High Gloss Surface Coating & Window Tinting for NEW VWs by Dealership

[marcuskmt]

So my new Tiguan is coming and I've just been on the phone to them.

They are trying to sell me window tinting and UV coating that I was going to get from a third party.

They are also trying to sell me an external coat which is made up of a Liquid Ceramic Gel with Titanium Dioxide that will never break down. This will cost $1195.

The window tinting is $640 for street legal and $790 for the Cancer Council Dark Night. This includes a UV coating for the front windows.

Am I better off going 3rd party or just go through the dealership which go through MotorOne?

[bendor]

So my new Tiguan is coming and I've just been on the phone to them.

They are trying to sell me window tinting and UV coating that I was going to get from a third party.

They are also trying to sell me an external coat which is made up of a Liquid Ceramic Gel with Titanium Dioxide that will never break down. This will cost $1195.

The window tinting is $640 for street legal and $790 for the Cancer Council Dark Night. This includes a UV coating for the front windows.

Am I better off going 3rd party or just go through the dealership which go through MotorOne?

Its a can of worms this one....but....the general opinion is that it is always better to go through an after market detailer, and supposedly the best product is Opticoat.

On of the main issues is that a professional detailer will prepare your car far better than a dealer's supplier, in that they should also fix any paint imperfections from transit prior to applying the coating.

Re the tinting, a detailer can also do this for you and there are a lot of options for both darkness and heat deflection.

Also the aftermarket pricing should be less

[marcuskmt]

Its a can of worms this one....but....the general opinion is that it is always better to go through an after market detailer, and supposedly the best product is Opticoat.

400 Bad Request

It sounds like new car exterior coats are a waste of time and regular detailing is better.

Is there a best product for window tinting?

How does the VW window tinting stack up to other products?

[tigger73]

Yes aftermarket you'll get exactly the same for half the price. The markup through dealerships is huge on these products. Fabric protection is 2 x cans of scotchguard. Paint protection you can buy the product and apply yourself for under $100. Or get a good detailer to polish and apply a decent paint protection product for $500-$600.

I've had Opticoat and not sure it's worth the hype as it stopped beading after 6 months and even decontamination treatments only worked for a short time. Seems to be a bit of mixed results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lucas_R]

And you can get the windows tinted by any number of tinting professions in Sydney (id recommend Rob from Hunters Hill window tinting who is awesome) for around $300.

Aftermarket accessories like this is where dealerships make alot of their money. The markup is huge on these items.

[Wolfgang]

Don't even let the dealership wash your car, they have a habit of doing more damage than anything. They are getting better mind you.

Try Hamish at Elite Finish. He can look after your paint protection and tinting needs.

Opti-coat paint protection and window tinting Adelaide

Yes aftermarket you'll get exactly the same for half the price. The markup through dealerships is huge on these products. Fabric protection is 2 x cans of scotchguard. Paint protection you can buy the product and apply yourself for under $100. Or get a good detailer to polish and apply a decent paint protection product for $500-$600.

I've had Opticoat and not sure it's worth the hype as it stopped beading after 6 months and even decontamination treatments only worked for a short time. Seems to be a bit of mixed results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If the beading and sheeting properties of Opticoat are deminishing it points to contamination build up. Either environmental fallout or mineral build up. Increasing the frequency of washing and decontamination will help. Opti-Coat will not "fall off" unless it hasn't been applied properly, and that's where your warranty comes in.

[milobob]

Markup is huge because the detailer needs a profit from the work and so does the dealership. You are probably paying GST twice etc etc but hey that's business. I personally find smaller detailers tend to spend their time doing a better job rather than the dealership ones which have to get through a large number/rushed job.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[hoola]

Hi marcuskmt

Hamish from Elite Finish does a great job. Of all the OptiCoat authorised dealers in Adelaide, Hamish's prices are the most reasonable. I had interior and exterior done for under $1K and he threw in Opticoat for the wheels for free. It would be at least $1,400 for the others as they charge large SUV prices for the Tiguan whereas Hamish charges a small SUV price.

[bendor]

Anybody have any experience with Permagard which is used by Mercedes dealerships?

I have a good mate who can get me this for me at cost, but from what I have read elsewhere Opticoat > Permagard.

That said there also appears to be plenty of people who think the whole coating idea is a waste of money, but at cost price I'm tempted to give it a go this once.....then again I'm also tempted to maybe do the outside only in Opticoat if superior.

*sigh* I blame VW for making me wait so long allowing me all this time to agonize over petty things!

[Gladbach]

Anybody have any experience with Permagard which is used by Mercedes dealerships?

I have a good mate who can get me this for me at cost, but from what I have read elsewhere Opticoat > Permagard.

That said there also appears to be plenty of people who think the whole coating idea is a waste of money, but at cost price I'm tempted to give it a go this once.....then again I'm also tempted to maybe do the outside only in Opticoat if superior.

*sigh* I blame VW for making me wait so long allowing me all this time to agonize over petty things!

Looks like you tend to keep you cars for about 10 years? (based on your signature). Are they mainly garaged or parked outside?

For me, it's a no brainer. I hold onto cars for 5-6 years and they are always garaged so there's no real point bothering with paint protection. My folks have a car cleaning and detailing franchise, so on one of my older cars I applied paint protection while new, but in comparing that car to others I've had, I didn't notice any real difference.

