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Does Opti-coat pro + make automatic car washes Ok?


profunctional
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Just took delivery of a new raptor and it's gettting xpel and opticoat.

 

Goal was to reduce the time to maintain it. Does anyone know if the opticoat will hold up in an automatic car wash? The one I use is touchless.

 

Thanks.

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All ceramic coatings will work well in the touchless wash. I even use some soft cloth washes. But it does wear the product off faster that normal. Meaning you may not get your 7 years if you bought the PRO version. But I dont really care about the 7 years.

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If you are OK with driving your non-coated car through a drive-through car wash, then it's fine.

 

If you are more fastidious with your car, and wouldn't drive through a car wash (I am), then I definitely wouldn't expose it to the harsh detergents of a drive-through, and certainly not any one that has stuff coming in contact with the car (jesus, what if the guy that went through the car wash just before you, just went off-roading or something similar... the amount of shit imbedded in those "soft cloths" would be brutal).

 

Ceramic coatings are strong, but they are far from invincible - they have to be maintained just as regular clear coat does.

 

If you go to autopia.org, they have a multitude of threads about scratch resistance of coatings, and universally, the pros will state that none of the ceramic coatings really provide any scratch/marring protection. (That said, the ceramic coating I did on my Nero Noctis LP560 was a godsend - ANYTHING would be better than that mar-prone paint!!!).

 

Here is a good article on how to care for your ceramic coating:

 

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/mai...only-04-20-2017

 

After reading the article, I found that care of your coated car is basically just washing it carefully, just as you would do if you didn't want to damage your clear coat.

 

I am a little more careful with my paint than the average guy, so my opinion may be a little more strict than others. I think basically, if you don't mind some micro-marring or swirls, then by all means use a drive-through, keeping in mind that the ceramic coating is not going to afford you much, if any protection against it.

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While your information is accurate, we are talking about a Raptor. The paint used on exotic vehicles versus pick ups is completely different. The paint from the factory on trucks is much much harder. Exotics typically are super, super, soft except for A few. I have owned about a dozen Lambo's over the years, The paint has ranged from supersoft on a black Mercielago that I had, to incredibly hard on a black Performante. Why Lamborghini choose to use two different hardness of paint on different vehicles, I've never gotten a good answer. My daily driver is a Tesla. The paint is very soft due to California paint laws. All Teslas will get swirls and less you treat them.

 

I use Nanohide ceramic coating on mine. The car is two years out since the initial application. Because it's a daily driver, I run it through touchless carwash is all the time. The surface is still pristine. It is very true what you said about the harsh chemicals and certainly is more abusive than handwashing. But I actually notice no difference in the magnification of the surface of this vehicle. Nanohide does have a "self healing" property to it, which I'm sure helps. But it is a different hardness than Opticoat or Ceramic pro. Certainly it is up to the OP to decide, but I would have no problem doing what he's doing.

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Thanks Scotty - I appreciate your input. I guess for me, I treat all of our cars equally, and would never run any of them through a car wash.

 

I did consult with good friend who is a master painter (he has won multiple best in show awards for paint, specifically). He said to be cautious - that you cannot generalize, and say that trucks have harder paint than any other cars (in fact, he did say "Ford trucks have some of the shittiest paint I've seen, and when you sand it, it just powders off stupid easy"). So, for the OP, I would be especially careful. Just a thought.

 

I think I know why some of your many Lambos had harder paint than others? My guy reminded me about ceramic paint - predominantly on Mercedes, but used on other higher-end cars, too (including Lambo, maybe?) - this might explain why you have encountered harder paint? Their paint code will end with a "C". Maybe? Dunno. I agree, though - lots of variation in clear coat hardness, even within the same manufacturer. Lexus seems to be consistent. BMW is all over the place. Lambo is also crazy variable - perhaps because they use ceramic paints, perhaps just because they use different clear coats.

 

Was your black Murci Nero Noctis? My LP560 was, and it was soooooo fricking soft it broke my heart. That was definitely a case where applying a nanocoating made it less prone to marring!

 

I have been wanting to try Nanohide, but can't seem to source it. I am not a professional detailer, so I am limited to accessing the prosumer products :(

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Thanks Scotty - I appreciate your input. I guess for me, I treat all of our cars equally, and would never run any of them through a car wash.

 

I did consult with good friend who is a master painter (he has won multiple best in show awards for paint, specifically). He said to be cautious - that you cannot generalize, and say that trucks have harder paint than any other cars (in fact, he did say "Ford trucks have some of the shittiest paint I've seen, and when you sand it, it just powders off stupid easy"). So, for the OP, I would be especially careful. Just a thought.

 

I think I know why some of your many Lambos had harder paint than others? My guy reminded me about ceramic paint - predominantly on Mercedes, but used on other higher-end cars, too (including Lambo, maybe?) - this might explain why you have encountered harder paint? Their paint code will end with a "C". Maybe? Dunno. I agree, though - lots of variation in clear coat hardness, even within the same manufacturer. Lexus seems to be consistent. BMW is all over the place. Lambo is also crazy variable - perhaps because they use ceramic paints, perhaps just because they use different clear coats.

 

Was your black Murci Nero Noctis? My LP560 was, and it was soooooo fricking soft it broke my heart. That was definitely a case where applying a nanocoating made it less prone to marring!

 

I have been wanting to try Nanohide, but can't seem to source it. I am not a professional detailer, so I am limited to accessing the prosumer products :(

 

 

Interesting that you say that, my Murci was Nero Noctis. It was so soft. Even wiping it down with a microfiber would scratch it. I hated that car. If you want to get hooked up on nano hide, I can help you out. I know they don't have a big distribution system yet, but I know the owners. It's a hard product to install, but the capabilities of it are nothing short of amazing. I was just over at Lamborghini Broward and they had a presentation there. They had a BMW X5 that they were using a wire brush on the hood. Scratched the heck out of it. Then used a heat gun to heal the scratches. Incredible.

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Interesting that you say that, my Murci was Nero Noctis. It was so soft. Even wiping it down with a microfiber would scratch it. I hated that car. If you want to get hooked up on nano hide, I can help you out. I know they don't have a big distribution system yet, but I know the owners. It's a hard product to install, but the capabilities of it are nothing short of amazing. I was just over at Lamborghini Broward and they had a presentation there. They had a BMW X5 that they were using a wire brush on the hood. Scratched the heck out of it. Then used a heat gun to heal the scratches. Incredible.

 

 

EXACTLY - that Nero Noctis broke my heart. It looked absolutely fantastic when it was just detailed, but apart from that.... Jesus........

 

I will PM you regarding the Nanohide, in order not to detract from the OP's post. Thanks, Scotty

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Thanks for he thoughtful replies. I'm very careful about taking care of my cars and don't use automatic car washes with the exception of my dd beaters, which the raptor is.

 

Just got it back from the detailer. Got full xpel on the front and rear and opticoat pro plus all over the entire truck. The installer said a touch free auto will be fine as long as every now and then the surface can get agitated with a real wash mitt. Still carries the 7 year warranty.

 

 

 

 

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