Opticoat?
#6
The place I went to is on the high end of the market. I had Formula One Pinnacle tint done there and it was more expensive than other shops, but worth it IMO. I'll shop around or try to negotiate. $895 sounds fairer to me because the paint doesn't need a lot of correction.
I understand that the Opticoat layer can still swirl if you wash it improperly (automatic car washes). You still have to be really careful especially if you have a black car. I plan to keep my RX for 6-7 years. I am pretty careful about paint maintenance (hand wash at home/two bucket method with grit guard/foamer/good quality microfiber towels, and collinite liquid wax applied every 6 months. I don't wash too often either. I just carefully dust off the car every day and i then only need to wash it every two months or so.
I understand that the Opticoat layer can still swirl if you wash it improperly (automatic car washes). You still have to be really careful especially if you have a black car. I plan to keep my RX for 6-7 years. I am pretty careful about paint maintenance (hand wash at home/two bucket method with grit guard/foamer/good quality microfiber towels, and collinite liquid wax applied every 6 months. I don't wash too often either. I just carefully dust off the car every day and i then only need to wash it every two months or so.
Last edited by roblim; 02-27-16 at 10:07 AM.
#7
I'd be careful with Xpel. I had it on the headlights of a Prius (factory LED headlights) and after 4 years it yellowed badly on the top section. Headlights are a harsh test because of the heat from the lights and the reflective parts of the headlight bouncing light back onto the film. I used the thickest film, not the stuff they use on car bodies. You couldn't really see the yellowing on the lower part of the Xpel film, so i thought it was clear there, but when I started pulling pieces of it off, it became obvious that all of the film was yellow to some degree. It did all come off, but not without a lot of goo gone and scraping with blades. No damage to the expensive LED lights thankfully.
Last edited by roblim; 02-27-16 at 10:06 AM.
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#8
Ideally the opticoat would just need to be polished away and then re-applied. I think that is how it is supposed to work, as a sacrificial barrier to the clear coat. I suppose if the poop was acidic enough it could eat through both the opticoat and clear coat layers.
#9
Just bad luck for them but they elected to do the repaint.
#10
SOME bird sht will eat through anything.
Opticoat is an AMAZING product (Although some of their business practices and treatment of "little guy" installers could be questioned.)
Make no mistake about it, NONE of the current paint coatings are bullet proof. If some type of bird droppings can eat through the hardest 2-part automotive clears, they WILL eat right through even the best coatings.
The goal of the coating is to make the paint surface easier to maintain, so typical road grime washes away easier, etc. If it was properly installed and cured before the bird sht hit the surface, I assure you it at least minimized the damage of the accident. Without the coating, the damage would've been even worse, which in this case doesn't matter since it sounds like a repaint is in order, but in less severe cases, it does help tremendously.
Again, no coating is a magic product that you wipe on and leave alone. They all require maintenance to perform as advertised and they can all be jeopardized by things like bird crap, acid rain, etc.
Opticoat is an AMAZING product (Although some of their business practices and treatment of "little guy" installers could be questioned.)
Make no mistake about it, NONE of the current paint coatings are bullet proof. If some type of bird droppings can eat through the hardest 2-part automotive clears, they WILL eat right through even the best coatings.
The goal of the coating is to make the paint surface easier to maintain, so typical road grime washes away easier, etc. If it was properly installed and cured before the bird sht hit the surface, I assure you it at least minimized the damage of the accident. Without the coating, the damage would've been even worse, which in this case doesn't matter since it sounds like a repaint is in order, but in less severe cases, it does help tremendously.
Again, no coating is a magic product that you wipe on and leave alone. They all require maintenance to perform as advertised and they can all be jeopardized by things like bird crap, acid rain, etc.
#11
I wonder if wax over the coating would protect against the bird crap? Are there any plastic bottles that can contain the bird poo? If there are that is what should be incorporated into a coating or clear. It won't eat through glass.
#12
However, if by protect you mean "prevent any damage at all", then absolutely not. Most bird droppings are fine and won't do that much damage to paint if any at all, but some are the equivalent of putting mild form of acid on your paint.
#13
Opti Coat is nice but I would never pay anywhere near $1000 to apply it, it is not worth that kind of expense, you could get your hood and trunk resprayed for less then that if they are damaged.