If you keep your car outside and you have if for 10 years, then I guess it's worth considering, but remember that even the ones that are meant to be baked on etc, seem to have to be reapplied. My opinion though is that it's still not worth the cost.

[bendor]

Thanks Glad, thats some good advice.

The new 162 will be garaged and we will probably keep this one 4-5 years or so, as that was our normal interval however we decided to have kids in 2010 and the trauma delayed buying new cars!

[Wolfgang]

Anybody have any experience with Permagard which is used by Mercedes dealerships?

I have a good mate who can get me this for me at cost, but from what I have read elsewhere Opticoat > Permagard.

That said there also appears to be plenty of people who think the whole coating idea is a waste of money, but at cost price I'm tempted to give it a go this once.....then again I'm also tempted to maybe do the outside only in Opticoat if superior.

*sigh* I blame VW for making me wait so long allowing me all this time to agonize over petty things!

Permagard is a silica based coating where as Opti-Coat is a ceramic polymer coating, two different things.

Hopefully a chemistry-based comparison as explained by Dr David Ghodoussi, founder of Optimum Polymer Technologies (yes his doctorate is in chemistry ) will help explain the differences.

"The argument is not about bond energy but rather how inert the bonds are (e.g. Sodium Chloride has a bond energy that is over three times Si-O bond, however, it readily breaks down and dissolves in water). Si-O bond is readily hydrolized in the presence of acids or alkali. Therefore, most cleaners whether they are alkaline or acidic as well as environmental contaminants that contain acids such as bird droppings, bug splatter, acid rain, etc. will break down silica based coatings. That is also why most silica based coatings require use of boosters or reapplication.

The Si-C bond however is not affected by acids or bases since there is no catalytic mechanism to break it down. Therefore, silicon carbide chemistry is not affected by the environmental contaminants. Furthermore, Si-O bonds are prone to degradation by the enzymes in bird dropping and bug splatter whereas Si-C is not.

The proof is seen everyday since with Opti-Coated cars (Si-C based chemistry), the protection is permanent and the bond does not hydrolize or break down with cleaners or environmental contaminants and the paint is not damaged over time. On the other hand, Silica based coatings will break down over time and have a much shorter life expectancy and either acidic or alkaline chemicals can penetrate and damage the paint underneath."

[bendor]

Permagard is a silica based coating where as Opti-Coat is a ceramic polymer coating, two different things.

Hopefully a chemistry-based comparison as explained by Dr David Ghodoussi, founder of Optimum Polymer Technologies (yes his doctorate is in chemistry ) will help explain the differences.

"The argument is not about bond energy but rather how inert the bonds are (e.g. Sodium Chloride has a bond energy that is over three times Si-O bond, however, it readily breaks down and dissolves in water). Si-O bond is readily hydrolized in the presence of acids or alkali. Therefore, most cleaners whether they are alkaline or acidic as well as environmental contaminants that contain acids such as bird droppings, bug splatter, acid rain, etc. will break down silica based coatings. That is also why most silica based coatings require use of boosters or reapplication.

The Si-C bond however is not affected by acids or bases since there is no catalytic mechanism to break it down. Therefore, silicon carbide chemistry is not affected by the environmental contaminants. Furthermore, Si-O bonds are prone to degradation by the enzymes in bird dropping and bug splatter whereas Si-C is not.

The proof is seen everyday since with Opti-Coated cars (Si-C based chemistry), the protection is permanent and the bond does not hydrolize or break down with cleaners or environmental contaminants and the paint is not damaged over time. On the other hand, Silica based coatings will break down over time and have a much shorter life expectancy and either acidic or alkaline chemicals can penetrate and damage the paint underneath."

Wow, thanks for the comprehensive answer! So for those who TLR, Opticoat will last longer.

Any idea why Mercedes would recommend Permagard seeing as I believe they charge about the same as Opticoat, presumably they did a deal with a good margin? Supposedly it is what people put on Ferraris and what Virgin put on their planes...

Also I'm slightly concerned by people mentioning that Opticoat stopped beading water after only 6 months, is it still being protective even when that stops? Perhaps I should talk to Opticoat direct but obviously aware of their bias.

[TIG162R]

How about using a clear wrap or this ceramic coating by HOME

[Wolfgang]

Wow, thanks for the comprehensive answer! So for those who TLR, Opticoat will last longer.

Any idea why Mercedes would recommend Permagard seeing as I believe they charge about the same as Opticoat, presumably they did a deal with a good margin? Supposedly it is what people put on Ferraris and what Virgin put on their planes...

Also I'm slightly concerned by people mentioning that Opticoat stopped beading water after only 6 months, is it still being protective even when that stops? Perhaps I should talk to Opticoat direct but obviously aware of their bias.

Not sure their reasons for using Permagard. Slick marketing and sales pitch could be a factor.

If Opti-Coat (or any coating for that matter) stops beading it is usually contamination build up on the surface due to poor maintenence. This is where Opti-Coat comes into it's own, it can be chemically decontaminated without degradation to it's beading and sheeting properties. If Opti-Coat does fail due to poor application you are covered by warranty.

How about using a clear wrap or this ceramic coating by HOME

Clear wraps are a whole new conversation, and will cost thousands. As for Gtechniq, it's in the SI-O camp.


Full disclosure: I have previously been employed by Opti-Coat but no longer have affiliation with any part of the company.