Opticoat Roll Call?

[GRUMPY-S4]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on Opticoat just for the esse of detailing the car. Ive been told you can clean car in under 30 mins and have pro detail results. Thoughts?


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[theedge111]

Had the original opticoat on my 2014 S4...it was amazing! So easy to clean the car!

My detailer did the opticoat pro on my S5 it's only been a few months but I'm still very happy!

[GRUMPY-S4]

Im lazy and hate spending hours washing the car! Did you get wheels done?


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[b8audis4]

Opticoat is not a miracle product that just allows the dirt to wash off the paint. But it makes it easier to get the dirt off, and will keep the paint from having swirls. Also, you should polish the paint before you get it applied. So it is near perfect paint underneath. Then the couple of microns that was polished off you will add back with the opticoat. And in a couple of years when you get more swirls, you polish again, add opticoat and it is like you are only polishing the opticoat layer so you aren't removing actual paint. I would recommend it for sure. I had it on my paint a couple of years back, and I enjoyed it, but it almost made maintenance too easy so I removed it. I enjoy detailing so I enjoy sealing and waxing my car.

The wheels I would highly recommend doing.

[GRUMPY-S4]

Its getting paint correction as part of the process


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[Lamprey]

Funny, you mention this.. I have a friend who was nay-saying everything except wax last week. I told him he was living in the past, to which he scoffed at me. Later that day we was over at my house helping me drop off an arcade machine and saw my car. He looked at me and said: "what was that stuff again?" :) Apparently, he was blown away that I could drive around for a week in the rain here and still have a car that didn't look like it had been driven for a week in the rain.

I think any of the "nano" coating are pretty good at what they do. I have the Opti-gloss (I think it's called now) that I put on this summer and had the opti-coat 2.0 for the last couple of years that I put on when I bought my S4 (2013). No complains from a performance standpoint; it seems like it stays cleaner longer and makes cleaning relatively easy. I don't know that it actually saves you any time when washing, per se. But, "Stuff" seems to sick to the car less. There is a fair amount of prep work that you need/should do. But, All in all, I think I spent about 7-8 hours prepping the car and applying the coating.

No qualms about recommending the opti-gloss.

[GRUMPY-S4]

Edge your car looks amazing!


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[waxxonMTL]

Opticoat is not a miracle product that just allows the dirt to wash off the paint. But it makes it easier to get the dirt off, and will keep the paint from having swirls. Also, you should polish the paint before you get it applied. So it is near perfect paint underneath. Then the couple of microns that was polished off you will add back with the opticoat. And in a couple of years when you get more swirls, you polish again, add opticoat and it is like you are only polishing the opticoat layer so you aren't removing actual paint. I would recommend it for sure. I had it on my paint a couple of years back, and I enjoyed it, but it almost made maintenance too easy so I removed it. I enjoy detailing so I enjoy sealing and waxing my car.

The wheels I would highly recommend doing.

that's false. Nano-coating is like 1-2 microns thick. Paint correction can take 2-10 microns to polish to a showroom finish.

Nano coating is not a miracle product, but more of enhanced product Vs. the traditionnal wax/sealant.

[b8audis4]

that's false. Nano-coating is like 1-2 microns thick. Paint correction can take 2-10 microns to polish to a showroom finish.

Nano coating is not a miracle product, but more of enhanced product Vs. the traditionnal wax/sealant.

Of course, I am talking a light polish. So if opticoat is 1-2 microns additionally, and I polish the paint, not compound, we are talking around the same thickness. With opticoat, and proper washing you should avoid most swirls.

[14S4GWM]

I have C-Quartz and love it. Crap comes off so easy.

[GRUMPY-S4]

The installer said that I would clean car without water basically... Thoughts?


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[b8audis4]

The installer said that I would clean car without water basically... Thoughts?


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I am sure you could use a detail spray. And I am sure you could do a touchless wash with mostly a pressure washer, but that is stretching it a bit.

