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Richmond VA detailing , opti coat

ajw

Member
Apr 29, 2014
84
0
Richmond, VA
I'm due for delivery in late June, and looking to get Opti Coat Pro applied asap...hopefully that same day.
Has anyone else in the Richmond area had this done? From my cursory internet search, it seems like Car Pool Auto Detailing may be the only place in town that does it. I remember using them for something else years ago and being pleased.
The guy I talked to seem to know what he was talking about....and he gave me way more information about the process than I asked for...which I took as a good sign.
I didn't ask...but I can't imagine they've had much experience with Teslas...but I'm not sure if that really matters specifically.

So...has anyone else used them...or found another shop in town?
Thanks
 

OLL

Member
May 19, 2014
16
0
Richmond, VA
Thanks for starting this thread! I am in the same boat: looking for a shop to help with protective coating shortly after delivery. As ajw knows, I am also Late June.

I found this shop that is an XPEL Ultimate / 3M (protective film) installer, but have not called them yet. The only thing I know about them is a that they have a pretty website. I have no references on them.
Concours Auto Detailing

Does anyone know about them?
 

ajw

Member
Apr 29, 2014
84
0
Richmond, VA
Thanks for starting this thread! I am in the same boat: looking for a shop to help with protective coating shortly after delivery. As ajw knows, I am also Late June.

I found this shop that is an XPEL Ultimate / 3M (protective film) installer, but have not called them yet. The only thing I know about them is a that they have a pretty website. I have no references on them.
Concours Auto Detailing

Does anyone know about them?

I've not heard of them....but that isn't saying much. They are right near my office though.....so that could be a bonus if someone pops in the thread with a firsthand experience.
I did notice they don't use OptiCoat...but rather 22ple. Carpool Auto Detailing was Opti Coat certified. I guess you can take or leave that for what it's worth.

OLL, are you planning on the XPEL and OptiCoat.......or just one or the other?
I was leaning towards just OptiCoat....but I'm just a NOOB in this category. Lots of folks recommend doing both, but it seems like one or the other would suit just fine.

Any other members have thoughts on that?
 
Last edited:

techmaven

Active Member
Feb 27, 2013
3,617
9,711
Hi,

I do have XPEL and I ended up doing Gtechniq myself for a variety of reasons. First, I had Concours prep the car. They will not do the new nano coating paint sealant products. I found that they did an ok job, but not a great job. RPM Superstore did my tint and my XPEL. The tint was terrific, but the XPEL was not as good. I did XPEL on the front full and rear bumper. I did Gtechniq myself elsewhere because at the time, I couldn't find someone I trusted to do the nano-coat sealant products properly. I ended up learning a lot about car protection and detailing. Discovered that a lot people around us really have no idea what they are doing.

Afterwards, I did talk to Car Pool Detail (which is different than the other Car Pool car washes) and they did say they were experienced with XPEL and with Opti-coat and would do Gtechniq. Also, I met a detailer at the Richmond Cars & Coffee and he showed me an XPEL job on a Corvette that was *much* better done than mine. The guy I talked to was with Clear Detail: Instagram He does mostly Modesta products. He knows the guy that does the XPEL that I saw on that Corvette.

I ended up scratching my car a bit trying to get a Chargepoint charging cable to hook up to my car in Charlotte, NC. I'm going to have to re-polish that part with P1, and the coat with C1 and I'll end up doing another coat of EXOv2 over the whole car. I'm really happy with the hydrophobic characteristics, as it makes it far easier to keep the black car looking good.
 
Last edited:

ajw

Member
Apr 29, 2014
84
0
Richmond, VA
Hmm,,not terribly reassuring for the local detailing scene. The guy at concours pointed me to a guy for xpel, Jose mora, that works out of his shop from time to time.
now I'm all confused....I did successfully change my color to black..so the protection is more of an issue now.
i was thinking opticoat on the whole thing....then xpel instead....now I don't know what to do. Maybe xpel on bumpers, opticoat every everywhere else. At any rate it appears to somewhat be a leap of faith with local detailers.
 

techmaven

Active Member
Feb 27, 2013
3,617
9,711
Hmm,,not terribly reassuring for the local detailing scene. The guy at concours pointed me to a guy for xpel, Jose mora, that works out of his shop from time to time.
now I'm all confused....I did successfully change my color to black..so the protection is more of an issue now.
i was thinking opticoat on the whole thing....then xpel instead....now I don't know what to do. Maybe xpel on bumpers, opticoat every everywhere else. At any rate it appears to somewhat be a leap of faith with local detailers.

i am a bit busy so far this weekend, so I haven't been able to pull together my thoughts on this as well as I would have liked. If I get some time, I will pull together some of the research I did last year. This situation now is better than it was last year when I was doing this.
 

OLL

Member
May 19, 2014
16
0
Richmond, VA
Thanks! I'd love to see your notes when you have the time to pull them together. Thanks!

I confirmed my delivery date this morning: June 25! Can't wait.
 

Drsmitty

Member
Jun 7, 2014
6
2
Chesapeake, VA
I live in the Virginia Beach area, and I have a September delivery date. Since there are no detailing shops here that offer coatings, I am also looking at the Richmond area for the work. Any advice would be appreciated.
 

EVTECH

Member
Dec 20, 2012
256
240
USA
Full detail

Can anyone recommend a company that does full details in Richmond area? Specifically Petersburg but I think Richmond would have more to offer. Would like full buffing/polishing to get out wash damage and a wax afterwards. Any info is appreciated.
 

techmaven

Active Member
Feb 27, 2013
3,617
9,711
Can anyone recommend a company that does full details in Richmond area? Specifically Petersburg but I think Richmond would have more to offer. Would like full buffing/polishing to get out wash damage and a wax afterwards. Any info is appreciated.

As I had posted before, this guy:

Instagram

Seemed to know what he was doing but I haven't used him. I met him at the local Cars & Coffee that meets in Innsbrook. ajw is about to find out apparently though, later this month.
 

EVTECH

Member
Dec 20, 2012
256
240
USA
I did see that. I was hoping for first hand experience. He has a couple good looking cars on his Facebook page but no reviews on there or Yelp. Might just take the risk and see how it goes. Will update with feedback.
 

OLL

Member
May 19, 2014
16
0
Richmond, VA
I'm scheduled next week with Joe from Capital Autobahnd for a full XPEL wrap and Modesta on the wheels. I'll report back.

He's Richmond-based, but travels.
 

ajw

Member
Apr 29, 2014
84
0
Richmond, VA
Oll, how did the wrap turn out?
I have a guy doing prep today then modesta coating tomorrow. I was originally going to do the gtechniq crystal serum, but got a price break courtesy of tesla! My guy noticed tons of swirls all over from delivery detailing polisher....tesla agreed to pay for the paint correction. With that price drop...I went ahead and upgraded to the modesta, since it'd only be 100 more out of pocket for me vs total gtechniq price. Looking forward to the final result! Will report back.
 

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