To Coat or to Seal?

[Waxmax]

Just curious....was wondering if people or going more to coatings (e.g., OptiCoat or CQuartz) or still staying with sealants and why? Are your still "topping" the coatings?

[fenderpicks]

Can u top wax over coat o.O?
The cquartz description sound so tempting....

[HellDemon]

You can top a wax over it, but it won't really stick. And apparently sealants that normally last 6+ months would probably only last for 1 month on a semi-permanent coating. But nonetheless, people still do seal it, usually with carpro reload since it maintains the lotus effect to make dirt easier to clean and prevent dust build up.

Personally, once I order OC and install it, I still plan on treating it as an uncoated car and use sealants and waxes simply because I enjoy it haha (though using sealants other than reload will get rid of the lotus effect; more dust will accumulate and will be harder to clean than if you didn't top the coating or use reload)
But my main goal is scratch protection (due to my paint being soft) rather than making it easier to clean

[Old Tiger]

I am a Coating Convert! Nothing adheres to it! I top with ReLoad or Permanon Platinum for a glass like look.

[speedraider]

Wolfgang sealant 3.0

[BobbyG]

I am a Coating Convert! Nothing adheres to it! I top with ReLoad or Permanon Platinum for a glass like look.

Jim is our coatings guru and he knows his products!! :props:

[bigez]

I tried to wax (carnauba based) my Opti-Coated car once too, and felt like it was a total waste. First of all, the wax acted "weird" like all I was doing was smearing it around. Then when I buffed it off, it seemed like it just took all the wax right back off. Didn't look any better either. I tried some Reload, but wasn't super impressed, but maybe because my car is silver. It did "feel" slicker though, but didn't look any better in my case.

Like a true autogeek, I have panels that are waxed, and that have reload on them, and I still think the plain opti-coated panels look just as good. And, now that pollen is here, it almost seems the opti-coated parts attract less pollen than the wax or Reload parts, but only slightly. Pfhhh....in conclusion, can't tell a big difference either way.

[Old Tiger]

Jim is our coatings guru and he knows his products!! :props:
You are too kind Bobby!

[Old Tiger]

I tried to wax (carnauba based) my Opti-Coated car once too, and felt like it was a total waste. First of all, the wax acted "weird" like all I was doing was smearing it around. Then when I buffed it off, it seemed like it just took all the wax right back off. Didn't look any better either. I tried some Reload, but wasn't super impressed, but maybe because my car is silver. It did "feel" slicker though, but didn't look any better in my case.

Like a true autogeek, I have panels that are waxed, and that have reload on them, and I still think the plain opti-coated panels look just as good. And, now that pollen is here, it almost seems the opti-coated parts attract less pollen than the wax or Reload parts, but only slightly. Pfhhh....in conclusion, can't tell a big difference either way.
OC & Permanon = much less pollen and just a hose to wash clean!

[AeroCleanse]

I too am a coating convert

[S7ICKlVlAN]

I wanna be a coating convert! OC/Permanon sounds good to me.