[GRUMPY-S4]

He told me includes a "kit" of some solutions and clothes and a bucket lol


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[Troglodyte]

I have used Opti-Coat (now called Optimum Gloss-Coat I believe) on cars and wheels many times. Protects and lasts a very long time. Not the glossiest or biggest "wow" factor but great protection, especially on wheels. As others have said, you must have perfect paint since you will be sealing in any existing imperfections. Can only remove the product by polishing. Wheels off to do the job right if you decide to do the wheels as well.

[Lamprey]

The installer said that I would clean car without water basically... Thoughts?

I don't know what your installer means by that. You can certainly clean your car "without water." But, as a practical matter that is complete BS.

[Troglodyte]

I don't know what your installer means by that. You can certainly clean your car "without water." But, as a practical matter that is complete BS.

Think he means "waterless" washing technique.

[Lamprey]

My thoughts are that the nano coatings help you keep you car cleaner a bit longer. It doesn't really save any time WASHING the car. But, I don't see the need to ever wax after applying the nano coating, so you save a bit there perhaps. YMMV.

[BigBluu]

I've had the pro version on mine for just over a year now and love it! We're finally getting some rain here in CA and it beads like a mofo. Have not washed it in over a month and the top 3/4 of the car still looks relatively clean even with the rain the past couple weeks. With the drought we've been in, I did ONR washes almost exclusively. Very easy with great results. I've only done about 4 or 5 full-on water/soap washes in the first year of ownership. And...knock on wood...not a single swirl mark that I can find yet. I have not put any other paint protectant on it. Highly recommended!

[grm77]

Just put gloss coat on my car. Did it over two days...day one was wash, paint correct and on the second day I used IPA and put two nice coats over everything (wheels, jams, etc). Used about 8CC total. Really awesome stuff.

Obviously I've got an S3. Not sure how tapatalk got this thread in my newsfeed. :)

[GRUMPY-S4]

Nice!!!


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[pdqgp]

Can't comment on Opti but I did the 22PLE Sealant on my own and it was easy.

Detailing and paint correction isn't difficult. Audi has great clear coats and it's tough to F-it up even if you're a newb at it.

Get a decent buffer for $250-$300 and the right products and 1-2 days tops.

My car wasn't horrible when I took delivery of it, but it was bad enough. I took it to about 95% correction shortly after getting it this summer and then hit it again several weeks ago and now she's 99% perfect. I get comments a lot, even today when it was dirty after some rain the black BMW owner next to me could see his car looked like it was washed with a brillo pad whereas mine was a perfectly black mirror with just a hint of rain residue.

Depends if it's something you enjoy doing it.

[14S4GWM]

^ I use 22PLE on top of my C quartz. That bra line is killer though on black.

[pdqgp]

^ I use 22PLE on top of my C quartz. That bra line is killer though on black.

Meh....I can live with the line. I can always have it redone to do the entire hood but I don't mind it. It only shows here because I didn't 'detail' out the dust. Even then it's really only visible from the rear.

[NC_Detail_Garage]

I applied gloss cost myself to both our cars and I'm content with it but I wouldn't pay the $800 or so to have a pro do it. I wash my car weekly and after 6 months it's not beading or shining like it used to. I use sonax net shield as a topper which really brings the life back to it. I'm looking at doing cquartz next year.


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[GRUMPY-S4]

I applied gloss cost myself to both our cars and I'm content with it but I wouldn't pay the $800 or so to have a pro do it. I wash my car weekly and after 6 months it's not beading or shining like it used to. I use sonax net shield as a topper which really brings the life back to it. I'm looking at doing cquartz next year.


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The pro + version is like 1100 to apply, add glass, interior, wheels etc and your looking at $$$$$


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[S4'ed]

Anybody compare this with Zaino?

[DirtyDog--IRL]

What a shine! Nice job


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[Troglodyte]

Anybody compare this with Zaino?

Two different animals. 99% of the look is from the preparation, i.e. polishing. the LSP is meaningless without proper prep.

[S4'ed]

So I guess I should just continue to use Zaino?

[pdqgp]

What a shine! Nice job

Thanks Man! You coming back to Ohio or are you here yet? We'll have to get together again. LOL at the crash bar though.....I need to hit it with some Truck Bed Liner as it's starting to chip.

