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      04-10-2019, 12:08 AM   #1
kimiraikkonen
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Car parked outside - Opticoat question

Hi. I live in the wonderful San Francisco Bay Area where $1M gets you an old house with a detached garage that you cannot even park your car in (because the driveway is too narrow, as the house was built in the 1920s where apparently this wasn't an important item).

Anyways, my question is I'm wondering the pros/cons of Opti-Coating my car.

- Since I park outside, I figure this might another good protective layer on top of my clearcoat, so better protection for UV long-term
- However, since my car is parked outside on the driveway, it does get it's nightly share of the lawn sprinklers .........does spotting occur on Opti-coating?
- Other option would be to do the traditional sealant route --> How often does the car need to have sealant reapplied?

Any tips or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
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      04-11-2019, 01:19 AM   #2
Wyattkb
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I got my car ceramic coated. It will protect the paint from water spots, but it will still get water spots.

Think of the coating as a stronger/thicker clear coat. If you do get water spots they can be treated with some soap or if they have been etched in a buffing compound can be used. The ceramic coating just gives you some extra mm's of "clear coat" so damage can be buffed out without issue.

Of course the hydrophobic properties are great too. But sprinklers will definitely leave some marks, all the water wont slide right off.

I say its worth it. This is my first car being ceramic coated and I can simply take it through a touch free car wash in 3 mins and it looks like I just detailed and waxed it.

Another plus is the brake dust just falls off.
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      04-11-2019, 11:10 AM   #3
Ngilbe36
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You should do it. The coating thickness is not "mm's" though, its more like nm's.
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      04-14-2019, 11:40 AM   #4
admranger
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Coat it. Your situation is the poster child for a car that should be ceramic coated.
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'19 X3 M40 Carbon Black/Oyster, '23 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit, Past BMWs: '18 M550i, '18 330 GT, '16 X5 40e, '11 E90M3, '06 X5 4.4, '03 330i ZHP, '02 M3, '97 Z3 2.8, '95 M3 (2x), '94 530i (manual), '92 525i (manual), '88 M3, '87 325iS
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      04-14-2019, 06:23 PM   #5
m3jala
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The ceramic pro helps a lot with cleaning as all I do pretty much is run through a touchless wash, given I am jet black and outdoor parked as well (tragedy) to me it's worth it. Car looks good and you will spend hours cleaning it otherwise. You will still need a detail every once in a while.
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      04-15-2019, 10:31 AM   #6
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Also consider a sacrificial layer like Kamikaze Overcoat to protect the coating. Not going to lie, your situation is a tricky one. Hard water spots are no fun, coated or not.
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      04-28-2019, 03:33 PM   #7
RedScytheM3
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Is it possible to street park? Getting hit with water every day from sprinklers would drive me nuts!
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