I just got Opti Coat. Am I being too critical?
 

edit: added more pictures

I just bought a BRZ in New Hampshire on Nov 1 and drove it home to Memphis. I heard good things about a place called Word of Mouth Detailing, so I made an appointment to get Opti Coat put on. They said it was going to cost $200 if the car didn't need polishing. I dropped it off on Monday night, Nov 11. The owner, Joe, called me on Tuesday morning and let me know that there were scratches/swirls on the paint (which was true) and that the car would need to be polished and clay barred. I asked the cost and he said another $275. I wasn't excited about it but I wanted the car to look right, so I agreed.

Joe called back at about 3:00PM and told me that the car would be ready at 5:30PM. He said that the Opti Coat would probably take a couple of days to cure since it was cold outside. He told me to leave it in the sun during the day and garage it at night. Joe then lets me know that since the car is black that there may be some spots that show imperfections, but that the work's been done right and that it looks good. This is not really want I want to hear after the work is already done and I've paid over double the price I was originally intending, but I don't make a big deal of it.

I got to the detailer at about 5:30PM and it was already dark. There are not any street lights anywhere near my car, but I have some light from the inside of the shop, and from what I can see, the driver's side looks good. I paid the $475 and got into my car and immediately notice that the inside has been detailed. Once I get home I also notice that the tires have been cleaned and had product applied to them. This bugs me a little because I never spoke with anyone about having a full detail done and if I could have just had the polishing done at a cheaper price, then that's what I would have wanted. I put the car in the garage. It's pretty dim in there, but with a flashlight I find a spot near the gas cap that looks like it may have been missed when the Opti Coat was applied.

The next morning, I have to leave early, but I pull the car out of the garage and look at the spot I had found and it's obviously different than the rest of the finish, and there is a bigger spot just above the first with the same problem.

Once I get to work, the sun is coming out and I get to look the car over fully, and I find a bunch of smoky sort of swirls. I can't tell if it's a problem with the polishing that was done, if the Opti Coat is just not right, or if there is something on the surface that can just be rubbed off, but I don't plan on touching any of it until I take it back and have them look at it.

At this point I'm really disappointed. 90% of the car looks great, but I feel like I paid more money than I should have for this result. I just found a good flashlight and took some pictures of the spots that look like they were missed. The smoky swirls are not visible under this LED flashlight, so I guess I will have to wait until the morning to try to get pictures of that.

I haven't talked to anyone yet, but I plan on taking the car back by Word of Mouth in the morning to see what they tell me. Just wanted to check in here and make sure that my expectations weren't just too high and to make sure that I am not being unreasonable.

http://www.unicornsareamongus.com/images/1.jpg

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I was able to get some pictures of the smoky swirls now that there is some daylight.

http://www.unicornsareamongus.com/images/3.jpg

http://www.unicornsareamongus.com/images/4.jpg

http://www.unicornsareamongus.com/images/5.jpg

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Just go back and show them the spots.

If they don't fix it or its just a small that can cleaned off..well give them the "word of the mouth".


Keep us updated, i'm interested on how this turns out since i would like to get Opti Coat eventually.

Well, you want to make sure you're fully happy, so that's what I'd aim for... And nothing less. That's my belief.

All the best.

just take it back and show them the imperfections and they should fix it free of charge. I really don't see why they wouldn't.

and the price you paid seems pretty fair. at least that's comparable to what I've seen around the forums.


EDIT: make sure you give them a call as soon as possible to make them aware of the imperfections if you're not able to get the car to them the day after.

those are just high spots in the OC, spend 3 min to buff them off with a microfiber towel

but lol 275 just for opticoat youve got to be kidding me?

Sorry to say but you got ripped off. Big time. I charge $80 on to apply OC.

For reference I own www.streetdreamsmd.com

you guys are lucky. Kids this side of the world charge 500+ just for opticoat

The Opticoat itself is cheap. The syringe costs $65 here in Canada. The price most people pay ($300-$500) is for the prep. Opticoat bonds to everything under it, so the wax and contaminants have to be stripped. Then it has to be clay bar'd and polished to ensure no imperfections are left before Opticoat is applied. THAT is what you pay for in the Opticoat application. $80 to apply Opticoat sounds great, but I wouldn't want to apply Opticoat on top of wax and contaminants. It will permanently bond them under it. My car was fresh and less than a month old and still required us to work 9 hours on it before it was fully prepped for Opticoat. If you guys have some time and want to see the proper prep needed for Opticoat this is the write up on my vehicle:

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/...962#post354962

The scuffs you see are the high spots. Chris is right about the buffing to get it out, but I'd recommend applying the opticoat over that spot again. You are not being too critical, for that price the Opticoat should be applied 100% with 0 imperfections.

I'll take you up on that 80$ deal, i'm in nova.

Wow man I'm already on the ropes about getting this for my car....This didnt help. I hope you get this sorted out! That is too expensive to be let down like that.

I've seen $1,100+ for the 'usual' price including prep and removing a few swirls and then someone from WA said it cost even more over here!!!!!!!!!!

$80 is unbelievable!

WA is an anomaly. fuckwits think everyone works in mining. (says the guy whos typing this from Pt.Hedland :/)

I dont think you're too critical. If you would not care about your car, you would not polish or opti coat it at all.
As a detailer, either you aim for perfection, or you're in the wrong business. It's quiet odd for me that a detailer tells you on the phone that it may have some imperfections but the job has been done right. That just makes no sence to me, because if the job is done right the car will be perfect (ofc as long as the paint was not abused the past 10 years:-)

It's an easy fix. Don't let it scare you away. Opticoat imperfections can be remedied without much effort within 30 days. After that, it will need another prep job.

The detailer probably had insufficient light or was just lazy.

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I paid $375 for a 1-step polish, paint correction and opti-coat. No interior. Seems a bit high IMHO.