Nano Coatings

[BobF]

There are a few products on the market that claim to be super "nano coatings" that are applied to your finish and supposedly retain the luster for 18 months or longer. (i.e. opticoat 2.0)

Has anyone had any experience with these coatings, and if so, what's been your experience with using Adams products on top of them?

Edited September 18, 2012 by Dylan@Adams

[Team Adam's]

Edited your post to keep it within our forum rules and give the correct name (nano-coatings)

 

Interesting products for sure... and super durable. Some of the claims are a TAD exaggerated (for example the claims of outright scratch resistance) but some of these new coatings are impressive and do have extremely long durability. Literally measured in terms of years, not months. The catch is obviously you are sealing in any defects you have long term with a product like this so you have to A) get your paint perfect first and apply the product correctly. The only way to remove it once its applied is abrasion (polishing)

 

Now... that being said you can top them with wax just like any other 'sealant' if you like... no issues there at all. I've played with a few of them on the market for my own personal edification. The margin for error in a 'novices' hands is fairly high so as the technology exists now its not a product we're yet dabbling in.

 

 

Plus... with QS offering 5 months + for most customers and all of us actually enjoying the process of detailing it seems like something that would take the joy out of my favorite hobby.

 

 

EDIT - one other thing, these should not be confused with the stuff like Xillion you get at the car dealer for $500 on a new car.

[Skywalker]

Interesting products for sure... and super durable. Some of the claims are a TAD exaggerated (for example the claims of outright scratch resistance) but some of these new coatings are impressive and do have extremely long durability. Literally measured in terms of years, not months. The catch is obviously you are sealing in any defects you have long term with a product like this so you have to A) get your paint perfect first and apply the product correctly. The only way to remove it once its applied is abrasion (polishing)

 

Now... that being said you can top them with wax just like any other 'sealant' if you like... no issues there at all. I've played with a few of them on the market for my own personal edification. The margin for error in a 'novices' hands is fairly high so as the technology exists now its not a product we're yet dabbling in.

 

 

Plus... with QS offering 5 months + for most customers and all of us actually enjoying the process of detailing it seems like something that would take the joy out of my favorite hobby.

 

 

EDIT - one other thing, these should not be confused with the stuff like Xillion you get at the car dealer for $500 on a new car.

 

Very true. OC 2.0 is much more scratch resistant than a typical clear coat, but by no means is OC or Hard Body scratch resistant in itself. And I have not been able to get anything to stick to OC, neither have many others. But waxes or sealants will look good for a short while but they don't bond to it enough to last long.

 

Luckily the new nano-sealants are as easy to apply to Quick Sealant is, but they only last 2 years, they aren't permanent. I have been putting a permanent coating on my vehicle recently, but I have been really diligent in polishing the paint to perfection first as, like Dylan said, you need to polish the coating off.

 

I too do like traditional detailing though, I find the permanent coatings to be invaluable on wheels and barrels, headlights, and other areas that are hard to maintain, but everywhere else QS, Americana, etc work great, and look great.

[04silverado]

EDIT - one other thing, these should not be confused with the stuff like Xillion you get at the car dealer for $500 on a new car.

 

Dylan, what exactly is Xillion? How does it work/last as compared to a sealant or wax?

[Team Adam's]

Products like that are just that, a sealant or a wax... nothing more durable than any other product you could purchase anywhere else. Typically what you do get is a warranty from the dealer that covers you against paint damage, but what happens in most cases is people fail to read the fine print and in order to have the warranty honored you must come back to the dealer every so often for a fresh application.

 

These kinds of products get a bad wrap in the business b/c so many less reputable dealers will sell the products as "you'll never have to wash or wax your car and it'll stay perfect" but they don't include the part about coming back... so in 6 months when the customers car is experiencing paint issues they can void the warranty and deny the claim.

 

Not all dealers are this way, but there are enough of them out there that offer these things for $500 on a new car and people get screwed.

[04silverado]

Gotcha, no one ever reads the fine print! Haha

[Luken10]

I decided to test the Opti-Coat product on my car a couple weekends ago. Wetsanded and then buffed my trunk lid to perfection. Applied the Opti-Coat on one side, and brilliant glaze / Americana on the other. I asked a few people which side looked better, and it was always (almost instantaneously) the Adamized side. I personally didn't want to believe it since I really wanted to utilize the extra hardness for those fine swirls on a daily driver. But, at the same time, if I know my paint can look even better I do not want to settle for less. To me the the waxed side just looked deeper and wetter. Not to say the Opti-Coated side didn't look amazing, I did damn fine job at polishing. It was just lacking what the other side had.

 

I will have to try putting brilliant glaze and Americana on the Opti-Coat to see how that looks. However, even if it does end up looking the same, I know I will probably have to reapply every week because of the properties of Opt-Coat. I'm not sure if that is worth my time and money.

 

Also, as for water beading. I could not tell a difference at all. Misting, sheet rinse, dew on the car in the morning, it all looked and performed exactly the same on each side. I know the Opti-Coat is going to last a whole lot longer, but for some reason I was expecting more "magic" to happen. Oh well!

