Jeep Patriot and Opti-Coat 2.0

[panthercz]

Had strict time constraints on this so I didn't get to do a two step compound and polish like it should have gotten, but oh well.
I did get to try out Opti-Coat 2.0 for the first time though! More on that later.

Process:
Pressure washed entire vehicle including undercarriage
Foam gun with Optimum car wash and little ONR
2 bucket wash with Optimum car wash and little ONR
ARO on tires and wheel wells
Sonax Full Effect on wheels
Optimum Power Clean at 1:3 for engine
303 on all cleaned engine plastic/rubber
Klasse AIO on interior engine hood paint
Clayed with Pinnacle Poly Clay
Megs MF 3" cutting pads with D300 to remove larger scratches
LC 4" and 5.5" Tangerine Hydrotech pads with Optimum Hyper Polish as 1 step
DP Krystal Vision glass cleaner
Concentrated IPA and Optimum Power Clean wipedown after polishing
PERL on rear bumper, windshield cowling and tires
CQuartz on interior door wells
Opti-Coat 2.0 on all paint, wheels and glass

Car when it arrived
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9259.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9262.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9263.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9260.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9266.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9267.jpg

Pressure washing
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9271.jpg

Sonax doing it's thing
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9277.jpg

Foam breaking down
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9278.jpg

Found this when I opened the engine, thanks service center...
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9265.jpg

Paint condition before
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9302.jpg

After, I probably got 75% correction overall.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9311.jpg

Now for the fun stuff
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9315.jpg

Okay, I'll say this about Opti-Coat 2.0. People were making a really big deal out of nothing about the application of this product. I read so many people freaking out about it. I think it stems from the word "permanent".
This product is VERY SIMPLE to use folks. I admit, I was freaking out a little too. After using it on a couple panels however, I learned that this stuff is almost fool proof. All you do is wipe it on and after 4-5 minutes wipe off any wet spots that haven't flashed yet. That is it, nothing else.

Prime your pad with an "X" pattern
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9318.jpg

Wipe it on in straight line motions, up/down and go over it again left/right. You'll see and feel the product going on. It flashes off pretty quickly.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9320.jpg

Now here is the part many people were freaking out over, the "high spots" or basically just too much product applied in an area that won't flash off on it's own and needs to be blended in, or have the excess product removed. After trying to blend high spots with the applicator, I found it MUCH EASIER to just take a microfiber towel and lightly buff it off. The high spots are not tacky and do not grab the mf leaving lint behind (a fear I had) the Opti-Coat just comes right off usually in just one quick swipe.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9326.jpg

For hard to see areas LED light was used to make sure no high spots were left.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9316.jpg

Afters.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9334.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9330.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9332.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9338.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9358.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9357.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9346.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9359.jpg

The worst part about cleaning up cars is having to clean up the mess afterward.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9353.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Panthercz/Cars/_MG_9354.jpg

My closing thoughts are that having now used both Opti-Coat 2.0 and CQuartz, they are both very easy to use, whether it be on paint, glass or wheels. They both have trade offs in my opinion. CQuartz doesn't last as long (2 years vs. "permanent"), has a much stronger odor and is more expensive, but I can layer it and it doesn't require full removal from an entire panel if I want to fix a scratch.
Opti-Coat 2.0 can be a problem if you get a chip or scratch somewhere and you want to fix it since you'd have to compound it off the entire panel if you want to fix it. I would be very mad if I had to grind this stuff off an entire roof of my Ford Flex...which is why I'll stick with CQuartz for my own cars but will use Opti-Coat 2.0 on other peoples DD that won't notice or mind a small scratch/scuff/rock chip.

[Meghan]

Very nice review, thanks! Jeep looks great.

[silverfox]

I also found that smoothing out the sections that have not flashed off...is best done with a really gentle wipe with a MF towel...instead of using the foam applicator.

You have to get past the first panel or two, before the simplicity of the application is revealed to you. Its very easy to put on too much when you first start.

[panthercz]

Very nice review, thanks! Jeep looks great.
Thank you.


I also found that smoothing out the sections that have not flashed off...is best done with a really gentle wipe with a MF towel...instead of using the foam applicator.

You have to get past the first panel or two, before the simplicity of the application is revealed to you. Its very easy to put on too much when you first start.

Yeah trying to blend it with the applicator wasn't working so well since the Opti-Coat goes such a long way. I was just spreading more of it around instead of blending it, so removing it with the mf was the fastest and easiest thing to do.

I agree that once you get past the first panel or two, you really understand just how simple the process is.

