Opticoat 2.0 discontinued, OptiCoat Pro sees price increase

[Rsurfer]

auto detailing solution has them listed on their site

It's not orderable at checkout. Pakshak still has a few syringes left in stock.

[zmcgovern45]

I am pretty sure he doesn't know me either

I mean what is so strange about that? Do you know who I am? Pretty sure you don't either. I do not post here or read daily, so can you forgive me?

I am the one they call Zach... nice to unofficially meet you



.... as far as ending my relationship with Optimum... I wouldn't put it that way... I still like their products, however I simply cannot meet their new criteria for pro installers so I do not really have a choice in the matter. Simple as that. No hard feelings, and to be honest, I never really pushed OCP... I've always enjoyed Finest better from an application stand point so I typically try to upsell that at a higher price than I had OCP listed

[tdekany]

I am the one they call Zach... nice to unofficially meet you

Nice to meet you too!

[Theostoubos]

I might not post a lot, but I do read a lot...

So FWIW... why someone from Optimum or Dr. G himself has not made an effort to address all the concerns and answer most of the questions that all the detailers (Full Time Pros, Part Time Enthusiasts, Hobbyists etc) have after such a drastic elimination of such a popular product.

Wouldn't you want to have an opportunity to explain to your customers why, so you can support your decision ? I would... Unless the criteria behind this decision are clearly not to the benefit of my customers.

This "silence" behind the Optimum team announcement does not convince me at all.

Just my honest opinion....

[Pureshine]

I am the one they call Zach... nice to unofficially meet you



.... as far as ending my relationship with Optimum... I wouldn't put it that way... I still like their products, however I simply cannot meet their new criteria for pro installers so I do not really have a choice in the matter. Simple as that. No hard feelings, and to be honest, I never really pushed OCP... I've always enjoyed Finest better from an application stand point so I typically try to upsell that at a higher price than I had OCP listed

I'm in the same boat as Zach.

[Setec Astronomy]

So FWIW... why someone from Optimum or Dr. G himself has not made an effort to address all the concerns and answer most of the questions that all the detailers (Full Time Pros, Part Time Enthusiasts, Hobbyists etc) have after such a drastic elimination of such a popular product.

Wouldn't you want to have an opportunity to explain to your customers why, so you can support your decision ? I would... Unless the criteria behind this decision are clearly not to the benefit of my customers.

This "silence" behind the Optimum team announcement does not convince me at all.

I'm sure I'm repeating myself in this thread, but there has been no "Optimum announcement". What there was, was a notice to pro detailers who are part of the Approved Dealer network, that was leaked to the public.

On top of that, this happened during the last week of "summer", when there are many people on vacation, people are trying to get their kids ready for the start of school, etc.

I'm pretty sure if this had been the way the OC 2.0 demise and Gloss-Coat introduction had been planned there would have been a little more explanation, and I imagine that is going to be forthcoming. It's possible that it was supposed to be a SEMA announcement since we are about 2 months away now.

[mwoolfso]

I checked their web site. Some observations.....

Web Site Content

"Optimum Gloss-Coat is the most advanced polymer system that forms a layer of clear coat over the automotive finishes. Optimum Gloss-Coat provides better scratch and mar resistance, better UV resistance, better chemical etch resistance, and has better release properties than any other consumer product while providing unsurpassed gloss and slickness. Additionally, you can top Optimum Gloss-Coat with any non-abrasive wax or sealant of your choice to add additional gloss and slickenss.

1. If the product provides unsurpassed gloss and slickness, wouldn't one be reducing these "unsurpassed properties" by topping it with another wax or sealant?

2. Glaring spelling error.

In the forum....

1. No announcement in the "News and Events" section.

2. Comment from an August 18th thread

"Does anybody from Optimum eevr respond to any of the threads here?"

"Since Chris Thomas stopped his formal role on this forum there does not really seem to be anyone from Optimum who can help us. I know (and appreciate) Chris does still post here every now and then but it would be nice to see some expert i.e. manufacturer help"

Initial conclusion....

I conclude that OPT is going through one of those corporate transitions now that many brands have coatings in their product lines. Let's see how long it takes for them to get out of this funk. A "funk" is not necessarily a bad thing though. It's clear to me they have strong arguments that the consumer may not want "permanent" on their vehicle (anyone else have inventories that will last a dozen years??), and they want their dealer network to differentiate from the consumer market (yielding more sales and satisfied customers all around). One is left to conclude this on their own though - and that is rarely ever a good thing in terms of maintaining a brand.

[builthatch]

1. If the product provides unsurpassed gloss and slickness, wouldn't one be reducing these "unsurpassed properties" by topping it with another wax or sealant?

that's the problem. people can't control themselves in this end of the market. they want to keep playing with a product even though it's designed as being a final protection stage and apparently OPT had to consider that with the design of the item.

In the forum....

1. No announcement in the "News and Events" section.

2. Comment from an August 18th thread

"Does anybody from Optimum eevr respond to any of the threads here?"

"Since Chris Thomas stopped his formal role on this forum there does not really seem to be anyone from Optimum who can help us. I know (and appreciate) Chris does still post here every now and then but it would be nice to see some expert i.e. manufacturer help"

that's very typical for OPT. from what i've seen, they have a very VERY small staff and do little to no marketing and/or consistent forum participation except when Chris Thomas comments. Autogeek and the like are the main arteries for info about their products for enthusiasts. it's been like that since i started using OPT stuff in 2008. nothing has changed...

...except a few years ago they formed a dedicated authorized installer list. that indicated to me they wanted to create a group of people to then push/market the items to non-enthusiasts. it worked well using AG to sell to us, why wouldn't it work to have pros sell to those who aren't necessarily interested in detailing stuff?

the problem there is making sure that the pros 1. are actually pushing your stuff and 2. installing what they say they are installing on the vehicles of the unsuspecting general public.

[mwoolfso]

Agreed Builthatch

[fmahmad88]

Optimum has some great products that they use and I have been recommending them to most of my customers. I've always told my customers that I have been using Opti-Coat 2.0 and there are pro-installers in different cities available. With that being said, I believe that I will not be trying the Opti Gloss-Coat since it is priced nearly at Opti-Coat 2.0 while not providing durability of Opti-Coat 2.0 which was the selling point of the product(in my humble opinion.) That is why the customers would contact me regarding Opti-Coat. There are several cheaper and really nice products out there offer the same 3 year durability.

For instance, let's take Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating. It's great because you can get several uses out of it and then lets say your customer scuffs their car. In that case, you can buff it out and won't have to buy another expensive syringe to re-apply the coating. For a daily driver, this might be an expensive ordeal if they have to do a spot correction. That's just my two cents.

I am currently waiting for my Opt-Coat Pro installer application. If it doesn't work out, I will be moving to CQuartz. Like I said above though, Optimum makes amazing products nonetheless!