Hey A&J, of course, are you on the Optimum Car Care Facebook group? Essentially what I have read there is that Gloss Coat is harder the factory clear although its unclear if its as hard as opticoat pro. Also the coating improves the hardness of your clearcoat, however you are limited by how much due to the softness of the substrate that its added to. Also quoting from Facebook: "Gloss Coat reduces friction. Combined with the increase in hardness the 2 phenomena conspire to make the vehicle easier to wash, and less likely to mar or scratch" Please correct me if anything I stated is not accurate I am just reporting what I read.