Opinions: Opti-coat or CQuartz

[HeavyMetal]

I realize these haven't been available to the masses for all that long, but I'm looking for an easy to maintain, fairly glossy coating for my nephew's car. He's a law student and doesn't have the time like we do. Sooooo.... Which of these is the easiest to maintain? Which is the glossiest?

[richy]

I realize these haven't been available to the masses for all that long, but I'm looking for an easy to maintain, fairly glossy coating for my nephew's car. He's a law student and doesn't have the time like we do. Sooooo.... Which of these is the easiest to maintain? Which is the glossiest?

Both are amazing. Both look fantastic. Both are easy to maintain. Probably why AG chose to stock both. I stock both. I have been playing with both since last summer. They have subtle differences. The big thing for me is that you can layer CQ. The advantage to that is when you get a stone chip, you don't need to compound off the coating on the whole panel like you do with OC. I have a chip right now on my Lincoln that I have filled and will wet sand flat and redo with CQ. I will only have to do the immediate area and will not need to buff the whole hood. Manufuacturer claims aside, real world testing has not yet proven which one lasts longer. If you get 2 years out of a coating, personally, I think that's amazing given the conditions we drive in. (thinking of Canadian winters). CQ is easier to apply, no question. Some report OC has a darkening effect on dark colours. I did side by side panels on my Infiniti FX35 and and saw no discernable difference in looks. Both repel water and dirt like crazy. do a lot of reading and decide what makes more sense for you.

[CEE DOG]

You won't find a better summary than what Richy just provided.

[HeavyMetal]

Both are amazing. Both look fantastic. Both are easy to maintain. Probably why AG chose to stock both. I stock both. I have been playing with both since last summer. They have subtle differences. The big thing for me is that you can layer CQ. The advantage to that is when you get a stone chip, you don't need to compound off the coating on the whole panel like you do with OC. I have a chip right now on my Lincoln that I have filled and will wet sand flat and redo with CQ. I will only have to do the immediate area and will not need to buff the whole hood. Manufuacturer claims aside, real world testing has not yet proven which one lasts longer. If you get 2 years out of a coating, personally, I think that's amazing given the conditions we drive in. (thinking of Canadian winters). CQ is easier to apply, no question. Some report OC has a darkening effect on dark colours. I did side by side panels on my Infiniti FX35 and and saw no discernable difference in looks. Both repel water and dirt like crazy. do a lot of reading and decide what makes more sense for you.


Thanks Richy. I've read a lot on both including all of your posts on various forums. Your comments on the repairability and ease of application kinda seals it for me (pun intended).

[rwright]

Question: How long has Opti-Coat been around vs. CQuartz? :poke:

[richy]

Question: How long has Opti-Coat been around vs. CQuartz? :poke:

From what I understand in my reading on the Optimum forum is that OC has been in the testing stages (with differing versions) for at least 3 years. Different methods of application have been tried with it too.
As far as CQuartz, it has been around since last summer, but its predecessor, AQuartz was around before that. That would be a great question to pose to Avi frankly. I don't know the answer to that. I will PM him the thread and ask him to respond.

[silverfox]

Great stuff guys..!...its been my experience over the years that my first "feeling" about something is usually the right one. When I over-think something, I usually regret it, and my initial inclination after reading through your reviews (and many others) regarding these products is that CQ makes more sense for me.

I agree...2 years out of any product is quite satisfactory, along with ease of application, and being able to layer it. In a nutshell CQ sounds like its a bit more "forgiving" for lack of a better term. Both sound like great products, but my first inclination was to go with CQ, and I'm sticking with it. I already love the Reload product, so the two should play well together.

I'm an Optimum fan and I really like their products, and I'm sure that Opti-Coat is a great product as well.

Now if only the snow would stop..!...its crazy, crazy weather.

[CEE DOG]

I definitely think there is room for both products. In response to what Richard elluded to... Optimum is a company that I have a lot of trust in. If it is made for paint care and Dr. G engineered it then I trust it.

[rwright]

I was just messing around really :) Both have their place in the industry and it's really tough to decide which route to take. I want to say more but I don't want to cause trouble.

OP, this is going to be a tough decision and I wish you the best!

[Avi@CarPro]

Question: How long has Opti-Coat been around vs. CQuartz? :poke:
Cquartz launched 6 months ago, im in the nano field for 4 years now , i know all about this tech and have much experience, thats why we designed the cquartz.
i guess your question try to reflect how come i say up to 2 year, if its only sold for 6 months, today you can run lab tests which accelerate to the extreme normal conditions, and know this way the time .round about, and still the "2 years" dont mean anything basically, its all in the maintenance.
see our independent lab test results we show :
http://cquartz.com/images/stories/pdf/Cquartz%20KTR%20test-2.pdf
i think we are one of the only western company who show such test !

to show how well cquartz bonded and protect the paint, you can see this flame retarding video we done, this is Mercedes real panel paint! , average flame temp. 800 ~1000 deg.C.
this to show how bonding is not to fire the car paint ofcourse:xyxthumbs:


- cquartz on fire ! .wmv

[rwright]

Thanks for the info Avi and I wish you the best of success.

HeavyMetal, unless you plan to expose your paint to fire, acid, chlorine, etc. I think you will be fine with either choice. Only time will tell how each product will succeed, especially now that Opti-Coat has been released to consumers. Both have their pro's, both have their con's. What people really need to do is have both on hand and experiment with both products so that they can best determine what fits their given situation.

[HeavyMetal]

unless you plan to expose your paint to fire, acid, chlorine

How about radioactive napalm?

[Tom Weed]

I have both, just put CQ on the gf's black car for my first use, and after doing the prep work, used a little round make up remover like CEE DOG used in his testing, well, the car was "sqeeky" clean and the applicator was not totally primed and it marred the hood. I tossed those and used the cotton applicator that came with the CQ and did the rest of the car. Last night I rebuffed the hood to remove the CQ and the marring and after polishing and stripping the hood, I reapplied CQ. I found once I got a feel for applying it, waiting around 15 minutes and going back over it with a MF, it was not bad at all and I REALLY LIKE IT! Next up will be my black car and I will use the OC so I can compare the two...

[CEE DOG]

I have both, just put CQ on the gf's black car for my first use, and after doing the prep work, used a little round make up remover like CEE DOG used in his testing, well, the car was "sqeeky" clean and the applicator was not totally primed and it marred the hood. I tossed those and used the cotton applicator that came with the CQ and did the rest of the car. Last night I rebuffed the hood to remove the CQ and the marring and after polishing and stripping the hood, I reapplied CQ. I found once I got a feel for applying it, waiting around 15 minutes and going back over it with a MF, it was not bad at all and I REALLY LIKE IT! Next up will be my black car and I will use the OC so I can compare the two...

I should have stuck with the regular foam applicator for Opti-coat. My reasoning seemed logical at the time though... Sorry for the bad idea.

[Tom Weed]

I should have stuck with the regular foam applicator for Opti-coat. My reasoning seemed logical at the time though... Sorry for the bad idea.

No applogy necessary, that might have been the best review I've seen!!! :xyxthumbs: