Professional Car Detailing. AmeriCoat Vs OptiCoat Vs Wax

[MisterChrome]

I want to get my car professionally detailed and was wondering what type of detail you guys get? I was just introduced to OptiCoat and AmeriCoat which differ from the traditional wax but also cost a lot more. They are ceramic clear coat or something like that. Are you guys familiar with this and have experience with these new coats and are they worth the almost double in price? OptiCoat is supposedly pretty permanent and AmeriCoat is similar to it vs standard wax that needs to be reapplied yearly or so. I have an 04 Mysti that I would really like to have shine again and want to go with the right kind of detail.

 

[whitedevil95]

Not sure but interested to know myself.

 

[FiveOhJoe]

Both are nano coatings. IMO its a waste unless you REALLY cannot find the time to detail the car yourself every few months. I use Menzerna Power Lock sealant on both the cobra and the DD. I top it with Lusso Oro carnuba every month or so on the cobra in the summer. The sealant will last 4 months on it's own with proper wash techniques.

Your other option is to use one of the better spray waxes every month or so. I like Optimum's spray sealant a lot. Pinnacle Souveran is supposed to be excellent too but I have yet to use it.

I used Wolf's hard body nano coating on my last DD and I only got 7 months out of it. The 2 year thing is in the best possible conditions. If you ever wash the car, if it sees rain, if you sneeze on it lol, you're not going to get 2 years out of it. Not even close. Look up reviews of them on detailing forums and you will be hard pressed to find someone that says they recommend it.

Also the shine of a nano coating doesn't hold a candle to a good carnuba. Especially on mystichrome. You want to bring out those warm colors. Nothing does that better than carnuba. Sealants are more for whites, blacks, silver, gray, etc.

 

[MisterChrome]

Both are nano coatings. IMO its a waste unless you REALLY cannot find the time to detail the car yourself every few months. I use Menzerna Power Lock sealant on both the cobra and the DD. I top it with Lusso Oro carnuba every month or so on the cobra in the summer. The sealant will last 4 months on it's own with proper wash techniques.

Your other option is to use one of the better spray waxes every month or so. I like Optimum's spray sealant a lot. Pinnacle Souveran is supposed to be excellent too but I have yet to use it.

I used Wolf's hard body nano coating on my last DD and I only got 7 months out of it. The 2 year thing is in the best possible conditions. If you ever wash the car, if it sees rain, if you sneeze on it lol, you're not going to get 2 years out of it. Not even close. Look up reviews of them on detailing forums and you will be hard pressed to find someone that says they recommend it.

Also the shine of a nano coating doesn't hold a candle to a good carnuba. Especially on mystichrome. You want to bring out those warm colors. Nothing does that better than carnuba. Sealants are more for whites, blacks, silver, gray, etc.

This is exactly what I needed to hear. Now its a matter of trying to do it myself or just hire someone. Thanks for the info, brother

 

[mhinchley]

A quality Carnauba wax is always the way I go anymore. I have tried all the other stuff & always come back to it. For a good shine and to remove scratches, you need a good buff job though, with a light compound ( I LOVE 3M products). NOT something that you want to do yourself if your do not know how to use a high speed buffer, as you can ruin your paint job fairly easily or put horrendous swirl marks all over the car. Key is in the details to cover all the jams up, so you don't get compound & wax splatter in every nook & cranny. I tape up all of jams for the compounding & swirl remover, then remove the tape & wax by hand.

 

[Tractionless1]

Collinite Insulator Wax 845 still beads on my wife's daily driver after 10 months. I used it on the Cobra once a year (2k miles) whether it needs it or not. The wax makes the metallic look 3 dimensional, it's amazing and LASTS!