Had Opti-Coat Applied.

[davekro]

The dealership had put a glaze on it to hide everything

What is this 'glaze'? IS this a reason to have dealer NOT wash detail car if they add a layer of gunk??

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[njarmstrong]

A glaze is a product that has fillers in it. Some people use it before a sealant or wax to trick the eye by hiding minor paint blemishes. Should be noted, a glaze won't hide severe issues. And yes, some dealers will apply a glaze so that it looks great upon delivery. Without some sort of layer on top of that you will strip it off pretty much right away at your first wash and anything it was hiding will be very obvious.

 

[clevernickname]

I'm guessing if I want stripes I'll have to wait til I get stripes on THEN apply an opticoat?

 

[njarmstrong]

I'm guessing if I want stripes I'll have to wait til I get stripes on THEN apply an opticoat?

I would do Opticoat (Coating/sealant) first then stripes, same as if you were putting on a PPF over the bumper/hood.

 

[CoyoteS550]

Looks great!

Did you have him coat your wheels and calipers?

My C7 has CQuartz Finest on it, with OptiCoat Pro on the wheels and calipers and it never ceases to amaze me even a year later how they repel brake dust and just water will remove almost all traces of dirt.

I did OptiCoat 2.0 on my wife's Jeep after I hit it with Megs 105/205 and my DA. It turned out great, but man it was some serious work to get all the panels perfect with the DA and compounds. The dealership had put a glaze on it to hide everything (it's dark blue) and as soon as I hit it with CarPro Reset and Eraser it pulled off glaze and I knew my work investment was tripled. :(

As soon as it warms up again (missed last week) here in the Bay Area I'm going to do my Mustang with CQuartz UK and probably hit the wheels with some of my remaining OC 2.0.

I didn't coat the wheels, I was really debating about it though. I chose not to because eventually I may get wider wheels/rims. I figure if I change my mind I can always bring it back to him.

Damn that's rough about the paint. I lucked out I guess, I picked up my car before the dealer had a chance to touch the paint.

I'm guessing if I want stripes I'll have to wait til I get stripes on THEN apply an opticoat?

I had the paint correction and Opti-Coat done first. I'm having the clear bra installed tomorrow, and at some point in the near future I'll have stripes applied.

Just for good measure I MAY put a second layer of Opti-Coat on the bra and stripes too, but in my opinion you should do the paint correction and Opti-Coat first.

 

[clevernickname]

Oh, for both of you, why do you put the stripes on after opticoat? wouldn't you want to protect the stripes?

 

[CoyoteS550]

Oh, for both of you, why do you put the stripes on after opticoat? wouldn't you want to protect the stripes?

I will Opti-Coat the stripes and clear bra after both have been installed.

The paint was corrected and Opti-Coat applied so the paint looks uniform before installing the clear bra.

The stripes will go on top of the bra because they are cheap, and I don't want to replace the entire bra just for a stripe if the need ever arose.

 

[Stroked84]

I was under the impression you had to install the bra before the coating, because of possible issues with the adhesive not sticking to the coating. Have you had any issues with the bra since installing it?

Also, $1300 just for the coating or was that also for the paint correction?

 

[Blk2015GT]

Sorry but I think $1,300 is a rip-off. Opticoat IMO is likely a gimmick like the "paint protection" the dealership tries to sell you. How much can a wipe on and off product protect your car? It is not another layer or clear coat here; and it can be damaged.

Watch a ton of youtube videos and take $500 and buy yourself a nice DA polisher, pads and polishes kit and do it yourself. It really is effortless to do and more satisfaction doing it yourself to what you consider to be perfect.

Use a good wax and youre in business. Skip the $800 (or whatever) Opticoat. If you want a sealant get yourself a bottle of Chemical Guys Jet Seal for $30 or whatever brand and apply it yourself. Or hell buy the Opticoat for $60. Either way you are coming in at way under half the price and own a DA to apply waxes and polishes yourself for life.