[KRS Aaron]

My Audi dealer didn't listen to me about not washing my car and it's swirl city even with the OptiCoat. As people have mentioned, it's not an invincibility cloak for the car. After the winter, mine has to go back to the detail shop for a redo. Even with the issue, the performance is amazing when the car is clean. I do notice it hits a tipping point where its too dirty for the beading to happen as one might imagine but this point is much further along than when I used to wax the car myself.

[pdqgp]

So I guess I should just continue to use Zaino?

I stopped. Great stuff but I think the market has caught up with them. I switched over to BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond products. I use several:

BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Polymer Spray - By far been the best detail gloss I've used. Meguires Gold Lable is a close second and significantly cheaper too but no where near as slick.

BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Montan Sealant - is Incredible for Black cars. I am in sticker shock still but gotta admit I'll buy more when I'm out. Goes a long long way though.

BLACKFIRE Crystal Seal Paint Sealant - I will say this is far and beyond my favorite product though. goes on like it's petrolum based in appearance but quickly evaporate into an extremely slick and truly wet appearance. I was wowed when I used it as the car actually looks like it does in terms of depth when it's wet.

99% of the look is from the preparation, i.e. polishing.

100% spot-on. The prep and polish is where the Depth of the color comes from. When looking at most black cars, you will see minor even on new ones, minor spiderwebs. That completely ruins the depth perception. When corrected to be free from the, the color drops down to the depths of your imagination. Words, I know, but when you see it in person you do get a WOW! feeling.

The great news is once done, just maintain the car properly and once per year you'll need to hit it with a buffer lightly with a simple swirl remover then polish to bring it back to 100%. I do this every year on our black minivan which is now 8yrs old and looks like new despite being our urban assault vehicle known as Satin's Chariot.

I'm a pic whore. Note the van is done with just off the shelf Meguires stuff too. Nothing fancy.

[GRUMPY-S4]

My Audi dealer didn't listen to me about not washing my car and it's swirl city even with the OptiCoat. As people have mentioned, it's not an invincibility cloak for the car. After the winter, mine has to go back to the detail shop for a redo. Even with the issue, the performance is amazing when the car is clean. I do notice it hits a tipping point where its too dirty for the beading to happen as one might imagine but this point is much further along than when I used to wax the car myself.

So swirls are inevitable when the dealer washes the car? They have left mine pretty clean but full of water marks the two times they have washed it.


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[14S4GWM]

So swirls are inevitable when the dealer washes the car? They have left mine pretty clean but full of water marks the two times they have washed it.


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Never let them wash your car again.

[pdqgp]

So swirls are inevitable when the dealer washes the car?

absolutely. especially if they use an automated wash system. even hand washing by the lot attendants is likely going to result in brillo pad finishes. Most of the damage is likely done when drying it.

[GRUMPY-S4]

No washes for me then now that I will have Opticoat. I honestly cant believe how expensive it is to do the whole care


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[GRUMPY-S4]

Never let them wash your car again.

Now I know. Never again!


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[turbo_junkie]

I had mine done with opti coat pro plus the first week after buying it. Like everyone has said, makes washing the car completely painless, and I'm looking forward to not having to do my every 6 months full detail/wax job to keep the paint glossy and bright. I had the wheels done at the same time and it is a kwanzaa miracle, brake dust just rinses right off!

[GRUMPY-S4]

Full car, interior (interior trim, seats, carpet, matts), glass/sunroof, wheels/inside fenders costs about $2K.... Ouchyyy


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[pdqgp]

Full car, interior (interior trim, seats, carpet, matts), glass/sunroof, wheels/inside fenders costs about $2K.... Ouchyyy

That's rediculous.

Seriously. For $500 including a buffer and all the products you could do it all yourself. Again, easy stuff to do. Sounds like a lot but $500 isn't much considering you'll then own a buffer, the pads and enough product to care for your car or cars for years. PM Me if you want me to break it down for you.

I've found several local mobile detail shops that I use to detail the inside of our minivan (think kids, wife and minivan) and not much imagination to how dirty it can get. They turn it brand new looking in about 2hrs for $100. I don't even attempt to detail the inside for that value.

My S4 and any of my cars are always 9/10 inside so I really have nothing to do but wipe and vacuum them.