[chrys7]

Adams working on any products using Nano?

[Ralfy]

I hope so...

[JBlack151]

I hope so...

 

X2

[The Ryan]

I have used two nano coatings... Neither impressed me. Quick sealant lasts longer than one, the other is such a PITA to use its not worth it.

 

via Tapatalk on my Galaxy Slll

[Pureshine]

I use Wolf's products and love them hopefully Adam's will look into making some products.

[The Ryan]

That's on my list of products to try... The coatings I have used have been expensive, and haven't produced the desired results... I've been weary of them ever since.

 

via Tapatalk on my Galaxy Slll

[Ralfy]

I use Wolf's products and love them hopefully Adam's will look into making some products.

 

 

This^^^^^^^^ if Adams had a nano coating like wolf's I'm sure it would be amazing

[chrys7]

Not sure which you used but to be specific Wolfs hard body,is pretty dam amazing! And Opti-Coat as well. But im looking at picking up Wolfs for testing.

 

 

I have used two nano coatings... Neither impressed me. Quick sealant lasts longer than one, the other is such a PITA to use its not worth it.

 

via Tapatalk on my Galaxy Slll

[Ralfy]

Might wanna be careful dropping other companies name on the forum guys. I'm sure one is on their list of things to try and make

[Pureshine]

Why they don't even make anything like wolf's

[The Ryan]

Yup generally we don't converse about 'other companies' products here... thats why I have left the names out of my posts.

[Pureshine]

I under stand most people don't use other company names. But wake up they don't make anything close to that kind of product. I use and love Adam's products for years. If they had anything similar I wouldn't of used the name but get over it.

[THE Mook]

We can keep this thread polite and have a discussion, or I can get mean.

 

I'll let you decide. Given the Holiday Season.

[AmyAtAdamsAustralia]

Time to apply Opti-coat 1-2 hrs, curing time 6 hours, can only be purchased by selected professionals and application requires an experience professional to avoid extensive damage to factory paintwork.

 

Time to apply Adam's Brilliant Glaze and Americana 45-60 mins, minimal curing time and can be purchased by any one and easy to apply. The shine result.... priceless!

 

I always say to people if it works for you great! Just remember you own the car, the car doesn't own you!

Edited December 17, 2012 by Joseph@AdamsAustralia

[Pureshine]

Wow!Really!

[Slava]

Time to apply Opti-coat 1-2 hrs, curing time 6 hours, can only be purchased by selected professionals and application requires an experience professional to avoid extensive damage to factory paintwork.

 

Time to apply Adam's Brilliant Glaze and Americana 45-60 mins, minimal curing time and can be purchased by any one and easy to apply. The shine result.... priceless!

 

 

I'll have to disagree with you on application and Opticoat 2.0 can be purchased by anyone.

I think that permanent coating and nano coating are not for everyone, most people enjoy waxing their cars, these coatings last ~ 2 years with minimal maintenance.

If anyone has questions feel free to PM me. I've been using OptiCoat for a bit over a year and love it.

[JBlack151]

I've been using the nano coatings mentioned here for a little while and I've only been extremely happy with only one of them. And that is based on the application process and the results. But Slava made an excellent point with people wanting to shine away on the vehicles all the time. So these products wouldn't be for them in those cases.

 

I would love for Adam's to have these in their arsenal so I can continue my support of this great company, however I completely understand why they may want to stay away as well.

Edited December 17, 2012 by JBlack151

[Team Adam's]

Nano-coatings are definitely interesting, but they're also still very much in their 'infancy'.

 

We don't have any current plans to offer one due to the high risk of amateur application (this is the type of thing you have to consider when all your products are backed with a 110% satisfaction guarantee)

 

A coating like this is a 'clear coat for your clear coat" essentially... so theres a few things that have to happen first.

 

1) The paint has to be 100% corrected. The coating will lock out the elements long term, but it will also lock in imperfections underneath it. How many threads have we had here where someone seals/waxes their car only to discover they missed a spot? Its no big deal with traditional wax/poly sealant products... strip and start over. With a coating it has to literally be abraded from the surface with compound or you have to live with the imperfections.

 

2) Ease of use - as everyone has come to expect our stuff is generally pretty darn easy to use with very wide margins for error. The coatings require a bit more skill to apply appropriately and can have big problems if done wrong. Again here I point back to the first reason and the 110% guarantee.

 

Have we played with the coatings? Yes. Are we actively working on our own... not really. Will we eventually? Probably as the technology improves and we can find a solution that suits our customers needs the right way. The last thing we want to do is put a product in our customers hands that we aren't confident they can use easily and without fear of "OOPS" factors coming into play.

 

I'm sure as everyone here has seen there are occasional threads where someone doesn't read the label, or doesn't follow our recommended process and gets unexpected results. The last thing we want to do is have a semi permanent coating with our name on it if theres a high possibility of error or misuse.