Review and Extreme Testing: Opti-Coat 2.0 and CQuartz

**CEE DOG** · 05-02-2011, 06:07 PM

Aggressive Scratch Test:
I tried to do a scratch test as requested by many members. First let me say this paint isn’t the softest in the world so this test doesn’t prove too much. I wish I had a panel with very soft paint so I could do that test. With this particular paint I didn’t find much difference if any. My test may have been too aggressive. Anyway, in time I plan to polish this panel to perfection and do a better looking test but I thought I’d share this for now.

A course pad was place under a full jug of juice so that the weight placed on the pad was not a variable.

The right side is OC and the left side is CQ. In the middle there was a tape line which is no lsp.

Video:

OptiCoat 2.0 Side

Cquartz Side

**jbgrant** · 05-02-2011, 10:37 PM

Cool. Thanks Cee Dog for ever improving the knowledge base.

I would think that just about anything with much force behind it would easily cut through the protection and cause damage. Perhaps there is some way to simulate an abrasive action equal to that of a method of car washing.

**jlb85** · 05-02-2011, 10:56 PM

This is the best comparo thread to date, Corey! I can't imagine the effort and time involved in thinking it up, putting it together, doing the tests, recording them, writing the review, and posting. I feel like I owe you!

I am going to link this to a customer who is considering the coatings so he can see just how good they really are!

Thanks again!!!

**CEE DOG** · 05-02-2011, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by jbgrant

Cool. Thanks Cee Dog for ever improving the knowledge base.

I would think that just about anything with much force behind it would easily cut through the protection and cause damage. Perhaps there is some way to simulate an abrasive action equal to that of a method of car washing.

I completely agree! I almost didn't post this but I had already done it and thought I should still post it. The failure is on me though! Not the coatings. I am going to polish the panel into shape and then redo the test using only a dry low quality mf towel.

Originally Posted by jlb85

This is the best comparo thread to date, Corey! I can't imagine the effort and time involved in thinking it up, putting it together, doing the tests, recording them, writing the review, and posting. I feel like I owe you!

I am going to link this to a customer who is considering the coatings so he can see just how good they really are!

Thanks again!!!

That is extremely kind! Thank you

.

Btw: I'll do a better job with the next scratch test. I got carried away but I did learn something. The next test should benefit from my failure on this one.

**Bates Detailing** · 05-02-2011, 11:00 PM

WOW - How on God's Green Earth do you have the time to do a review like that?!?!?!?!? Very impressive...... do you get a little bit extra or is that for fun?!?!!? You absolutely 100% earned that trophy you received for sure

.

**CEE DOG** · 05-02-2011, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by B&B Tennessee

WOW - How on God's Green Earth do you have the time to do a review like that?!?!?!?!? Very impressive...... do you get a little bit extra or is that for fun?!?!!? You absolutely 100% earned that trophy you received for sure

.

Thank you!! That is very kind! I don't sleep as much as I should and I spend my "fun time" on it. LOL. No, I do the testing as a hobby. I paid for both coatings. I really enjoy detailing, experiments of any kind, and I love writing. This combines all 3.

Thanks again!

**Avi@CarPro** · 05-03-2011, 03:12 AM

Thanks Corey for your time, i guess you like doing such experiments,
i guess you just saw our small video with the scotch brite scratching, and tried to do the same..
1 thing though.. we done it water wet! , your test is same as sand papering the surface when its dry, i guess this course pad you used is similar to 1500 grit sanding, if not more.
you should have done it wet, since no one wash his car without lubricant liquid.

i dont want to flatter myself, though both pics of CQ and OC are scratched hard, if you look very carefully , it looks like CQ side has little less scratch yet. maybe its only me...

thank you for your time again..
Avi

**richy** · 05-03-2011, 07:47 AM

Corey, like we were talking about on L2D chat, it will benefit everyone greatly to have a realistic test that tests the coatings in a way that would reflect the kind of challenges that face any surface protection. The difficulty lies in creating a test that is aggressive enough yet still is realistic to everyday car care. I'm hoping rubbing a coarse mf across a dry surface will be enough to induce some marks as that would be a good, reasonable, appropriate test. If not, back to the drawing board. Thanks so much for your continued efforts!!

**jbgrant** · 05-03-2011, 09:31 AM

This idea is from somebody else and has been applied several times, but I'm not sure its an ideal test method. In your quest for softer paint, you could take it to the extreme and do a test on CD surfaces. They scratch super easy and their reflectivity makes it super easy to evaluate damage. You could get 9 blank CDs for a couple dollars or less, run a control and two treatments standardizing the variables as you did before. Best case scenario, visible damage would occur at the moment the coating was compromised with the CDs. I have no idea how well the polycarbonate surface of a cd would act as a bonding surface for these compounds. You could coat a couple CDs, let them cure, and see if if the coatings appeared to hold up to water, MF polishing, etc as you did before. If you're going to put the test together you should run it more than once to demonstrate consistency. Sorry to be suggesting you spend more of your time on this! I'm in strong support of all your tests. Perhaps you could have a paypal donations button on your detailing site.

**maluminas** · 05-03-2011, 09:56 PM

Hm, well that's kinda disappointing. My Kia appears to have extremely soft paint and after one winter it is very badly swirled up (almost as bad as your extreme test). I hoped i could use OC or CQ as a last resort scratch protection if the damage reoccurs during next winter. If i polish major scratches every year ill cut right through the clearcoat before i resell the car...

I suspect the larger part of the damage was inflicted by frequent snow-sweeping, as the scratches are very long, parallel and in arcs corresponding to sweeping motions. The bristles don't feel particularly harsh, but i guess i'll start looking for a gentler broom or a different method of snow removal.