jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

I found an obsidian - flaxen IS 350 in Nashville that I am planning to get this weekend, however, I am quite concerned about maintaining the obsidian paint. I contacted Phil at Detailer's Domain to get his opinion about using Opti Coat on the obsidian and he strongly suggested that I choose another color due to the extremely soft obsidian paint! I researched a few threads on this forum (mainly sydtoosic's posts about his obsidian GS) and it's evident that his car, which was corrected and coated by Detailer's Domain, was a major pain in the a$$. I asked Phil once again if the Opti Coat would make the obsidian bearable, but he didn't answer the question and told me to get a different color for the sake of my OCD.

I respect Phil's comments 100%, based on his first hand experience, but I would like to hear from others to get more opinions before I make this major decision. Has anyone used Opti Coat on their obsidian paint? If so, does Opti Coat keep the swirl marks off and keep the maintenance bearable?

FYI - I have experience with correct washing/drying techniques and paint correction methods due to my current plasma blue pearl STI which also has soft paint. If the obsidian with Opti Coat is harder to maintain than the STI, I might back up and choose another color.

Thanks in advance for your help!

SonyHome

If you are going with non-F Sport version you might want to consider atomic silver. Also why do you say Obsidian paint is soft. Would it be any different than any other color Lexus uses? I guess I assumed that only color is different with everything else being same.

Zelfiris

Lexus paint is really soft. I have obsidian black and opticoated it after polishing.

I think what Phil meant owning a black car is a pain because you will see the slightest swirls or other imperfections really easily. For instance, when I wax the car I have to thoroughly check I buffed every section or next morning I will see some smudge marks.

I came from a blue car as well and it was easier to mask imperfections

Note I did not finish polishing my is250 yet. I had finished one panel, ran out of time and went back to it a week later after two washes.. And I saw more swirls I needed to correct. It's exactly what he meant, black is not for people with ocd

enoren

If you prefer the look of obsidian, then do it. This is my second IS in black, and it's still my favorite color. I think nothing looks better when it's clean, but that's the catch: you have to clean it a lot. It sounds like you know what you're getting into (i.e. washing and swirling), so choose the color you want.

Bass Mech

agree 100%
i have had nothing but black cars for the past 10 years or so. ill never go back to any other color except maybe a really dark gray metallic.
i have little to no trouble maintaining the paint, i wash about 1 time ever 1-2 weeks and aside from a little dust i have no issues.
any car is going to get chips in the paint, but you cannot deny the look. if your worried about it install a clear bra product.

semoquer

All japanese cars have really soft paint due to the country's pollution laws. You can either opti coat it or wrap clear bra on the entire car. The best solution is to get a lighter color..

jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all of the replies!

I'm sure all of the colors are soft, but I've heard multiple people say that about the obsidian. We saw an atomic silver car on the dealer's showroom, but it didn't really grab our attention. Sadly, the obsidian is by far our favorite color on the IS, however, I haven't seen the Starfire Pearl yet. The dealer that I've been talking to in Nashville (4.5 hours away) has a couple Starfire's in stock, so I might check them out before signing my name to the obsidian car.

Let me make sure I understand you correctly - your car is opticoated and it still shows the swirls after a couple of washes? In addition, you wax and polish on top of the opti coat periodically? I was hoping the opti coat would alleviate all of that.

I am also considering a clear bra for the front of the car (maybe the whole car????). I know there are a few manufacturers out there, who has the best bra in regards to protection and/or clarity? I didn't get a bra for my current STI and that was my biggest regret. I would also like to get a kit so I can do it myself.

sloosh

If you've got the money, you might consider doing what I did - covered my entire car with Xpel Ultimate. I found a local guy that covered the entire car for just over $2500. He didn't just use pre-cut pieces you can buy online, but rolls of it that he custom cuts to fit the vehicle perfectly. It has a 10 year warranty and protects against scratches, road debris (including rocks, etc). The greatest thing though is I don't have to worry about the paint when I wash it as I'm never touching it. I love it.

jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

That would be awesome, but I can't afford to wrap the whole car. I spent the last few hours researching clear bra manufacturers and it appears that Xpel and Suntek are the class of the field. The self healing properties of either one is simply incredible. The Suntek site has a video of them scratching the car with steel wool and the scratches immediately disappeared when they put a heat gun on the area. I'm shocked!

How is the clarity of the Xpel Ultimate?

There is an Xpel installer here in Indy, I will call him to get a price to do a full coverage on the front.

sloosh

Yeah the self-healing is what sold me on it. Xpel's demo had them taking a wire brush to it and then pouring warm water over it - the scratches disappeared.

