Ceramic Pro (Superior Shine) VS Opti-coat (Reflect effect)

[JonP01]

Hi,

I had Ceramic Pro applied to my new Polo back in September last year by Scott of Superior Shine. It included a stage 1 paint correction (brand new car - two weeks old which had numerous imperfections and minor scratching but nothing too serious) plus I had the Ceramic Pro fabric protection as well. I also got the alloy wheels done with Ceramic Pro as well. I also asked for two coats, not one (I think you can go to three if you really want). I think I paid mid $700s for all of this but it was easily well worth the money. Bear in mind the Polo is a class smaller than the Golf and the more things you ask for during the one visit, the better the chance of a discount.

Seven months later, the paint looks as good as the day he did it, the water beads off the exact same way it did the day after he did it and virtually no pressure at all is required to wash the car. The only part of the car that is not exactly as it was the day after the protection was done is the small painted plastic front splitter under the front bumper. That is still fine, but the water does not quite bead off like it did when new. Given the abrasion that part goes through as it gets hit by the air at 80 kmh plus every single day and it is the most forward and lowest part of the car, I can easily forgive that. And it is only a strip about an inch wide anyway. But everywhere else - still looks better than new and it is as if the protection was applied yesterday.

btw, I wash my car about once every 3 weeks. It is actually the wheels that get the dirtiest - were it not for the wheels, I would only need to do it once per month, but VW brake dust is something else...

The only caveat is don't believe any stories about these paint protections making the paint substantially tougher. It may be more tough, but I get stone chips just like anyone else, and bad washing will still easily scratch the paint (there is no way I would put it through an automatic wash, despite the protection). But it is still far better than having to polish or wax imo, as well as saving a lot of labour in terms of maintaining the appearance of the car.

Also, this probably applies to Opticoat as well, but if you get stone chips, you can't blend them in - all you can do is touch them up by hand using the VW paint supplied by dealers.