Is my opticoat 2.0 application holding ? 45 days after...
- Thread starter DaC
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DaC
New member
- Aug 11, 2011
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- #42
@Chris
Great points! I do agree with all of it.
But I also have to agree with @jrs1418 where he states:
This statement is nothing but the truth. That's why now I'm taking my time to explain what opticoat is and what it's not much better before the costumer decides to take it. And your points sure makes some great reasons to why everyone should have it on their cars.
My client, and first of all a friend, of whom this car belongs, and I also gave him the link to this thread, told me: "well, I'm not taking down on your work, but thinking straight I don't think this is worth it if I'm to polish this car once a year"
Although he fails to realize the full extent from the benefits he has from having opticoat, he isn't entirely wrong...... unfortunately no coat to date (at least available on the market), will prevent swirls build up, and pretty fast BTW.... unfortunately car washes use unbelievable dirty, gritty, harsh material and wrong technique to wash cars and even the fully cured opticoated ones will suffer aesthetics loss in very short time.
But this is where I, at least, get caught on the crossfire. As detailer I teach a car should look good, swirl free. To achieve that a DD would have to had at least 1 quick polish job every year... you might know where I'm trying to get right now.
Although I agree with Chris where he states:
This car gets pretty dirty from not being washed for 2 to 3 months and that's pretty normal to happen. But everytime it gets a wash, man.... I must tell you.... it does looks like just polished on regards to gloss.... of course it has many swirls by now, but these swirls are not as bad as the ones on another honda fit, which has almost the same age (maybe 1 or 2 months difference), and stays 24/7 in front of my building too, so I can compare both regularly.
Just to make clear. I love opticoat, I'll continue to offer it to all my clients because I think it's the best for their money.
Great points! I do agree with all of it.
But I also have to agree with @jrs1418 where he states:
This statement is nothing but the truth. That's why now I'm taking my time to explain what opticoat is and what it's not much better before the costumer decides to take it. And your points sure makes some great reasons to why everyone should have it on their cars.
My client, and first of all a friend, of whom this car belongs, and I also gave him the link to this thread, told me: "well, I'm not taking down on your work, but thinking straight I don't think this is worth it if I'm to polish this car once a year"
Although he fails to realize the full extent from the benefits he has from having opticoat, he isn't entirely wrong...... unfortunately no coat to date (at least available on the market), will prevent swirls build up, and pretty fast BTW.... unfortunately car washes use unbelievable dirty, gritty, harsh material and wrong technique to wash cars and even the fully cured opticoated ones will suffer aesthetics loss in very short time.
But this is where I, at least, get caught on the crossfire. As detailer I teach a car should look good, swirl free. To achieve that a DD would have to had at least 1 quick polish job every year... you might know where I'm trying to get right now.
Although I agree with Chris where he states:
This is also nothing but the truth. One of the cars I have applied opticoat, stays 24/7 outside of my building, it's from another friend of mine and it's a soft solid black Honda Fit.
This car gets pretty dirty from not being washed for 2 to 3 months and that's pretty normal to happen. But everytime it gets a wash, man.... I must tell you.... it does looks like just polished on regards to gloss.... of course it has many swirls by now, but these swirls are not as bad as the ones on another honda fit, which has almost the same age (maybe 1 or 2 months difference), and stays 24/7 in front of my building too, so I can compare both regularly.
Just to make clear. I love opticoat, I'll continue to offer it to all my clients because I think it's the best for their money.
Robert8194
New member
- May 9, 2011
- 1,045
- 0
Bird poo is a pet peeve of mine since I had an etching when my vette was just a six months old. Even if OC2 doesn't prevent etching entirely, when you polish it out, you are removing OC and not clear. I learned to apply OC2 (as well as competitor coatings) at Mike's Boot Camp. I was intimidated a little by the instructions but it is extremely easy to apply correctly. As soon as the weather warms up, I am polishing and putting OC2 on our daily drivers. The only reason I don't see the vette getting it is I like to wax it. It has BFWD with Fusion. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can strip and wax again.
Chris Thomas
Optimum Guru
- Dec 21, 2007
- 1,824
- 0
Yes it stops bird poo. There may be an above surface stain, but no below the surface etching. There's a good thread on optimumforums.org where bird poo left a stain and after it was exposed to UV for about 7 days, the stain broke up and disappeared on its own. Chemical resistance, permanent hydrophobic surface and hardness improvement are all offered, but some things can't be fixed by a coating...now or ever.
Projectiles cause chips and Opti Coat won't do much to prevent those, but it will not delaminate and it will be harder to penetrate. But asking for something harder to make up for poor habits won't work. Opti Coat is silicon carbide. There is nothing harder. The problem is with the soft substrate it's applied to.
Also, regarding swirl resistance: swirls are induced by improper care which is only something educating your customer will fix. Automatic Carwashes that wash hundreds of cars per day without cleaning the mitts is just not good practice and not what our coatings protect against. Airborne contaminants that will permeate or etch clear is eliminated as well as saps and acids that are allowed to dwell. Having a tough coating that keeps nature out is the bonus...you can only stop swirls with education.
The warranty registration site is Opti-Coat.net but its still under construction. The warranty is also only a U.S. offering. It would not be offered outside the U.S. unless a local distributor wanted to set something similar up.
Contact me or use Opti-Coat.net when it's finished.
DaC said:
For this customer the solution is no different. The benefits still out way the cost. He speaks of polishing like the is unlimited paint to keep cutting into year after year. Manufacturers paint warranty is void if you remove only 2-3 microns of paint which can easily be done in an aggressive session. Even if you are unable to teach proper technique to prevent swirls, would it still not be better (and cheaper in the long run) to apply a coating that is replenish-able and thick enough to absorb that kind of damage? Day after day we cut into paint without replacing the thickness and think nothing of it. That should not be the norm and is not in the customers best interest. Having a product on hand that can wipe on legitimate protection is your best friend if you have a customer who needs polishing that often. Just have him price a full repaint sometime.
You have the concept
