I bought Opti-Coat but I am concerned

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BlackCoupe

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My concern is that I can not get my surface swirl-free. Black, soft clear. I have never been able to get it perfect. It can LOOK perfect after Menzerna Micro Polish with a grey or green pad, but when I clean it with alcohol, there are always fine swirls remaining. I tested a small area, and I was hoping that Opti-Coat would fill these fine swirls, but that does not appear to be the case. (Although I should say that the swirls seem to be dulled a little, as though the "sharp" edges have been softened?). Once I put on Opti-Coat, they are locked in.

Perhaps I should go a bit heavier with the Opti-Coat? Or try a second coat? I know a better solution would be to get the finish swirl-free, but that does not appear to be in the cards.
 
I have a similar issue with my BMW Jet Black. Its amazing how easy I can put scratches into it. I have no problem getting the swirls out with Menzerna nano but its impossible to keep it that way. I have been using Wetglaze right after polishing and plan to follow with a sealant. This hides some and leaves a wet look. The application is super easy unlike Klasse AIO which requires some rubbing which actually will leave scratches on my paint.
 
Try the new Optimum Finish and just wipe with a damp MF. Then go straight to OC. No IPA required. Maybe use a softer pad like a crimson or gold to jewel.
 
You may be marring the paint during the alcohol wipe.... what percentage mixture of IPA are you using?
 
Same issue here (although my paint isn't as soft as yours) - want to do the Opti-Coat in the spring, planning on doing the Opti-Coat in the spring, but am worried that my inexperienced self isn't going to be able to get the paint completely swirl free and then the Opti-Coat is going to lock in what I've got.

As an additional question the OP's, if you use a filler glaze before Opti-Coat, will that filler glaze (and the final look) be locked in as long as the Opti-Coat stays intact? Would that cause any bonding issues with the Opti-Coat? (I'm guessing it won't work for some reason, but had to ask.)
 
cpa5oh said:
Same issue here (although my paint isn't as soft as yours) - want to do the Opti-Coat in the spring, planning on doing the Opti-Coat in the spring, but am worried that my inexperienced self isn't going to be able to get the paint completely swirl free and then the Opti-Coat is going to lock in what I've got.
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There's really no need to "worry," you can always polish the Opti-Coat back off and do further correction later on down the road, it's just an added step at that point. Obviously it is better to get the paint to its highest level before coating, but it's not 100% mandatory AND you should remember that sometimes you won't be able to get to 100% perfection no matter what you do.

As an additional question the OP's, if you use a filler glaze before Opti-Coat, will that filler glaze (and the final look) be locked in as long as the Opti-Coat stays intact? Would that cause any bonding issues with the Opti-Coat? (I'm guessing it won't work for some reason, but had to ask.)
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No. The Opti-Coat will not bond on top of a filler glaze.
 
Your paint may not be as soft as you think.

Try correcting it until you feel it's swirl free then wash the area with a soap and water solution. Use a soft wool mitt and flood the area then rinse. Remove the hose nozzle and flood the area with clean water allowing it to sheet off and inspect.

Another idea is to try a rinseless wash. This product is designed to float debris from the finish and is heavily lubricated to guard against inducing damage to the finish.
 
Furthering Bobby G's idea, Optimum claims, if you use their polishes, an ONR rinseless wash is an acceptable prep for Opti-Coat.

Note - I had some marring from the Opti-Coat applicator when I did an extremely soft black Lexus hood. My most recent application, I used a couple of makeup sponges wrapped in Saran wrap (to prevent the sponge from absorbing the OC) then wrapped in a Carpro MicroSuede. The MicroSuede seemed to wick the OC just right, did some high-spot leveling and made mar-free application a breeze.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
You may be marring the paint during the alcohol wipe.... what percentage mixture of IPA are you using?
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IPA is Walgreens it says 92%. But I am doing a small spot and 12x12, and lightly drawing the mf cloth in a straight line to clean the polish off, not working it in circles - I wanted to make sure I was not re-instilling.
 
