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Guys, I appreciate the side discussion on dash cams, but my purpose of this thread is to do a timeline walk through of my accident and subsequent repairs. It's mostly aimed at those who maybe have experienced an accident (or might in the future) and wondering about the process.
A separate thread on dash cams could be a good topic.
Update:
i dropped my car off to Unique Car Care in Stoneham, MA yesterday. Rick Nelson and I reviewed the work he will be doing including the full detail, replacing Xpel Ultimate on the hood, bumper, new fender, rocker panel, and A-pillar. Then Opti=Coat Pto followed by the new Plus layer. My underwstanding is the Plus will answer the only shortcoming of the Opti-Coat Pro which adds a slickness and higher shine than just the Pro Coat.
They have a new, much larger facility and I saw them working on Porches, Corvettes, Lambo, other exotics, and even an A7. As usual, I felt I was leaving my car in very good company.
My A6 should be ready for pick up by Thursday.
You might want to check with the body shop about coating and / or film placement on a fresh paint job. They used to want the paint to cure for a few months but the recommendation may have changed with the new waterborne paints. I'd hate for you to have the paint come off if they have to peel the film to reposition it...
I have discussed this in depth with both the Audi Certified repair center paint crew and my detailer. Today's quality paints as required by Audi, if applied properly and baked in a paint/heat booth at high temp, are cured in 3 days. The paint and clear coat will not come off if film is removed later. Even if not properly baked, 30 days is recommended to cure, not months.
I have zero concerns about re-applying the film and Opti-Coat Plus after 5 days - both the Audi Certified collision center and my detailer/installer guaranty their work.
I have discussed this in depth with both the Audi Certified repair center paint crew and my detailer. Today's quality paints as required by Audi, if applied properly and baked in a paint/heat booth at high temp, are cured in 3 days. The paint and clear coat will not come off if film is removed later. Even if not properly baked, 30 days is recommended to cure, not months.
I have zero concerns about re-applying the film and Opti-Coat Plus after 5 days - both the Audi Certified collision center and my detailer/installer guaranty their work.
I'm glad that you checked it out thoroughly. I suspected that it had changed with the newer paints but it's not something that I've dealt with.
Well, here we are on the last stage of this journey. Below are photos of Unique Car Care of Stoneham, MA doing a complete paint prep, installing the Xpel Ultimate and Opti-coat Pro on the new painted surfaces and a new layer of Opti-Coat Plus over the full car. They also did a complete interior detail and even cleaned the engine bay.
The car came out amazing and I'm exceptionally pleased at the end result. It now looks better than when new if that were possible. Please forgive the quantity of photos - I thought it would be interesting for those who've not had this done to see the process. (Note the Xpel Ultimate full hood piece from the 60" roll).
And so ends my saga. Hopefully, I won't have to go through this again for a very long time. Preferably never.
BTW, the total cost for the entire work from the body shop and detailer came to $9400 plus 13 days of car rental cost. My net share was $500 deductible. This was not your Earl Scheib "I'll paint any car for as low as $99.95" job.
Last edited by snagitseven; 08-12-2015 at 02:14 AM.
Yep, Deja Vu for me and thanks for all the pic, the Plus layer is very recognizable for that luster and sheen... Love running my hand lightly over the edge when driving off each day.. Smooth as silk and it stays that way.
We had a huge storm last night and I left it outside without the cover to see the results. The water beads perfectly and just slips right off. A couple swipes with the WaterBlade and it's bone dry and gleaming.
Yes, I noticed the improved gloss and slippery surface feel. All the Opti-Coat products do a good job of shedding water and dirt along with it and the additional Plus coat is, well, a plus to the product.
Actually, another great product, CQuartz, had a gloss and slickness advantage over Opti-Coat Pro. Optimum was obviously aware of that which led them to develop the Plus coating to go on top of the other applications. While Optimum's claim of Opti-Coat lasting the "lifetime" of the car is probably be "Opt-imistic" (pun intended), I'm hoping that it still will outlast CQuartz (which I believe needs to be reapplied every 3 years or so) with Opti-Coat's advantage of now being closer to CQ's gloss and feel.
Looks awesome! Glad it turned out well for you... hope I dont have to experience it myself (although I do have a bit of paint work to do on my rear bumper still thanks to my own epic stupidity attack).
08-04-2015, 04:25 AM