As far as how clear it is, you cannot tell the car has it unless you go to where a seam is (on the fender) and look closely. There are a couple of threads out there where people have taken pictures of the film up close if you want a good idea. Here is a NSX - http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showth...ve-Film-thread

jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the link. I found an excellent link that compares most of the different brands of clear bras and shows the Xpel on a black Porsche. It looks amazing. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1125982

You can buy Xpel Ultimate by the foot or by the roll from a few distributors and the price isn't that bad. For instance, a 60" wide by 50' long roll is $1100 or you can buy it for $38 per foot. I might buy a some and experiment. The pre-cut pieces from Xpel are quite expensive.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Paint coatings, such as Opti-Coat, are an extremely wise investment.

Opti-Coat (and other premium paint coatings) will have a higher surface hardness than most factory clear coat finishes. For this reason, as you had implied, they have the ability to reduce light swirls and marring that often result from washing and drying.

Obsidian is a very soft clear coat. As you might know, clear coat hardness varies greatly from one manufacturer to the next, and often even between different colors in the same manufacturer. For instance, my smokey granite mica is much more tolerable than obsidian.

With that being said, NOTHING will permanently protect your vehicle from swirls and marring forever. The fact of the matter is that if you are touching your vehicle, you risk the chance of damaging it. All you can do is use proper technique and minimize the amount of swirls/defects so that future polishing is much easier and less evasive.


Swirls and scratches are removed via machine polishing which actually removes a fine layer of paint. For this reason, you want to minimize the severity of the surface defects so that less material needs to be removed to refine the finish.




Besides surface hardness, premium coatings such as Opti-Coat Pro and CQuartz Finest are crucial to maintaining your paint. Some other benefits that these products provide are:

A thick, durable layer of protection: First, let me clarify that wax (despite the common belief) is used for protection, not to make your car super shiny! Wax will wear away in as little as a couple of weeks depending on your environment and the condition in which you keep your car. These semi-permanent coatings will offer years of protection.

Wax is also very thin, making it very easy for environmental contaminates such as bird droppings, acid rain, bug splatter to penetrate the layer of wax and reach your paint. Bird bombs and bug guts, for instance, are quite acidic. They can and will cause permanent damage that requires repainting. High quality paint coatings are thick enough that these contaminates will be stopped before they can reach your factory finish. This will help to preserve your paint much better than traditional forms of protection (ie wax or sealant).

Also, due to the added thickness of a premium coating, any light surface marring will reside in the coating and NOT in the clear coat. This means the next time the vehicle is polished, the coating will be removed and not the clear coat (or at least much less paint).

*Remember, these coatings are a sacrificial layer of protection... they are meant to take the abuse so that your paint does not have to! Note: they are not meant to protect from rock chips like a clear bra, they simply provide long lasting, durable protection against environmental contamination and damage.


Ease of Maintenance: Because these coatings resist dirt and debris MUCH better than traditional protection, routine washes are much easier. No scrubbing is required and dirt easily wipes away. This makes it safer to wash your car and reduces the chance of introducing wash induced marring or swirls.

Gloss & Shine: Some of these coatings, CQuartz Finest in particular, offer ridiculous gloss. Your car will have that "just detailed" after you wash it look for years, not weeks.


^My car 1 year after it was last polished and coated... still looks pretty good, huh


I could keep going, however I have an entire article on this subject that will be published on the Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog in the near future, so keep an eye out.

More info on CQuartz Finest here & here.

More info on Opti-Coat Pro here.


OP: Your location simply states "midwest"... if you'd like to provide more info as to what that means I would be more than happy to put you in touch with a respected professional in your area who is authorized to install a pro coating like Opti-Coat Pro or CQuartz Finest.

-Zach

jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

My obsidian concerns have been averted. After driving 5 hours to pick up an obsidian / flaxen non f-sport, I didn't like the combo and decided against it.

HOWEVER, I did like the silver lining metallic / rioja red 350 F-sport w/VGRS, BSM, and ML and it's now sitting in my garage! This change was well worth the extra $2600 and the ML system is outstanding.

I will definitely OC this car and probably clear bra the front. Is it possible to put a clear bra on top of OC? I know it's not needed, but I might OC the whole car now, and add the clear bra later.

Oxytocin

That's so reflective that I thought the soap was still on the car! I should have opticoated my car, but I clear bra'd it already.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

^It is not recommended to put any product beneath the clear film.

The best practice is to have the vehicle properly polished, then have the clear bra applied immediately after the vehicle has been polished (it is best to find a detailer that also does clear film, or a mobile clear film installer to come to the detail shop) and then have the vehicle opti-coated immediately after polishing as well.

As I already mentioned, clear bra and paint coatings are completely different products. Paint Coatings are protection against environmental elements such as bird droppings, hard water, bug guts, etc. Paint Protection Film protects against impact from debris such as rocks, bugs, etc. They both serve a purpose and IMO are both important investments.



My car is not opti-coated, it has CQuartz Finest applied to it. CQF is another protective paint coating that offers a thicker layer of protection, higher gloss, and a slicker feeling finish.