Dealerships and Professionals
Often times the two are confusing to the consumer. Dealership products can be enticing due to lavish and at times outrageous warranty claims and false promises.
Here's The Difference
- Dealerships will apply their product after a simple quick wash, wipe on wipe off and they are done. Professional grade coatings take several hours or days of preparation prior to application.
- Dealership protection does not include polishing the vehicle and removing defects such as swirl marks, bug etchings and other such paint issues before application. They are in effect "locking in" any paint problems by sealing over them.
- Most dealership coatings are restricted to the paint system ONLY! There is no protection or hydrophobic coating applied to the vehicle’s rubber/plastic/chrome/carbon fiber trim pieces, headlights or taillights, glass, rims, etc.
- While they claim to be ceramic coatings, most of these products contain little or no silica, which by most professional detailer standards would make them a paint sealant rather than a ceramic coating. Old technology.
- Even if a coating is advertised to contain Si02, the coating is still limited to a 7 on the mineral hardness scale, where other professionally installed coatings score upwards of a 9 hardness measurement.
- That "lifetime warranty"? Read the fine print! Many products such as Zurich Shield, Nano Cure, Caltex Resistall, Xzilon require a bi-yearly reapplication or continued waxing in order to keep the warranty, and the reality is the warranty can become null and void of damage that could occur due to environmental exposure.
- Car wash systems like Delta Sonic, Royal Car Wash, Laser Washes, or even hand washing with degreasing based soap (Dawn dish soap, anything high or low on a Ph Scale) chemically erodes the low performing coatings often found in the dealership world. They are not “permanent” coatings.
- Most dealership detailers are low minimum wage workers who have never been trained, have little to no experience applying these products, and are clueless about how the chemistry works. Not their fault, but when paying oftentimes MORE for these products than a professional detailer, something to keep in mind.
The Bottom Line
All coatings, ceramic and synthetic blends, need to be treated as professional-grade products in order to receive maximum benefits. Professional-grade coatings that are not properly installed will most likely fail within the first 1 – 2 years, possibly nulling any warranties and ruining your investment in the product. With a quality coating being installed by a certified technician, the margin of error is virtually eliminated as opposed to an ill or untrained installer. With our certified staff members, we ensure proper paint preparation and a test-proven coating application. Customers can get a coating installation quote today and dealers can inquire about our OptiCoat Ceramic Dealership Program!
OPTICOAT (SiC)
Chemical Resistance
100%
UV Protection
100%
Gloss Enhancement
95%
Swirl Resistance
90%
Other Proprietary Blends
Chemical Resistance
65%
UV Protection
75%
Gloss Enhancement
80%
Swirl Resistance
60%