Is my opticoat 2.0 application holding ? 45 days after...

DaC

DaC

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Ok, here's the history behind this car...

I worked on it early december when I decon, polished and applied opticoat 2.0... so it has been 45 days since then and the car wasn't washed a single time...

During these 45 days it went to the beach.... went to the country side and got some mud... gas was spilled when refueling, bird droppings stayed on the paint.... pretty much everything bad that could happen...

Today the car was brought back to me, so I could inspect it....








Ok... so I took it to a car wash to get it blasted with water to remove grit particles and to have its wheels and wheel wells cleaned... the paint wasn't touched there, just by pressure water...

At this point I wasn't very happy thinking opticoat was long gone...








So I took it back home and went ahead using UWW+ with a 2 buckets method....

To my surprise the paint got contamined... a lot... and I think it wasn't supposed to happen that fast with opticoat.... or maybe UWW+ wasn't strong enough to clean it properly ??? I don't know.... but I could clearly see under Brinkmann lights both water spots and something that seemed to be a white stuff adhered to the paint, almost like a dried polishing residue...

After being washed with UWW+, here is how the clay was looking like after only a very small section on the hood.



I can tell this contamination is some gritty stuff, because I could see some scratches where I clayed, even with my MF towels I was using to dry (BTW, they wall came dirty, even after UWW+).... the stuff seems to be gummed to the opticoat.

And the car really got a lot of water spots during these 45 days...







Although by doing a small test, by hand with 3" crimson pads + po85RD, I was able to quickly knock off 95% of it.

BEFORE:


AFTER:





And now some videos from the paint beading and sheeting after the car being only washed using UWW+.

[video=youtube_share;mQ6eCg5is-E"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 1/6 - YouTube[/video]

[video=youtube_share;Rog0GqyVC1E"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 2/6 - YouTube[/video]

[video=youtube_share;yQqKJVK8pvU"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 3/6 - YouTube[/video]

[video=youtube_share;HSa7JKCkHtU"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 4/6 - YouTube[/video]

[video=youtube_share;m9G-bjwCkC4"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 5/6 - YouTube[/video]

[video=youtube_share;xcpfTdCu1nE"]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 6/6 - YouTube[/video]

Another question.... Does this beading is coming from the opticoat being clean again or maybe this beading is from the UWW+ ?
 
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Well you can't truly judge beading and sheeting on a dirty surface
Also hard to judge a lsp after touching it up with another product that contains limited protection in it iirc uww+ does
Perfectly smooth surfaces have high surface tension this helping it bead on its own as well as sheet
If ipa doesn't effect oc then id do an ipa wipedown to try and see if its still there..
 
SON1C said:
Well you can't truly judge beading and sheeting on a dirty surface
Also hard to judge a lsp after touching it up with another product that contains limited protection in it iirc uww+ does
Perfectly smooth surfaces have high surface tension this helping it bead on its own as well as sheet
If ipa doesn't effect oc then id do an ipa wipedown to try and see if its still there..
Click to expand...


I thought about it... but is it safe to ipa 15% the car after being with opticoat ?
 
Someone else had a similar situation and it was getting all the contaminants off the opticoat that brought back the beading and sheeting. I want to say it was cleanmycorolla but I might be wrong.
 
DaveT435 said:
Someone else had a similar situation and it was getting all the contaminants off the opticoat that brought back the beading and sheeting. I want to say it was cleanmycorolla but I might be wrong.
Click to expand...

So he did had to clay the car again ?

I don't know, but maybe opticoat isn't that self cleaning until fully cured... that's my guess on this...
 
There is a thread on a different site that (I think) CEE DOG wrote on a similar opti-coat 'issue', IIRC he and another AG member were working on a vehicle opti-coated 1.5 years prior. They did see reduced beading and aesthetics, but after an application of Iron-X, the finish was restored to like new. The Iron-X showed that there was a significant amount of contamination left on the paint and I think that was after claying. The thought was that industrial fallout/ferrous particulate was the culprit and that opti-coat did not release those contaminants easily.

Paging CEE DOG to hear from the horse's mouth.
 
DaveT435 said:
This is a good opticoat thread. Hope you find it helpful.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/36370-yet-another-opti-coat-thread.html
Click to expand...

Thank you for the link.....
I took this post here:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...et-another-opti-coat-thread-2.html#post473384

Where Chris says:

......water beading is a sure sign that the coating is there and working. You will find in addition to beading that all the water can easily be sheeted or removed by a blower easier than conventional sealants and waxes. Dawn washes, APCs, Prep Sol, and Mineral Spirits that usually remove these characteristics will not remove Opti Coat, so that is why beading is a good test. Ideally you could check paint thickness before and after the coating and continue to monitor the thickness, but most people won't have the means. Beading in light of exposure to harsh chemicals and conditions is a good indicator.
Click to expand...


So I've just went back to the car, to do this:

- Mineral Spirits wipedown
- ONR + APC (Sonüs All in One) wash
- IPA 15% wipedown

I'm uploading some videos to youtube right now, but beading and sheeting seems to be going still nice...

Audios S6 said:
There is a thread on a different site that (I think) CEE DOG wrote on a similar opti-coat 'issue', IIRC he and another AG member were working on a vehicle opti-coated 1.5 years prior. They did see reduced beading and aesthetics, but after an application of Iron-X, the finish was restored to like new. The Iron-X showed that there was a significant amount of contamination left on the paint and I think that was after claying. The thought was that industrial fallout/ferrous particulate was the culprit and that opti-coat did not release those contaminants easily.

Paging CEE DOG to hear from the horse's mouth.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the input.... It seems to me that a wash or a clay seems to bring it back to life, although it's there, just not beading... I'll ask for the car's owner if he wants me to clay and light polish his car again....


