I agree with this but have to add a few thoughts forged through experience at applying this stuff with the supplied yellow pad and also the glove wrapped applicator with a fine nap microfiber or blue paper shop towel over the applicator.
1.What you say is correct but it's money down the drain in comparison to product saving methods one can create through trial and error and a little ingenuity.
2. What you say is correct but the directions say the exact opposite.
It is my opinion that the directions coming from Optimum were either very poorly thought out and written...or...were purposely written in a way that would contradict logic to the first time user in order to support the efforts of the "professional installer", knowing that the "Pros" are naturally going to work through their own learning curve and come up with their own best methods of application. This theory would definitely support the "marketing machine" that seems to be part of Optimum's target market...that is "the professional Opti-Coat installer".
I see it even more so now with the recent market saturation of coatings targeted toward the average forum member detailers. As this in-surge of different, more affordable coatings brought to market increases, we see Optimum nearly double the price of their professional offering, add the warranty policy and shift their marketing strategies toward new car dealerships and the adequately insured professional installers.
Time and time again, over and over we see threads just like this one where the first time installer experiences problems and immediately starts a new thread highlighting his/her shortcomings of the experience...fueling both my theory outlined above, and potentially making the other new to market offerings seem more appealing, which supports the entire car care industry as a whole, which Optimum is a big part of. In my mind, it keeps an interest in coatings in general alive, which naturally creates future opportunities of improvement and growth for the companies who are doing constant research and development in their labs and in the field.
At the same time, this all gives the coating "manufacturers" that are springing to market left and right, their 15 minutes of fame. I personally believe that a lot of these new to market coatings will ride the wave that is the trend of coating applications while things are hot, and when things calm down and become "Old Hat", the companies doing real research, development and constant improvement will still be moving their product to a more diverse market and will be so situated to appeal to multiple markets.
Just some thoughts as I see them in my mind.
Back to the yellow applicator that comes with the Optimum coating.
Like Art has shown in his photo of his Sharpie marked applicator, I do exactly the same thing and concentrate on an application method of making short overlapping strokes with the supplied yellow applicator. When I say short stokes, I mean overlapping strokes across the paint no longer than 6 inches long overlapping at a minimum of 50%. This way the foam has more "product" from the previous application stroke to glide across, so only a 50% or less of the foam applicator is grabbing over un-coated paint.
Kind of like when you wait entirely too long to mow your grass.
The first cut path of overgrown grass constantly tries to stall out the lawn mower engine...but once you get that first path cut, you can then take 50% or less of your full cut width at a time making the rest of the job much easier. Sure it takes a little longer to do, and wastes a little gas, but the rest of the mowing project is effortless. At the end you have big clumps of grass all over the yard that need to be raked up, kind of like the "High Spots" of Opti-Coat left behind on the hood of the car being coated..
It has taken a few Opti-Coat applications for me to develop my preferred technique of application. I'm much less worried about a little wasted product in doing an over application as I am in saving time, creating ease of use, and ensuring a more thorough end product.