Old Tiger said:
Try the new Optimum Finish and just wipe with a damp MF. Then go straight to OC. No IPA required. Maybe use a softer pad like a crimson or gold to jewel.
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I bought their Opimum Polish II when I bought the Opti coat. I'll try it and report back
 
BlackCoupe said:
IPA is Walgreens it says 92%. But I am doing a small spot and 12x12, and lightly drawing the mf cloth in a straight line to clean the polish off, not working it in circles - I wanted to make sure I was not re-instilling.
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92% is too high of a %. Dilute it half with water if your going to use it. Or just re-wash after polishing.
 
Tried Optimum Polish II on a black pad. This swirled it - lot. I went back with a white pad with Menz Intensive, and then Green pad with Menz Micro and got back to my base "as good as I can get it" of very light swirls. With wax you can't see it, but I don't want to lock them in.

I get other people's cars swirl-free (when I want to do a favor for a friend), so I don't want to take a two day class (I did take a class in Tampa with Mike Phillips a few years back). But I would pay for help with this.
 
BlackCoupe said:
Tried Optimum Polish II on a black pad. This swirled it - lot. I went back with a white pad with Menz Intensive, and then Green pad with Menz Micro and got back to my base "as good as I can get it" of very light swirls. With wax you can't see it, but I don't want to lock them in.

I get other people's cars swirl-free (when I want to do a favor for a friend), so I don't want to take a two day class (I did take a class in Tampa with Mike Phillips a few years back). But I would pay for help with this.
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Green pad has more cut than the black pad. Try a black pad with the Mez polish instead and see what that does for you.

I would do as Bobby suggested and rewash the car to remove the oils instead. You might be marring the paint from using the alcohol wipe down. It does need to be diluted too. Mike Phillips has a great write up here about it.
 
One thing that I do before applying Opti-Coat or any other LSP for that matter it to never use a used microfiber towel for the removal of my final polishing step or my pre cleaning steps. I have found a source for soft 70/30 microfibers that do not mar paint and just figure the cost of a 12 pack of them into the price of doing a show car type paint correction.

My signature line used to say "IPA is for zits" and I maintain that statement to this day. To me it's more trouble than what it's worth to use IPA on finely finished paint. I re wash with a solution of car wash concentrate with a touch of degreaser added to my wash bucket or I use a glass cleaner to remove the polishing oils (I use my brand new microfiber towels as the media) before applying Opti-Coat.

Remember that you're dealing with a super thin layer of "fresh" polishing oils here and not a lot of cleaner or elbow grease is required to remove them so a solvent like IPA is really overkill in my opinion.

It is also my opinion that whoever started using IPA in the first place to remove polishing oils was not keeping things very simple and through illogical thinking complicated something that doesn't need to be so complicated. Add a thousand more obsessive thinkers jumping on the IPA bandwagon and the product manufacturers saw an opportunity to bottle up 39 cents worth of cleaner, call it "polishing oil remover" and sell it to these obsessive thinkers charging $8.99 a bottle and the result is that we have a bunch of people over thinking something that just doesn't have to be so complicated.

My 2 cents is all.

In the end, use a mild cleaning solution combined with a soft clean wash media and rub as little and lightly as possible.
 
BlackCoupe said:
Tried Optimum Polish II on a black pad. This swirled it - lot. I went back with a white pad with Menz Intensive, and then Green pad with Menz Micro and got back to my base "as good as I can get it" of very light swirls. With wax you can't see it, but I don't want to lock them in.

I get other people's cars swirl-free (when I want to do a favor for a friend), so I don't want to take a two day class (I did take a class in Tampa with Mike Phillips a few years back). But I would pay for help with this.
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The new Finishing polish with a gold, red or crimson was what i recommended.
 
You could try ONR instead of IPA. I believe Chris has said that ONR is compatible with OC or OG. BTW, I agree with Dave regarding IPA. Total Auto Wash works for me.
 
Old Tiger said:
The new Finishing polish with a gold, red or crimson was what i recommended.
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I will try and find one locally.

Everyone - please note that I do not believe that I am instilling these swirls with the MF (although I know that is possible) because I am drawing the MF across the finished area in a straight line - not rubbing in circles - I am doing this deliberately to see if the MF is instilling or I am not finishing down. BTW Using a variable rotary with below 1000 rpm.

Thanks for all your input.
 
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