[heat23]

I have a Black obisidan Q50 Premium and as we all know, that is the hardest color to maintain (I came from a Black Altima). I wanted to protect the paint and prevent rock chips so I got XPel Ultimate installed on the full front - bumper, full hood + fenders, headlights, side mirrors, door cups, top of rear bumper, all 4 door edges, and illuminated kickplates. Btw, I got a great deal from the best installer in town (San Diego/Escondido), PM me for his info..

Now for the rest of the car, Xpel is a bit too pricey for a full wrap so I need some recommendations on how to protect it. Even though I have a black car, i don't want to be waxing it more than every 3-5 months and would like to still take it to normal car washes when its really dirty. For smaller jobs, I will use my waterless wash. So I was considering Opti-Coat Pro or CQuartz Finest (both professionally installed). I know that CQuartz only has a ~2 year life, so I don't really want to spend $600-1000 every 2 years to get it re-applied. But I heard that it is better than Opti-Coat. I have read lots of conflicting information regarding them, but does anyone have into on the long-term durability of these two options?

Thanks

 

[machmike]

heat23,

22PLE is superior. Trident, OptiCoat and cQartz are a little duller. It lasts about 18-20 months. 22PLE is the easiest to apply of all 3 products, it is universally praised as superior in every way except duration. 18-24 months is darn good.

I was having the exact same discussion until I saw a 22PLE job vs. OptiCoat. Both were excellent but the 22PLE was so much better. The interwebs will confirm this summary. 22PLE in the exotic car/Luxury community has become the stuff of legend.

Don't trust me, just search and read for yourself. My car is getting the 22PLE coat applied Tomorrow. I'm in Colorado, but for CA you cannot beat this gentleman.

SoCal? go here. I recommend Eric Schuster and Envious Auto Detailing
Orange County Auto Detailing



Envious Eric | APRIL 8, 2013 - Tesla Motor Forums
22 is a glass silica based coating that will dramatically enhance the look of your car's paint. Add in proper paint correction to relevel the clear, enhance the gloss and depth and your car will outshine and look better than any car on the road, all the while being protected!

Instead of scratching the paint/clearcoat, you will be scratching the 22PLE, which acts like a sacrificial barrier to protect your clearcoat. It will truly save your cars paint over the years with proper maintenance. Most detailers are charging $400 or so for coating applciations - whether its Cquartz, 22PLE, opticoat. All are good, but 22PLE just looks the best!

I am recommending that about a month after the 22PLE is applied, a sealant wax be added to the car to provide that slick feeling. 22PLE by itself is not slick, its not designed to be. However, thats an easy fix and looks will be stunning with 22PLE alone, and feel slick with a wax on top - the best of both worlds!

any questions, feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to answer:
[email protected]

 

[Chris]

I had my Malbec Black G37 Opti Coated a few months after buying the car. Back then there werent many coating options (Opti and GTechniq C1 were about it)

While Ive never seen 22PLE in person, you would think my car was picked up from the showroom today. The Opti still looks amazing, and may have saved some swirls from some accidental dealer washes.

Im perfectly satisfied with the look, even on a black car. The longevity truly does speak for itself, and thats somewhat important to me (wife + kids = not much time to reapply stuff)

Granted, if you get 2 years out of 22PLE thats not bad, but Im going on 3 with Opti coat and I dont see any of the protection going away. Still beads like it did the first wash after getting it coated. There are some small spots that dont bead like that BUT Ive been told its most likely still coated, just needs a better wash to get off any grease/grime that may have kicked up from the road. I havent tried it yet (still cold up here in CT) but I will be doing so in the spring.

I dont think you can go wrong either way, just depends on what you want. Looks that might not last as long (22), or "set it and forget it" (Opti Coat)

 

[machmike]

They are all fantastic products. My wife's Hyundai Sante Fe has the trident product. 22PLE looks like your car is wet vs. Opti-coat and Cquartz. I like the deeper wet look. Like I said, its harder to screw up the 22PLE because of the ease of use, you get an equivalent (i think better look) product at about 1/2 price for application. The trade off is longevity. I plan on having my car detailed every 24-30 months so the timeframe works out.

You really can't go wrong with any of the three products.

Lets talk cost.

CQuartz and Opti-Coat usually cost around $700-1000 to apply depending if your paint needs correction.
22PLE is around $325 (because of the ease of application).

 

[Chris]

Ive seen OptiCoat applied before....to me by far the bulk of the work was the prep, which would have to happen before ANY final product.

Actually applying it? Didnt seem too hard.....just have to not dilly dally around. 2.0 is pretty easy because it takes longer to flash (I think we're talking minutes, not seconds before its too hard and needs correction). The installer left a couple high spots on my car but nothing major....mostly in places you would normally miss (door handle cups, etc)

I would be interested to see how 22PLE would look on my car vs Opti, because Opti sure made my car look glossy as all get out. Also interested in the GTechniq combo of C1 and ExoV2. I have an unopened "jar" of C1 and an unopened syringe of Opti, not sure which one I want to try out on my wifes car. Or maybe 22PLE! At least now there are options out there.

 

[heat23]

FYI,
dropped my car off at the detailer to get Opti-Coat Pro put on...