Opti-coat: Fillers, Plastic Trim, and other questions.

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USMCStang

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So I have my new 2014 Ruby Red Ford Taurus sitting in the garage right now. As it stands it has had the following done:

  1. CG Citrus Wash
  2. Iron-X/ Tar-X - Washed once more
  3. Nanoskin Mitt/ Clayed in tight areas
  4. Polished with M205 and Yellow Softbuff 6" (I used 105 and an LC Orange pad in a few areas where there were RIDS)

The car is, for lack of a better term, "Clean and Shiny". No swirls, RIDS, or otherwise. Since it's a brand new car, it wasn't too much prep.

BUT, I've noticed very small pits in the hood under bright light, which would appear to me to be where the Iron-X and claying process has removed the contaminants.

If you look VERY closely at this photo, especially on the left side of the light reflection you can see these tiny pits. They are perfectly round, almost as if someone took a pin and poked a hole in the clear. Based on using the Iron-X and watching it bleed, it would appear that the amount of purple "blood" I saw, and the amount of these pits I now see are of the same distribution.
20140405_200649_1_.jpg


With that said, I'm on the fence with Opti-coat 2.0. Would the Opti-Coat fill these small pits in the clear, or at least make them less visible? Because of the permanent nature of the OC, if these can't be minimized, I may stick with a more traditional LSP. I don't want to seal these in for good. I have Hydro2, NXT, and Ultimate wax at my disposal, along with the Opti-coat.

Along those same lines, apparently the OC can be used on just about any surface on the car (save for windows), including the black plastic trim.

So with that, the wiper cowl panel already has a small amount of sun fading. This is where I'm confused with OC. If I put protectant on it to help restore the color, the O/C won't bond I would assume. If I just opti-coat it, I then can't put protectant on, because I've sealed it. How should I handle plastic trim...just skip opti-coating it altogether?
 
USMCStang said:
So with that, the wiper cowl panel already has a small amount of sun fading. This is where I'm confused with OC. If I put protectant on it to help restore the color, the O/C won't bond I would assume. If I just opti-coat it, I then can't put protectant on, because I've sealed it. How should I handle plastic trim...just skip opti-coating it altogether?
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Well....you can use a trim coating such as CarPro DLux. You can try a small spot with Opti-Coat and see how it looks. Opti-Lens is supposed to have a restorative effect on trim and also will give more UV protection than Opti-Coat. Of course, buying either Opti-Lens or DLux may be extra expense you weren't looking for.

There is also the new Mother's trim cleaner that is really supposed to bring things back to new...as a cleaner it shouldn't leave any residue and therefore you theoretically should be able to go over it with OC 2.0 (after the normal OC 2.0) prep.

As far as your pits--you COULD polish with a more aggressive product and try to minimize them since you are going to OC after--but no, the OC won't fill what you have to any noticeable extent.
 
Welcome to the site.

From the reading I've done on various forums, from talking to Dr.G and the other guys over at Optimum, and from my experience applying Opti-Coat on several cars, I believe you'll get more of a film build with Opti-Coat than with traditional sealants and waxes.

I don't think Opti-Coat is capable of filling the pits you see in your hood, but I think the look will definitely be improved to the point that it's the best it can be without actually first filling these pits with clear coat touch up. I think a wax would get down into those pits as you apply it, but later after all the solvents evaporate off you could be left with a pit filled with white, dried wax. In my opinion, and experience, I'd rather use the Opti-Coat than a wax.

As for the cowl piece, Rustoleum makes a wax, grease and tar remover that works really well at removing more gunk out of these plastic pieces than what can typically be achieved with APC alone. I like to wet a brush with this Rustoleum wax remover and work in vigorous little circles in a small area at a time, until I work my way across the cowl piece. You might be surprised at how much more crud comes out when using this product.

After a thorough cleaning like that, Opti-Coat typically does just OK at darkening those plastic cowls and other similar trim pieces. Test in an inconspicuous area first to see what difference you can make. You are right though, when you say that Opti-Coat won't bond to a trim dressing. I think multiple coats of Opti-Coat will yield better results in the long run, over a single coat on these trim pieces.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
As far as your pits--you COULD polish with a more aggressive product and try to minimize them since you are going to OC after--but no, the OC won't fill what you have to any noticeable extent.
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That's what I was thinking. I know OC "self-levels", but it's simply not a thick enough coating to fill in small pits.

tuscarora dave said:
As for the cowl piece, Rustoleum makes a wax, grease and tar remover that works really well at removing more gunk out of these plastic pieces than what can typically be achieved with APC alone. I like to wet a brush with this Rustoleum wax remover and work in vigorous little circles in a small area at a time, until I work my way across the cowl piece. You might be surprised at how much more crud comes out when using this product.

