Worry-Free Exterior Vehicle Protection

Some Foundation

You may not be aware of this and that's a good thing. There is a retired, long-time detail shop owner that many detailers know about. This person says that mentioning brand names or specific names of coatings is a bad idea. He says the coating should work for you not you working for the coating.

What he is saying is that, as a detail business owner you should push your brand rather than someone else's brand. I understand what he means, but I don't agree. That is a very old and outdated way of thinking. I would say that 20 years ago there was no need to mention coating brands because there was only two or three. Now there are hundreds of coating brands.

Also, many brands belong to the same company. For example, there is one company that makes three or four different coating "brands".

Not all coatings are created equal

I said all of that to lay some foundation, as nerdy as it is. The foundation is that not all coatings are created equal. Most ceramic coatings are very short-lived. In other words, most coatings last about two years. This is because they are made with silicon dioxide which makes a strong bond, but it weakens over months and then needs boosters or toppers to either maintain or reestablish the bond to the clear coat.

Going a little further on that point; ceramic coatings are designed to protect the factory clear coat from breaking down. UV rays and oxidation break down the protective layer (top layer) of the clear coat. It becomes dull, dingy and stained up. The coating is burying the clear coat in a protective layer. Now, the coating takes the hit.

Opti-Coat coatings last a decade because that's how long it takes UV rays to deplete the coating of its protective properties.

Opti-Shield is in a different category

With all of that being said, Opti-Shield is in a different category then traditional coatings. It has all of the benefits of a ceramic coating plus, protection against scuff, scrapes, and bumps that happen in the garage, parking lot, parking garage, while driving, or parked by the curb.

Now remember, rocks flying off the tires from the vehicle in front of you are one of those things we can't promise. Even traditional PPF doesn't promise that. If you drive on the highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic, then I recommend PPF on your front bumper. Rock chips do happen. If you are able to, keep a two car length, or more from the vehicle in front of you. The higher the speed the more distance you need.

Most vehicles encounter other things compared to rock chips. These are the things Opti-Shield provides worry-free protection from.

So, what does your vehicle encounter that a traditional ceramic coating can't really offer protection from? Picture your vehicle sitting in a parking lot. You chose to park between two other vehicles instead of parking at the end of the lot. You're busy, you don't have time to walk half a mile into Walmart. The person parked next to you on the passenger side of your vehicle opens their door and bumps your door. Shoot, there is a scuff. The scuff will be in the Opti-Shield not into the clear coat.

How do I know this? Well, as long as it didn't dent the metal, it didn't go through the Opti-Shield. If it dents, it damages the clear coat or metal or both. These bumps and bruises happen frequently to your vehicle, you just don't know it.

Why don't traditional coatings stop these scrapes and scuffs? Because it's not thick enough or hard enough. Opti-Coat Pro 3 offers some self healing and more of this sort of protection then Opti-Coat Pro or Pro Plus.

Our previous vehicle was hit with my wife's purse. It left a big, long, vertical scuff mark. I could see that it was a scuff. A scuff is a friction mark. Think of the marks left on paper with an eraser. it's kind of the same idea. It's usually a combination of a slight scrape mark and some of the material that came off of the object that did the bumping.

In this case, it wiped off with a damp micro fiber towel. Without a coating, it would have needed to be quickly polished in that area.

Back to Opti-Shield. If something hits your vehicle hard enough to dent it then it went through the Opti-Shield. Most things don't hit hard enough. Sure, door dings do happen, but not as common as the scrapes and scuffs. As in, things that leave those marks usually happen to the car while sitting rather than while it's moving.

Now, bugs, bird doodie, tar, road gunk, etc. hit your vehicle while it's moving. These things will not be able to penetrate the coating. They are more likely to penetrate a traditional ceramic coating. They are not likely to penetrate Opti-Shield.

My name is Tug Bankert. I am a master ceramic coating installer (self-appointed). I have been installing ceramic coating since 2015. I have been installing OS since 2025. I own and operate Wax On Wax Off Detailing in Hanover, PA. since 2013. I started detailing in 1999.