Yes I am very skeptical a coating will last more than 5 years, but kudos if they do?

But the real thing I'm pointing out is ceramic doesn't make paint impervious to scratches so when, inevitably, swirls reappear, those will need to be corrected. Polishing to correct will remove the ceramic. Thus, I don't see the merit in a 12 year coating at all.

 

How can you be skeptical about a product you have never installed or understood the chemistry? Scratches are inevitable. A coating will reduce them but they will happen. Paint does not need to be polished every time scratches appear. Clear coat is as thick as a post it note. If you polish it aggressively or multiple times you will actually ruin the pain by removing the hardest part of the clear coat. Polishing should only be done once or maybe twice in a cars lifetime. I install coatings for a living. I say my coatings last 12 years because they do. Based on pure silicon carbide. You are dealing with a low volume of silicon dioxide. Carbide is far superior to dioxide. Google silicon carbide to learn more

 

I can be skeptical of something and not outright deny it, which is my position here. I am not a pro but in my years of hobbyist interest in the craft and many MANY hours of reading material from a variety of sources, I have not, nor can I currently via searching the internet, locate a 12-year guarantee on a coating. I find lots of 5 year and I see 7 year once in awhile. 12 years seems like magic and until I know otherwise, I will remain skeptical without telling you you're wrong or selling snake oil. If you can point at a brand which lists this guarantee officially, I'd love to see it - you would change my mind about that.

As for the utility of a 12-year coating, I am not in any way suggesting that every scratch, swirl or love mark needs to be corrected. You'd have no clear coat left after not very long. I am definitely saying that once in maybe 3-5 years, a car I really care about is going to get some level of correction and when that occurs, the coating will be removed. Thus, I don't see any real use for such a long life span. If somehow you manage to maintain your paint in a way that avoids nearly all scratches for over a decade, my hat's off to you; I have never been able to do this even with careful 2-bucket (and a third for wheels) washing, snow foam, light touch, etc. Swirls still appear over time and they are easy enough to remove and at the same time I generally clay and decontaminate and then re-protect. Ceramic has allowed to stretch that cycle out much longer than anything else historically (and admittedly I was late to that game) and for that I'm really excited. I still don't see how a 12 year lifetime benefits anyone. But more power do you if you are selling it and customers are happy!

 

I'm not talking about a 12 year warranty. I do however have a 4 layer coating that carries a limited lifetime warranty. The coating is designed to last beyond the life of a vehicle which is more than 12 years 200,000 miles. Opti coat makes their coatings from silicon carbide and not silcon dioxide. Carbide is a lot harder, stronger and more durable. When it is layer the strength increases because the coating thickness increases. The man who makes this stuff is the man who invented the clear coat. He worked for Dupont and came up with the base coat clear coat formulation. In a day when everyone used single staged, he changed the game by separating them. He then started his own company and came up with the first.coating which was called opti coat 2.0 in 2008. It was a consumer coating. He has since reformulated it, made it with a higher carbide content and now sells it as a pro coating. A silcon carbide coating can only be removed by polishing. Light scratches are just the way of the world and they happen to all cars coated or not. I do not suggest polishing again every few years. On a side note, soap is a terrible lubricating wash chemical. It pushes dirt around which is why you have scratches. A no rinse wash is faster, less chance of scratches and washes better than soap. Soap is outdated and should be in a museum of detailing

 

I am very very intrigued by this. I see more and more references to ONR and I have yet to try it. I will give it a go soon. Do you pre-spray? Standard dilution? Do you use it for other purposes as well at different strengths?

 

Dilution ratio is 1:256 or half ounce per gallon. 1 bucket is all you need. 2 bucket method is illogical and ridiculous. If 2 buckets is needed that 4 would be better and 8 would be better than that. Makes no sense. Anyways, you can use onr on glass or interiors at half ounce per gallon. I pre spray with onr in a battery operated pump sprayer (because I hate pumping 3,000 times, annoying), at half ounce per gallon. It also can be used as a clay lube at 2 ounces per gallon. It really is an amazing product

 

Yep, thanks. Above, I was referring to two-bucket approach for traditional soap, not even with any kind of foam cannon. Pretty typical, but the testimonials in favor of single bucket 1:256 ONR with a sprayer just seem universally positive. A game-changer even. Thanks for the insight on that!

 

Detailing at home is suppose to be like therapy. Go slow and take your time. Not trying to be efficient. But you are right, onr is a game changer mainly because it cleans and lubes better than soap. Soap is for the shower not a car. My goal is to be efficient. I can achieve better results doing an onr wash and clay than most people can spending hours polishing their car. I can wash, clay and wax a car in less than 20 minutes and all because of onr

 

What do you mean by "wax" in this context?

 

The best kind of wax is sprayable because it does not have the hydrocarbon solvents in it like the liquid or paste wax has and you can wash, clay and wax in 1 pass around the vehicle