I need help Like right NOW! (Opti Coat)

[ShineTimeDetail]

So a few months ago I did a guys 370 z and now he brought his massive Nissan NV3500! Its black, brand new and had lots of swirls. I did a 2 step correction that took about 12+ hours!

Went to apply the opti coat and it seemed to be applying kinda weird at first but but it seemed fine quickly. The tube was fine since I did a brz with the same tube recently. Anyways as I'm wiping, it looks oily. Everything seemed to wipe off. Well I got done with the entire vehicle and I pulled my halogen out and was walking along the truck and noticed tons of spots all over. I'm not sure if these are all high spots or what? I have never had this happen to me. I did do things a little different this time and did one panel moved to the next then took a towel and wiped the previous panel.

Here's a couple pics hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. Also I used mineral spirits to remove the polishes. I did 3 separate wipes.

http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/tomrzk22/opti.jpg
http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/tomrzk22/opti2.jpg
http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/tomrzk22/opti3.jpg
http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv255/tomrzk22/opti4.jpg

Thanks for any help!

[SRTSean]

I only have experience using Opticoat on 2 vehicles, but one was black and whenever I had high spots it looked just like what your pictures are showing. It's an oily type of sheen. I think if you don't knock them down within a minute or two you're more likely to have some spots remaining. Maybe doing entire panels at a time caused the issue.

[ShineTimeDetail]

I only have experience using Opticoat on 2 vehicles, but one was black and whenever I had high spots it looked just like what your pictures are showing. It's an oily type of sheen.

I'm tempted to get up early rebuff it and start over.

[SRTSean]

Is it possible to wash it off still? I know they say not to wash the vehicle for 24 hours.

[ShineTimeDetail]

Is it possible to wash it off still? I know they say not to wash the vehicle for 24 hours.

I wonder if I can use minerals spirits?

[ShineTimeDetail]

I just don't know if I have enough product to do the entire truck again.

[habeba86]

I have no personal experience with this coating, but how long ago did you use this last exactly? When this stuff does bad pretty sure it gets hard, so that shouldnt be a problem. There is def a smearing look to some of those pics, are you sure the mineral spirits removed all the polish?

[SRTSean]

If you have the time and desire it would be easy to go over the specific spots you are seeing with your finishing polish while the product is still relatively fresh. When I put OC on my windows I got a drop of OC on my paint. Didn't notice it until the next day, but SF4500 removed it pretty easily because it hadn't fully hardened. That might be your best option if it is just some spots here and there that need fixing.

[ReflectiveAuto]

Im not the biggest of Griots products and Im still in testing of the Griots Sealant so far but the few cars I have put that sealant on it never turned out like that. It went very easy and came off very easy with not problems at all. I just might end up liking that sealant after all.

[RoadRageDetail]

I'd try lightly polishing an area and then checking to see if the coating properties are still intact. If that works, continue with the rest of the vehicle. Some 205 on a clean microfiber by hand should give you some idea if its going to work.

If I understood your post correctly, you applied to one panel, then applied to the next, then returned to the previous panel for the wipe down. Seems to me that's too long to let the product sit and would encourage high spots and streaking. All the instructions I've read and Chris' videos I've watched demonstrate working one section at a time.

Perhaps you were in a rush to finish, tried a method that might work faster, and it backfired. Rest assured I'd get tired of looking at that monstrosity of a vehicle after 12 hours as well. I hope you can get it figured out, hopefully removal and re-application isn't necessary. I'm sure Chris will be responding to this in the morning if he sees it. Might want to send him a PM just to be sure.

[AutowerxDetailing]

I'd try lightly polishing an area and then checking to see if the coating properties are still intact. If that works, continue with the rest of the vehicle. Some 205 on a clean microfiber by hand should give you some idea if its going to work.

:iagree:

I agree. I haven't used OC before but based on everything I have read about it you should be able to polish out any high-spots with a light finishing polish. I mostly see recommendations to use Optimum Poli-Seal for taking care of OC high spots. I'm sure any finishing polish would work fine though... It's worth a try and then you wouldn't have to re-coat the whole car.

