Washing a vehicle with a COATING...what did I do wrong??

[builthatch]

Rain is generally very soft water, and I think it is unlikely your cause of water spotting.

I'd bet the spotting was there prior to washing.

that's possible but i have noticed coatings will "spot" with rain water only because the sitting water attracted environmental things like dust, pollen, etc. the water evaporates and the crud that was drawn to the drop bakes. but luckily, they are usually super easy to move.

I had the same problem with my 2 opti-coated cars. I'm sorry to say but imo opti-coat is at best a ridiculously absurdly difficult to apply product. And at worst a total hype. It did nothing it was supposed to do. No beading, no shedding of dirt, no etching or marring resistance. Not easy to clean at all. I would say it actually behaved as bad or worse than bare clear-coat. I also watched all the vids and read all the posts many, many times before applying. Huge disappointment.

something went terribly wrong with your installation. what you describe is not normal in the least, trust me. i am sorry you had such issues.

I know this isn't direct to your question but it is nuts to not be ONR washing an opti coated car unless it is really filthy. Coatings are great because of lack of needed maintenance but so many people treat their cars like they are more delicate after installing a coating!

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agreed.

i want to add that on the other hand of treating it like it's now plated in gold, there are sometimes unreasonable expectations with the technology. coatings are not force fields. the point of them is that they are easier to clean while protecting your original paint.

a lot of times, when the coating spots, depending how far long the curing process it is, those spots can easily be removed because they didn't actually etch.

imo something like Spotless seems to be popular - i've never used it. glad it worked well for you, OP. but what i have done is hit a cleaned and coated vehicle that has some spotting with a DA, finishing pad and three dots of Poli-Seal and it cleans the thing up like you wouldn't believe.

is coating perfect? nope. some finishes and colors are harder than others, esp if you are dealing with Pro and ESPECIALLY if it's humid, since the coating cures faster with the moisture being so prevalent during high humidity. remember, Opti-Coat is a simple component resin that uses moisture to react. so anyway, yeah - coatings are awesome.

 

[Nomadsto]

I suspect there was some deviation from the prescribed method of preparation, application and/or maintenance of the product.

Lol, clearly