[Mike Phillips]

Nice write-up, your experience mimics my experience with Opti-Coat II also...

Do a really good job of applying and work the coating over the paint, depending up temperature wait a few minutes and then use a clean microfiber to wipe off any excess product that you can see sitting on the surface.


Don't wait too long because if you do the patches of excess product won't want to wipe off.

Temperature is the big variable that affect how fast the coating dries and you don't want to wipe the paint too soon because all you want to wipe off is the excess still visible on the surface.


:)

[DetailedByPrecision]

good info here. learned a lot from this.

[Elite Pro]

Great work :props:

Nice pics :props:



This product is VERY SIMPLE to use folks.:iagree:

[richy]

Great job on that Jeep! Your shot of the high spot really captured it well. I agree too that's it's easier to level with a mf than the applicator. Do make sure you throw your mf into a pail with a strong APC solution in it after you've done that as it will crystallize just like the CQ does. You can save your mf's the same way using CQ. Like you, I have CQ on my DD but offer either OC or CQ to my customers. It comes down to what product I think will work the best for them. I had a white Lexus I just did that I thought might be harder to see the high spots, so I chose CQ for it. The flake is just jumping in the pics which is what I have found for both products using these coatings. Again, great job!

[Chris Thomas]

Very nice work on the Jeep...that's how it's supposed to look! And also, thank you for sharing your process for Opti Coat. I've been trying to instill confidence in the ease of application, but it's always good to hear it from an actual customer.

[panthercz]

Nice write-up, your experience mimics my experience with Opti-Coat II also...

Do a really good job of applying and work the coating over the paint, depending up temperature wait a few minutes and then use a clean microfiber to wipe off any excess product that you can see sitting on the surface.


Don't wait too long because if you do the patches of excess product won't want to wipe off.

Temperature is the big variable that affect how fast the coating dries and you don't want to wipe the paint too soon because all you want to wipe off is the excess still visible on the surface.


:)

It was about 68 degrees in my garage according to my temp gauge. If it was 75-80 I don't think I'd let it sit for 4-5 minutes probably just 2-3 (if that).
I found that whatever didn't flash off after 3-4 minutes, wasn't going to flash off.


good info here. learned a lot from this.
Glad it helped. :)


Great work :props:

Nice pics :props:


:iagree:
Thanks!


Great job on that Jeep! Your shot of the high spot really captured it well. I agree too that's it's easier to level with a mf than the applicator. Do make sure you throw your mf into a pail with a strong APC solution in it after you've done that as it will crystallize just like the CQ does. You can save your mf's the same way using CQ. Like you, I have CQ on my DD but offer either OC or CQ to my customers. It comes down to what product I think will work the best for them. I had a white Lexus I just did that I thought might be harder to see the high spots, so I chose CQ for it. The flake is just jumping in the pics which is what I have found for both products using these coatings. Again, great job!
After using both I think having both could be beneficial too. Use CQuartz for the paint and use Opti-Coat for the wheels and glass. :)


Very nice work on the Jeep...that's how it's supposed to look! And also, thank you for sharing your process for Opti Coat. I've been trying to instill confidence in the ease of application, but it's always good to hear it from an actual customer.

It really is simple as heck to use. Just apply a nice thin even coat one panel at a time and remove high spots. :dblthumb2:

[Mobile detail]

How much OC did you use to seal the Jeep? Great review. I love how you show the high spot. Very helpful! Thanks

[DARK HORSE]

Excellent work and a very nice write up! Great job capturing the high spot in a picture!

[gofast908z]

Great writeup and documentation!

[Bobby B.]

Great job! The Jeep Patriot looks better then new. Keep up the great work.

[jcarson112]

I can also attest to the ease of application of Opti-coat!

I just finished my GTI and the first few panels were a nail biting experience. This anxiety was due to the fact that opti-coat is a "permanent" product. After the first 25-30 minutes it really set in that this product is a essentially a wipe on, wait, wipe off product (if you have a high spot). I found myself going over the whole panel with a microfiber just for insurance incase I missed a high spot. After two hours in the garage I put it out into the sun to soak up a little heat and triple check for high spots (not that I would be able to do anything with them, but for piece of mind).

I couldn't help but smile and be please with the results. It looks like a hard candy shell that has depth. Very VERY please with this product. I also couldn't help pouring a little water from my water bottle on the lower panel to watch the AWESOME sheeting action that this product provides. I had an ear to ear smile :dblthumb2::dblthumb2:Im the MAN:dblthumb2::dblthumb2: