Opti-Coat 2.0 not so permanent...

panthercz

panthercz

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Well, I've applied Opti-coat 2.0 on 5 vehicles so far. It is completely gone on 2 of them and is already disappearing on a 3rd. I'm not sure what its status is on the other two as I haven't seen those vehicles since applying it. Those three I know for sure have only seen touchless washes or washes by me.

Prep on all of them were similar. Washed using Chemical Guys Citrus Wash with MF bone sponges, using two bucket method and grit guards, clayed using ONR as lube, polished with Optimum Hyper Polish on LC Hydro Tangerine pads. Wiped off with Poor Boys World DMT microfibers, then wiped down with IPA or CarPro Eraser using a different clean set of Poor Boys World DMT mf towels. Then Opti-coat 2.0 applied using applicator sponge in both a horizontal and vertical pattern, one panel at a time. High spots lightly wiped off with a mf.

I could easily see and feel the Opti-coat being applied. The cars weren't washed for at least two weeks or longer after application. It was there after being washed a few times because the cars beaded and sheeted water like crazy. When they would be washed by me it was using Duragloss 901 or Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo with two bucket method and grit guards.

So what's happening? Did I screw up the application somehow? Did I get bad batches of coating?
 
How do you know its gone? The beading/sheeting may degrade from what I understand, but the protecting should still be there.
 
I'm having the exact same issue. Also, I just bought more. In my case the coating is behaving like a surface that has been stripped, water just sits on it. No beading, no sheeting.

Was there any APC or spray wax used on this paint after application?
I really wiped down my surface several times with IPA prior to application, but now I'm learning the Wolfgang Finishing Glaze is a bit tougher to remove than maybe IPA.

So, this time I'll be washing with Dawn, cleaning with Griots Paint Prep, wiping down with Eraser and re coating, at least the hood, depending on what I find.
 
swanicyouth said:
So, this time I'll be washing with Dawn, cleaning with Griots Paint Prep, wiping down with Eraser and re coating, at least the hood, depending on what I find.
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Personally Id wash with Dawn last in case Eraser left something behind.
 
I know when the car does get dirty, it looks like the coating isn't there. However, wash it and when you go to rinse, it will behave exactly like it should. How is it reacting after being cleaned?
 
richy said:
I know when the car does get dirty, it looks like the coating isn't there. However, wash it and when you go to rinse, it will behave exactly like it should. How is it reacting after being cleaned?
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Good point, especially if they have been seeing a lot of touch-less washes, as there would be a build up of dirt then was never removed.


I've seen a few cars I've coated now 1+ year later and they all have been beading like new.


FWIW I've only used Opti-Guard on all but two vehicles, which received 2.0. Just sent a text to the owner of the M3 I used OC2 on last year to see how it's holding up.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Good point, especially if they have been seeing a lot of touch-less washes, as there would be a build up of dirt then was never removed.


I've seen a few cars I've coated now 1+ year later and they all have been beading like new.


FWIW I've only used Opti-Guard on all but two vehicles, which received 2.0. Just sent a text to the owner of the M3 I used OC2 on last year to see how it's holding up.
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Not only do touch-less not get the car really clean, but they often use chemicals to reduce spotting i.e. no beading. Additionally, there is crappy wax and clear coat gloss enhancers.

Wash with high concentration CG W&G and see the difference
 
richy said:
I know when the car does get dirty, it looks like the coating isn't there. However, wash it and when you go to rinse, it will behave exactly like it should. How is it reacting after being cleaned?
Click to expand...

I'm having the same issue and I discovered it after washing. I'm wondering if somehow I chemically
stripped the OC. After washing the panel didn't bead or sheet, water just laid on it like a car never waxed.
 
How much did you use to coat the vehicles in question and what type of paint was on it. We haven't had any bad batches of product...only a few faulty syringes that we ship the product in that tinted the coating yellow or leaked.

Also, what the posters above said is true. something on the surface will change beading, but it should return after cleaning properly. Your process sounds solid, but if the paint wasn't squeeky clean it may not have bonded well. Tell us more and maybe some pics...we'll figure it out.
 
Just got done talking with the owner on the M3 I used OC2 on last August. He says it's still beading like new, as are the other 2 vehicles I coated for him. :dblthumb2:
 
+1 on the dirt causing a lack of water beading. I always think my coating is gone, but then after the car is washed and I do the final rinse it beads back up again
 
Chris@Optimum said:
How much did you use to coat the vehicles in question and what type of paint was on it. We haven't had any bad batches of product...only a few faulty syringes that we ship the product in that tinted the coating yellow or leaked.

Also, what the posters above said is true. something on the surface will change beading, but it should return after cleaning properly. Your process sounds solid, but if the paint wasn't squeeky clean it may not have bonded well. Tell us more and maybe some pics...we'll figure it out.
Click to expand...

Mine was my 01 Bayshore Blue Pathfinder. The paint was polished with Wolfgang Finishing Glaze (polish). Then wiped down many times with 20% IPA. Then I applied the OC (very thinly - maybe too thinly ???) with a cut off piece of the provided yellow foam applicator. Then I gently wiped the surface with a MF towel until until it was clear (once it flashed).

I applied it very thin. Maybe too thin. Maybe I wiped most of it off. Wish I knew.

It cured for about a week, then I washed it - it beaded. That was in March.

Since then the vehicle has been washed bi-weekly and always topped with a spray wax. Yesterday I wiped the hood with APC and all sheeting and beading was gone. Water just laid there. Just like a stripped panel.

