opti-coat here in Brisbane?

Cheers

Sean

Sean,

Why don't you go for a Nano protection vs polymer protection dude? theres so much more results and reviews on Detailing World UK.

My theory is, if you find under 10 people going on about a product on there.. then its not that great as that forum has the LARGEST amount of posters than any other forum such as vortex.. i think these 2 are the biggest online in the world to be honest with you.

just my 2psi on the subject

[Corey_R]

Sending someone to a UK forum, a country where the product he's enquiring about is not available, is obviously going to be a bit lop sided.

Using that logic, CCP should ditch Nanolex and Wolf's and start using G|Techniq products, since they're by far the most popular, like I've been using...

@Sean / Firstgolfr, for what it's worth though, the people on Detailing World UK that have tried Opti-coat, seem to love it and recommend it thoroughly. Do a search on the entire forum and you'll find several threads. Most of the people are from the southern hemisphere though You'd have more luck on a USA forum.

You can find a list of Approved Opti-Coat dealers here. Note that there are two Opti-coat products. The original Opti-coat is a professional only product which must be applied by an approved dealer. And also a newer toned-down Opti-coat 2.0 which can be applied by customers. From the link Fuzion provided I found Alex L from NZ(?) who required only 5ml of the 20ml tube to coat a Commodore SV6 and was extremely happy with the results.

[fuzion]

Sending someone to a UK forum, a country where the product he's enquiring about is not available, is obviously going to be a bit lop sided.

Using that logic, CCP should ditch Nanolex and Wolf's and start using G|Techniq products, since they're by far the most popular, like I've been using...

@Sean / Firstgolfr, for what it's worth though, the people on Detailing World UK that have tried Opti-coat, seem to love it and recommend it thoroughly. Do a search on the entire forum and you'll find several threads. Most of the people are from the southern hemisphere though You'd have more luck on a USA forum.

You can find a list of Approved Opti-Coat dealers here. Note that there are two Opti-coat products. The original Opti-coat is a professional only product which must be applied by an approved dealer. And also a newer toned-down Opti-coat 2.0 which can be applied by customers. From the link Fuzion provided I found Alex L from NZ(?) who required only 5ml of the 20ml tube to coat a Commodore SV6 and was extremely happy with the results.

I agree Corey.. i'm merely saying going on the whole "review" factor and result from varied people not only 'detailers' as such so you really get an idea. It's the same to say we all use catch cans here, but americans dont.. why wouldn't you check to why they dont if you get me?

And on the argument of xpack, if the price was priced well.. the product is almost just as good as opticoat.. lol! BUT they charge you a fortune which makes it a downer.

[Firstgolfr]

Thanks guys. So am I to understand I have two options with opti-coat - apply it myself or pay a professional to apply an enhanced version? is it worth the money to get a professional to do this or is it simply a case of some good old elbow grease to do the job?

Cheers
Sean

[Corey_R]

The original Opti-coat you cannot apply at home. They reason is that it's very hard once dried, and if you stuff it up, the only way to remove it is to machine polish it off...

There is a "watered down" version (badly called, imo) Opti-coat 2.0. This you can apply at home.
Go the original version if you can.

[Firstgolfr]

Hi guys,

Quick question re: paint protection.

The only opti-coat dealers in Qld are some distance from home apart from a couple of mobile applicators. what would your opinion be on having someone come to your home to apply the product? I'd have thought a more controlled environment would be essential, especially given we have a large amount of dust in the area due to extensive roadworks.

Also, I've found a local car protection firm that use the Glare range of products. Their blurb sounds good, but I wanted to check in here to see if you all have any opinions one way or the other.

Cheers

[Corey_R]

If you have a garage where the door and windows can be closed etc, then that's good enough. It's not like car detailers have "white rooms". The only question would be whether the detailer has enough light (I guess they'd have their own lighting if they regularl do home visits).

As for Glare, never heard of them, so I'll let someone else talk there

[Firstgolfr]

Thanks Corey. I've been doing a bit of digging on glare products and apart from dealers no one has much good to say about the stuff.

[shakespeare]

Hi guys,

Quick question re: paint protection.

The only opti-coat dealers in Qld are some distance from home apart from a couple of mobile applicators. what would your opinion be on having someone come to your home to apply the product? I'd have thought a more controlled environment would be essential, especially given we have a large amount of dust in the area due to extensive roadworks.

Also, I've found a local car protection firm that use the Glare range of products. Their blurb sounds good, but I wanted to check in here to see if you all have any opinions one way or the other.

Cheers

My detailer applied mine at home, he brought his own lights so he had sufficient light when he closed the garage to apply the opti coat. This for me was a better option as I could still be at home and not have to drop the car off to his shop

[Firstgolfr]

This might be a controversial opinion but I've opted for no paint protection. A good friend of mine runs a large smash repair business which looks after all the high end cars and he says it's pointless. The quality of our paint job is such that regular washing (and prompt removal of things like bat poo) and a 6 monthly cut and polish will suffice. Hes fastidious with his own car and has some of the most demanding (and cashed up) car owners around so I trust his judgement. I guess time will tell. Anyway I can use the money I saved on a tune.

[Corey_R]

Hmmm. I strongly disagree with that.

You need _something_ there. Whether you do an Opti-coat, or whether a nano or polymer sealant, or a traditional wax, you need _something_. Firstly, having any of those things on your car makes it much easier to wash the car and remove dirt, contaminents and bird poo etc. Next up, without any of those if your car is out in the rain the water and doesn't bead, and doesn't just roll off as soon as you drive away. It just spreads the water and dirt all over the car and makes your car dirtier quicker. Then you also get "water etching" in the paint much quicker. You get swirls easier and all that kinda crap. So then you HAVE to do "regular 6 monthly cut and polishes".

I mean, "regular 6 monthly cut and polish" should be a BIG SMACK IN YOUR FACE that this strategy is not a good idea. If you need to do a cut and polish every six months, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

It's your car, and your money, and if you're only keeping it for a few years then passing it on, then hell, why even wash it at all
But yeah... I completely disagree.

[tanalasta]

I also beg to differ. You do not need to pay exorbitant prices for dealer paint protection. That is a well accepted fact.

However, I agree it is good practice to have a layer of protectant, whether that be wax, polymer, nano-sealant or opticoat. And to maintain it as necessary. It will not only stop the paint fading but the more practical advantages are the car is way easier to clean, beads water and makes drying also a breeze. Bird splat and tree sap wipe off with the slightest of effort.

I do not know anyone who removes bird splat the moment it sits on the paint - often you're in an office or shopping centre and it may be a day or two before you see it.

Cuts and polish gradually remove paint. And the irony is that applying paint protection is just as easy and saves you the bother of having to do the said cut and polish.