Opti Coat Installer in Boston area?

[Pollux]

Hi,

I'm looking for an Opti Coat installer in the Boston area. Who would you recommend and why?

I've asked the local Tesla Service Center, and read these forums, and asked around, and googled, and so far have found:

Rick @ Unique Auto Care, Wakefield, 781 389 3913. Recommended from a couple of sources. Hasn't yet returned my call.
Will Castro, Pro Detail, North Andover, 978 590 5028. Recommended by Joe Torbati of Orinda Auto Detail. A distinct possibility, as he is experienced with Opti Coat. But he hasn't done a Tesla yet.
Alex @ Driven Perfection, Weymouth, 781 331 0009. Recommended in another car club's forum.
Seajay's Detailing, Billerica, 979 987 5006. Via Google.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[bhuwan]

Rick, as I understand, isone of the top 10 detailers in the USA. I believe neeraj had work done with him.

 

[pete8314]

It's pretty easy to do yourself as well, assuming you have just a little experience in 'proper' car cleaning. I've done mine, and my wife's Q5, and still have about 50% of the solution left over (bought from Amazon for ~$80).

 

[Pollux]

@bhuwan - thanks! That's very specific praise, indeed. But I've called Rick at tel:781 389 3913, which goes to google voice and doesn't identify him. Two messages, zero responses. Is there a magic pass phrase?

@pete8314 - believe it or not, that really hasn't been obvious to me. I've only been thinking professional installation. As I think about your point, all I can imagine is the opti coat splattered all over me and the car somehow damaged beyond repair. I am NOT handy. Oh... Got two fob pockets already. . Thank you for your input!

 

[pete8314]

No problem, mostly I'm just too tight to pay someone to do something I could easily do myself You literally just use a couple of drops of the stuff (it comes in a syringe) for each part of the application, so for a model S hood it would be maybe 8-10 drops max. It does require a little care to ensure the car, and paint is clean first (and stripped of any existing waxes), and then to make sure there's no 'high points' in the Opticoat application, but it's certainly one of the easier treatments I've applied over the years. I used to own a car cleaning company many moons ago, so have tried most of the miracle products around. If you were in Dallas I'd beat any price you'd get

 

[Pollux]

Hmm... Lets check the supercharger network from Boston to Dallas...! :smile:

 

[nkohlimd]

Alan
Congrats on the car. I have used Rick and Seejay in the past. Both did a great job. The key is in the paint correction and prep before installing the opticoat. You would think a new car doesn't need any prep but rarely is that true. We are lucky. Leah at the Watertown SC does a great job with the new car prep but it still needs some love. Rick is awesome and does phenomenal work. Try emailing him at [email protected]. With a new car, I think Seejay is comparable with the added benefit that he can do the work at your house. Let me know if I can help in any way....happy to chat.
Neeraj

 

[Pollux]

Neeraj,

Thanks SO MUCH for the email address. I will try that immediately. I didn't know about the option to have the work done at my house... also quite interesting. Suddenly Seejay has my attention, too.

I've also got to figure out what to do about my Tesla paint armor. I ordered it before realizing that I wanted to lay down a layer of Opti Coat first. Turned out to be too late to cancel. So now I'm debating the merits of Opti Coating just the parts of the car that aren't already wrapped; or Opti Coating everything, including on top of the paint armor; or peeling off the paint armor, doing a layer of Opti Coat everywhere, then paying again to re-wrap the car. That's what happens when you make quick decisions before researching the merits.

Thanks again,
Alan

 

[nkohlimd]

I would just opticoat over the armor. Should be fine and least expensive. Save up for more stuff down the road. The car is addictive and you will want to add on or upgrade. Just my 2 cents.

 

[santana338]

I'm just starting to look into protecting my paint. I'm too lazy to prep the car and apply something like opti coat myself. What should I expect to pay someone to do this?

 

[Pollux]

With prep, SeaJay's is going to run me about $750 for doing the entire car in Opti Coat, plus the headlights and other parts with Opti Something, and the windshield with Opti Glass. I will probably wind up paying an extra $50-$100 for SeaJay's to remove the Paint Armor I had Tesla install at the factory. I installed it before realizing I want to do the Opti Coat thing.

 

[Jack_L]

Looking at this too (just ordered my MS today!) and opted not to go for the factory paint armor. If I get the Opti Coat done right away by one of the above would folks recommend some type of "film" in addition? If so, what's the correct order to install and of course, any suggested Mass installers for the protective film. Thanks!!

 

[nkohlimd]

Pollux - $750 seems a little high but there is a convenience because he comes to the house. The work is really not in the application of the Opticoat but in preparing the paint for application and your car is new so should not require much work. The Opticlean for the windshield and headlights is about $70 online and you can put that on yourself. It's a worthwhile investment as you can put it on all your other cars and it helps minimize windshield wiper wear and windshield chips. I would give Rick a call for second estimate.