So I ordered more. I'll try it again. I'm hoping it's just the hood. I should have "stripped" the whole vehicle, but didn't think of it. I thought OC was impossible to strip chemically, so I never worried about it.

This time I'll polish off anything on there with Optimum Finish Polish, then clean with Eraser. Then wipe down with distilled water. I wish Optimum make a prep product just for this.

What about Prep All? That is supposed strip everything( hopefully not my paint).
 
swanicyouth said:
Mine was my 01 Bayshore Blue Pathfinder. The paint was polished with Wolfgang Finishing Glaze (polish). Then wiped down many times with 20% IPA. Then I applied the OC (very thinly - maybe too thinly ???) with a cut off piece of the provided yellow foam applicator. Then I gently wiped the surface with a MF towel until until it was clear (once it flashed).

I applied it very thin. Maybe too thin. Maybe I wiped most of it off. Wish I knew.

It cured for about a week, then I washed it - it beaded. That was in March.

Since then the vehicle has been washed bi-weekly and always topped with a spray wax. Yesterday I wiped the hood with APC and all sheeting and beading was gone. Water just laid there. Just like a stripped panel.

So I ordered more. I'll try it again. I'm hoping it's just the hood. I should have "stripped" the whole vehicle, but didn't think of it. I thought OC was impossible to strip chemically, so I never worried about it.

This time I'll polish off anything on there with Optimum Finish Polish, then clean with Eraser. Then wipe down with distilled water. I wish Optimum make a prep product just for this.

What about Prep All? That is supposed strip everything( hopefully not my paint).
Click to expand...
Try re-washing the hood, maybe there's some APC film causing this.
 
It's after washing that it has zero (and I mean literally zero) beading and sheeting.

I know when it's dirty it behaves like this and I thought the same thing, that it was just dirty because normally after removing the dirt, it would go back to beading and sheeting like crazy. This is not the case though anymore. It behaves like paint that has been stripped. The water just sits on the surface.

I took some photos and video of the jeeps hood after I washed it twice and how it behaves with water. I don't think I'll be able to upload them tonight (battling a sick and teething daughter) but will tomorrow.
 
I'm inclined to think that it's still there and something in on it. I'd wash it a couple of times with normal shampoo...and maybe even test a mild clay on part of the hood, just to see if there's something sitting on it. If not, you will probably need to recoat and if that's the case...you may have just wiped it too much. When applying just wipe it on and let it flash on its own. When 90% looks completely clear like it's disappeared, use a soft MF to lightly wipe the areas that didn't flash clear. Do this quickly, briskly, and only a pass or two to knock off the part that hasn't flashed. Even if you miss a spot and it dries looking like a streak, a little polish by hand will knock it out quickly and easily.

I hope the beading comes back with another wash, but if you have to apply another coat...don't touch it any more than you have to so that you have a good even application.
 
panthercz said:
It's after washing that it has zero (and I mean literally zero) beading and sheeting.

I know when it's dirty it behaves like this and I thought the same thing, that it was just dirty because normally after removing the dirt, it would go back to beading and sheeting like crazy. This is not the case though anymore. It behaves like paint that has been stripped. The water just sits on the surface.

I took some photos and video of the jeeps hood after I washed it twice and how it behaves with water. I don't think I'll be able to upload them tonight (battling a sick and teething daughter) but will tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I would like to see the video,subscribed.
 
Chris@Optimum said:
I'm inclined to think that it's still there and something in on it. I'd wash it a couple of times with normal shampoo...and maybe even test a mild clay on part of the hood, just to see if there's something sitting on it. If not, you will probably need to recoat and if that's the case...you may have just wiped it too much. When applying just wipe it on and let it flash on its own. When 90% looks completely clear like it's disappeared, use a soft MF to lightly wipe the areas that didn't flash clear. Do this quickly, briskly, and only a pass or two to knock off the part that hasn't flashed. Even if you miss a spot and it dries looking like a streak, a little polish by hand will knock it out quickly and easily.

I hope the beading comes back with another wash, but if you have to apply another coat...don't touch it any more than you have to so that you have a good even application.
Click to expand...


I thought there might be something on it too, so I foamed it with CG Citrus wash and washed it twice. Nothing.

I applied enough to see and feel it going onto the car, one panel at a time, in a horizontal and then vertical manner to ensure 100% coverage. I then let it flash off for ~5 minutes and then lightly wiped off any high spots (and only the high spots). The jeep received the Opti-coat 2.0 about one year ago. It beaded and sheeted water like crazy for a couple months afterward.

Here is a video of the hood after being washed twice and how it reacts with water.

IMG 0866 - YouTube

BTW; I would LOVE to know how to embed a youtube video on this forum as the 3 dozen different ways I've tried don't work.
 
Have you tried claying a section and seeing what happens?
 
panthercz said:
I thought there might be something on it too, so I foamed it with CG Citrus wash and washed it twice. Nothing.

I applied enough to see and feel it going onto the car, one panel at a time, in a horizontal and then vertical manner to ensure 100% coverage. I then let it flash off for ~5 minutes and then lightly wiped off any high spots (and only the high spots). The jeep received the Opti-coat 2.0 about one year ago. It beaded and sheeted water like crazy for a couple months afterward.

Here is a video of the hood after being washed twice and how it reacts with water.

IMG 0866 - YouTube

BTW; I would LOVE to know how to embed a youtube video on this forum as the 3 dozen different ways I've tried don't work.
Click to expand...

Jeez,that sure doesn't look good.It definetly looks as if there is No OC or protection for that matter on your paint. :(
Thank you for posting the video.
 
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