Altough I'm worried PO85RD + black (or blue or red) pad could actually go through opticoat.... because if so, it would be a couple of more steps reapplying it.
 
ok, here it is:

The process before these videos was:

- Mineral Spirits wipedown
- ONR + APC (Sonüs All in One) wash
- IPA 15% wipedown

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8UiQ6xwxVk]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 7/9 - YouTube[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQrnFKtPRY8]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 8/9 - YouTube[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjxj8DFtTkA]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 9/9 - YouTube[/video]

What do you guys think about the beading and sheeting after that ?
 
Thank you for steering me far away from the land of coatings
 
Qusai said:
Thank you for steering me far away from the land of coatings
Click to expand...

I don't know why you think this way... in my opinion coats are well worth it.... keep in mind this car took it to extremes and even so, it's still holding in my opinion...
 
DaC said:
I don't know why you think this way... in my opinion coats are well worth it.... keep in mind this car took it to extremes and even so, it's still holding in my opinion...
Click to expand...
:iagree: That car has been through hell and back. The coating hasn't even half-way cured and it's going strong. Amazing. The lack of beading was simply from the dirt and mostly the jet exhaust as he lives close to the airport. If you watch the videos you can hear the LOUD airplanes coming and going. Especially the takeoff dumps a TON of particulates in the air. I know someone who was a flight attendant and her car was HAMMERED. That car is lucky it's opti-coated.
 
Flatlander said:
:iagree: That car has been through hell and back. The coating hasn't even half-way cured and it's going strong. Amazing. The lack of beading was simply from the dirt and mostly the jet exhaust as he lives close to the airport. If you watch the videos you can hear the LOUD airplanes coming and going. Especially the takeoff dumps a TON of particulates in the air. I know someone who was a flight attendant and her car was HAMMERED. That car is lucky it's opti-coated.
Click to expand...

Yes, the dirty was keeping the paint from beading, after doing these tests, specially after striping it to check beading, we can say the coat is still there.

I don't live exactly near from the airport, but yes I live under the final approach about 8.5 miles from the airport.... which is pretty close when you talk A320 and 737 -800... but I agree that jet fuel probably lands around here.
 
The last videos looked great. Industrial fallout seems to be about the worst at sticking to opticoat.
 
In almost any case, not washing your car for 45 days with the addition of long uncommon drives would be considered neglect...so, it's not surprising that a "maintenance" type wash didn't really clean the grime away. From your thread and videos, I can see that the coating it still there and protecting the paint...there's just a layer of grime on top. Once a single contaminant takes a small hold all the others are able to attach to it and build thickness that is not easily removed by LSP safe shampoos. Power Clean, Dawn, P21 total wash, or Meg's APC should do the trick although it may take more than one time around. The good news is that the etching and permeating type damage that may have occurred in the same conditions save coating were averted. Make sure you decon wash before you clay to prevent maring...use something I've listed instead of LSP safe stuff. Opti Coat can take acids and other chemicals that traditional products and lesser coatings cannot.
 
Chris@Optimum said:
In almost any case, not washing your car for 45 days with the addition of long uncommon drives would be considered neglect...so, it's not surprising that a "maintenance" type wash didn't really clean the grime away. From your thread and videos, I can see that the coating it still there and protecting the paint...there's just a layer of grime on top. Once a single contaminant takes a small hold all the others are able to attach to it and build thickness that is not easily removed by LSP safe shampoos. Power Clean, Dawn, P21 total wash, or Meg's APC should do the trick although it may take more than one time around. The good news is that the etching and permeating type damage that may have occurred in the same conditions save coating were averted. Make sure you decon wash before you clay to prevent maring...use something I've listed instead of LSP safe stuff. Opti Coat can take acids and other chemicals that traditional products and lesser coatings cannot.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your answer Chris. It really makes sense to what I've saw.
I'll ask the owner to bring it again, so I can check it one more time.

I'll try a combination of APC / Dawn (it's the best I got on hands right now)
 
I am COMPLETELY SKEPTICAL about any product that is claimed to last forever. I am sorry, with all due respect, I dont believe it. There are no short cuts to having a STUNNING optically perfect paint surface. I would NOT use this OC on a car worth more than say 3500 dollars. I dont care what results you get. The guy that did the extensive testing is a SAINT.....SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!! Its OK for failed paint for a temp. fix. Go back to Wolfgang. There is simply no SHORT CUT to loving your cars paint finish. THERE NEVER WILL BE. Sorry, just my opinion. Paintxpert.
 
Paintxpert said:
I am COMPLETELY SKEPTICAL about any product that is claimed to last forever. I am sorry, with all due respect, I dont believe it. There are no short cuts to having a STUNNING optically perfect paint surface. I would NOT use this OC on a car worth more than say 3500 dollars. I dont care what results you get. The guy that did the extensive testing is a SAINT.....SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!! Its OK for failed paint for a temp. fix. Go back to Wolfgang. There is simply no SHORT CUT to loving your cars paint finish. THERE NEVER WILL BE. Sorry, just my opinion. Paintxpert.
Click to expand...

While that is your opinion and respected. How much do you know about OC and its properties and have you done any of your own testing, or rather, just basing your information off what you read? This isn't a jab or to talk down. I'm curious why you feel that way especially with all the information available about the coating, countless reviews, testimonials, and videos.

The advancement in the detailing world is ever evolving and this is one form of that.
 
I have shelves full of coatings and sealants. Every Spring I toss them into the round file. I often reflect on the money I wasted in undelivered promises of these products. Nevertheless as ineffective as they are, the round file is where they belong. My clients mean too much to me to use some SH-- on there car. Shine SINCE 1969! Paintxpert
 
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