rimmi2002

No haven't waxed or put any coating on it. Which coating do you recc'd out of the 3 or can't go wrong with any. Is coating a one time thing or has to be repeated at a regular interval? Thanks.

yeah I figured it would show a little more on black...so not so much that with a little dust its very obvious. I'll get the wash and the coating done and see what happens.

snagitseven

I have the Optimum Opti-coat over the whole car and it's permanent unless polished off with a rotary. So far, it's been great and I'm very pleased. It cuts down on the cleaning time, stays looking cleaner for longer, all but eliminates the need for waxing and provides the extra protection against UV and other junk that gets on the car's surface (including the film). You can Google reviews of Opti-coat and the others previously mentioned. While they all have differences in formulation and application, just about all all of the popular paint coatings will do an excellent job.

Maverick61

Any of the three I mentioned, or the Opti-Coat Snag-it mentioned will do a great job. It really depends on whether you want to do it yourself or have a car detailer do it. The ones I mentioned are in the ceramic/silica nanotechnology (SIO2) coating category whereas Opti-coat is ceramic clear coating very similar to factory type clear coats

I am a DIY type of guy, so I installed two coats of CQuartz myself. Just make sure to prep the car well if you do it yourself. Given you have had the car and been driving it, I would do a several step process

1. Wash with Dawn dishwasher soap - as this will strip anything the dealer put on the car
2. Spray down with Iron-x or use Iron-X Soap directly applied to a wash mit to remove iron contaminants
3. If using just Iron-X, re-wash with a non-waxing car detergent (if you used Iron-X Soap directly applied instead, you can skip this step)
4. Dry well
5. Optional - some folks do a quick final wipe down with a mix of distilled water and Isopropyl alcohol
6. Apply the coating of your choice


I chose C-quartz because it is a bit glossier of a finish than Opti-Coat and is quite easy to apply yourself. Opti-coat is harder to work with from a DIY standpoint but still doable.

If you go to a detailer, Opti-coat is supposed to last longer than the others, so you could go that route. C-Quartz and the others i named have been shown to last at least two years or longer. Opti-coat says it will last longer (they claim a lifetime - I am always skeptical of claims like that and have not yet seen long term performance tests that show what the performance is like after two or three years)

I just figured it would be easy for me to re-apply C-Quartz or something else after 2 years if I needed to and I wanted something easy to work with. I think the C-Quartz cost me around $50 and it was easy to apply

snagitseven

Here's an exhaustive comparison review of CQuartz and Opti-coat 2.0.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...0-cquartz.html

Note that Optimum told me that Opti-Coat Pro, if applied in the same manner as 2.0, is a thicker material, faster drying and is only available for detail shops. The consumer DIY version, Opti-Coat 2.0, uses a thinner material which is easier to apply. So the main difference between the two is a thicker coat (2.5-3.0 u vs. 1.0-2.0 u) and faster cure time for the Pro version. (And the install cost by a detail shop). I would point out that my Quartz Gray A6 is very glossy with the Pro; even a coat of wax didn't improve the shine appreciably, it just felt slicker to the touch.

Below is some info on Opti-Coat 2.0 (not the Pro version) from their website. (Realize there's some marketing here).

Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0

Opti-Coat is a hard wearing, aftermarket, ceramic clear coat for superior resistance to scratching (9H) and chemical etching from environmental impacts. It provides permanent protection for all factory paints, and can also be applied to exterior metal and hard plastic surfaces.

Opti-Coat is not a wax or sealant like other products on the market. It is a ceramic clear coating very similar to factory type clear coats. A layer of Opti-Coat measures approx. 2 microns in thickness, or about 100 times thicker than your typical wax or sealant. Unlike paint protection sealants such as PTFE, Nano Sealants, GlassPlexin that degrade over time and are easily removed through washing with water or chemicals, Opti-Coat does not degrade and cannot be removed by chemicals such as heavy duty truck wash or even caustic degreasers. It is totally resistant to these chemicals and produces a permanent film that is chemically bonded with the factory paint layers. Opti-Coat is effectively the vehicles new outer clear coat. It is far more resistant to chemical etching than factory clear coats and far more resistant than competing paint protection sealants. The 2 micron layer also provides a thick buffer between any damage and the factory paintwork

