Is my opticoat 2.0 application holding ? 45 days after...

[DaC]

Ok, here's the history behind this car...

I worked on it early december when I decon, polished and applied opticoat 2.0... so it has been 45 days since then and the car wasn't washed a single time...

During these 45 days it went to the beach.... went to the country side and got some mud... gas was spilled when refueling, bird droppings stayed on the paint.... pretty much everything bad that could happen...

Today the car was brought back to me, so I could inspect it....

http://s5.postimage.org/4rq5znlw7/IMG_2681.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/66rqodmz7/full/)

http://s5.postimage.org/hx5o5rfrr/IMG_2688.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/bw7z8ot5f/full/)

http://s5.postimage.org/dcjhqtw2f/IMG_2690.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/m7kc1ckur/full/)


Ok... so I took it to a car wash to get it blasted with water to remove grit particles and to have its wheels and wheel wells cleaned... the paint wasn't touched there, just by pressure water...

At this point I wasn't very happy thinking opticoat was long gone...

http://s5.postimage.org/4vjzfwrdj/IMG_2713.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/ddtfk8xw3/full/)

http://s5.postimage.org/pgyr7t8yf/IMG_2716.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/gypb3h2fn/full/)

http://s5.postimage.org/az1jzthnb/IMG_2719.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/sp38kuv83/full/)


So I took it back home and went ahead using UWW+ with a 2 buckets method....

To my surprise the paint got contamined... a lot... and I think it wasn't supposed to happen that fast with opticoat.... or maybe UWW+ wasn't strong enough to clean it properly ??? I don't know.... but I could clearly see under Brinkmann lights both water spots and something that seemed to be a white stuff adhered to the paint, almost like a dried polishing residue...

After being washed with UWW+, here is how the clay was looking like after only a very small section on the hood.

http://s5.postimage.org/dzmzu3ic7/IMG_2776.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/3pkkuusgj/full/)

I can tell this contamination is some gritty stuff, because I could see some scratches where I clayed, even with my MF towels I was using to dry (BTW, they wall came dirty, even after UWW+).... the stuff seems to be gummed to the opticoat.

And the car really got a lot of water spots during these 45 days...

http://s5.postimage.org/g1nh8cgbb/IMG_2740.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/bsir66d1v/full/)

http://s5.postimage.org/nvo2tqo47/IMG_2772.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/uyvy9ctjn/full/)



Although by doing a small test, by hand with 3" crimson pads + po85RD, I was able to quickly knock off 95% of it.

BEFORE:
http://s5.postimage.org/kxr401ggn/IMG_2735.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/c2q9piro3/full/)

AFTER:


http://s5.postimage.org/k9i9h3hqv/IMG_2739.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/xqf7zys2b/full/)


And now some videos from the paint beading and sheeting after the car being only washed using UWW+.


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 1/6 - YouTube


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 2/6 - YouTube


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 3/6 - YouTube


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 4/6 - YouTube


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 5/6 - YouTube


Opticoat 2.0 45 days 6/6 - YouTube

Another question.... Does this beading is coming from the opticoat being clean again or maybe this beading is from the UWW+ ?

[SON1C]

Well you can't truly judge beading and sheeting on a dirty surface
Also hard to judge a lsp after touching it up with another product that contains limited protection in it iirc uww+ does
Perfectly smooth surfaces have high surface tension this helping it bead on its own as well as sheet
If ipa doesn't effect oc then id do an ipa wipedown to try and see if its still there..

[DaC]

Well you can't truly judge beading and sheeting on a dirty surface
Also hard to judge a lsp after touching it up with another product that contains limited protection in it iirc uww+ does
Perfectly smooth surfaces have high surface tension this helping it bead on its own as well as sheet
If ipa doesn't effect oc then id do an ipa wipedown to try and see if its still there..


I thought about it... but is it safe to ipa 15% the car after being with opticoat ?

[DaveT435]

Someone else had a similar situation and it was getting all the contaminants off the opticoat that brought back the beading and sheeting. I want to say it was cleanmycorolla but I might be wrong.

[DaC]

Someone else had a similar situation and it was getting all the contaminants off the opticoat that brought back the beading and sheeting. I want to say it was cleanmycorolla but I might be wrong.

So he did had to clay the car again ?

I don't know, but maybe opticoat isn't that self cleaning until fully cured... that's my guess on this...

