# Nissan 370Z VS Opti-Coat



## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

*Hi Guys,

After the Lexus IS 200 I detailed months ago I was about to have another challenge .

Please read on ...

This was a brand new car prepped by the Nissan Dealer !

Here's another car I did soon after the Lexus RX 450H, this is one of those jobs that I dreaded doing and not because of the job itself but the problems that this car caused with the application of Opti-Coat ( Opti-Guard).

Opti-Coat was grabbing even more than the Silver Lexus RX 450H I did weeks before which had rock hard paint in comparison to this Nissan !

I originally booked this car in after going out on site to inspect it, from the first moment I set my eyes on it that day I knew I had my work cut out on this car boy was I right .

This job was originally booked in at the location where I did the inspection, a week later I sent out a confirmation email for the job.

Back came an email saying that he wanted it done at his friends place , so the original plan went out the window.

When I arrived at this location an unexpected surprises confronted me , the job had to be done in this so call huge tin shed come garage sort of place .

No space for my van or hardly any so the second day I had to go backwards and forward when getting products or tools , this was very time consuming but I didn't have a choice it would have been a very tight squeeze for my van and I was not about to try my luck.

I miss my former workshop 

That day it was already 24c very humid 78% humidity so I figured this is going to be fun , Black Car, Soft paint , Hot and humid weather and to make matters worse working in this environment:wall:

Temperatures registered 24c outside, inside it was 35c + the other challenge I had I couldn't prep this car properly meaning a proper foam wash, Iron X and Clay couldn't be done because of the lack of space 

No, first of all I had to waterless wash the whole car which was a real pain as the product was drying as soon as it hit the paint so I was working at hyper speeds to prevent any streaking on the paint .

Next a good IPA wipe down was used to remove any residue from the waterless wash , then I used a Eraser to make sure it was absolutely clean, next a good clay down to remove any contamination .

This was marring the paint like hell being Nissan Supersoft Paint I did my very best to prevent further paint blemishes .

Ok , now the fun bit begins , I used my trusty Flex PE 14-2-150 Rotary ( Polisher to remove those paint defects which were caused by the dealer prep work and by me (unfortunately ) but the Dealer made a real mess out of this car .

And , later on I had to stop using it because it was grabbing whilst polishing, out came my Flex Xc 3401 VRG DA which solved the problem .

A combination of radiant heat and the heat generated by my rotary weren't 
good for this type of paint .

So without further babble on my behalf on with job !

This is the front of the bonnet with a very deep scratch 









And this after the paint correction was done to it 









50/50 









Before 









After









Before









After









50/50









Before









After


















This is to prove my point !




































As you can see the temperatures varied a lot especially the top parts of the car which were the worse , I had to let those areas cool of a bit and to speed up the process I used a fan at full speed it worked very slowly :wall:

My time was running out with this car the original three days ended up being four 

Exhaust Tip Before 









And after









These are the results of four days work please enjoy !






























































































































































































Thanks for taking the time to read my write-up I hope you have enjoyed it !

Best Regards

Mario 

Coming up next !

Monaro GTO









*


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Stunning finish again Mario, looking forward to the GTO too. How easy is opti-coat to use? Are you using the new opti-guard?


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

bigmc said:


> Stunning finish again Mario, looking forward to the GTO too. How easy is opti-coat to use? Are you using the new opti-guard?


*Thanks mate ,

The Opti-Guard ( professional version ) I use takes a lot of skill to use, if applied incorrectly you can stuff up a car !

It happened to me with this Nissan 370Z that's because it was drying too quickly( Too hot to apply) plus I had to repolish the whole bonnet again because it make a real mess ( that is it wasn't easy to remove and that action alone caused marring ) .
That's the reason I had to machine polish it again and redo the whole bonnet again . Two coats were applied and removed at hyper speeds even quicker the usual .

It's not easy and it takes a lot of learning to get it right even a professional like me can stuff it up .

Perhaps the 2,0 version is more forgiving I haven't tried that one so I can't comment . The Opti-Guard is for professionals only !

Best Regards

Mario*


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## Faysal (Oct 23, 2010)

Now that's what i call a true challenge and a real pro-Detailer who has the skills to adapt himself at any kind of situation!STUNNING job as ever Mario! :thumb:


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Faysal said:


> Now that's what i call a true challenge and a real pro-Detailer who has the skills to adapt himself at any kind of situation!STUNNING job as ever Mario! :thumb:


*Thanks Faysal,

True challenge is an understatement , the heat in those conditions will put any professional detailer in jeopardy regardless how good he is .

It's total madness working in those conditions knowing that Opti-Guard dries immediately as soon as it hits the paint .

But thanks once again for your kind words they are very much appreciated :thumb:

PS: I told the owner in future this job has to be done in cooler climate possibily in an insulated garage not an oven !

He agreed 

Best Regards

Mario *


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

*Thank you guys , for all your kind words and comments as usual they are very much appreciated :thumb:

Best Regards

Mario *


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## dhiren_motilal (Apr 3, 2011)

as always looks awesome mate, I know the feeling i detailed my mates rx8 on Australia Day, 42C and about 80% humidity. I slept well.