<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td>
</td><td> PTFE</td><td> GlassPlexin</td><td> Nano Pro</td><td> Ceramic Quartz</td><td style="background-color:rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Opti-Coat</td></tr><tr><td> Category</td><td> Synthetic Wax</td><td> Synthetic Wax</td><td> Glass Coating</td><td> Glass Coating</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> Ceramic Clear Coat</td></tr><tr><td> Origin</td><td> UK</td><td> USA</td><td> Germany</td><td> Japan</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> USA</td></tr><tr><td> Main Component</td><td> PTFE</td><td> GlassPlexin</td><td> SiO2</td><td> SiO2</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> SiC</td></tr><tr><td> Coating Film Thickness</td><td> 0.02 u</td><td> 0.02 u</td><td> 0.2 - 1 u</td><td> 0.5 - 1.5 u</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> 1-2 u</td></tr><tr><td> Durability</td><td> 4-5 months</td><td> 6-12 months</td><td> 12-18 months</td><td> 12-18 months</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> Unlimited</td></tr><tr><td> Gloss</td><td> * *</td><td> * * *</td><td> * * * *</td><td> * * * * *</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> * * * * *</td></tr><tr><td> Scratch Resistance</td><td> *</td><td> *</td><td> * * *</td><td> * * * *</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> * * * * *</td></tr><tr><td> Chemical Resistance</td><td> *</td><td> * *</td><td> * * *</td><td> * * * *</td><td style="background-color: rgb(211, 211, 211);"> * * * * *</td></tr></tbody></table>

subterFUSE

I had OptiCoat Pro applied a week ago, and it's awesome. Full paint, plus wheels. $400
Paint looks incredible with an extra lustre.

Did my first hand wash with Optimum NoRinse on Sunday morning, and it was a breeze to clean.

qqq1970

Opti Coat the whole car plus wheels. $350.

snagitseven

I actually paid $300, full car and wheels. Anyone for $250?

s4str

Not sure what color your car is, but if it is white, based on my experience, I wouldn't do it. Had XPEL and Venture Shield on two white cars (S5 and wife's Kia SUV). Both yellowed slightly over time...no doubt more apparent because of the white paint. Both covers were properly maintained....Plexus once/month. However, I've had better experiences with darker paints...no yellowing visible; no doubt due to darker paint. Bottom line...I wouldn't put any film on a white car again.

snagitseven

Did you have Xpel Ultimate or one of their other films? I've spoken to the Xpel Sales VP and he assured me, due to the unique clear coat layer protecting against UV damage, the Ultimate with proper care will not yellow over time with any paint color. In fact, the Xpel Ultimate 10 year warranty covers this and other material defects for replacement including labor. It's also a good idea to use Xpel's film sealant (or, while it's not necessary, something like Opti-coat or CQuartz).

Moodys2014a6

After waiting 5 months for my IBIS white A6 to arrive, I saw many a forum thread about Xpel and was completely sold on putting on the Xpel Ultimate when my new car arrived. (thanks mainly to SnagIt's praising of the product - I think he is a sales guys for Xpel on the side). Then I came across a thread talking about films and white cars. Same issue with protective covering turning yellow, especially in markets like Southern Florida. I immediately started to put the brakes on this investment for my new IBIS white car. Two days later I went to a family party and one of the cousins pulled up in his bright white M3. I noticed that he had some type of coating so I asked and he advised that it was Xpel Ultimate and it had been on his car for a couple of years when the "Ultimate" product was first released. I could not detect any discoloring or yellowing. If I was not looking for it, I would never had noticed that it was on the car. He even advised that his M3 sits outside on the sun all day at his office.

So based on this experience I decided that the Xpel Ultimate still looked really good on a white care after 2-3 years still, I was going to give it a try. Even if I get only 5 years out of the product, that is still 5 years of paint protection and I could still get it redone under warranty if yellowed anytime over the 10 year period.