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Seeking opinions / insight - Opti-Coat Pro for a Roadster

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adiggs

Well-Known Member
Sep 25, 2012
6,425
24,530
Portland, OR
I've been reading about Opti-Coat Pro, and I've started thinking that it sounds like a reasonable cost and high quality way to accomplish what I want to accomplish.

The fundamental problem is that I'm not good about washing the car regularly, and anything beyond washing the car is way outside my wheelhouse (desire, motivation, skill, interest, ...). But I do like the car looking good. I'm looking for a low maintenance way to get the car looking good, and then easy to wash after that. Getting better with car washing skill is also something I need to acquire, as I can see those faint swirls starting to show up as I wash the car. I read that on benefit of the coating is that dirt and water have a hard time hanging on, so one technique to "wash" the car is to go driving in the rain. We get lots of rain in Portland, so I might only need to wash in the Summer! (kidding - I know it won't be that good, but it SOUNDS good).

It is also my understanding that I should think of this as a permanent wax finish, rather than rock chip protection. Our Roadster has the factory applied paint protection and that is fine for where we live. We don't get much gravel or other stuff put down in the winter (it rains here, and it gets "cold", but almost never gets wet and cold at the same time - so no ice or snow to deal with). I've concluded that the primary need is the ability to easily wash the car.

Anyway - I'm wondering if anybody has experience with Opti-Coat Pro on their Roadster. I am specifically wondering about whether the finish is flexible enough to work well with the Roadster's carbon fiber body, but also any other insights you have from the experience. My intent, if I go down this path, will be to find a local detailer to do the work, including the paint correction on the front end - there's no possibility that I would be doing this as a do-it-yourself project.

I appreciate whatever insights you have. Thanks!
 
Do not own a roadster but did the Opti-Coat Pro with paint correction and found that it stays cleaner longer and can use the duster in between washes. So less washing and easier washing, everything comes off with less work. Do not know how this would work on the carbon fiber, but works well on the aluminum model s. Plus the paint seems brighter and always looks better than new.
 
There's a thread in the overpopulated Model S subforum about some guy who tested a number of different finishes with a gloss meter over time. By his numbers the Glare Professional came in tops.

My own preference is the Glare Professional for the panels that don't have any paint armor, and 3M 39030 Performance Finish Synthetic Wax for the panels that do. They're both easy to apply (the 3M is really easy) and hold up pretty well.

That said, paint correction done right can really help depending on what you see in your finish today. That said, the carbon fiber panels are no where near perfect, so no matter what you're going to have some irregularities, waves, etc.
 
Hey all - we've proceeded with having the paint corrected and Opti-Coat Pro installed; figured there might be somebody with some interest in what we've found.

I'll try to add more - for now though, on balance, I've gotten what I was looking for. My primary desire was something that I expected to be permanent (for some reasonable definition of permanent - I won't be dismayed if this doesn't last 20 years) as my reality is that I just won't wax the car, even with something synthetic that makes the waxing process easy. Many reasons for that including laziness :) The seemingly incompatible second desire was to have a finish that would resist scratching and be easy to keep looking good. I've read that the OC Pro would be easy to wash, and I've figured out the last year that I will at least wash the car every week or 2 (at least over the summer - need to get better about that in the winter).

The last important factor in all this is the Roadster is our primary car - we drive it for fun, for routine shopping, and most non-routine shopping / errands. Only when we're on a hauling trip for something dirty or too big (and we stretch that at times), do we drive the other car.

The OC Pro has been on the car for a bit more than a month now and I've washed the car a couple of times. The first time was a normal washing, and it was straightforward - I didn't notice it being much easier than normal, but then again, it was dust. It shouldn't have been difficult.

The second wash I grabbed the hose, used a fan setting, and sprayed the car off; then used the leaf blower to air dry the car. Almost no time, and the resulting wash was almost as good as the previous regular wash had been. The dust that had accumulated almost wanted to jump off the car :) Very happy with that result.


The one odd thing that seems striking to me - it seems like though the car doesn't hold onto the dust very strongly, it DOES now do an exceptional job of attracting the dust in the first place. I think possibly also water spots, though not as clear on this one. The car seems to get dustier, faster. I'm curious if other folks with OC have noticed something like this.

It just occurred to me that the car did get a hefty amount of paint correction done to it (you really have to look for swirls now - in Jet Black... amazing). Maybe it's just easier to see the dust now as it accumulates!
 
I just had the Opti Coat treatment done as well. When I bought my orange CPO last year there were a lot of swirl marks. There are much less noticeable now. I think they did a 3 or 4 step paint correction. The orange color looks deeper to me and from some angles glossy and glass like.

It's only been 2 weeks and my car really needs a wash. We've had some monsoons in Phoenix recently. I'm hoping my wash results are as successful as yours!

I am very happy about having it done, though. I got a package deal and had both my Roadster and my wife's Model S done back to back.
 
Give the car an application of Hydro2 by Car Pro. Opti is great, but it's not the slickest of coatings, hence the dusting. Hydro2 is a spray on silica sealant that lasts for about 3 months. You spray it on, then give it a hard blast of water to bond it to the paint and you're done. I've got it on my Opti coated Model S and water and dust just sheet off. I barely have to dry the car after wash as the water just sheets away.