*Batman*

Black is very hard to maintain, and the Lexus clearcoat is particularly soft. So I am looking for something which would increase the hardness to something that would be harder than the Ceramic Clear on Mercedes. Will Opticoat do this?

embolism

Even the ceramic clear on Mercs will scratch if you take it to the automatic car washes or the hand wash places. People just don't care about safe washing techiques at high volume establishments. I've seen guys drop a towel on the floor then pick it up, give it a shake and keep right on drying...

Sounds like you are getting tired of taking it to the detailer's for proper washes and the occasional polish. Why not learn to do it yourself? The tools are pretty basic and a proper wash of the exterior should take you no longer than 30-45 minutes.

Since nothing sticks to Opticoat, most of the dirt should come off with just a pressure wash. Sheet the water off the car for rinsing and you'll hardly have to dry anything.

*Batman*

It is against condo rules to wash a car on premises, and the only public DIY car wash within 5 miles of my home is in a pretty rough neighborhood where I would get unwanted attention washing a fairly new Lexus.

I'll just keep paying the detailer I guess.

I talked to the detailer about Opticoat, but he was skeptical that a product that costs $50 can provide 2 years of protection, when Swissvax provides 2 months and cost $170 a jar.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

I'm currently use CQ and I'm fairly satisfied with it. I applied it last year in December and its still going strong. The surface isn't slick with these nanocoatings so don't expect Carnauba quality feel to it. However, it does seem to be fairly scratch resistant. I'm currently trying to see how long it'll last since I'm refusing to use any wax or spray sealant on it. Hope it'll prove to be excellent like it has been so far

btw, SV lasts more than 5 months in my experience but that was with Concorso. What is your guy using?

*Batman*

I use Swissvax Shield. I think the climate in South Florida is much more challenging than in California though. Hundred degrees, with high humidity is pretty challenging for any Carnauba wax. Carnauba melts at 180 degrees, and I reckon my hood must reach that temperature quite often.

Todd@ProperAutoCare

Opti Coat will provide a noticeably harder surface to your car that will resistant scratching more than the soft paint, but it is not going to be indestructible.

Think of it in terms of a wax. Because a wax coating is SO thin it is possible to get swirls in the paint with out removing the wax (the wax is maleable to some degree). The same can be true of chrome. The plating is so thin that is possible to get swirl marks (depressions) on the underlying metal.

Opti-Coat would be a benefit to you in that it should be more scratch resistant and provide some film build to resistent frequent polishing, but it is a thin coating. Hard rubbing can (in my theory) still mar the paint underneath, although lighter surface scratches should be greatly reduced.

Is your detailer the only one washing the car? If so, is he correcting the paint pro-bono? Are you sure he is putting swirl marks in the car when he is washing it or could be covering up the swirl marks (which then become visible at a later date). Many 'high-end' detailers do this with out knowledge. This is particularly true on softer paints as they tend to be more porous and absorb the polishing oils which gives the paint a false appearance. In many cases the only way to check this is to give the car multiple (3-5) wipe downs with alcohol after polishing and allow the finish to bake in the sun for at least a day. Its not very feasible.

Todd@ProperAutoCare

I laughed...

I would be skeptical about anybody trying to preach the benefits of super costly waxes (not that I am against them!). The biggest advantage in using a high priced wax, IMO, is the fact that you can tell people you used a high priced wax. Most of these wax companies use completely false (and often scientifically impossible) marketing to justify their high prices, when in reality, its just a wax (in cool packaging).

jfelbab

My opinion, based on one initial trial of CQuartz, is that it didn't do much for me. I found that the same contaminants adhere to it as did to sealants. After a couple of months on my daily driver, the surface felt rough and in need of claying. It did not prevent scratching or spiderwebs so I still needed to polish.

So for my needs, this was not a miraculous product. It may well last for a couple years on a garage queen but then any sealant would. Hell, if you don't care what your car looks like, it might even offer protection for a year on a daily driver. IMO, it did not keep my car looking great any longer than my regular protectant. It also feels rather flat and not at all slippery smooth like conventional sealants and waxes. Maybe topping it with a carnauba would have been a good choice.

I did not evaluate the product's protection ability to things like acid rain or bird droppings however so I'll leave that to someone else to test. I suspect it's protection and durability are probably pretty good but appearance-wise, after a couple months in my environment, it needed to be redone, just like with any sealant.

*Batman*

This is my concern too.

Todd - What is the post Opticoat Treatment regimen? Would you still apply Swissvax on top of Opticoat to get back the smooth, slick finish and deep shine?

Todd@ProperAutoCare

The post Opti Coat treatment would consist of good car care habits-minus the need for waxing.

The car should still be washed semi frequently and will still need to be clayed on occasion to remove contamination.

As far as applying a wax, that is up to you. If you see the difference in appearance then you are free to apply whatever wax you wish whenever you wish, it just wouldn't be considered necessary. On my wife's car I wash it with ONR every week (which adds some polymer protection) and that is all that is really needed. On rare occasion, if I'm feeling spunky, I'll wipe the car down with Optimum Car Wax while I dry.

Angelo

One very interesting thread going on here. Sorry to hear that you can't even wash your car where you live Batman.

embolism

Batman,

You should check with the condo board regarding a rinseless wash. It's basically 2 buckets of water ~ 6-8 gallons total. Might need to do it weekly so dirt doesn't build up but 30 minutes once a week is a big savings over a monthly detail.

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Not familiar with Microns, but I tested with a DA, one pass with a light cut polish like PO203S Mezerna with green pad takes away 1 mil with just one pass.

jfelbab

Ummm, In my 50 years of polishing I've never seen a DA remove 1 mil of paint with one pass. You sure about what you measured? What PTG were you using?

OK, so I've only been using the DA for 16 years, not 50, but I've never seen a DA with light polish and mild pad remove more than a fraction of a mil after several passes.

Paint is typically 5-6 mils thick. Clear is usually 1.5 - 2 mils, and that would mean that you would remove all the clear in one to two passes and all the paint, clear, base and e-coat in 4-5 passes.

???

Todd@ProperAutoCare

One micron is equal to 25.4 microns. I measure almost every auto I detail the most I have ever seen a DA remove on one pass was .2 of a mil. This was using a very aggressive combination with a very aggressive pad and a aggressive application on soft paint. Is it possible that you meant .1 mils, or 1/10th of a mil (which seems excessive but doable)