[drvai]

Lots of people like it, but they say it doesn't look as good as other sealants or waxes. My questions are:

- This is true even for light colors? (like white or silver)

- Can a quick detailer be applied (Like Zaino 9) to improve the looks?

[PTek Will]

From my experience, opticoat along with most last step products add little to no enhancement to the look of the paint. A perfectly polished paint job does. One coating that does add a noticeable tint/gloss is cquartz.

LSP's (waxes, sealants, coatings) are more functional than visual. They are applied to protect the paint, not make it look better. They also make it easier to wash since dust and other contaminants have a harder time sticking to slick surfaces.

Personally, I am not a fan of opticoat because of its lack of slickness. In fact it is rather grabby. Why is slickness so favored? A slick surface makes it difficult for anything to stick to. The less contaminants on your paint, the less risk of swirling when you wash and dry. While I am not a fan of opticoat, the reason why people like it is because of its durability, both hardness and longevity.

So to answer your questions:

1. Not true, because opticoat doesn't make your car look better, regardless of color. A perfect paint job does.

2. A quick detailer can be applied to aid in slickness, but does not improve the looks.

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by drvai

Lots of people like it, but they say it doesn't look as good as other sealants or waxes. My questions are:

- This is true even for light colors? (like white or silver)

- Can a quick detailer be applied (Like Zaino 9) to improve the looks?

This is true to an extent. OptiCoat 2.0, like most other coatings, gives the paint a great shiny, glossy coat that gives you that "just waxed" look every time you wash the car for as long as it lasts. On most lighter colors the look of a coating vs that of a carnauba wax won't be too noticeable, but on some darker colors the carnauba will give a deeper, wetter look whereas a coating gives it more of a glossy/shiny and clean look. I personally like how coatings look, but then again I am partial to their durability as I am to sealants compared to regular carnauba waxes.

You can apply a wax on top of the coating to improve the looks a bit, but not a quick detailer as that won't do much. Even with the wax, the improvement greatly depends on the color and the condition of the paint. You really shouldn't care too much about the slickness of the paint because coatings leave a surface that's not slick at all, but they release dirt and make it easier to wash compared to the slick waxes and sealants. Plus you shouldn't be touching the paint anyway .

Hope that explains it a bit, but I think you'll simply have to see it in person for yourself to compare.

Ivan @ DI

[drvai]

Thanks!

[PTek Will]

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

This is true to an extent. OptiCoat 2.0, like most other coatings, gives the paint a great shiny, glossy coat that gives you that "just waxed" look every time you wash the car for as long as it lasts. On most lighter colors the look of a coating vs that of a carnauba wax won't be too noticeable, but on some darker colors the carnauba will give a deeper, wetter look whereas a coating gives it more of a glossy/shiny and clean look. I personally like how coatings look, but then again I am partial to their durability as I am to sealants compared to regular carnauba waxes.

You can apply a wax on top of the coating to improve the looks a bit, but not a quick detailer as that won't do much. Even with the wax, the improvement greatly depends on the color and the condition of the paint. You really shouldn't care too much about the slickness of the paint because coatings leave a surface that's not slick at all, but they release dirt and make it easier to wash compared to the slick waxes and sealants. Plus you shouldn't be touching the paint anyway .

Hope that explains it a bit, but I think you'll simply have to see it in person for yourself to compare.

Ivan @ DI

Hi Ivan,

Could you provide an example where a carnauba wax enhances the wetness and depth of a properly polished dark colored paint job? Maybe you have a 50/50 shot that demonstrates this. I am skeptical because perhaps my eyes just aren't as keen as some folks, or maybe I just have not used a certain brand of carnauba wax that does this. As for coatings that don't leave a slick surface, have you tried Cquartz or Exo v2? From my experience and observations, slickness has a direct correlation to scratch resistance, which is why it is important. A good example would be the very common lighter test. On slick surfaces the light seems to hardly leave any marks because it simply does not catch on the paint and slips off. Although lighters don't fall from the sky all the time and nail us on the paint, it demonstrates that a slick surface will break the fall of objects or in our case, contaminants.

