Paint protection

[yomchi1989]

Hey guys,

I have ordered the X-pak total protection for my 86, which does the exterior and interior leather protection ($1500).

Just curious, is opti-coat any different? If not, why is it heaps cheaper?

[AGM6789]

Originally Posted by yomchi1989

Hey guys,

I have ordered the X-pak total protection for my 86, which does the exterior and interior leather protection ($1500).

Just curious, is opti-coat any different? If not, why is it heaps cheaper?

When I ordered my 86, a Paint protection pack was offered to me with warranty: interior protection, exterior protection(which I had to use a 'special' shampoo to wash and warranty is voided if I wax the car), sound deadening, rust proofing and tint for $1500 but was on special for $996. I did my research here and on other various sites and came to the conclusion that the exterior protection is pretty much a 'sealant' and not worth the price the dealers charge you.

Now opti-coat 2.0 and opti-guard I would say is a 'second' harder clear coat which dirt and other foreign materials will struggle to stick to. Opti-coat 2.0 is the consumer version and opti-guard is the professional only version which comes with warranty from a professional detailer. Do some research on this and maybe even wolfe's hard body.. the youtube clips are pretty cool But I would much rather a 'second' clear coat than an overpriced 'sealant'

For interior protection I am choosing to use 303 aerospace protectant and 303 fabric guard and doing it myself. There are other products out there but this is just my 2 cents.

The cost of opticoat 2.0 would be real cheap if you do it yourself. Or you could fork out a bit more and get a professional detailer to fix all scratches/swirl marks and make your car shine/gleam and then sealing it all in with opti-coat 2.0 or opti-guard.

I was in the same position as you so I hope this really helps

-Alvin

[BigM]

Long story short, it's a total rip off that the dealers make a fortune on. The only reason it is of _any_ benefit I suppose is the convenience of having it done before you take delivery of your car.

Apart from that, go to a good detailer and get a far, far better job done for 1/3 of the price max, probably less. Either that or 2/3 of it at the most and kit yourself out with a good random orbital, Menzerna polishes, some Dodo Juice wax and Red Mist and you'll be able to look after the car yourself for a good few years.

303 stuff is excellent for the interior as AGM6789 said too.

[yomchi1989]

Wow! Thank you that was really helpful.
I am curious though, can you get the opti-coat as a "2nd coat" over the paint protection sealant?
Or would this be pointless lol?

[BigM]

I don't know much about "opticoat" but I'm assuming it's just a synthetic sealant, there are a lot on the market, and what the detailer gives you is basically just a cheap sealant, so you wouldn't do both. Anyway, any decent detailer would be stripping contaminants off your paint before they start applying anything new, so your $1,500 will end up down the drain, literally!

What I do personally is use a high quality wax, as it gives deeper colour, then a synthetic sealant (the Red Mist) over the top, as it lasts longer than wax, also makes the car a lot easier to wash as dirt etc doesn't seem to stick as much.

Nothing out there lasts forever, they all deteriorate over time as you wash the car and it's in the elements, so whatever the dealer or anyone else tells you, anything will wear off eventually and need doing again.

I'm not a detailer, just spend time looking after my cars - these guys are awesome to talk to if you're in Sydney and sell top notch stuff - http://www.carcareproducts.com.au

[BigM]

Haven't read much about it myself, so sounds like it's more like a clear coat paint than a sealant?

[yomchi1989]

Originally Posted by OPT

Opti-Coat isn't a sealant and unfortunately it won't bond to whatever you paid for at the dealership. It will need to be stripped back, and then Opti-Coated.

Competitors like to think Opti-Coat isn't permanent, but our customers will tell you otherwise.

Hey, I haven't had the paint protection done yet. Why then is opti-coat a better product?

[Gir]

Originally Posted by BigM

Nothing out there lasts forever, they all deteriorate over time as you wash the car and it's in the elements, so whatever the dealer or anyone else tells you, anything will wear off eventually and need doing again.

With opti-guard you get a lifetime warranty card, so this isn't really an issue.

[Rusty86]

Has anyone tried to cancel their paint protection? wow..

