mini Optimum Gloss-Coat review

builthatch

builthatch

New member
Joined
May 25, 2008
Messages
2,352
Reaction score
0
i haven't had a reason to use it yet - the tubes have been sitting for a little while waiting for an opportunity.

last night i noticed a few isolated very minor scratches on my trunk decklid. it has been coated with Opti-Coat Pro since spring '13 and driven maybe 8k over that time. garaged all the time, never seen rain. so, basically, it's coated to make it easier to clean and stretch out time between cleanings as much as possible. somehow, it accrued these scratches - who knows. i treat it like a Fabergé egg!

anyway, the car has Ceramiclear, so i didn't want to go nuts with these scratches as they definitely were into the clear, not just hairline scratches on the coating. but, i got them out about as far as i wanted to go, detectable only upon ridiculous scrutiny. after that, i did some passes on the rest of the surface to give the existing coating some surface area bite for the Gloss-Coat.

welp, Gloss-Coat is WAY easier to apply than 2.0. and WAY WAY (lol) easier than Pro. sounds crazy but it's about as easy as Opti-Seal! it's a bit cool here so it took a while for it to flash but still faster than i'd expect for the other products in the same conditions. i chased it extremely lightly with a Microfiber Madness Crazy Pile towel (again, feels just like OOS there too) and then went over it again with the primed OPT neoprene applicator. chased again, inspected and that was it.

so simple.

while i won't be able to provide a true durability test on this car, i will be able to check behavior over time. i am extremely pleased with the ease of installation.
 
Any idea how much product to do a mid-size sedan? Heard everything from 5mil to 12mils.
 
An '09 C63 is about the size of a current-gen Jetta or Altima. Good question. :)
 
Rsurfer said:
Any idea how much product to do a mid-size sedan? Heard everything from 5mil to 12mils.
Click to expand...

good question. i used next to nothing to do the decklid so i have no real way to gauge. the whole car is still coated with pro so i won't be going over any add'l panels, at least on this car.

plus...i use the neoprene applicator ("dual pro") so i tend to spare coating, even when going over it twice. that's why i was getting some flak before when i was talking about getting away with less than ~10cc for an entire average car, wheels included.
 
Putting it on thick:
Wouldn't that lead to "high spots"...
high spots that need to be knocked-down?

Knocking-down high spots sounds a whole lot
like removing some excess product to me.

Which, in turn, would seem to infer that applying 5cc to a mid-size sedan is using too much product to begin with---which, for the life of me: I don't see how that is possible!

Bob
 
Not really. Gloss-coat flashes really fast and thoroughly. Very little leveling even if you are laying it thick.

The product just spreads much further than 2.0 or Pro. Must be in the chemical makeup.

If you have a microsuade cloth you will use even less than with foam. It absorbs less so you end up spreading much more. I do basically 2x2 ft sections but you could probably do half a hood with a full length squirt on the applicator and still be seeing the wet trailing your applicator.

Also, just because you are putting it on thick doesn't mean you are putting it on unevenly.
 
Rsurfer said:
Any idea how much product to do a mid-size sedan? Heard everything from 5mil to 12mils.
Click to expand...

I just gloss coated a Mustang GT500 and still have ~4 ccs left in the tube. Even wasted some when I dropped the foam pad and had to prime a new one.

Here's a rubbish photo of it in the garage..

1qvrZGM.jpg
 
Kalvin00 said:
I just gloss coated a Mustang GT500 and still have ~4 ccs left in the tube. Even wasted some when I dropped the foam pad and had to prime a new one.
Click to expand...
Was this ~4ccs the remainder left in the 10cc, or 20cc, tube of OG-C? Thanks.

Bob
 
VP Mark said:
Not really. Gloss-coat flashes really fast and thoroughly. Very little leveling even if you are laying it thick.

The product just spreads much further than 2.0 or Pro. Must be in the chemical makeup.

If you have a microsuade cloth you will use even less than with foam. It absorbs less so you end up spreading much more. I do basically 2x2 ft sections but you could probably do half a hood with a full length squirt on the applicator and still be seeing the wet trailing your applicator.

Also, just because you are putting it on thick doesn't mean you are putting it on unevenly.
Click to expand...

i agree with this.

i does flash fast. i was surprised how fast given the cool temps, granted, maybe the panel was not that cool because i was working on it. it's really like OOS in that, like you say, you can sort-of over apply vs. what you are used to with the other coatings and it will still flash, leaving minimal high spots. and the high spots spread easier, MUCH easier than even 2.0 since they don't get as sticky...i think because they don't end up as high as what we are used to, if that makes sense. unfortunately i don't know what it's like with the microsuede or foam vs. the neoprene but i'd say the only microsuede system i might consider is the new one that OPT debuted at SEMA, the pointed block with the velcro sandwich system (you guys see that yet? it's neat). we'll see, because i'm so sold on the neoprene nowadays.
 
Rsurfer said:
Dr. G should make a 5cc tube for those that don't have a SUV to seal.
Click to expand...

ehh i think that the average user might mow through it, esp. if they don't have much experience with coatings and/or are using the included foam applicator. 10 cc is a safe volume.

i'm curious what the average enthusiast on here has to say about their experiences with it on a whole car.

i still haven't moved the car (has been clean/sitting after a thorough Reset wash for a month, haha) so i did another coat today on the trunk. no real reason other than i just wanted to try the provided foam applicator with this vs. the neoprene, since this applies SO much more like Opti-Seal compared to the coatings. yeah...neoprene > foam, lol.
 
Rsurfer said:
Any idea how much product to do a mid-size sedan? Heard everything from 5mil to 12mils.
Click to expand...

I used 9cc (which is what mine came with) to coat a Tesla Model S and wheel inside and out. I applied using the same amount as I would with OCP. I also used the CarPro block and micro suede rather than the foam.
 
RaskyR1 said:
I used 9cc (which is what mine came with) to coat a Tesla Model S and wheel inside and out. I applied using the same amount as I would with OCP. I also used the CarPro block and micro suede rather than the foam.
Click to expand...

That sounds about right. This goes for applying OCP. Just can't imagine only using 5cc.
 
I did my Grand Prix and used about 10cc. I think it was Dec 2014 and so far really happy. Car still shines better than it ever did with OPC 2.0 and feels slicker too. I recently started using wax as LSP just cause I like to-but really the coating is all you need (car is daily driver 2001).
 
Just an update. Did whole car Nov 15/15. Polished first and IPA wipe before applying. Did inside about 60F. Went on silly easy and flashed very predictably. Light wipe with plush microfiber towel to remove high spots. This stuff is fantastic. Brilliant deep shine and very slick. If it lasts the winter I'm happy.
 
^ awesome.

interestingly, i just read about the updated version of Gloss-Coat and the Optimum mouthpiece on their forum said three years durability, amongst other improvements.

that is a big deal.

one of the reasons i was intrigued by the Uber coating PBMG offered was because it filled a void for a long term consumer coating, left by 2.0 (which OPT replaced with Gloss-Coat).

the only downside to me about the "old formula" of Gloss-Coat has been its more sealant-like life expectancy and also the fact that it, like many other popular "coatings"/sealants, is susceptible to highly alkaline cleaners and the like. so, it kind of made you wonder how it would deal with the things that DON'T affect the pro coatings, like bird doo, etc. bird doo in particular is something that i have witnessed many times get completely shrugged off by Opti-Coat Pro...if you are patient and let the stain disappear over time.

making Gloss-Coat more robust is exactly what i wanted. neat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top