REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

GG · 01-15-2015, 12:08 PM

who does opti coat in the lower mainland?

i know ken does it but it will be $600

how good is optic coat on a black car? im concerned with the swirls from a regular hand wash

jbsali · 01-16-2015, 12:26 AM

if you're going to hand wash your car, its pretty much inevitable. the best thing for you to do is use a foam cannon with a good car wash and and use a mit after your rinse-foam-rinse.

i had my car opticoated by Ken and it was the best 600 i ever spent on the car.

GG · 01-16-2015, 08:14 AM

what color is your car?

do you still get scratches and swirls from hand wash?

JSFX. · 01-16-2015, 01:33 PM

Have you consider RestorFX?

thumper · 01-16-2015, 05:45 PM

ken opticoated my car. it's black. it's a daily driver and i have no garage so it's pretty much dirty all the time. i use the two bucket method and a foam gun for presoak and yeah it still scratches, but not like before. it's been a year now and at this point i would have to be planning to have the car completely cut polished but this it's not that bad so i have no worries.

there is no miracle product out there that will keep a black car scratch free.

jbsali · 01-16-2015, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GG

what color is your car?

do you still get scratches and swirls from hand wash?

world rally blue. very minor swirls on roof and that about it. i have a pressure washer, foam cannon and good quality towel and mitts. it helps cut back on scratches and swirls

Gsxrghostrider · 01-17-2015, 07:01 AM

Hi I'm a owner of 2013 Honda Accord Crystal black.Ken sold me Opti coat and I haven't looked back.Special thanks goes out to Westwood Honda's detailing crew for aggressively polishing my front and rear hood

Opti coat did fill in the paint damage and seems to add that extra pop/glow in the paint finish.

Opti coat is easy to apply after you've prepped the paint surface(washing,clay-bar and rubbing alcohol or Iron X)Make sure to have 6 or microfiber towels to be used to remove Opti coat.Since the fibers in the towels will become permanently clogged afterwards. I have since switched to Optimum No rinse car wash,and will be adding a foam cannon this year to my detailing equipment.

BoostedBB6 · 01-17-2015, 07:58 AM

Opti Coat is a great product. It will cut down on the swirls you see for sure.
I do it to all of my cars and its worth the money for sure. The cost is usually because you need to fully correct the paint before you apply it or you will be sealing in the defects and no one wants that.

I'm a little crazy when it comes to my cars and I take a huge amount of care to keep my car from scratches.

Pressure wash all loose dirt off
Spray down with Auto Finesse Citrus Power
Rinse
Foam cannon
Rinse
Iron X
Rinse
2 bucket system
Blow dry

Its a lot of work for sure, but when you have a black car and don't want to be cutting it ever 6-12 months its well worth the time.

GG · 01-17-2015, 02:11 PM

hey guys, thx a lot for all the helpful info

ya its my first time owning a black car so im a bit nervous, and i did quite a bit of research online and but havent got a firm answer on how long will this stuff really works. Sure 1-2 years is been confirmed already and what not...but to me spending $500-600 on something that you can wax/seal every 6 months to 1 year....is it really worth it? if it only lasts 1-2 years than i have my doubts ....
since it isnt exactly CHEAP or affordable to the general public due to the amount of time and prep work needed.

so after getting opti coat done you still need to wash it very very carefully otherwise swirl will appear

jbsali · 01-17-2015, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GG

hey guys, thx a lot for all the helpful info

ya its my first time owning a black car so im a bit nervous, and i did quite a bit of research online and but havent got a firm answer on how long will this stuff really works. Sure 1-2 years is been confirmed already and what not...but to me spending $500-600 on something that you can wax/seal every 6 months to 1 year....is it really worth it? if it only lasts 1-2 years than i have my doubts ....
since it isnt exactly CHEAP or affordable to the general public due to the amount of time and prep work needed.

so after getting opti coat done you still need to wash it very very carefully otherwise swirl will appear

it all depends on how you much work you want to put in. if you wash your car on a weekly/ bi-weekly basis and only use one bucket.. the optical won't last too long (2 years)
if you try touches (home) methods, it could last the length of the vehicle. Thats of course never taking a mitt to it.. really in a perfect world. in reality, you would probably get around 5-10 years out of it.

if you have a gas or electric pressure washer and a foam cannon, it'll make the whole process of maintaining much easier

when i used to do the two bucket method, i found myself spending 1-1.5 hours detailing my car (wash, detail spray, dry)

with my new setup, i rinse-wash,rinse,wash, dry and detail in no more than 30min. the fact that i 1: save time 2: save money 3: keep the car looking mint is by far worth the investment. Sure you'll have to spend money up front.. but the results IMO are worth it.

The thing that I really like is a literally buy 4 products in bulk and save tons of money not buying all this crap i used to. 1 APC, 1 interior spray, 1 detail spray, 1 Tire Spray. Thats it.

having a foam cannon alone saves me over 80 bucks a year in car soap... i wash my car a lot.

opticoating is all personal preference. if your hard on your paint, all its going to do is make your original clear coat look less marked up (when opti coat is removed). if you're going that route, i don't think its a wise investment (IMO)

If you love GLOSS-GLOSS-GLOSS and take pride in detailing your car.. then consider.

freakshow · 01-17-2015, 09:43 PM

Opticoat was great when I had it on my last car, however, it wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Granted, I had extremely high expectations.

I thought I would be able to do optic oat, then go for the occasional touchless wash, and it would be spotless. The touchless washes, even with opticoats hydrophobic properties didn't get my car completely clean. This lead to me needing to hand wash.

I use a two bucket system, but don't have a foam gun. Even with careful washing, I still ended up with fine swirls.

All in all, I think it's a great product, and lasts way longer than a normal wax, however, it's not the miracle product I thought it to be.

911fanatic · 01-19-2015, 10:47 PM

Hey guys. As with any product, there are limitations as to what the product will and won't do. Opti Coat Pro ( the only version available now ) is warrantied for 5 years. We have done maintenance washes on a few cars recently that were coated two years ago. Even though the sheeting was no where near as fast as it was when first applied, after a good wash and decontamination, it was obvious the product was still there. Opti Coat, and other coatings are not bullet proof. You still need to be careful when washing to avoid wash induced swirls. Pre rinsing to remove any loose grime will go a long way to reducing swirls. The major benefit to Opti Coat and other coatings is that even when you take into the consideration the relatively high cost to apply, to maintain year round protection with regular sealants, you would have to reapply 3-4x a year at $195 each visit. If you only got 3 years out of OC, you'd still be saving over $1000 so it does represent good value. OC will also with stand touch less car wash use whereas regular sealants will be stripped off within a few visits. We have recently introduced a few more options for people who want ongoing protection. All of our basic packages include at the very least a 12 month ( guaranteed ) sealant. We also have CQuartz Finest available now. It is warrantied for 2 full years and is great for dark colours as after a few years of washing, you'll want it polished and reapplied. I realize there is a lot of misinformation thrown about the internet regarding these coatings. If you ever have any questions, feel free to call or text me at 6045615121. The shop is crazy busy these days so I don't get on here as much as I'd like. If you have had OC applied in the past and don't believe its still working, book one of our maintenance washes where we wash, decontaminate the paint and check the car to make sure the coating is still working. If for some reason its not doing its job, we will reappy OC to the problem areas. The cost for the maintenance wash is $90 and should be done annually. Sorry for long winded post.