zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

The OP mentioned he was planning on doing that prior to applying his choice of paint protection

drifter123

So Zach just helped me with DI product selection and a big fat discount. I just want to add that Zach was prompt and thorough and would highly recommend him. Thanks again Zach!
Shane

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

Once you know him, your pocket will be empty J/K.

I have bought hundreds of detailing products from him too and highly recommend him.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Well... cars are an expensive hobby! No matter if you're buying new parts, or just stuff to keep them clean, it is all worth it

2URGSE

Wash, clay bar and examine the paint. You don't know what kind of junk the dealer used to "detail" the car with, if at all.

If you need paint correction, do it yourself or hire someone to help you.

Then a good sealant and last but not least, proper washing with a 5 gallon bucket, grit guard, quality wash mitt and quality car soap.

NO AUTOMATIC CAR WASHES!!!

JDMSteven

If you can, call in ahead of time and tell them DO NOT detail your car! A lot of the people working for dealerships (not knocking anyone, they do what they gotta do to make paper) do not do a good job and take care. It could make your car worse than it is from the factory. I suggest asking to leave all plastics and seals on the car so you can take it off yourself when you get home. I would not recommend waxing because the car will have really fresh paint and might still need to aerate. The factory sealants that they use on these cars are amazing so you should be safe, just grab a spray wax like Meg's Ultimate Quik Wax and hit it with that after a wash. Remember, touching your car as little as possible is the goal; if it doesn't need anything, don't do anything

user420

I just took delivery of a 2015 ES 350 and immediately did the following:

Washed car, clayed car, washed car, used dual action polisher and applied Blackfire Total Polish and Seal, hand buffed with Blackfire Wet Diamond, applied two coats of Blackfire Crystal Seal, and a final pass over the car with a microfiber towel. I allowed for various product curing times between applications. I think things turned out great.

What do you guys think? Too much or not enough?

chrisexv6

Friends dont let friends use the "free wash" from their dealer. My dealer didnt listen to me when I said "DONT WASH MY CAR":



I made them pay for the paint correction to fix it.

PondScum

I would have applied a paint coating. For that much work I'd want something that lasts a lot longer than Blackfire sealant.

user420

When you say paint coating what do you mean? Something like Opticoat, Cquartz......

chrisexv6

Yeah

In the pic I left (half swirls, half clean), my detailer was "installing" OptiCoat Pro

I had my car OptiCoat-ed a couple months after I bought it, lasted just fine until the dealer washed my car after I left it there for a checkup during the winter. All the sand, salt, etc turned into sandpaper and destroyed the finish.

Ive been an OptiCoat fan for a while, so I havent really looked around for newer coatings, but back then the options were OptiCoat, CQuartz and GTechniq C1. Oddly enough, the guy that originally Opti-ed my car went to work for GTechniq North America. Our next new car will have some sort of coating used on it, just not sure which.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

After looking at their website, it seems OptiCoat would protect against that sort of damage. How much did it cost? Won't they stand behind their product? Sounds like you're done with OptiCoat. Lots of folks report about how nice their car looks after a product is applied. It's good to hear a battle story and the truth. Sorry it didn't hold up. Can we add OptiCoat to the "doesn't live up to it's claims" pile?

chrisexv6

No no no, Im not against OptiCoat.

OC will protect against everyday type of scuffs, scratches. At the time the dealer washed my car, it hadnt been washed in over a month so it had a TON of salt and sand "stuck" to the finish.

On a black car, with that much stuff on the paint, it was bound to be a disaster. The OC was actually a sacrificial layer, and it served its purpose....very little of what they ground into the paint seemed to make it to the clearcoat. My detailer was able to fix 90% of it without much work. He applied OptiCoat Pro which goes on a bit thicker than the off-the-shelf stuff, so I should have even more protection.

As far as the look, I personally love it. The car looks like it has a sealant (its not deep but it looks shiny and soaking wet at all times), without any work. All I do is take care to use proper washing methods.

Im far from done with OptiCoat, the only reason I mentioned other coatings is because there might be something better out there...I just dont know at this point. But sticking with the bigger names (CQuartz, Gtech, and Opti) should yield excellent results regardless.

user420

^^^ if you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost to coat your vehicle?

chrisexv6

The first time it was about 400.....the guy had only tested it on his own vehicles, so it was a little cheaper for me to get it done as his "first" customer

The second time it was 650, because the dealer paid for it I wasnt worried about trying to hem and haw on price. I believe the actual Opti part was 450...the other $$$ was for fixing what the dealer "broke"

So yeah, its not cheap...but its held up this whole time (my car was 3.5 years old when the dealer trashed the coating). The initial application was definitely still there, you could tell by how the water beads/sheets off the car.