New Product - Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0

It feels tacky, or better "grabby" so don't expect a slick feel like a wax.

So are you saying it will stay that way even after it cures?

I've got some Opti-Coat 2.0 on the way to me (will be here Friday) so I'm looking forward to giving it a try!
 
So are you saying it will stay that way even after it cures?

I've got some Opti-Coat 2.0 on the way to me (will be here Friday) so I'm looking forward to giving it a try!


The initial "grab" is what you WANT it to feel like. This is an indicator telling you that the coating is setting up and starting to bond.

If you have a nice glassy feel after you apply it then you did something wrong, like buffed it down too soon.

It will feel smoother after a 24 hour period but it will not have that "just waxed" feel to it so don't expect that and then feel as if it didn't work properly.

Anthony
 
It will feel smoother after a 24 hour period but it will not have that "just waxed" feel to it so don't expect that and then feel as if it didn't work properly.

Are you saying that even after it is fully cured in 24+ hours that the coating will never have that "just waxed" feel to it?
 
I think what everyone is trying to say is that this product may end up having a more "squeaky clean" type feeling to it, vs a silky smooth slippery feel like you would get with a pure wax and/or some sealants.

Interesting thing is that it seems to act as good if not better than a silky smooth product when it comes to just washing off dirt with water pressure (see Davids long term test pictures)
 
Are you saying that even after it is fully cured in 24+ hours that the coating will never have that "just waxed" feel to it?

Yep. We have two totally different animals here. Wax is an oil that sits on top of your paint. It's designed as a "feel" and "looks" and then "durable" type product.

If a wax is super durable it takes a hit in the looks, feel category and vice versa. Opti-Coat (Guard) is closer to urethane clear coat and if you have ever painted and cleared anything you'll notice that after it has cured it's not super slick even though it may look that way but rather it has a, as noted, "squeaky" clean type feel to it.

If you like you can wax the coating but it won't last very long at all.

Anthony
 
I have found using ReLoad on top of the OC makes it nice and slick. If you don't mind mixing products from 2 different companies, this solves the slickness issue. (issue might be a strong word, but a lot of us do like to feel that).
 
I have found using ReLoad on top of the OC makes it nice and slick. If you don't mind mixing products from 2 different companies, this solves the slickness issue. (issue might be a strong word, but a lot of us do like to feel that).

Hmm.... now I kinda wish I'd ordered some ReLoad with my OC.

Oh well. Next time.
 
Didn't notice a difference really. I went over it with D300/MF and M205/LC Cyan. :props:

This is a question for proper paint prepping prior to application of OC. I see that you polished with M205/LC pad prior to OC. Did you do a dawn wash/rinse or IPA wipedown right after the M205? or did you go straight to OC?

I am just wondering what the best way to prep the surface would be. I plan on using PO85RD, and was hoping to jump straight into OC.... will this work?
 
This is a question for proper paint prepping prior to application of OC. I see that you polished with M205/LC pad prior to OC. Did you do a dawn wash/rinse or IPA wipedown right after the M205? or did you go straight to OC?

I am just wondering what the best way to prep the surface would be. I plan on using PO85RD, and was hoping to jump straight into OC.... will this work?

I see... kind of a catch 22 then. Using IPA after polishing increases the risk of marring the surface that I just polished. What do you recommend as the best and lowest risk of marring the paint - method of exposing bare paint prior to OC application? Could you please be specific. thank you

I have suggested time after time to use Power Clean to wash the car until you have no beading, but not everyone has Power Clean. I have answered that IPA and other things "will also work," but they are not as easy nor any better.

To be more specific: spray each panel with Power Clean full strength, wash with power clean (1 oz per gallon of water in place of your normal wash bucket), then rinse thoroughly. Take care not to wash in direct sunlight or apply to hot panels.

If your next question is can I just use a Dawn wash since I dont have Power Clean, I revert to my former answer : get to bare paint using any method/product you like.

Polishing always leaves something behind so I would at least wash after.


Sent from my iPad 2 viaTapatalk
 
Do you have any suggestions for a touchless (or at least as close as one can get) way of washing before OptiCoating?

Reason I ask is that I worry about introducing marring after Ive perfected the car. As Ive said in a whole slew of other threads (not trying to beat a dead horse though), my paint is scary soft so I want to put OptiCoat on, but I dont want to risk marring it all over again while taking off residue/wax/sealant before OptiCoating.

Spray panel is easy. Can Power Clean work OK in a foam gun? I think I can manage to stay marring free with the foam gun applying the stuff and a liberal amount on a wash mitt before "washing" the panel.
 
Do you have any suggestions for a touchless (or at least as close as one can get) way of washing before OptiCoating?

