Claying vs Polish (Opti Coat 2.0)

[vince74]

First of all, I like to thank this great forum. After reading for a few weeks, I have decided to try the Opti Coat 2.0. I tried 2 rims and rear bumper today, it's not difficult in applying OC and the result looks great. Haven't tried the water beading (still within 12 hours of cure time).

Before I move to other parts with paint, appreciate if I could to get some clarification:
1) It's a new Kia Morning (green), no swirl mark or other major defects but failed the sandwich bag test on bonnet and roof (not too bad but could feel some 'dots'). Could I skip to POLISH without CLAYING? Or could I just clay without polish (trying not to 'damage' the existing clear coat if not necessary) and avoid making a 2nd trip to the shop to get the polish if claying doesn't work. Btw, car care products are very expensive in my country.
2) Also planning to put OC2.0 on a 2 year old Mazda (came with FOC Tribos OEM coating but guess the coating worn out, not much shine). Need to remove water spot, no swirl but also failed bag test. Should I use the Merguair Water Spot Remover (since it's abrasive) or Ultimate Polish to remove the water spots and the 'dots'?

btw, OPC works great!

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[firecorgi]

Hi Vince,

Just OC 2.0 my wife's new car. I used Iron Out, Nanoskin, and polish. The OC will bond better on a surface that is properly prepped. Once the coating is on anything left on the surface, contaminents and swirls, will be locked in until the coating wears out or removed. In other words, take the time and do deconing and swirl removal.
That being said, you may want to check with Chris from Optimum about polishes other than Optimum being used. Optimum says to use an IPA of 15 % to remove any polishes and/or oils prior to application. Unless you use the Optimum line of polishes.
In my case I used the Hyper polish and Final Finish.
I did the water sheeting test 50 hours after application and was amazed!
Good Luck and Welcome to A.G.

 

[vince74]

Hi Vince,

Just OC 2.0 my wife's new car. I used Iron Out, Nanoskin, and polish. The OC will bond better on a surface that is properly prepped. Once the coating is on anything left on the surface, contaminents and swirls, will be locked in until the coating wears out or removed. In other words, take the time and do deconing and swirl removal.
That being said, you may want to check with Chris from Optimum about polishes other than Optimum being used. Optimum says to use an IPA of 15 % to remove any polishes and/or oils prior to application. Unless you use the Optimum line of polishes.
In my case I used the Hyper polish and Final Finish.
I did the water sheeting test 50 hours after application and was amazed!
Good Luck and Welcome to A.G.

Hi firecorgi,
Thanks for your sharing. Haha...i'm doing it for my wife's new car as well.
Yes, surface prep is key. Was thinking to use Menzerna SF4000 since it's water based and leave no residue from what I read here, but the sole distributor here ran out of stock (SF5000 not available here). Thus, was looking at Merg Ultimate Polish. Opti products also not available here (searched online and shops). I actually got the OC2.0 from neighbouring country during recent visit. Yes, I could get everything from Amazon but the shipping is much more expensive than the products themselves and takes time.
Btw, do you know if OPC works well in removing oil, wax etc? (if not wrong, I read someone mentioned that here). Since I couldn't get the Merzena SF4000, will have to do IPA wipe down if OPC doesn't remove oil/ wax.

 

[mg6045]

Menzerna products , even though water based, are very oily. Yes you HAVE to do an IPA wipe down after using them. Its a must otherwise you have the potential to get very cloudy results.

Optimum power Clean will remove polishing oils and wax. (but not durable Polymer Sealants). Use it at a 3:1 dilution on paint.

Polishing will not remove contaminants on the paint. Especially if your using foam pads (wool pads are a different story). They will skip right over the top of the imbedded contamination. You will need to clay that stuff off. Considering how thick and durable Opti-coat is, you really want to clay the paint well and get it polished up before applying. Its not simple to remove. Its not a product that you want to rush the prep on. If your time is limited, I suggest you use one of the less durable, thinner filmed coatings like Pinnacle Black label or Wolf's hard body/ body wrap.

 

[hernandez.art13]

Technically you could clay and do an IPA wipe down and then opti coat your car from there. However, any defects will now be locked in. IMO this is why a lot of paint corrections happen before applying opti coat. The goal is to get the paint as perfect as possible and then lock it in.

 

[vince74]

Technically you could clay and do an IPA wipe down and then opti coat your car from there. However, any defects will now be locked in. IMO this is why a lot of paint corrections happen before applying opti coat. The goal is to get the paint as perfect as possible and then lock it in.

Thanks for your advice!