Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

seech

seech

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How long does the Optimum Opti-Coat lasts? Does it really work?
- Optimum Opti-Coat is supposed to form a PERMANENT protective layer on top of your existing paint and is designed to be harder, more scratch resistant and has better water beading characteristics than the original paint.
- Optimum Opti-Coat is supposed to last and protect for as long as the coating is taken care of properly.
- Another advantage of getting your car coated is that should there be any issue with with scratches or watermarks which requires polishing or compounding, only the Optimum Opti-Coat will be affected as the original paint below the Optimum Opti-Coat will not be touched.

Does it really work? How long does it last?

The only way to tell is to try it out...

The surface of this test vehicle suffered from clearcoat failure. IF the Optimum Opti-Coat really works and forms an additional permanent protective layer on top of the paint, the coated area should remain the same and the paint should not oxidize and revert back to the original condition over time.

Early-May 2010: A section of the test area was taped off and corrected before the Optimum Opti-Coat was applied.

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After correction. Nice and shiny with the gloss restored.
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Time to try out the coating...
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The surface really looks great!!!
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Mid-May 2010: Great water beading!!!
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June 2010: Still the same reflection...
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May 2011: Water sheeting ONE YEAR LATER!!!
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August 2011: After 15 MONTHS!!!
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Does Optimum Opti-Coat work?

They say a picture tells a thousand words..... at least this saves me from typing another 738 words.

Original post from my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months
 
noticed the swirls in the opti-coat. how did you maintain it??
 
qaz393 said:
noticed the swirls in the opti-coat. how did you maintain it??
Click to expand...

Yeah. The owner hasn't really been maintaining it properly but all things considered it has held up pretty well.
 
Saw this post on the other forums, pretty damn good looking if you ask me.

I still have a hard time believing that its scratch resistant of a product however.
 
Rei86 said:
Saw this post on the other forums, pretty damn good looking if you ask me.

I still have a hard time believing that its scratch resistant of a product however.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think that the OptiCoat is more scratch resistant than regular clear coats but it is certainly not scratch proof.
 
is it more scratch resistant than mercedes cermi-clear/corvette clear coat???
 
If you look at the original finished photos, you can see many RIDS left that speech simply couldn't chase into the primer. I don't think it's very swirled considering.

When fully hardened it exceeds the hardness of any current OEM clear coat.
 
have to say that is pretty darn impressive, really thinking about using this on the wifes car, after this i am getting ready to bite the bullet..
 
Xcessiv said:
How would you describe it in term of percentage compared to the initial beading?
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The water is still sheeting fantastically but the beading isn't as strong as it was when the Opti-Coat was still applied.

In terms of protection, the Opti-Coat is still there as the oxidization of the paint has not returned.
 
haha, I can't believe someone would drive around with a stripe like that for 15 months.

but it does seem to work very well!
 
Car Coatings? Hype or reality?

The internet has been abuzz lately with all of the various types of car coatings available on the market. Some 'coatings' cost only a few hundred ringgit to apply while others cost thousands. What is the difference?

Aside from the varying amount of work and effort put in to correcting the paint before the coating is applied, the main differentiating factor about coatings compared with traditional car protection products such as waxes and sealants, is that coatings offer longer term protection without the need to reapply the product. All of these products promise amazing durability and there have been some amazing claims about coating products in the market but how true are these claims and more importantly, how long does the coating last?

Optimum OptiCoat is manufactured in the USA and is claimed to form a PERMANENT protective layer on top of the existing factory paint. Is Optimum OptiCoat really permanent or is it just another unsubstantiated manufacturers claim?

The only way to find out is to put it to the test.

To date, I have not seen any other coating being put through a similar test.

I received one of the first bottles of Optimum OptiCoat from Dr. G of Optimum Polymer Technologies as a sample to test out. Obviously the best way to test anything out is to use it in the worst-case-scenario to see where the limits of the products are.

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I had posted my review of the Optimum OptiCoat sometime in May 2010 where it was being tested out on a car with clear coat failure to see if the coating would prevent the paint from becoming oxidized again after some time. If the Optimum OptiCoat does indeed form a permanent barrier then even paint with clear coat failure should still be protected by the Optimum OptiCoat.
My previous post on Optimum OptiCoat can be found here:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Final Update

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

I had planned to stop updating the status of the Optimum OptiCoat as even after 15 months there was still no sign of any oxidization or the symptoms of clear coat failure returning to the portion which had been OptiCoated.

However, the car which I carried out the coating test was being sold to a new owner so I thought that a Final Update was in order. How long does Optimum OptiCoat last? This is the oldest and most extreme test of the coating.

Is it permanent? I can say with certainty that it most certainly still appears to be permanent after 2 years!

The coating was applied on around May 2010 and it is now nearly 2 years since the coating was first applied. This was the condition of the paint with definite symptoms of clear coat failure.
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After correction and application of Optimum OptiCoat.
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Fast forward 2 years later...
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The side without Optimum OptiCoat is definitely suffering from clear coat failure!
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The OptiCoated side is still in good condition without any signs of oxidization or clear coat failure returning but there are now swirls in the coating from improper washing.
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One of the other benefits of coating is that if there is a need to correct the surface in the future, only the coating will be affected leaving the original paint untouched and as the coating is harder than the original factory clear coat, paint defects are more easily removed. In this case a simple light polish with Optimum Hyper Polish on a polishing pad with the Flex 3401 was more than sufficient to correct the defects on the coating.
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All done! Testing the reflection with a bottle of detailien alien wax!
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I think this picture says it all....
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Test of water beading.
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How about some full sun shots?
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Lovely color and definition to the area protected by Optimum OptiCoat.
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Do coatings work?

I haven't seen similar post about other coatings but....

OPTIMUM OPTICOAT CERTAINLY DOES!

Original post on my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum OptiCoat Review After 2 years!
 
Yup opti-coat really is phenomenol. I really am amazed by these results! If I wasn't so in love with detailing my car I'd totally use my new syringe right now haha!

But what would actually be interesting is to have polished both ends of the strips too, so that we could see the scratch-resistance of the opti-coat; i.e. how it compares it a nicely polished normal clear-coat surface as well.

And seech, WOAH! Did the gaming computer company alienware suddenly make a car wax? That's so weird; but I love the colour of it haha!
 
BobbyG said:
Optimum has done its due diligence on every product I've used and Opti-Coat 2.0 is no exception. Opti-Coat 2.0 is a major breakthrough in finish protection and especially well suited for those what their car or truck to look its best without pampering it every spare moment...


Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 = Grand Slam Home Run

http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-opti-coat.html
Click to expand...

HellDemon said:
Yup opti-coat really is phenomenol. I really am amazed by these results! If I wasn't so in love with detailing my car I'd totally use my new syringe right now haha!

But what would actually be interesting is to have polished both ends of the strips too, so that we could see the scratch-resistance of the opti-coat; i.e. how it compares it a nicely polished normal clear-coat surface as well.

And seech, WOAH! Did the gaming computer company alienware suddenly make a car wax? That's so weird; but I love the colour of it haha!
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. Glad you like the alien wax. :xyxthumbs:
 
Seech, I respect and value your opinion immensely. A true detailer and aficionado to heart.
Keep up the good work...and may the force be with you.:xyxthumbs:
 
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