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## Glen.MJeeSe (Feb 7, 2011)

Stunning. Well worth the time.


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## AcN (Nov 3, 2010)

Unbelievable temperatures you had there ! No wonder why it feels like an oven.

Any pics of what Opti-Guard messed up looks like ?


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Mario , Stunning Job and a Killer info as normal in your posts. :thumb:


New camera???


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

Great Job :thumb:


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## southwest10 (Oct 27, 2010)

nice and shiney,next up thats a awesome ride GTO!


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## Hoppo32 (Nov 18, 2008)

Hats off to you Mario, must have been really uncomfortable working in those conditions :buffer:
You really ought to start stocking the 2.0 for jobs like these, the longer working times maybe would have saved you having to re-polish the bonnet.
Anyway your hard work paid off and car looks great.


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Looks like the 370Z was a struggle Mario! Hopefully the Opti-Coat saves the owner lots of heartache. Looking forward to the Monaro!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great work buddy :thumb:


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## matzagrin (Nov 1, 2009)

Another good work Mario.

I also detailed a 370Z and I know how it could be a great pain in the *** 

Congratulations!


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice work Mario, the finished results look superb!:thumb:

Sounds like difficult working conditions in those temps?

Looking forward to the Monaro!


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

dhiren_motilal said:


> as always looks awesome mate, I know the feeling i detailed my mates rx8 on Australia Day, 42C and about 80% humidity. I slept well.


*Dhiren, thanks , yes that dreaded humidity and then soft Black Paint and heat to mix everything into the equation .

I was out like lightning when I finished the four job 

Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Glen.MJeeSe said:


> Stunning. Well worth the time.


*Thanks Glen, glad you like it :thumb:

Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

AcN said:


> Unbelievable temperatures you had there ! No wonder why it feels like an oven.
> 
> Any pics of what Opti-Guard messed up looks like ?


*Thanks for your concern mate , it was very uncomfortable to work in these 
conditions !

This is a photo when Opti-Guard cures !
It becomes hard as a rock !

If you look closely it looks like a dull patch that's what happens if you don't remove it quickly before it cures 100%!










Best Regards
Mario *)


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Racer said:


> Mario , Stunning Job and a Killer info as normal in your posts. :thumb:
> 
> New camera???


*Thanks Rui, always willing to share my information with others on DW :thumb:

That's what it's all about 

Not yet !
I'm working on it 

Mario *


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Alzak said:


> Great Job :thumb:


*Thanks mate :thumb*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

southwest10 said:


> nice and shiney,next up thats a awesome ride GTO!


*Yes it is , I am sure you will like the GTO*

*Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Hoppo32 said:


> Hats off to you Mario, must have been really uncomfortable working in those conditions :buffer:
> You really ought to start stocking the 2.0 for jobs like these, the longer working times maybe would have saved you having to re-polish the bonnet.
> Anyway your hard work paid off and car looks great.


*Thanks buddy, yes it was very uncomfortable working in these conditions every 
product including Opti-Guard was drying at hyper speeds , even if I had the Opti-Coat 2.0 it wouldn't have made a difference I don't think .

When you have heat which is targeting the bonnet , roof and boot no amount of Opti-Coat 2.0 would have worked because of that extreme radiant heat.

And because the car was Black it was heating up even faster :wall:
This was a no win situation, next time I won't be working with these extreme conditions this has tought me a lesson, you are always learning in life !

Thanks once again !

Mario *


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

type[r]+ said:


> Looks like the 370Z was a struggle Mario! Hopefully the Opti-Coat saves the owner lots of heartache. Looking forward to the Monaro!


*It was indeed Matt!
The Opti-Guard will save the owner a lot of heartache that's for sure . At least his paint won't be as soft 

Coming soon buddy !

Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

DMH-01 said:


> Great work buddy :thumb:


*Thanks Dan, I'm glad you like it buddy !

Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

matzagrin said:


> Another good work Mario.
> 
> I also detailed a 370Z and I know how it could be a great pain in the ***
> 
> Congratulations!


*Thanks Bruno, I appreciate your kind words !

It really was a real pain in the ****, the paint was super-soft like all Nissan Paints !

However, that's why we are professionals, and I know I am a sucker for punishment  but I love challenges it pushes the boundaries of detailing even further :thumb:

Mario*


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

scooby73 said:


> Nice work Mario, the finished results look superb!:thumb:
> 
> Sounds like difficult working conditions in those temps?
> 
> Looking forward to the Monaro!


*Thanks John,

Glad you like the finish result :thumb:
It was but then again what would life be without challenges ?

Monaro GTO coming up after this !

Mario  *)


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## ben-150 (Nov 7, 2010)

Really nice work, Mario:thumb:


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

ben-150 said:


> Really nice work, Mario:thumb:


*Thanks Ben, glad you like it :thumb:

Mario*


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