Reason I ask is that I worry about introducing marring after Ive perfected the car. As Ive said in a whole slew of other threads (not trying to beat a dead horse though), my paint is scary soft so I want to put OptiCoat on, but I dont want to risk marring it all over again while taking off residue/wax/sealant before OptiCoating.

Spray panel is easy. Can Power Clean work OK in a foam gun? I think I can manage to stay marring free with the foam gun applying the stuff and a liberal amount on a wash mitt before "washing" the panel.

There shouldn't be any confusion here, you're just washing away oils so you shouldn't be using much pressure. Pre-soak the panels with Power Clean as Chris suggested then follow his recommendation for washing with Power Clean instead of soap and use a known clean mitt. The Power Clean is going to break down the polishing oils and a simple swipe across the paint should suffice. You're not grinding away at caked on bugs or tar. :)
 
ok... follow up question for Chris or Richard or whoever... I just recently fully detailed (polished, sealed, waxed, etc), my 2009 Odyssey. So now I want to OC 2.0 it. How do I do that most efficiently, effectively, and without marring the paint?

Can I STILL use the PowerClean and spray full strength on each panel, let dwell, then wash with 1:1 powerclean/water via bucket and then rinse off???? (I don't want to use Dawn, etc...)

thanks.
 
ok... follow up question for Chris or Richard or whoever... I just recently fully detailed (polished, sealed, waxed, etc), my 2009 Odyssey. So now I want to OC 2.0 it. How do I do that most efficiently, effectively, and without marring the paint?

Can I STILL use the PowerClean and spray full strength on each panel, let dwell, then wash with 1:1 powerclean/water via bucket and then rinse off???? (I don't want to use Dawn, etc...)

thanks.

If you still lack confidence after reading about Opti Coat and it's application, I would highly advise getting a pro to do the work for you. After all, it was available only to pros until last month. If you are unable to properly polish and then remove polishing oils or unable to wash a single time without marring then a permanent paint coating may be a little too much pressure. I understand that you just want it to be perfect, but you have to have confidence in your abilities. If you can't wash once without inducing marring, I would highly recommend getting help with your project.


Sent from my ViP4 viaTapatalk
 
Chris, thank you for having the patience to answer product questions. I'm certain that you face the same thing across multiple forums and I'm certain that it can get overwhelming.

I hope that everyone can understand what Chris is up against. Optimum listened to the demand of the public and brought over a product that was originally developed for professional use. Now that it is available people have an even deeper thirst for information. Please try to remain patient with the Q&A sessions because there are a lot of people reading the forums and asking the same questions.
 
If you still lack confidence after reading about Opti Coat and it's application, I would highly advise getting a pro to do the work for you. After all, it was available only to pros until last month. If you are unable to properly polish and then remove polishing oils or unable to wash a single time without marring then a permanent paint coating may be a little too much pressure. I understand that you just want it to be perfect, but you have to have confidence in your abilities. If you can't wash once without inducing marring, I would highly recommend getting help with your project.


Sent from my ViP4 viaTapatalk

It's not a matter of lack of confidence. But it's really a matter of 2 totally new products, at least for me. Never used power clean, never used OC. I understand the process now (thanks to you) of how to use powerclean for post polishing, prior to OC. But the question I had above was if I had sealant AND 845 already sitting on my paint. I wanted to stick with BOTH optimum lines of removal and OC... I am confident in my abilities to polish and wash..... just really never had to "strip" on the fly. I usually polish 1x a year, and that's my "strip"... so this is new for me. So I think we all have to be patient as this is a breakthrough product. We consumers want to be sure we are doing it correctly, esp since it's "permanent".

thanks.
 
It's not a matter of lack of confidence. But it's really a matter of 2 totally new products, at least for me. Never used power clean, never used OC. I understand the process now (thanks to you) of how to use powerclean for post polishing, prior to OC. But the question I had above was if I had sealant AND 845 already sitting on my paint. I wanted to stick with BOTH optimum lines of removal and OC... I am confident in my abilities to polish and wash..... just really never had to "strip" on the fly. I usually polish 1x a year, and that's my "strip"... so this is new for me. So I think we all have to be patient as this is a breakthrough product. We consumers want to be sure we are doing it correctly, esp since it's "permanent".

thanks.

I'm sorry if I came off a bit short with you. I had just answered the prep method sooooo many times already and everyone wanted to know if they could substitute this or that. You're right about patience during an intro, for sure. Basically, if you can kill all the beading (with any product) you will be ready for application...I like to use Power Clean because it's something I can get to work in one step whereas with IPA I have to make several passes and still can't be sure stuff didn't redeposit.