Please forgive me if I sound challenging. I only mean to start an open discussion in an effort to share and promote knowledge. Thanks for your response!

-Will

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

In my experience with Opti-coat it really gave my silver z06 a glossy look that it never had. So I have to give a thumbs up for that.

Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare it too but overall I'm pleased with it's protection and gloss thus far. I did notice that it wasn't as slick after it was done but it's resistance to scratches and gloss overall I found fit my priorities better.

[drvai]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

In my experience with Opti-coat it really gave my silver z06 a glossy look that it never had. So I have to give a thumbs up for that.

Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare it too but overall I'm pleased with it's protection and gloss thus far. I did notice that it wasn't as slick after it was done but it's resistance to scratches and gloss overall I found fit my priorities better.

Thanks for the input. Does it really protect from scratches?? I mean soft ones... like incorrect washing by the dealership...

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by drvai

Thanks for the input. Does it really protect from scratches?? I mean soft ones... like incorrect washing by the dealership...

I wouldn't know as I would never let the dealer wash my car nor do I want to find out!

However, I can tell just by washing my own car that is much more resistant to scratches in general.

I still have a minimal amount of swirls and I did the opti coat 2 years ago!

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by PTek Will

Hi Ivan,

Could you provide an example where a carnauba wax enhances the wetness and depth of a properly polished dark colored paint job? Maybe you have a 50/50 shot that demonstrates this. I am skeptical because perhaps my eyes just aren't as keen as some folks, or maybe I just have not used a certain brand of carnauba wax that does this. As for coatings that don't leave a slick surface, have you tried Cquartz or Exo v2? From my experience and observations, slickness has a direct correlation to scratch resistance, which is why it is important. A good example would be the very common lighter test. On slick surfaces the light seems to hardly leave any marks because it simply does not catch on the paint and slips off. Although lighters don't fall from the sky all the time and nail us on the paint, it demonstrates that a slick surface will break the fall of objects or in our case, contaminants.

Please forgive me if I sound challenging. I only mean to start an open discussion in an effort to share and promote knowledge. Thanks for your response!

-Will

Will, I'm honestly one that always tells my clients that 95% of people will never tell the difference between a carnauba wax, polymer sealant or a long-term coating. To most people it will simply be a glossy and shiny car. However, due to their makeup a carnauba wax seems to provide more of a warm, deep look to paintwork (usually more noticeable on darker colors) whereas paint sealants and coatings give off a candy coated look. Again, to someone who doesn't apply wax/sealant a lot to their car or doesn't work in the industry daily, it may all look the same. I have noticed subtle differences before on personal vehicles.

That said, I don't think we were talking here about enhancing the wetness and depth of a properly polished car. Proper polishing is 90-95% of the look in my opinion and only slightly enhanced with a wax/sealant/coating application due the additional gloss. I believe the original question had to deal with the kind of gloss/shine/depth each protection product provides vs how much can it improve a properly polished finish.

As for slickness, I meant the actual surface after a coating application isn't as slick to the touch as when you apply a carnauba wax or a sealant. I'm fully aware of it being resistant to pretty much everything and things simply sliding off, just wanted to explain how it feels as many people relate the feeling of slickness to protection, which is not always the case.

Definitely didn't sound challenging and I'm more than happy to engage in any open discussion. There's always something new to learn in the world of detailing!

Originally Posted by drvai

Thanks for the input. Does it really protect from scratches?? I mean soft ones... like incorrect washing by the dealership...

Yes that is one of the properties I'm most fond of when it comes to coatings. From my experience, 22PLE Glass Coatings have provided a bit better results than OptiCoat Pro or 2.0 (at my business we still offer both), but all these coatings should make the paint a bit more resistant to light marring and swirl marks compared to non-coated paint. An easy test is coating half the hood or trunk and seeing how each half does over time.

Ivan @ DI