Options for long term paint protection

[repoman0]

Hi all,

What do you guys use for keeping your car's paint in good shape? I saw mention of opticoat in another thread, but apparently that has been discontinued. Anyone use a clear bra or xpel and would you recommend either over something like optimum gloss coat / competitors?

I'm looking for paint protection more than shininess, and can think of about a hundred better uses of my time than obsessively washing and waxing or applying sealant to my car (like driving it). That said, my new-to-me car has pretty flawless paint, especially for a 2005, and it'd be nice to keep it that way with a minimum of paint maintenance work ...

If it helps, it'll be a daily but not through winter, after seeing what Boston streets covered in 100 inches of snow did to my car this past year.

Thanks!

 

[KentState]

What type of car is your 2005? It's 10-11 years old at this point and unless something that will be a collectible, you will be wasting money on Xpel. That will run you up to $1k which could be a pretty decent percent of the value of the car.

 

[NutBucket]

Opti-coat is another option.

 

[Ramses]

The compromise is to just have someone else wash and wax it regularly, and keep it covered, religiously. And not just some kids at a local carwash preferably. I've used that clear stick on stuff on the leading edges on some p-cars and ferraris with good results after a few years if you put a lot of miles on.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Make a savings plan for a decent new paint job after a certain period of time? I knew people that would have saved money doing that versus what they normally did, but I guess they valued a clean shiny car a lot.

 

[repoman0]

What type of car is your 2005? It's 10-11 years old at this point and unless something that will be a collectible, you will be wasting money on Xpel. That will run you up to $1k which could be a pretty decent percent of the value of the car.

BMW M3 .. it has 35k miles and is in great shape:

http://i.imgur.com/PSfwd5V.jpg

NADA says it's still worth $27k, and I paid less than that. I personally think it'll probably be a collectible, maybe? Judging from asking prices (I know, they aren't sale prices) of similar cars with up to 40k more miles, if I keep it clean the value isn't going to go down too much over the next few years.

So, $1k wouldn't be too crazy, although obviously it's not particularly desirable. But, it's not out of the question if that's the best way to go.

Make a savings plan for a decent new paint job after a certain period of time? I knew people that would have saved money doing that versus what they normally did, but I guess they valued a clean shiny car a lot.

This is the other option, of course. I don't particularly care about the car being clean and shiny at all times, but some of these semi-permanent coatings seem pretty great if all I have to do is spend 30 minutes washing every 2-3 weeks and the car looks close to how it would if I wasted all sorts of time waxing or applying sealant.

Even at $1k though, if that's required every 5 or so years, it's less than a new front end paint job, and any swirls or scratches would be in the coating or plastic stuff, not the clear coat.

 

[KentState]

I would look into Xpel personally. Had my car covered with it and the stuff is easy to clean, bugs wipe off and prevents rock chips. They have a 10 year warranty which is pretty effective if you go through one of their shops.

M3 is a decent car to keep looking good and repainting is going to be more expensive and good luck color blending paint that old.

 

[repoman0]

I would look into Xpel personally. Had my car covered with it and the stuff is easy to clean, bugs wipe off and prevents rock chips. They have a 10 year warranty which is pretty effective if you go through one of their shops.

M3 is a decent car to keep looking good and repainting is going to be more expensive and good luck color blending paint that old.

10 year warranty is pretty solid. How long have you had it and does it stay looking good for that amount of time? Did you cover the whole car or just the front?

 

[Squeetard]

Did my 2012 Camaro with expel ultimate. Windshield frame, mirrors, nose, rockers and just behind both wheels. Everywhere rocks and bugs can get to. 2 years old now and it still looks great Easy to clean, bugs come right off, no rock chips. Cost $1300 canadian.

 

[Nebor]

I've got the front end of my Porsche Macan covered in Xpel and the whole car covered in Opticoat Pro 2.0. My last several cars have been Opticoated, and I'd highly recommend it. Like a permanent wax. I take my cars through a car wash at least once a week, so the paint gets wrecked with swirls and scratches, but the Opticoat does a good job of protecting it (had the car since November and only gotten two scratches deep enough to make it through from the car wash.) Most swirls and scratches disappear from the opticoat after a quick wipe down with the Optimum Detail Spray.

 

[KentState]

10 year warranty is pretty solid. How long have you had it and does it stay looking good for that amount of time? Did you cover the whole car or just the front?

Had the bumper, hood, mirrors, door cups and rear bumper top on my wife's Acadia. The edges are tucked so it's hard to see and it still looks good. Can barely tell it's on the car unless you actually study the paint.

My Corvette had front bumper, front fenders, hood, a-pillars, rockers, door sills, roof, rear fender and spoiler covered. All pieces had the edges wrapped where possible. Also had the rims opt-coated since they are painted black. Not enough time to tell how it holds up, but the opt-coat made the rims like glass so dust comes off easily.

I've had bad experiences with rock chips on the roads down here on previous cars and regretted not getting something done. Top that off with bugs and it's just a pain to clean.

 

[repoman0]

Cool, thanks guys! For some reason I had the impression that opti-coat and similar products were meant to prevent rock chips, but I guess not.. more for swirl and scratch protection and easy cleaning. So apparently, xpel on the front and then opti-coat or competitor over the rest would be ideal. I'll see what I get for quotes around the Boston area and update the thread for reference, in case anyone else is curious. I will probably go ahead and do it because I plan on keeping the car for a long time and even if an unexpected sale comes up, this is probably one of the few mods that would retain a decent percentage of its value .. beat up 10+ year old M3s are a LOT cheaper than nicely kept and maintained ones.

 

[KentState]

Agree that it will retain it's value more than other mods. A quality detailing would cost you around $800 if they do paint correction. Personally I would pay up to $1000 more for equal cars if one had better paint than another.

 

[bryanl]

Keep away from snow, sun, and rain. No protectant will work nearly as well.

Car bras cause dirt to accomulate between them and the paint, leading to rust and even scratching because the bra shifts slightly during driving. Also the paint color will change, unless it's white.