Car Paint Protection Services

On average, car paint protection takes about one day. This largely depends on the size of the car and the type of coating being applied. For example, overnight curing is required when we apply Opti-Coat Pro or Opti-Coat Pro+. However, Optimum Gloss Coat can generally be applied on the same day that the car is dropped off and picked up, depending on the level of paint correction required or wanted.

Yes, many ceramic coatings come with warranties. Our Opti-Coat Pro and Opti-Coat Pro+ coatings come with 5 year and 7 year warranties respectively. Optimum Gloss Coat does not come with a warranty but can be expected to last 2 years or more.

When looking at other brands of paint protection or ceramic coating, be sure to read the terms and conditions with the warranties as there are often requirements such as annual inspections that are not widely advertised. Opti-Coat warranties do not require annual inspections or regular servicing.

Short answer: Yes.

Generally speaking, the dealerships don’t use brands known to the detailing industry. That being said, it doesn’t mean that they won’t perform. However, a dealership’s quality control and preparation of your car is often lacking. To apply a ceramic coating, the surface must first be thoroughly cleaned and decontaminated. On average, a dealership may spend only 1-2 hours applying a coating/ paint protection product to your car. By comparison, at Newcastle Auto Protection we spend on average 6-8 hours preparing and applying a coating to your car. For the top level packages, we spend 10+ hours preparing and protection every part of your car. But this doesn’t equate to the dealership being more efficient; they are just cutting corners and rushing. The number of steps involved in properly preparing and coating a vehicle simply cannot be done in 1-2 hours.

In a nutshell, we have better procedures, better products and are looking to provide you with the best outcome.

No, your car will still require washing and periodic maintenance to get the most out of your paint protection. Ceramic paint protection is a barrier between your car paint and the elements, not a car cleaning service. The job of ceramic paint protection is to protect the paint underneath. That being said, washing a paint protected vehicle will be far easier and your car’s paint will retain its gloss much better than without any protection.

No, a ceramic coating will never crack on a car.

This can be a very contentious subject for some people. There are a few reputable ceramic coating brands out there along with many unreliable, cheap knock-offs. We recommend you doing your own personal research; however, we can confirm that Opti-Coat is an exceptionally high quality brand that can be trusted. They have a comprehensive accreditation process for their applicators and they don’t over-hype their coatings. In general, we find them to be more about underpromising and overdelivering rather than the other way around. We have been very impressed by this ceramic coating brand.

Often the words paint protection and ceramic coating are used interchangeably; however, ceramic coating is a type of car paint protection. Technically, it is possible to refer to something like a polymer sealant or a carnauba wax, which still offers some protection, as a paint protection. However, a ceramic coating is a protective layer that is much thicker and stronger than both of these options. Most reputable detailers will use ceramic technology as their paint protection offering.

If you are looking for the best car paint protection without going to Paint Protection Film (PPF) then yes, a ceramic coating really does hold up over the years and maintains that new car shine far longer than any waxes.

UV damage is a big paint killer in Australia, but so is chemical damage from bird poo and acid rain. Basically, paint protection will protect your car paint from environmental damage. However, there are no paint protections that will stop damage caused by abrasions such as washing with a dirty sponge, tree brush scratches, keying etc. In my experience, although a coating doesn’t stop these kinds of damage, it does generally take a fair amount of them and makes removing the damage far easier and more successful than on uncoated cars.