If you're not washing and waxing your car properly then no amount of Opticoat will help, if you think it doesn something, as it is not a forcefield against damage. Opticoat WILL scratch and swirl, period. It's all about how you take care of your car, you can make it look just as good with polish and wax; and wax resists etching etc that's the point of it- for protection.

But so far I have seen zero scientific evidence that it does anything, except really stupid/ignorant comments by people on the internet- "oh it beads water so well!" yeh no sh*t that wax put on the car usually does that on any car too! All of the alleged shine is from the paint correction before application, not some micro thin layer of some polymer.

Don't you think if it was that miraculous/proven a product manufacturers would spray it on every car by default? FYI most dealerships put some type of pant sealant on EVERY car during the PDI that goes off the lot, whether you pay the scam charge when buying the car or not. My dealership 'waived" mine even though I would have never paid it anyway as its put on all cars that leave the dealership (and probably all dealerships)

IMO its more likely a gimmick detailers push to charge you $500-800 for something that costs them $50 and an hour or 2 of time. Good racket though

 

[njarmstrong]

Sorry but I think $1,300 is a rip-off.

Agreed.

Opticoat IMO is likely a gimmick like the "paint protection" the dealership tries to sell you. How much can a wipe on and off product protect your car? It is not another layer or clear coat here; and it can be damaged.

Incorrect. In a sense anyway, yes it can be damaged. And the paint protection the dealer offers is a sealant. Opti-Coat, or any other coating is similar to a sealant but that it last significantly longer. It isn't like another clear coat, it is a top layer that will take the scratches rather than your clear. You can polish it off and be back to your paint, and re-apply if you want.

Watch a ton of youtube videos and take $500 and buy yourself a nice DA polisher, pads and polishes kit and do it yourself. It really is effortless to do and more satisfaction doing it yourself to what you consider to be perfect.

Agreed. For $500 get a PC7424XP 10 pads split up for compounding, polish, finishing, your products and do it yourself.

If you're not washing and waxing your car properly then no amount of Opticoat will help, if you think it doesn something, as it is not a forcefield against damage. Opticoat WILL scratch and swirl, period. It's all about how you take care of your car, you can make it look just as good with polish and wax; and wax resists etching etc that's the point of it- for protection.

100% correct. Washing/drying is the key to flawless paint. Period.

 

[CoyoteS550]

I was under the impression you had to install the bra before the coating, because of possible issues with the adhesive not sticking to the coating. Have you had any issues with the bra since installing it?

Also, $1300 just for the coating or was that also for the paint correction?

The clear bra adhered to the coating no problem, I also know a handful of people who did the same thing to their cars years ago and its still fine. I ended up installing a higher quality film that has a "self healing" property, and applying the coating to the bra would negate that ability.

This got me thinking, the clear bra is supposed to be somewhat soft to absorb an impact. If a hard coating is on top of it, wouldn't it show more damage?

 

[HalfMoon]

The clear bra adhered to the coating no problem, I also know a handful of people who did the same thing to their cars years ago and its still fine. I ended up installing a higher quality film that has a "self healing" property, and applying the coating to the bra would negate that ability.

This got me thinking, the clear bra is supposed to be somewhat soft to absorb an impact. If a hard coating is on top of it, wouldn't it show more damage?

Yeah, I wouldn't coat over XPEL for that reason. Even with a normal type of film I would debate coating it. My friend that runs his own high end detail shop does paint correction, then coating, then after it is cured says to apply any film.

I chose not to do the film on the front/hood of any of my cars simply because the installers that do it right are expensive and with the miles and roads I drive it would need replacement relatively soon anyway. The cost to apply, remove, then re-apply would be the same or more than having a bumper or hood resprayed.

Arguably the best shop in the bay area for film work quoted me $4k for the front of my C7. They do incredible work and get flawless results since they remove parts and wrap the film, but that is a high price for film + a day's labor.