[SON1C]

Couldn't tell you, I don't use coatings

[DaveT435]

This is a good opticoat thread. Hope you find it helpful.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/36370-yet-another-opti-coat-thread.html

[Audios S6]

There is a thread on a different site that (I think) CEE DOG wrote on a similar opti-coat 'issue', IIRC he and another AG member were working on a vehicle opti-coated 1.5 years prior. They did see reduced beading and aesthetics, but after an application of Iron-X, the finish was restored to like new. The Iron-X showed that there was a significant amount of contamination left on the paint and I think that was after claying. The thought was that industrial fallout/ferrous particulate was the culprit and that opti-coat did not release those contaminants easily.

Paging CEE DOG to hear from the horse's mouth.

[DaC]

This is a good opticoat thread. Hope you find it helpful.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/36370-yet-another-opti-coat-thread.html

Thank you for the link.....
I took this post here:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/36370-yet-another-opti-coat-thread-2.html#post473384

Where Chris says:


......water beading is a sure sign that the coating is there and working. You will find in addition to beading that all the water can easily be sheeted or removed by a blower easier than conventional sealants and waxes. Dawn washes, APCs, Prep Sol, and Mineral Spirits that usually remove these characteristics will not remove Opti Coat, so that is why beading is a good test. Ideally you could check paint thickness before and after the coating and continue to monitor the thickness, but most people won't have the means. Beading in light of exposure to harsh chemicals and conditions is a good indicator.


So I've just went back to the car, to do this:

- Mineral Spirits wipedown
- ONR + APC (Sonüs All in One) wash
- IPA 15% wipedown

I'm uploading some videos to youtube right now, but beading and sheeting seems to be going still nice...


There is a thread on a different site that (I think) CEE DOG wrote on a similar opti-coat 'issue', IIRC he and another AG member were working on a vehicle opti-coated 1.5 years prior. They did see reduced beading and aesthetics, but after an application of Iron-X, the finish was restored to like new. The Iron-X showed that there was a significant amount of contamination left on the paint and I think that was after claying. The thought was that industrial fallout/ferrous particulate was the culprit and that opti-coat did not release those contaminants easily.

Paging CEE DOG to hear from the horse's mouth.


Thank you for the input.... It seems to me that a wash or a clay seems to bring it back to life, although it's there, just not beading... I'll ask for the car's owner if he wants me to clay and light polish his car again....


Altough I'm worried PO85RD + black (or blue or red) pad could actually go through opticoat.... because if so, it would be a couple of more steps reapplying it.

[DaC]

ok, here it is:

The process before these videos was:

- Mineral Spirits wipedown
- ONR + APC (Sonüs All in One) wash
- IPA 15% wipedown

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8UiQ6xwxVk]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 7/9 - YouTube[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQrnFKtPRY8]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 8/9 - YouTube[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjxj8DFtTkA]Opticoat 2.0 45 days 9/9 - YouTube[/video]

What do you guys think about the beading and sheeting after that ?

[Qusai]

Thank you for steering me far away from the land of coatings

[DaC]

Thank you for steering me far away from the land of coatings

I don't know why you think this way... in my opinion coats are well worth it.... keep in mind this car took it to extremes and even so, it's still holding in my opinion...

[Flatlander]

I don't know why you think this way... in my opinion coats are well worth it.... keep in mind this car took it to extremes and even so, it's still holding in my opinion...
:iagree: That car has been through hell and back. The coating hasn't even half-way cured and it's going strong. Amazing. The lack of beading was simply from the dirt and mostly the jet exhaust as he lives close to the airport. If you watch the videos you can hear the LOUD airplanes coming and going. Especially the takeoff dumps a TON of particulates in the air. I know someone who was a flight attendant and her car was HAMMERED. That car is lucky it's opti-coated.

[DaC]

:iagree: That car has been through hell and back. The coating hasn't even half-way cured and it's going strong. Amazing. The lack of beading was simply from the dirt and mostly the jet exhaust as he lives close to the airport. If you watch the videos you can hear the LOUD airplanes coming and going. Especially the takeoff dumps a TON of particulates in the air. I know someone who was a flight attendant and her car was HAMMERED. That car is lucky it's opti-coated.

Yes, the dirty was keeping the paint from beading, after doing these tests, specially after striping it to check beading, we can say the coat is still there.

I don't live exactly near from the airport, but yes I live under the final approach about 8.5 miles from the airport.... which is pretty close when you talk A320 and 737 -800... but I agree that jet fuel probably lands around here.

[DaveT435]

The last videos looked great. Industrial fallout seems to be about the worst at sticking to opticoat.