Chris I know you stated before that the only way to apply another coat would be to polish(clean up). The scuffing would make the 2nd coat bond. So, if you scuff it, will a wax or sealant bond better also? The OC will also still be intact.
I would say it's doubtful because the dirt shedding and bug sticking effect is still intact even after polishing. While the microscopic scuffs are enough for the coating to get a foothold, other products that adhere via hydrogen bonds and static will likely remain the same. This is only an educated guess from my knowledge of the coating and I have not tested it.
I too have thought about this on many occasions. If you didn't want OC anymore and did want a sealant or wax to last more than a month you would have to polish and check or polish and check to avoid cutting to far int the clear beyond the OC.
I'm not saying there's a good reason or very many people that would want to remove the coating but for arguments sake...
Another thought I had is what if you sell the car and it is taken to a detailer who has no clue it's been opticoated. He polishes it and applies a product. Now say he polishes through the coating in some places and not in others. Then at some point it beads differently in some spots then others as the wax or sealant wears off faster on the opticoated areas.
It's really kind of an over analyzation but that's what we do on forums right?
I believe it to be much more likely that any full polishing cycle is going to remove the coating.
I think a single compounding step followed by a single polishing step would fully remove the coating. But, that's throwing caution to the wind and removing thickness for no real reason. This is contrary to the least aggressive method approach we all preach.
Polishing when there are defects is one thing, but just to try something else seems like it should break some detailer's hippocratic oath to do no harm. When you think of things like the UV absorbers migrating to the top during curing and ceramaclears losing hardness after removing the top couple of microns, there are many more reasons NOT to polish on and on.
As for the detailer scenario, it would never be noticed outside our circles. Most people use tunnel washes which add a product to the rinse that promotes beading so that the blowers can remove more water...so they will likely NEVER notice the beading loss/change. I even have to point out swirls to my customers. In the event that a detailer noticed this phenomenon, he would likely deduce that there was a coating at play since they have existed for a while now.
I realize that on a discussion forum, we tend to push the "what ifs" a little far and that can actually help further advance product development. With that said, we should be careful to state when we are speaking philosophically so that newbs don't take these threads as standard practice and get into trouble.