Jack - the Opticoat and PPF are two different things. The Opticoat helps to protect the paint from superficial scratches and keeps a constant shine on the car. The PPF helps with stone ships, scratches, and paint damage. I have put it on all my cars in the past but now am a real believer. My wife had it on her odyssey and somebody back into her front bumper at church. It looked pretty bad and I took it to the paint shop. As soon as they removed the PPF, they found that the underlying bumper was pristine and did not require any work. Instead of $700 to repair and paint the bumper, it costs me $200 to replace the PPF. More importantly, the bumper is still original paint and applying the PPF took three hours rather than three days in the paint shop. My installer did Opticoat, then did the Xpel PPF, and the recoated with Opticoat. Rick Nelson in Wakefield. Hope that helps.

 

[Jack_L]

nkohlimd - Thanks for the help. I will give Rick a call and connect when I have a better time for delivery.

Am I correct that it's best to do as soon as the car is delivered as possible? Also, do you have any idea on cost for Opti/Xpel/Opti? Do folks do the whole car or just certain parts with the Xpel?

Thanks!

 

[nkohlimd]

Best to do it sooner rather tna later-I drove my car straight from the dealer to Rick-Approximate cost around $2000 for everything but price will vary depending on how much coverage of the Xpel-I went similar to Tesla kit add added complete front/fender coverage. Biggest limitation of Tesla kit is the material they use and the fact that the just cover the first 18"of the hood so less protection and alos visible line which most don't like. Downside of full coverage is cost.

 

[Pollux]

I'm getting the opti coat next Monday and the re-wrap next Tuesday. The tesla paint armor is nice but I want opti coat on the paint first, so I'm having the tesla wrap peeled off. Oops! (Oh, and I agree, I want the whole hood wrapped.)

my car showed up ahead of time last night and SeaJay's can't take me until Monday. :-(. So there's going to have to be some extra cleanup. :-(. And look at the weather today. :-(

cant believe I have the temerity even to mention these nits. First world problem.

 

[Pollux]

SeaJay's Detailing, Billerica -- Field Trip Report

Summary: VERY HAPPY

I just got the car back from Jason Perrydore at SeaJay's Detailing in Billerica. I saw that @nkohlimd suggests that the price might be high and to obtain a second quote, but I didn't. Having said that, I paid $850 for:

+ Completely remove the paint protection film I got from Tesla & decided that I didn't want because I wanted to Opti Coat everything first
+ Interesting note: Jason reported that the film was already starting to peel from parts of the front bumper (!). Further, he claimed
that other detailers he talked to who handled Teslas had reported a few similar cases
+ Prep
+ Wash
+ Claybar
+ Fill / polish out some scratches -- one that might have originated on my weekend trip to the Cape and one that had been UNDER the Tesla-applied paint protection film (!)
+ Polish everything
+ Opti Coat on all paint surfaces
+ Opti Lens on the headlights and I think a couple of other plastic-y places (e.g., turn signals)
+ Opti Glass on the windshield, windows, sunroof

One unexpected benefit: Jason pointed out that the seals around the sunroof were already starting to fail. He explained that at least one guy wound up having to replace his sunroof. I'm going to bring this item into Tesla for service.

One other detailer I talked to found this to be a reasonable price. (But I never did call Rick @ Unique Auto for a quote.)

I found Jason to be friendly, knowledgeable, thorough, and very reasonable. He did what he said he would, when he said he would do it, and for the cost that he quoted. He tells me that he has been in the business for several years now. He is very excited to have moved into his own garage space in Billerica, so that he can handle cars on-site or in his garage. He takes checks or credit cards.

I am VERY HAPPY with the result! The car was GLEAMING and looked much spiffier even than when I took delivery... and I took delivery just a few days ago, last Wednesday night, 2013/08/07. While I was driving this morning, the rain drops were just gliding across the hood and away, and gliding across the windshield and away.

Contact information for SeaJay's:
Jason Perrydore
SeaJay's Detailing
(978) 987-5006
[email protected] 1 Innis Drive
Billerica MA 01821

Now I'm off to get the car tinted and (re-)wrapped. More on that later.

P.S. P85+/green/tan/tech/pano/21" silver/spoiler/obeche gloss/sound studio/active air/rear facing seats/parcel shelf/paint armor/twin chargers/HPWC

 

[nkohlimd]

Congrats. Jason does great work and I used him on my Maserati and Lexus. Enjoy the car! I have green and tan also and love it! Hope to meet sometime soon....

 

[JPP]

As a SF Bay Area comparison, Joe @ Orinda Auto Detail just finished working on my multi-coat red (3 months old) on Saturday. Took him a day-and-a-half on what I thought was a pretty good paint finish to prep it and apply OptiCoat Pro to everything (including wheels-he dismounts them to do the back sides, all plastic and all glass--different products). It turns out that there were lots of small rubs and scratches. The car now looks truly fabulous, and I know that I now have a thick 'clear coat' to protect the otherwise very soft environmentally friendly low VOC CA compliant paint. The time involved is to properly 'perfect' the finish without removing lots of clear coat/paint. The whole process was not cheap ($350 for full detail and prep, $300 for complete OptiCoat Pro on everything), but given the cost of my investment and the length of time I plan to drive it, I consider it good value.