Opti-Guard/Coat vs "glass coating" (CS-2, 22PLE, etc.)
 

So I finally found an area detailer that works with Opti-Guard/Coat, but his recommendation was to go with a "glass coating" instead and mentioned the products CS-2 and 22PLE. There isn't a tremendous amount of online information about the latter. Does anyone have any experience with these "glass coatings", especially any of the professional detailers on this forum?

None of these glass coatings contain actual glass. Honestly, I wouldn't waste your time or would explicitly request Optimum coatings. Optimum coating, works amazing - and its the only one proven to last.

None of these coatings are proven, and won't be until a long time from now, and if you consider how many people want their piece of the market, how many inferior coatings are on the market and the fact that they simply don't last.

I know there are people who will say well my car was finished with X it just feel so slick its gotta be good - the reality is if you quick detail your car, its going to feel good and dust is going to slide off...basically all products do this.

What is a little embarrassing to the trade is when a professional completely dismisses one of the centrally agreed upon best products and a true innovator and originator as "so-so" then shortly after comes out with "his/her own" coating. That immediately raises a red flag to me.

Thanks, that's the conclusion I was arriving at myself, but it's nice to hear it from someone in the business. I'm an empirical evidence kinda guy, and the lack of anything substantial about these "glass coating" products online vs what's available regarding Opti-Guard/Coat makes a rather compelling case for the latter.

I've actually installed "other coatings" (A-Quartz, C-Quartz, Permanon Platinum) and I've read un biased reviews for things like System X 119 and such and there's many other things coming out like the 22PLE but OPTI COAT still is the only proven coating that will work will last as long as your paint.

I had my opticoat done by Hamza

i plan on winter driving this car full force monday to friday in our salt ridden Toronto winters.

i keep a busy schedule so car washing will be reserved to 1-2 times a month in a typical touchless carwash. No other extra babying OCD bullshit.

i'll make sure to post pics/report in the spring.

I'm going to guess, based on your location and the particular products you mentioned, that you're referring to Todd Cooperider (Esoteric Auto Detail)?

As far as I know Todd is one of the first/only people in the US to import those coatings (I just read his blog post about 22PLE the other day) so it would be very difficult for any of the rest of us to speak to the performance and durability of them since we haven't used them.

If you want to go with a widely used and proven product, I'd still stick to the OG/OC. Todd is a well respected member of the professional detailing community and I trust his judgement, but it's up to you as a consumer what you're comfortable with. I'm sure he can accommodate you either way.

:thumbup:

OG/OC is the only product that has lived true to the claims....the only one.

I am a big read through all the horse dung type of guy myself, empirical evidence only helps :). Not to mention being a vendor myself of car care gear I have a bit of an inside look and using that try to keep it really real for everyone else.

There is just way too much hype and garbage out there and everyone wants to use their notoriety to get a piece of the pie, regardless of whether a product truly is the king of the hill or not. We see it all the time with other vendors and affiliates and how they were quickly struck down on other forums for shilling.

I have always subscribed to the old saying if it ain't broke don't try and fix it. Like Charles and Mike have mentioned , Optimum Opti-Coat is a great product as are most of their products. But when Opti-Coat first came out I was dubious as to the claims as many others are with new products. I have applied Opti-Coat and could not be happier.Now fast forward to the present and some of the products Todd Cooprider has been offering out of his Esoteric Auto Detailing have caught my attention. I purchased his Sonax Perfect Finish compound first and it was everything he said it was. Now he is selling the 22PLE glass coating. A little higher price then OC and a life of only 18-24 months. Seeing the results he is getting with this coating on higher end automobles has got me thinking of giving it a try. A good friend of mine did pull the trigger and purchase some for his black GrandPrix. His first comments is it looks better then when it had OC on it and easier to apply.He did say the next day the microfiber and pad he used for the install were now hardened and useless. With what I have seen and read I am ready to give it a try on my Firebird ragtop garage queen to see if I can get that little extra pop that catches the eye. Let you know soon how it comes out.

Still loving Wolf's Hard Body. :)

Just this past week, Joey and I applied OC and Wolf's Hard Body to the paint on his Mazda protege5 50/50 with a tape line down the entire length of the car.

Its going to take a while to see how they do, but I will report back in a few months.

Picture before application.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/9573/p1050863.jpg

Very interesting trial Bryan. Please keep us updated.

Hi Opti-coat is Hydrophobic or Hydrophilic ?