Sent from my iPad 2 viaTapatalk
 
We consumers want to be sure we are doing it correctly, esp since it's "permanent".

But it is not permanent. If you really screw up you can polish it right off again. Then again, I can't imagine how anyone could screw up applying Opti-Coat.

Chris has stated time and time again, that all you need to do is strip the paint of whatever sealants/waxes are on it. How you do it and what you use to do it, is not all that important. We don't have Dawn where I am, but I gather it is a popular dish washing detergent. Any dish detergent is going to strip off what you have. A once only wash with a dish detergent is not going to have any detrimental affect on any automotive paint, be it "scary" soft as one guy put it, or otherwise. Some people do get carried away of these forums...

If you want to practice how to apply it, purchase a bottle of Opti-Seal and get your technique down pat with that. If you know how to apply Opti-Seal then you know how to apply Opti-Coat. I'd also recommend reading the "My Guide on How to Apply Opti-Coat" thread on the Optimum forum, but don't over think it, because the application is really so simple. I promise you, no other sealant is as easy to apply as Opti-Coat or Opti-Seal.

However, don't forget Opti-Coat is not for everyone.

If you enjoy playing and putting in the time with sealants and waxes then it is probably not the way to go. In my opinion, it's pretty hard to beat the look and feel of Poli-Seal, followed by Opti-Seal, followed by Optimum Car Wax on a well prepped vehicle. However, if you are a once a year polish/wax kind of guy then Opti-Coat is the answer and you have a few less products to concern yourself with. I'm sure that sounds good to a lot of people...
 
But it is not permanent. If you really screw up you can polish it right off again. Then again, I can't imagine how anyone could screw up applying Opti-Coat.

Chris has stated time and time again, that all you need to do is strip the paint of whatever sealants/waxes are on it. How you do it and what you use to do it, is not all that important. We don't have Dawn where I am, but I gather it is a popular dish washing detergent. Any dish detergent is going to strip off what you have. A once only wash with a dish detergent is not going to have any detrimental affect on any automotive paint, be it "scary" soft as one guy put it, or otherwise. Some people do get carried away of these forums...

If you want to practice how to apply it, purchase a bottle of Opti-Seal and get your technique down pat with that. If you know how to apply Opti-Seal then you know how to apply Opti-Coat. I'd also recommend reading the "My Guide on How to Apply Opti-Coat" thread on the Optimum forum, but don't over think it, because the application is really so simple. I promise you, no other sealant is as easy to apply as Opti-Coat or Opti-Seal.

However, don't forget Opti-Coat is not for everyone.

If you enjoy playing and putting in the time with sealants and waxes then it is probably not the way to go. In my opinion, it's pretty hard to beat the look and feel of Poli-Seal, followed by Opti-Seal, followed by Optimum Car Wax on a well prepped vehicle. However, if you are a once a year polish/wax kind of guy then Opti-Coat is the answer and you have a few less products to concern yourself with. I'm sure that sounds good to a lot of people...

I was the person referring to scary soft paint, and I have to agree I might be overthinking the whole thing. I have a strong feeling that this is one of those things you have to try before you automatically assume its some complicated forever permanent process. I bet once I try to apply to a panel (test panel, different vehicle, etc) it will be a "why was I stressing" moment.

I think I was just a little freaked when I saw how my paint was reacting to relatively "soft" actions....my detailer literally brushed the end of his fingernail across the paint by accident, and it marred it. I definitely want Opti on there to help prevent things like that, its just getting it on there that I have to adapt to.
 
However, don't forget Opti-Coat is not for everyone.

If you enjoy playing and putting in the time with sealants and waxes then it is probably not the way to go. In my opinion, it's pretty hard to beat the look and feel of Poli-Seal, followed by Opti-Seal, followed by Optimum Car Wax on a well prepped vehicle. However, if you are a once a year polish/wax kind of guy then Opti-Coat is the answer and you have a few less products to concern yourself with. I'm sure that sounds good to a lot of people...

Yes, that is a dilemma. Besides obviating most of the stuff I have on my shelf, there is the look/feel of a freshly LSP'd car that I'd never get to enjoy again. I think my initial forays with Opti-Coat will be headlights and wheels.

Did we ever get the bare metal answer? If I've got a paint chip on the back of my wheel will the Opti-Coat provide some corrosion protection?
 
Chris, are there any concerns with surface application involving the various metals on motorcycles? Also, does OC play nice with the various windscreens, or is it recommended to avoid those....as well as with rear windows on soft top convertibles?

Forgive me if I've missed the answers to these questions somewhere along the line. I appreciate the effort you've put into helping us all!
 
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