[SeaJay's]

I've had this happen several times when I first started using OC/OG.

It could be a number of things. It could be 1 high spots...a quick buff will level these surfaces with no issues. Or it could be that you didn't remove all the polishing oils prior to applying it. This has been my biggest issue when doing the OC. I do 2 Eraser wipe downs prior to applying. And since I started doing that have not had any issues with the coating.

[mg6045]

I can see the problem. I ran into this same issue when I tried the Rasky application method over a large area.

I strongly believe by looking at that picture that you didn't use enough product and you moved the applicator way too fast to evenly apply the product.


The solution is to use more product in priming off your applicator and slow down and make sure you get even coverage.

tell me if you think i'm on track here. those spots where its dotty and smeary is where the paint was sticky and you ran the applicator over too fast without really working the product in evenly before it flashed. If the paint is grabby you need to use a good amount of product and do short circle strokes and make sure the product is layed down well by feeling a slippery feeling behind the applicator, knowing you have a nice layer of film to work with.

also when you wipe it off make sure you are not pulling the product up off the paint. Only smearing it to level it off.

Also make sure not to over apply. You know you over applied if the product flash's, you wipe it off, then it flash's again after the first wipeoff. this means its too thick and when you wiped it you exposed a new area to air again and it begins its flashing process again.

the best bet it to watch the video from chris@optimum. he works nice and slow and makes sure he applied evenly.

[ShineTimeDetail]

I can see the problem. I ran into this same issue when I tried the Rasky application method over a large area.

I strongly believe by looking at that picture that you didn't use enough product and you moved the applicator way too fast to evenly apply the product.


The solution is to use more product in priming off your applicator and slow down and make sure you get even coverage.

tell me if you think i'm on track here. those spots where its dotty and smeary is where the paint was sticky and you ran the applicator over too fast without really working the product in evenly before it flashed. If the paint is grabby you need to use a good amount of product and do short circle strokes and make sure the product is layed down well by feeling a slippery feeling behind the applicator, knowing you have a nice layer of film to work with.

also when you wipe it off make sure you are not pulling the product up off the paint. Only smearing it to level it off.

Also make sure not to over apply. You know you over applied if the product flash's, you wipe it off, then it flash's again after the first wipeoff. this means its too thick and when you wiped it you exposed a new area to air again and it begins its flashing process again.

the best bet it to watch the video from chris@optimum. he works nice and slow and makes sure he applied evenly.

I think your spot on. How do I fix this now? Do I repolish? The lightest compound I have is menzerna 2500.

[mg6045]

I dont know the exact solution per recommendations from Optimum. Maybe you should PM chris and see what he says.

If it was me I would repolish the car with the Menzerna Power Finish to level out whatever coating you have applied. then re apply the coatings. Of course test out this process on 1 panel first, but i'm pretty sure it should work without issue. Just make sure you polish enough to remove that dotty uneven finish from the coating.

The new Optimum Coatings can be layered. So all you need to do is make sure you polish enough to remove the smearing and dotting.
Another tip I recommend that I accidentally learned was to take a sewing pin and enlarge the hole on the blue tip that attaches to the syringe. By opening up the pin the product comes out easier and faster. I learned right away that its better to use more of optimum's coating then less. When trying to conserve the coating and use whatever the professionals are using that are experienced with the product are using, its a lot easier to run into issue's like the pic's you posted. But also keep in mind that wayyy overusing the product will provide its own issue's as well.

Let me just add from experience using this product (which isn't much but I feel enough to learn its attributes), I would not consider those pics you posted (specifically the dotty one) as "high spots". Those pics you posted are spots where the coating was not applied enough or evenly. The telltale sign is the dotty spots. That showns where the applicator was drying up and the coating only grabbed onto the paint where the dots are shown. High spots dont look that that IME. High spots have a rainbow hazy look to them almost like wiping off a wax that didn't haze all the way and leaving some on the paint. There not dotty. The dotty look is where the product did not grab onto the paint evenly and the applicator was dry.