Sealant/Prep recommendation

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jasonsmith

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I've got a black car that sits outside. I also have a PC 7274XP. It gets a dirt/dust film on it real easy that doesn't come off with a pressure washer. It stays dirty alot as dirt/dust like to stick to it even after washing it. It also gets water rings real easy that have to be buffed off as they don't come off from the pressure washer or hand washing.

I was looking for a sealant that has long term durability, resists dirt/dust that can be removed just with a pressure washer, and resists water rings. And something that can hold up to the soaps used at car washes.

I don't like waxing/buffing alot and was looking for something that lasts a long time like 6-12 months. But came across the Blackfire Crystal seal. And figured since that is so easy, might be something I could do every 3 months or so. But it would need to be able to resist dirt and water rings and hold up to the soap used at car washes.

I was also looking at precleaners like a waterless wash. Something I could wipe the car down with to remove the dirt film and water rings.
 
I am in the process of applying Opti-Coat 2.0 to correct the same problems you mention. The Opti-Coat 2.0 (OC2 for short) is a permanent coating that acts like a second clearcoat. The key is to throughly prepare the paint surfaces before you seal it (same as painting-you only clear coat if surface is defect free-what you see is what you get). I would compound, polish (no waxes or glazes/sealants) and then seal only if happy with finish (the OC2 will not cover or remove swirls or defects in the paint). You can do panels one at a time and spread the work over longer periods (you don't have to do the entire vehicle at one time). The OC2 is fairly expensive ( you only get a siringe of product) but a little goes a long way and you don't keep re-applying it (OC2 will not adhere to itself once curred, so recoating is useless). If you have to remove it you have to wet sand or compound it off same as a layer of clear coat.
 
Not sure if I want to do a coating. The paint is nice and shiny. But really needs a repaint as the PO had it repainted, and he probably cheaped out on it. Then again, I could just clean it up and buff it out real good and do a coating and forget about it since that would be the best the paint would ever look like.

Though, do you still need to wax/seal a coating? Or do you just have to keep it clean? I wouldn't want to do a coating where I'd still have to wax/seal it.

But the main thing I'm looking at is a sealant right now.
 
The best part of OC2 is that it will preserve whatever finish is acheived in the prep stage. In your case if the "nice and shiny"paint is as good as it's going to get then OC2 will "freeze" it at that point.

Once cured the OC2 will not accept wax or glaze as it's main quality is "nothing sticks to it" (not even itself). To maintain the finish you should only have to hose down in most cases or regular washing.

I have only done a few parts on my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, but I even notice a difference in the amount of dust that settles on surrounding surfaces. Like I said, the product is fairly expense but you can probably do two cars with what you get so maybe go splits with someone. The coating is "permanent" but you can remove by sanding (same as normal clear coat although much harder because of the hardness of OC2).
 
I wouldn't do a waterless wash on a black car, especially one that sits outside all the time. I've even stopped doing it on my garaged car.
 
embolism said:
I wouldn't do a waterless wash on a black car, especially one that sits outside all the time. I've even stopped doing it on my garaged car.
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What would be the best thing to do? I usually just pressure wash it. But the car gets this dirt/dust film that doesn't come off with a pressure washer. You have to hand wash it to get it off. I was looking at some of the waterless washes that mention they grab dirt so it can be safely removed. I figured that would be safer than hand washing it.

Bad thing is with this film, is it leaves these streaks running down the car where the water tends to make a path when it rains.

I noticed I had a new bottle of Wolfgang sealant that I never used. I may see if I could return it for store credit to Autogeek and try the Opti Coat. If not, I may just use that bottle up for the time being and try Opti Coat at another time.
 
Crispy2001 said:
The best part of OC2 is that it will preserve whatever finish is acheived in the prep stage. In your case if the "nice and shiny"paint is as good as it's going to get then OC2 will "freeze" it at that point.

Once cured the OC2 will not accept wax or glaze as it's main quality is "nothing sticks to it" (not even itself). To maintain the finish you should only have to hose down in most cases or regular washing.

I have only done a few parts on my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, but I even notice a difference in the amount of dust that settles on surrounding surfaces. Like I said, the product is fairly expense but you can probably do two cars with what you get so maybe go splits with someone. The coating is "permanent" but you can remove by sanding (same as normal clear coat although much harder because of the hardness of OC2).
Click to expand...

I have had OC on my car for over a year and in my experience hosing off, even at the local DIY wash places will not really get your car clean. I know this because I can see a film of dirt still left on the glass. However, a hand wash will.

You do not need to sand to remove . Light compounding is sufficient
 
dougaross said:
I have had OC on my car for over a year and in my experience hosing off, even at the local DIY wash places will not really get your car clean. I know this because I can see a film of dirt still left on the glass. However, a hand wash will.

You do not need to sand to remove . Light compounding is sufficient
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Do you find the OC makes it easier to clean the car and remove the dirt? I've read that OC is supposed to be real slick which makes it hard for the dirt to stick.

Though I know there are different brands of coatings, so some may be more slick than OC.
 
It certainly makes it easier to wash and things dont stick as bad unless you let them bake for a long time. no, it's not slick to the touch.
 
I wouldn't say OC is slick. It's not bad mind you but it's not sealant slick. It's more like super clean paint that sheds dirt better than clean paint.

That said, on black or any colour for that matter, running it through a touchless and then doing nothing will still result in water spots. The only way to get black looking good imo is to do either a rinseless or full wash
 
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