When I ordered the car I basically went in and just said yes to everything because the dealership said it was the best. Then with 2 months to wait for the car I hit the forums and quickly found out that there were far cheaper and superior products on the market. I called around detailers and have read numerous forums and it seems no one has anything bad to say about opti-coat. However my dealership said they had never heard about it and said they would make some calls. They called me back to tell me that one car detailer said they have never heard of it and another said they would never use it because its a mediocre product.. WTF! They then went on to say that the product they had for me would last 4 years (most car detailers say that dealership sealants only last 12 months), and that there was this wizbang new paint protection (that sounded more like opticoat to me the way it was described) but then told me I would most likely have to pay more for it. Ive already spent 2k on the package and now they are talking of charging me more...

I dont like being harsh to anyone, but every time I talked about taking the paint protection out of the package, voices were raised and I was told I was making a huge mistake like it would ruin the car etc..

How would they know it ruins the car if they haven't even heard of it before?

I realise that they don't want me to drop it cos they make loads of cash off it but wow talk about persistence. I think I'll regret it if I let them do the paint protection, so I'll just have to put my foot down.

**EDIT: I should note however I love my dealership because they helped me avoid the 19 month wait for my GTS. Which is probably why I feel guilty about changing my mind on this**

[AGM6789]

Originally Posted by Gir

With opti-guard you get a lifetime warranty card, so this isn't really an issue.

Amen to this!

[AGM6789]

Originally Posted by Rusty86

Has anyone tried to cancel their paint protection? wow..

When I ordered the car I basically went in and just said yes to everything because the dealership said it was the best. Then with 2 months to wait for the car I hit the forums and quickly found out that there were far cheaper and superior products on the market. I called around detailers and have read numerous forums and it seems no one has anything bad to say about opti-coat. However my dealership said they had never heard about it and said they would make some calls. They called me back to tell me that one car detailer said they have never heard of it and another said they would never use it because its a mediocre product.. WTF! They then went on to say that the product they had for me would last 4 years (most car detailers say that dealership sealants only last 12 months), and that there was this wizbang new paint protection (that sounded more like opticoat to me the way it was described) but then told me I would most likely have to pay more for it. Ive already spent 2k on the package and now they are talking of charging me more...

I dont like being harsh to anyone, but every time I talked about taking the paint protection out of the package, voices were raised and I was told I was making a huge mistake like it would ruin the car etc..

How would they know it ruins the car if they haven't even heard of it before?

I realise that they don't want me to drop it cos they make loads of cash off it but wow talk about persistence. I think I'll regret it if I let them do the paint protection, so I'll just have to put my foot down.

**EDIT: I should note however I love my dealership because they helped me avoid the 19 month wait for my GTS. Which is probably why I feel guilty about changing my mind on this**

1. Was in the same position as you, I put my foot down and got it taken off the contract.
2. I was told to only use the shampoo they provide and not wax the car otherwise warranty is voided. Why do I have to use 'special' shampoo if its such good paint protection?
3. When did you order your GTS?
4. How did they help you avoid the '19 month' wait?

[Rusty86]

Originally Posted by AGM6789

1. Was in the same position as you, I put my foot down and got it taken off the contract.
2. I was told to only use the shampoo they provide and not wax the car otherwise warranty is voided. Why do I have to use 'special' shampoo if its such good paint protection?
3. When did you order your GTS?
4. How did they help you avoid the '19 month' wait?

They are trying to up sell me to this other paint protection but I think Ive heard enough about opticoat to be confident in it.

3 & 4. Ordered early August, picking up in 10 days. They let me buy the GTS that was exactly the spec I wanted that they had on order for a showroom car. Although there was some outside influence as the dealership owner is a family friend.

[AGM6789]

gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

stupid toyota allocation waiting list... mine was supposed to come next month but have to wait till Jan now i think..

check out opti guard on youtube

[primetime]

When I put the order down for a Pegasus White 86 Auto back in June, I was a offered a SPECIAL protection package for the 86 - it's so special that's it's being discounted and I was offered it at $1,999.