Opticoat 2.0 and Gloss Coat Drops per ml

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Digger11

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Hi,

Just put a coat of Optimum Gloss Coat on my VW Golf and I put it on way too thin.
I followed the instructions on the container of a few drops per panel. I only used 2.5ml which probably nearly got all absorbed by the applicator anyway.

So the new plan is to apply drops per panel. I have split the car into 24 equal sized areas, but need to understand roughly how many drops per ml.
I have read both 20 and 60 drops per ml in my google searches.

So at 20 drops per ml and 7.5ml remaining, I would use 6 drops per section, but at 60 drops per ml, I would need to use 19 drops - quite a large difference.


Has anyone roughly counted how many drops they have applied to a small car, or how many drops per panel ?

Also, I have 10ml of Opticoat 2.0 that I have saved up for my new car, and assume that drops per ml is the same as Gloss Coat ?
Drops measured using the blue needle that comes with the Gloss Coat, they are very small

thanks

Digger
 
There is a post about drops per mL. Can't seem to find it for ya, but I remember seeing it.
 
Harpolith said:
There is a post about drops per mL. Can't seem to find it for ya, but I remember seeing it.
Click to expand...

Yes, i have read plenty that talk abour 20 drops per ml, but then read one from an Optimum employee that stated 60 drops per ml.
Quite a difference im sure you will agree
 
It's even easier to use the suede applicator. A nice bead down the center is all you need to spread the product around. Worked perfectly for me when I used Gloss Coat.
 
So, are you trying to say that, "A few drops per panel", is NOT true.


OPT explaining that there are 60 drops per ml makes the above statement even less believable.


11 panels on a 4-Door sedan x 3 drops per = 33 drops or about .5ml

Should be able to do 20 cars with 10ml of Gloss Coat
 
AGO -It does appear that the couple of drops is a bit conservative. I did the math like you and am now fairly confused.

That said, I coated a W211 Mercedes with OptiCoat 2.0 when it first came out and the coating still works perfectly. There was plenty of speculation at the time that no coating could last for over 2 years - well my Merc is proof that this speculation was just that.
I have diligently saved 10ml of 2.0 for my new car that arrives mid year, but am trying Gloss Coat on my other cars.
I put the Opticoat 2.0 on so long ago, I just can't remember how thick to apply it.
I do love the 2.0 though, if Gloss coat is 1/2 as good I will still be pleased.

cheers
Digger
 
Further to my Gloss Coating. Got home tonight after coating yesterday and the Golf was lookng pretty shiny so i poured a bucket of water on the roof and hood and the water just slid off with the remaining little bit of water beading beautifully..
Looks amazingly like the 2.5ml has done something. No idea how long it will last though.
 
Also, i bought 10 x 1ml measuring vials on ebay (for $1.59) so i will do a drop count when they arrive.
 
Digger11 - you want to use around 8cc for that size car. Also don't pour water on the car. If you don't dry it you may get water spots. If you do dry the car without a cleaning/lubricating agent - you can mar the paint. 2.5 cc will not last as claimed. Way too thin. YouTube how to apply Opti coat and see how much those guys are using
 
Dunno anything specific about GC, but as a pharmacist, we always use 20 drops per ml when calculating days supply for billing eye drops and similar.

So, a 5ml bottle of Tobradex has 100 drops.

This will of course vary depending on exactly what liquid you are calculating and its viscosity I'm sure, however 20 drops per ml is a pretty safe bet for most aqueous like solutions.
 
The smaller tip of the OPT syringe is likely what increases the number of drops per cc

Swanic is correct that viscosity is also a variable, as is density of the liquid


I agree with Dekany, "a few drops per panel" is not realistic.

The guidance should probably be removed from OPT marketing materials to prevent under performance, caused by insufficient quantities applied.
 
Fluids:

Before delving into the interdependency between
viscosity, flow-rate/(velocity), temperatures, etc...

Into which fluid 'category' befits these
two Optimum Coating products:
-Newtonian
-Non-Newtonian
-Both (at times)?


Bob
 
It really depends both on the fluid used and the dispenser.

I just did a little experiment with two different fluids, water and 90% alcohol, and using two different dispensers. One 3ml syringe and one needle tipped bottle dispenser.

1ml (1cc) in each.

Syringe ~ 20 drops water
Syringe ~ 40 drops alcohol
Needle tip ~ 40 drops water
Needle tip ~ 60 drops alcohol
 
Why bother counting drops?

You should be able to see the coating on the surface as you're applying it.... and then it starts to flash away.
15267791790_be1f203222_b.jpg

15267879208_6213789faa_b.jpg

15451341041_3362614394_b.jpg
 
For professionals and regular users i agree that counting drops is a waste. But for very rank amateurs like me, it would give a good guideline to thickness applied as you go along.. Gloss coat is $100 for 10ml in Australia so dont want to waste any by slopping it on.
Anyway, i am going to add the
remaining. 7.5ml this weekend. Will do windows door jams and wheels. That should give me 8ml roughly on the paint.
 
Hi again, follow up is that today i put 7.5ml of Opti gloss coat in a little spray bottle, and this time used an applicator wrapped in a rubber glove wirh a Blue Chux on the outside.
So much easier !!!!
Loaded up applicator with one spray and then one spray per small panel, and 2 or 3 for the larger ones. Had lots of coverage this way and the 7.5ml did the whole car again plus wheels and glass (it is a small Golf MK6 so i was happy with this coverage).
I probably "slopped" it on a little bit too much, as i did have excess on most panels that i had to buff off 5 minutes later with a microfibrecloth.

But overall, i am now happy with the coverage, even though it actually wasnt too bad when i used only 2.5ml surprisingly.

One final question, there are 2 high spots that i missed ( around each door handle) , i think the light was blocked by the handle so i missed buffing them down. I think i can easily polish them out, how long should i wait for the gloss coat to dry before applying a light polish to the high spots ?

Cheers Digger
 
More good news, the high spots near the door handles were just hand smudges from touching the paint when opening the door. So i wiped them off and all good
 
As already mentioned gtts are quite variable. I use cc/ml with 5cc/ml = 1 tsp; 15cc= 1 tbsp; 30cc/ml = 1 oz. Handily, 2.5cc = 1/2 tsp. I use a cheap set of kitchen measuring spoons in garage rather than argue with SO about chemical residue and they have 1/4 and !/8 tsp on the ring. too. I also have used cheap plastic medicine dosing cups but they seem to disappear easier. So, you could measure out what you want and suck it up in the drop dispenser and put out as many drops as you want and not have to worry about drop size per se while still delivering the desired dosage with that particular dispenser quite easily. Being poor, I measure out most things as specified ONR, household cleaners, etc. I mark my pails too 1/2gal, gal, etc. I use 1.5 gal of ONR on the car, so why make two?
 
Thanks Kev,

Pretty much what my plan is for the last 10ml of Opticoat 2.0 I have saved up for my Porsche Macan when it arrives later in the year.
I can't afford to complete say 3/4 of the car and then run out as 2.0 is getting very hard to find.
So I am going to measure out 1ml at a time, put it in a dropper and then will be easy to ration it across the vehicle.
Am also going to add Glosscoat over the top , 30mins - 60 mins later as advised by Optimum Reps.
 
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