I had two other installers for XPEL try to just do the rockers on my C7 to replace the factory thick yellow tinted protection in front of the rear wheels @ $400. I did this only because the front tires pick up a lot of debris and that area gets road rash pretty bad. The installs were pretty poor. I ended up buying the film kit direct from XPEL and got better results on my first try (still not perfect at 8" , but no hair or bubbles under the film).

 

[CoyoteS550]

Sorry but I think $1,300 is a rip-off. Opticoat IMO is likely a gimmick like the "paint protection" the dealership tries to sell you. How much can a wipe on and off product protect your car? It is not another layer or clear coat here; and it can be damaged.

$1,300 included paint correction, could I have done it my self for less than half the price? Sure, but probably wouldn't have been as perfect. My main issue is time, I work way to much and at this time of the year and I'm lucky if I get 1 entire day off a week.

In the end I feel like the amount of care and time put into the job was well worth the price. It's something that needs to be seen in person.

And yes certain "paint protection" things are a gimmick. Anything a dealer offers you falls into the gimmick category. But Opti-Coat and CQuartz are defiantly not gimmicks.

If you're not washing and waxing your car properly then no amount of Opticoat will help, if you think it doesn something, as it is not a forcefield against damage. Opticoat WILL scratch and swirl, period. It's all about how you take care of your car, you can make it look just as good with polish and wax; and wax resists etching etc that's the point of it- for protection.

Agreed, and anyone who thinks any sealant or coating will fully prevent visible scratches and swirls is being mislead. But Opti-Coat is something like a forcefield, all the swirls and light scratches are done to Opti-Coat and not the clear coat. It can then be buffed away and reapplied.

IMO its more likely a gimmick detailers push to charge you $500-800 for something that costs them $50 and an hour or 2 of time. Good racket though

Extra paint coatings like Opti-Coat aren't for everyone. Many people are very skeptical of them, I blame the cheap stuff the dealers push.

After a few weeks of having Opti-Coat on my car I'm a believer in the product. Not only does the paint look better, but the car stays cleaner for longer. I have to park near a building's exhaust, my car and the cars near me will gather soot and other black particles. Before Opti-Coat this stuff would stick to my car and by the end of the week half the car would have a nice thick layer. After Opti-Coat that stuff doesn't stick, when I drive away the soot just blows off.

 

[CoyoteS550]

Yeah, I wouldn't coat over XPEL for that reason. Even with a normal type of film I would debate coating it. My friend that runs his own high end detail shop does paint correction, then coating, then after it is cured says to apply any film.

I chose not to do the film on the front/hood of any of my cars simply because the installers that do it right are expensive and with the miles and roads I drive it would need replacement relatively soon anyway. The cost to apply, remove, then re-apply would be the same or more than having a bumper or hood resprayed.

Arguably the best shop in the bay area for film work quoted me $4k for the front of my C7. They do incredible work and get flawless results since they remove parts and wrap the film, but that is a high price for film + a day's labor.

I had two other installers for XPEL try to just do the rockers on my C7 to replace the factory thick yellow tinted protection in front of the rear wheels @ $400. I did this only because the front tires pick up a lot of debris and that area gets road rash pretty bad. The installs were pretty poor. I ended up buying the film kit direct from XPEL and got better results on my first try (still not perfect at 8" , but no hair or bubbles under the film).

I think I looked at the same installer. To pricey for me but their installs defiantly looked worth that $4k price tag.

My last car had 3M/Venture film clear bra, DO NOT GET THIS BRAND. After 4 years it was in pretty bad shape, the worst part is that film stained. This time I went with SunTek and already I can tell its a far superior film, and the install was really well done too. I have a few water bubbles, but those are expected and slowly disappearing. I'll let you know how it holds up.

 

[marjen]

I had opti gloss coat applied back in the fall a couple weeks after I got the car. It looks great. The installer completely cleaned, did some minor correction and coated the entire car. Cost around $250, well worth it. After one of the worst winters in a while, the car has held up to all the crap that has been covering it and is now looking good as I am able to keep it cleaner. The coatings make cleaning a little easier.

Your car looks amazing by the way.

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