OPTI COAT VS Machine car wash

CAMAROZL1

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Let me say first things first, I WOULD NEVER DO THIS. I am just curious as to if after applying opti coat, could you realistically, go in to machine wash and not have swirls on the car? Thought hit me yesterday. Tried looking for a forum topic on it didn't see anything thanks
 
No.

Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 is a real, hard extra layer of protection for your finish but it's not completely impervious to outside forces. Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 is reported to have better chemical resistance, scratch & mar resistance, and release properties than any automotive coating in use but if you try hard enough it can be damaged .
 
Curious as well. Not that I would go through one, but I will be applying opti coat to my car once my shipment arrives.
 
Unfortunately, the coating will not be an excuse for shortcuts and bad wash habits. You can expect less wash induced marring, though not just because OptiCoat curs harder than OEM clear, but because it simply does not allow bugs/contaminants to bond/stick very well. This, in turn, enables you to remove them with less effort and marring.

OC is not harmed, weakened or removed by harsh chemicals, so you could use a touch less tunnel wash without the normal concern of loosing your LSP. Just be careful not to towels dry afterwards as they usually leave dirt on the surface that could cause marring under the pressure if a drying towel.
 
hey man what kind of pressure you guys use? Trying to cut back on doing machine washes and step up to a pressure washer
 
You should cut out machine washes entirely. :props:

I have a husky 1500psi washer that worked okay. But I found it too much of a hassle setting it up. It also doesnt work well for my style of washing. Since I always wash in the sun (no other choice) I hand wash one panel at a time. Cant really do that with a pressure washer because it gets water overspray all over the place.
 
^^^^
never will I harm my cars in such a way that can be considered abuse
 
I run my Ford thru a touchless wash when we have snow and road salts. I wont use a wash with brushes! OC or OG isnt affected by the chemicals in the touchless I use.
 
with opti-coat on it im sure a touchless would work really good being that OC dont allow the grit and road contaminants to stick. that would be your best option if you're feeling lazy. and of course it not being able to be washed off with strong chemicals like waxes/sealants their harsh chemicals will not bother it one bit!. for even extra slickness/hydrophobicness you could apply something like reload or permanon i don't think it will last as long as it would on bare paint but might be worth it...i think optimum needs to come out with a product like reload for opti-coat, unless it would be OCW or opti-seal.
 
Let me say first things first, I WOULD NEVER DO THIS. I am just curious as to if after applying opti coat, could you realistically, go in to machine wash and not have swirls on the car? Thought hit me yesterday. Tried looking for a forum topic on it didn't see anything thanks

If a car wash has brushes I run the other direction, but I will do the touchless washes if we get a day in the 30's to get the salt and other crap off the car. With opti-coat on the car, a touchless wash gets the car much much cleaner, no more sections of door panel that are still white/gray. (that has been our experience, your mileage may vary :D)
 
I hate getting the wax from touchless on my OC, I try to use only soap and rinse if available
 
I hate getting the wax from touchless on my OC, I try to use only soap and rinse if available

They get me everytime on that, the touchless wash near by has an "under body and wheel" feature that is only part of their "ultimate wash." Also part of the ultimate wash is their "wax" like #(*$#. So far I have operated on the idea that their wax is less harmful then leaving all the chemicals under my car.
 
Last winter (2013) I had Opti-Coat 2.0 applied summer of 2013 on the car. The touchless wash package was 120 days from Dec 1 to Mar 1(max 1 per day). I used it almost every day through a harsh Canadian style winter. In April the paint was still swirl and mar free. I did a "courtesy" polish in May 2014 but really could not see any damage. I have had some panels painted from time to time and always apply the 2.0 as soon as the paint cures. So far I have not tested the new Gloss Coat and am using ONR this winter to see if that is better (I too cringe when going through those washes, but as least the undercarrige gets rinsed).
 
You say touch less. What would be touching it to mar or swirl it?


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To me "touchless" means high pressure water only. There are no brushes or materials used. The fear is the water being sprayed, is not fresh water but recycled water filtered on site in the Car Wash. I used to work at one many moons ago and the filters were less than perfect at removing the crap that came off the cars. Because I had the Opti-Coat 2.0 I was more relaxed about using the touchless car washes. Would the same results be had without OC2.0? Glad I didn't have to find out.
 
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