Opti Coat or XPEL? Or Both?

[GoBlue88]

I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere here before I joined, but I'm having trouble finding it.

Do people get both, or does that not make sense? Does opti coat require reapplications after so many years? Does it protect as well as a wrap?

 

[tliving]

I haven't done it yet but I wrote up my thinking here:

Paint Body Protection | Tesla Living

Basically i'm going to do the Opti-Coat but not the XPEL. But not the day of delivery as its too painful to hand over the car the day you get it after waiting months for it. Im going to drive it for a week and then live without it for a day.

 

[GoBlue88]

Thanks tliving. Nice blog, BTW.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Wraps yes. Then...
C Quartz Finest.
Search it.

 

[Al Sherman]

I did the Xpel Ultimate on the full hood and fenders and then the Opti Coat Pro on the whole car including on top of the Xpel. I like the Opti Coat very much. The Xpel is good on paper but depends a lot on the installer. Get references, and find an experienced installer. I don't think mine did a great job. It looks ok (the hood and fenders) but not perfect. There are some bubbles and even a hair under the Xpel. Hard to notice except under LED light but I see it when I detail the car and it bugs me. Also, anywhere you put the Xpel, make sure a good detailer paint corrects the car before the Xpel goes on. You want the Xpel coated surfaces to be as perfect as possible before the Xpel goes on. You can see imperfections under the Xpel and you can't fix them without taking the Xpel off.

 

[ABVA]

I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere here before I joined, but I'm having trouble finding it.

Do people get both, or does that not make sense? Does opti coat require reapplications after so many years? Does it protect as well as a wrap?

I am one of those who got both, CQuartz, single coat, then Xpel Ultimate, and then CQuartz, second coat. So far pretty happy with the treatment and my installer.

 

[Alysashley79]

I have xpel ultimate on my entire car and then get it waxed with xpel's wax every other month by the place that did my xpel wrap. I didn't go with opti coat because I get free waxes for life but I love the xpel. It's a true life saver and looks wonderful. I do agree you need to make sure the installer is top notch. The first time I had it done the place that did it botched the job completely and I had to take it elsewhere and have it all removed Nadine reapplied.

 

[jcobb]

I have xpel ultimate on my entire car and then get it waxed with xpel's wax every other month by the place that did my xpel wrap. I didn't go with opti coat because I get free waxes for life but I love the xpel. It's a true life saver and looks wonderful. I do agree you need to make sure the installer is top notch. The first time I had it done the place that did it botched the job completely and I had to take it elsewhere and have it all removed Nadine reapplied.

Where did you go in the Seattle area for Xpel and free waxes?

 

[russman]

I did opticoat pro then wrap then opticoat on top of the wrap.

 

[Alysashley79]

Where sis you go in the Seattle area for Xpel and free waxes?

Metroploitan detail in bellevue. They did a fantastic job with the xpel. Even went back for windshield film. Highly recommend!

 

[jcobb]

Metroploitan detail in bellevue. They did a fantastic job with the xpel. Even went back for windshield film. Highly recommend!

Thanks I will contact them in a few weeks when mine arrives!

 

[William13]

I understand Al Sherman's point about the Xpel needing perfect application but suggest that the rock/chip protection is worth the time and money. I plan to keep my Model S until it won't go or I can't drive. I had three months without Tesla's clear bra and had five tiny chips. With the Tesla clear bra two more occurred higher on the frunk lid. With one year of Xpel only one more chip has gotten through and as a bonus I don't need to be as meticulous with hand washing. The clear bra of whatever brand needs wax or opticoat etc.

 

[Nick@Autowerx]

We've had a lot of discussion about this topic in my installers group. The professional consensus is the best course of action would be: Detail (wash/polish/etc.) followed by Xpel wrap followed by a Coating. I'm unsure of the effects of OptiCoat or any of the other coatings on top of PPF; however I know that Xpel Ultimate (the self healing film) has specifically been tested with CQuartz Finest ceramic coating and it works perfectly. The coating helps protect the film for easier maintenance down the road and also does not interfere with the self healing properties of the film. Although there have been very few reported problems of clear film adhering to a vehicle that has been coated and then wrapped, it is generally recommended to have the bare paint wrapped and then have the film coated along with the rest of the paint.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I'm looking into Xpel for the hood/front/mirrors. My car is black though and has swirls in the paint everywhere. Shouldn't I try and get those swirls out first, and if so, how?

 

[Socal-P85+]

Newbie here - Take delivery next Friday of my new black/black P85+ I'm located in Southern California. I'm looking to have the windows tinted, have a radar detector hard wired and need some sort of paint protection. I had a clear bra on my last vehicle and it yellowed. That was back in 2006. The technology is probably much better these days. I don't know if I should go with an opti-coat (are they even in U.S.?) So where are the best places to have these things done and how much should I expect them to cost?

Thanks,
Erik

 

[Pollux]

strong recommendation for Xpel (plus OptiCoat Pro)

Hi,

I wound up:
1. Buying Tesla Paint Armor
2. Not liking its coverage. Also found bubbles, installation didn't look great.
3. Had Tesla Paint Armor peeled off.
4. Paint correction + Opticoat. Also Opticoat on the glass. On every surface of the vehicle.
5. Installed Xpel from the nosecone all the way back to the edges of the rear doors.
Made sure all door edges were wrapped, too.
Did NOT get Xpel on the rear body panels or roof. More on that later.

Details here:
Bought Tesla Paint Armor, but now want to apply Opti Coat
Opti Coat Installer in Boston area?

So what value Xpel? Well, most would point to the flying pebble / paint chip scenario. But I've also recently found that Xpel has bailed my ass out of a serious scrape situation. Over the winter, I nosed my car into a snowbank harder than I realized. I later discovered that there was a major scrape on my right front panel, plus a deep scratch on the nosecone. The nosecone scratch was too deep -- went through the Xpel covering the nosecone -- and I wound up replacing the nosecone ($450). But the scrape on the front panel, that originally looked horrendous, now looks like it will just peel off with the Xpel. I've had the local, authorized Tesla body shop as well as my local Xpel installers look it over, and everyone concurs that I'm going to get lucky. The last body work I did on my Tesla -- right rear, no Xpel, scraped against a post -- cost $1700 and four days. So I think I've just saved another (at least) $1700 and four days.

I'm going to get lucky yet again because a thin scratch on the right rear panel (not covered by Xpel yet) looks like it's going to *buff* out.

So despite originally only Xpel'ing the wind-facing elements of the car, plus the doors, now the car is going in later this week to (a) remove and replace the right front panel's Xpel and (b) finish coating the rear and roof of the car in Xpel. Xpel won't protect you from significant impacts but there sure are a lot of small ones that it could help you with.

So: keep in mind that body work on your new, wonderful, shiny *aluminum* Tesla is way, way expensive.

Good luck!

Alan

P.S. Alternately, just be a much better driver than I am.

 

[Rheazombi]

4. Paint correction + Opticoat. Also Opticoat on the glass. On every surface of the vehicle.

I'm wondering about this as my Opti coat installer said he had to stop putting it on Tesla windshields because it only lasts a few months. Something about the Tesla windshield having some sort of coating on it already? Not sure if he was making that up though.

So far the Opti coat is amazing and makes the car really easy to clean! Dirt and dust don't seem to stick to it as much either so it stays looking freshly detailed for a good while.