Nano Coatings: The future of paint protection!
There are three basic levels of protection you can add to your vehicle's factory clear coat, namely wax, a sealant or what's being referred to as Nano Coatings.
Wax is old technology. It looks good but lasts days or a few weeks at most.
Sealants are considerably better. They can last upwards of months. Some people don't care for the look a sealant gives the paint, although that is a personal preference. I use Duragloss 105 which is an excellent product and looks great.
The problem is both waxes and sealants can be removed by solvents and even strong soaps like dish soap. Something better was needed and now it's here!!
Nano Coatings. This is the newest, cutting edge technology that has been introduced to the paint protection industry. I have tested many different products and versions of these products and I stock and recommend two of them:
CQuartz Finest. The best looking coating there is and comes with a 2 year limited warranty!
and
Optimum Opti Guard Pro.
So, 2 Nano Coatings. Which one do I choose? I can summarize the difference briefly and give you my opinion. The CQuartz Finest (CQF) is a product for the owner who wants the best. The gloss is somewhat higher and it repels water slightly better and stays cleaner longer. The downside being that it is warrantied for 2 years and might even last 3 years, but after that the car will need to be polished again and re-coated. The probability is that you would need to re-polish again anyway after 2 years due to inevitable chips, scratches, etc. However, I have done a comparison video to help you decide which product is best for you. You can't go wrong either way. These are the very best out there!
Comparison Video between CQuartz Finest and Opti Guard
CQuartz Finest: Why is this coating the best?
CQUARTZ FINEST (by CarPro) is an evolution in nanotech ceramic paint coatings. In the development of Finest, stronger, further condensed nano particles with better cross linking abilities were designed utilizing a new proprietary nano material to create an extremely tough 3D structure providing a durable, super high gloss coating which protects paint and other automotive surfaces from UV, dirt, brake dust, iron contaminants, bugs, bird droppings, tar, and all sorts of environmental contaminants for two years.
CQuartz Finest offers dirt and water shedding abilities beyond that of any other product available. We don’t make this claim based on only our testing but also on testing reported back to us time and again from professional detailers who have done side-by-side testing with the assumed competition. Time and again in side-by-side testing they find Finest releases water, dust, and dirt faster and more thoroughly than the competition. In other words the side coated with Finest still looks clean and glossy long after other coatings begin to show the dirt and dust.
CQuartz Finest offers more depth and gloss than that of our competitors. Again I don't make this claim lightly but only after the additional feedback from our installers and their clients.
CQuartz Finest is the most exclusive coating available. Unlike other competing nanotech glass coatings, Finest cannot be purchased on the open market and is installed by only CarPro Authorized Finest Installers who have honed their skills so they may polish your paint to the highest level before protecting it with Finest.
Specifications:
- Water contact angle: 100~110°
- Sliding angle: 15~25°
- Thickness: 2~3µm
- Heat resistance: Beyond 575° F
- Increase hardness: up to 2H beyond original surface hardness
Features:
- Stays Clean and glossy much longer even compared to other coatings
- Harder, thicker, and glossier than anything else on the market
- Scratch resistance on paint surface
- Resistance to break dust and iron contaminants from reaching your paints surface
- Resistance to Tar, dust, dirt, and other environmental contaminants
- Slick to the touch feel
- Self cleaning properties
- 2 Year Limited Warranty
What does the warranty cover?
No cracking, bubbling, or peeling of the coating. No turning yellow or acid marks and no more than 20% loss of gloss during the two year period.
CQuartz Finest Pricing:
A new vehicle CQuartz Finest Application package comprises the following steps:
Vehicle Wash and Decontamination using Soap, Iron X decontamination as well as a clay bar surface decontamination.
One step paint polish to enhance the appearance of the paint. (Yes, I can improve on brand new Factory paint!)
Paint cleansing preparation for CQF.
Application of CQuartz Finest to wheels and paint.
Two Year Limited Warranty card.
Free follow-up Wash within 30 days to ensure proper bonding of the CQF.
This package costs $600 for most small and medium sized vehicles. (Large vehicles may be subject to a surcharge).
Any additional polishing steps required to remove scratches, paint swirls or holograms are billed at $30/hr.
Exterior glass areas can be treated with Fly-by-30 for an additional $30.
To give customers a better idea visually of how the two coatings compare, I have split the hood of my own personal vehicle down the centre with CQF on one side and OG on the other. I can demonstrate the difference in person to illustrate the properties of each.
Optimum describes Opti Coat as follows:
Opti-Coat is a hard wearing, aftermarket, ceramic clear coat for superior resistance to scratching (9H) and chemical etching from environmental impacts.
How Does Opti-Coat Protect the Factory paint?
A single layer of Optimum clear coat measures approximately 2 microns in thickness. Compared to other "paint protection" sealants, Opti-Coat is more than 100 times thicker with tests showing a wax coating measuring less than 0.02 microns.
This allows Opti-Coat to effectively absorb damage that would otherwise affect the factory paint layers. Swirl marks, light scratches, chemical etching is not only decreased by the harder clear coating, but the factory paint is protected by the thick outer Optimum coating.
The Optimum Coating is also completely resistant to acidic substances such as bird droppings. Unlike your factory clear coat that can be permanently damaged, Opti-Coat will not etch or dissolve when in contact with these acidic substances and a clean, glossy clear coating is maintained.
How Is Opti-Coat different to other paint protection/sealants?
Opti-Coat is not a wax or sealant like other products on the market. It is a ceramic clear coating very similar to factory type clear coats.
A layer of Opti-Coat measures approx. 2 microns in thickness, or about 100 times thicker than your typical wax or sealant. Unlike paint protection sealants such as PTFE, Nano Sealants, GlassPlexin that degrade over time and are easily removed through washing with water or chemicals, Opti-Coat does not degrade and cannot be removed by chemicals such as heavy duty truck wash or even caustic degreasers. It is totally resistant to these chemicals and produces a permanent film that is chemically bonded with the factory paint layers.
Opti-Coat is effectively the vehicles new outer clear coat. It is far more resistant to chemical etching than factory clear coats and far more resistant than competing paint protection sealants. The 2 micron layer also provides a thick buffer between any damage and the factory paintwork.
What are the benefits of applying Opti-Coat to my car?
Opti-Coat will provide the owner with a superior clear coat film that is highly resistant to chemical etching, harder than factory clear coat to reduce swirls and scratches, and a permanent hydrophobic surface that is easier to clean and stays cleaner for longer.
Here is a YouTube video I shot that shows how Opti Guard stands up after a year!
Adding a coating is an extra charge due to the products needed to prepare the surface as well as the price of the product itself. I charge $150.00 for an average sized vehicle and $175.00 for a large truck or SUV. It is well worth it in my opinion. These products will seal in the paint exactly as it is, so it's paramount to get the paint in as good a condition as possible. Think of it this way. You have a flat piece of glass you're putting over a table. You will see through the glass any marks that are on the table, so the condition of that table needs to be pristine in order for it to look its best. The combination of professional paint polishing and world class paint protection will provide your paint with the best looking, longest lasting protection possible!
Here is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde that was done in the spring of 2011 with Opti Coat:
Here is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde that was done in the spring of 2011 with Opti Coat:
And this is what the car looked like when it arrived:
One last thing about the coatings: they can be applied to paint, glass and plastic and are fantastic on wheels. They really help make your wheels easier to clean and maintain. Brake dust is more easily removed with the coating than without.
