Opticoat - Melbourne
 

So my Mt Fuji GTS is arriving in Melbourne next week. I am flying over from Adelaide and driving it back. Yes, im very excited.

Anyway... Given previous bad luck with paint and the knowledge that Subaru's is not the highest quality, ive pretty much been sold on the OptiCoat idea.

My question is whether I should have it opticoated in melbourne prior to driving it back to Adelaide? Im obviously worried about tiny chips and bugs etc that are associated with the long drive.

If so, can anyone recommend an opticoat dealer and how long does it take to apply?

My understanding is that it's drivable after 12 hours. Add the time taken to apply it and I think you'd be talking an overnighter even if you walked in to pick up your car first thing in the morning.

My car's turning up first week of March so I'm actually looking for recommendations on dealers as well at the moment.

Personally if I had the choice to start from scratch I wouldn't have bothered...

Or if you do, get it done with someone who can guarantee they will keep using the product for a number of years into the future...

Would you mind expanding on this? Are you not happy with the results? It's really hard to decide on as this forum is very PRO opticoat

I'm glad I got it done on mine. Makes it very easy to keep clean, which is normally a challenge where I live.

Firstly, OptiCoat is a lot better than what Toyota offers from the dealership. No doubt about that. What they offer is a joke.

Secondly it is a good product, but I now feel that after all the hype and reading, there are better options out there. It also concerns me when they have had official dealer leave their network (who I happened to use for my OptiCoat).

Thirdly the reason we all have it is because a group buy/buys were active and it was the most popular product at the time the 86 was released (9 months ago)...

Whatever you do, don't judge your choice on photos of the application and how shiny it looks after application. Base it on feedback from professionals in the industry and feedback of people who have used various products. Who you use is also very important.

Opticoat is very, very nice when it comes to cleaning the car - no need to wax, just shampoo and rinse.

Had a instance where I stupidly parked under a roosting tree and returned to find a colossal amount of bird shat on the car - they strafed it real good. It was 1am and there was no way I was leaving it till morning to clean it off. Washed and cleaned all of it off by 3am and the opticoat definitely helped, the shat just slides off with mild water pressure and left no marks. That night/morning I thanked all the gods known to man for having opticoat on the 86.

However, note that it will NOT stop rock chips and scratches. I've got plenty of them on my front bumper. Even with opticoat, the paint on the 86's is incredibly thin and chips very easily.

I'd recommend Justin from Platnium Paint Protection here in melbourne - he comes to your house and takes 4-6 hours for the application, depending on the state the dealer left your car in. Not cheap @ $500 but definitely worth it for the red paint, the opticoat gives it a nice deep sheen.

I agree with these comments 100%. Opticoat doesn't give the deep glossy wet look of a great polish/wax but rather a new car clean look. It does make cleaning easier and resistance to bird crap etc is good.

It still scratches pretty easily.

Careful of water spotting after washing an opti coated car too. Either chamois it straight away or get your ass to a car wash for some spot free rinse water which won't leave water marks.

All in all I am happy with it and I'm lazy with polishing and waxing so for me it seems like the ideal product

As Above.

I also used Justin from Platinum Paint Protection. He was a great guy has always answered my questions and really felt like the service continues even after the actual application - which is great!

However, I do sometimes wonder if that $500 could have been better spent on other things? Sure, the car is easy to wash, but i wonder how much easier compared to any other new car?
I think dirt doesn't stick to the 86 as much as my old car, and it does come off a bit easier with a high pressure hose - but is it $500 worth easier? No idea.

If OptiCoat is worth it or not is still open for debate, i think the Internet talks it up WAY too much - i saw a comment from one guy who said when it rains, the rainwater essentially washes his car.. this is not true. I think the expectations are raised from people on the net, however Justin from PPP certainly brought it back down to earth and explained the 'real value' you get from paint protection without doing a hard sell.

My main concern was that my old car had paint fading problems, cracking problems, and chips spreading, so i wanted to try and protect the paint any way that i could.

From what i've read, Opti Coat protects your car against the harshness of bird poo & dead bugs (two things that love my car!) but I don't think it makes a visually superior finish and i don't believe it stops stone chips. I understand it can help reduce light scratches though.

My Summary:
The water does bead up and roll off the car (how much better than a good wax, i don't know?)
My white car did not look any shinier - or it might have been just slightly shinier.
Hopefully my paint is protected against damage from dead bugs/poo - i've had a lot of dead bugs, seems seem good so far?
Justin from PPP was fantastic and offered a great service, so if you do go OptiCoat, i would recommend his services.
I am lazy and will never wax/polish my car, it's been almost 2 months now and water still beads off and it's easy to clean - i have no idea how long normal waxes would usually last?