After a thorough cleaning like that, Opti-Coat typically does just OK at darkening those plastic cowls and other similar trim pieces. Test in an inconspicuous area first to see what difference you can make. You are right though, when you say that Opti-Coat won't bond to a trim dressing. I think multiple coats of Opti-Coat will yield better results in the long run, over a single coat on these trim pieces.
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Thanks to the both of you. So I'm leaning towards Opti-coating the paint, if only for the protection, and the lower rocker panel plastic trim. I'll see what I can do as far as cleaning the wiper cowl, prior to opti-coating.

Truth is, the pits are BARELY noticeable. Problem is, it's my car, and you know as well as I do that once you notice an imperfection in your own vehicle, that tiny imperfection might as well be an entire panel covered in bullet holes...you'll always notice it.
 
I can't see the pits in the picture, but my GUESS is that they are just normal and acceptable anomalies in the paint from the factory, and you are scrutinizing the car like crazy because it's new (as I would).

"Holes" and pits are pretty common in paint IME. They are harder to see on lighter colors. It could be what is called solvent pop, but I don't think that is likely (or likely possible today) on a factory paint job.

Basically, OC will give you more protection, but the most protection will come from just maintaining the car by washing and waxing it frequently with something (opposed to letting it go).

As for coatings that state they are "permanent" or only last 2 years - I'm fine with that ad copy. Many coatings have lasted many people over 2 years, and OC seems to last the life of the paint if applied correctly.

For the plastic, get DLux. It's the best out there - and really does last a year. It not only protects the trim, but restores it to a dark black - something OC won't do.
 
swanicyouth said:
For the plastic, get DLux. It's the best out there - and really does last a year.
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And what happens after a year? Do you just recoat and it looks fine? That's the problem I had with C4--it looked great for a while, and then after a year or so it seemed to have a bit of faded chalky look, so I recoated and it didn't really seem to improve (almost like it UV faded THRU the C4, but the C4 was still on top, so a re-application couldn't get to the substrate to restore it). As an aside, my C4 had dried up some and was thicker and harder to apply after the year, if that makes any diff.
 
I'm not sure. I'm almost at a year and it still looks pretty much like the day I coated it - great. I'm too lazy to dig for before pics, but this trim below was faded and chalky a year ago:

qa2u9eju.jpg


I cleaned and prepped it well and coated with DLux. The pic above was taken a few weeks ago. Same with the wiper arms. They were faded as well. I coated them With DLux as well.

So, I bought more DLux to reapply it. But, I haven't had to even open the bottle yet. It seems DLux restores and protects. I probably will just put another coat on one day when I get a chance. But to me, DLux is as close to a miracle product as I've seen in the detailing world.
 
swanicyouth said:
I'm not sure. I'm almost at a year and it still looks pretty much like the day I coated it - great. I'm too lazy to dig for before pics, but this trim below was faded and chalky a year ago:

qa2u9eju.jpg


I cleaned and prepped it well and coated with DLux. The pic above was taken a few weeks ago. Same with the wiper arms. They were faded as well. I coated them With DLux as well.

So, I bought more DLux to reapply it. But, I haven't had to even open the bottle yet. It seems DLux restores and protects. I probably will just put another coat on one day when I get a chance. But to me, DLux is as close to a miracle product as I've seen in the detailing world.
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That looks really nice!!

There has to be something, somewhere, in a gallon can, for about $15 that will do that same thing...:doh:
 
Setec Astronomy said:
What happened with your WipeNew experiment--I just saw that at Wal-Mart yesterday--$15?
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Well that's not in a gallon can...:laughing: Though it hasn't been very long, it still looks like the day I applied it to 2 of the older rental vans on the lot.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

So, after I pulled it out in the sun for a final once over, I wasn't quite satisfied with the correction step. Although there are no major scratches, I still saw some small swirls in some places, and noticed a small rock chip on the fender. Chalk it up to still learning.

Because I needed to drive the car to work today, and not wanting to "entomb" the defects, I simply put a coat of Meg's Ultimate Wax on. The car looks great, and it's protected for the time being. I plan on giving myself a little more time in the summer, and going back over everything and opti-coating it. This will give me time to research a little more before jumping in. I may forgo the opti-coat with this car, and go with something like a Collinite or Opti-seal, rather than the coating.
 
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