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Full exterior detail on my 2015 Mk7 GTI

Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Hey everyone,

I got my Mk7 last month and decided to treat it to a full exterior detail and synthetic coating.

Here is the post outlining what he did.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/2t273l/detail_2015_vw_gti_uiatty/

Here is the direct link to the album for all the shots throughout the process.
http://imgur.com/a/B3dJn

It looked beautiful when done. With the coating on there I can just use a quick detailer or a quick wash and it looks perfect again. Everything comes off easily, as if there was a thick wax on there, and the paint underneath looks brilliant. No imperfections or swirls anywhere on my car! And likely to stay that way for some time. Highly recommend having something done if you don't have the tools, time, skill to do it on your own. Well worth the money imo.

Enjoy!
 
Looks great!

Unfortunately, as far as I know, up in the north even the best detail is completely ruined after one snow/ice fall + salt attack. Its a losing battle.
 
That looks really nice, so shiny.

I've been debating calling up the local "We come to you" detail service. We've tried both of the local fixed location places and weren't too pleased. One missed a few spots and took a flashlight, the other stained a leather seat with cleaner(eventually "fix" by them but couldn't get a perfect color match).
 
Opticoat once a year is the way to go.

Obviously be prepared to pay for a quality job...as in not $100 at the local car wash.
 
Nice! That's basically the exact car I'm trying to track down and buy at the moment. More I look at that color the more I like it!
 
NutBucket said:
Opticoat once a year is the way to go.

Obviously be prepared to pay for a quality job...as in not $100 at the local car wash.
Click to expand...

I know that now, the $100 job stole the flashlight. The $250 job stained the seat that was being detailed for trade-in. :\
 
NutBucket said:
Opticoat once a year is the way to go.

Obviously be prepared to pay for a quality job...as in not $100 at the local car wash.
Click to expand...
I heard negative reviews from both people I got quotes from on doing this job. The first guy, Gary Dean, said their prices have gone up and quality gone down in recent years. Beyond that it doesn't last as long as they claim and wears more easily than others. He wanted $850 starting for this job, as he uses his own products (literally his own formulas) and his own shop.

During all my research all these coatings offer the same level of protection, OTC versions (non licensed) offer 2 year protection and licensed versions (requiring approval from company to buy and use) last 3-5 years. Everyone told me that realistically in FL, under normal circumstances, 2-3 years is as much as you'll get from anything before you need to reapply.
 
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2-3 isn't bad. At least the car is garaged and I have covered parking at work.

I wouldn't want to pay $400 2-3 times a year with normal synthetic sealants.
 
NutBucket said:
2-3 isn't bad. At least the car is garaged and I have covered parking at work.

I wouldn't want to pay $400 2-3 times a year with normal synthetic sealants.
Click to expand...
This is once every two years. In two years I may do it again, not sure. Depends on how this goes. I did this because for at least the next year I have no free time on the weekends to get a good wax done often enough to keep it protected.
 
Looks great but seems like a lot of money to spend for a detail. Obviously those high performance sealants aren't cheap. I'd be interested in hearing back after several months regarding if you are still happy with it.
 
NutBucket said:
Its worlds cheaper than a high quality re-spray 🙂
Click to expand...

That's a very good point... But most people aren't going to ever consider respraying a 2015 vee dub. I can certainly see it being cheaper in the long run if it never needs paint correction or whatnot but most of the info that I've read suggests that even the high quality synthetics can develop swirls and whatnot just like your clear coat. I've never been super anal about my paint so I'm far from an expert. I just polish when needed and just try to keep a coat or 2 of synthetic wax on every 2 or 3 months.

How resistant is it to rock chips vs a normally waxed clear coat?

Edit: thinking about it now - it's really not that bad because it does include the paint correction itself.
 
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Right. Theoretically it should be cheaper to remove/recoat and it shouldn't need a correction or even a clay bar....theoretically 😉
 
Atty said:
Hey everyone,

I got my Mk7 last month and decided to treat it to a full exterior detail and synthetic coating.

Here is the post outlining what he did.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/2t273l/detail_2015_vw_gti_uiatty/

Here is the direct link to the album for all the shots throughout the process.
http://imgur.com/a/B3dJn

It looked beautiful when done. With the coating on there I can just use a quick detailer or a quick wash and it looks perfect again. Everything comes off easily, as if there was a thick wax on there, and the paint underneath looks brilliant. No imperfections or swirls anywhere on my car! And likely to stay that way for some time. Highly recommend having something done if you don't have the tools, time, skill to do it on your own. Well worth the money imo.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Get opticoat put on, so you never have to wax it again!
 
NutBucket said:
Opticoat once a year is the way to go.

Obviously be prepared to pay for a quality job...as in not $100 at the local car wash.
Click to expand...

Err opticoat lasts 5+ years, why would you do it annually? You have to level the paint beforehand also, so doing it every year means you'll run out of clear coat.
 
Opticoat doesn't last that long according to everyone I spoke to getting quotes. They have used it too. The guy who did mine used it on his dads car and got better results from what he used on mine. Its also significantly more expensive.
 
Atty said:
Opticoat doesn't last that long according to everyone I spoke to getting quotes. They have used it too. The guy who did mine used it on his dads car and got better results from what he used on mine. Its also significantly more expensive.
Click to expand...

From what I've read, it should last years, unless you mechanically abrade it. I've had mine on for 6+ months, still looks awesome when i wash it.

http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2012/04/optimum-opticoat-review-after-2-years.html
 
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