Opticoat with no correction

[Charleston]

I have a daily driver 2006 4runner with 114,000 miles.

It is metallic silver. I have clay barred the truck and I am considering opticoating it "as is" with no correction.

I just want protection and to aid in washing.

Yes if it was a classic or a Mercedes or BMW I would do a fully 100% correction.

Yes the truck has swirls, but it is near impossible to see them with this color.

Has anyone ever done it?

[Just02896]

Opticoat will accentuate the imperfections and you might not be happy with the results. You'll want to be sure that you can live with all of the imperfections since removing opticoat will require polishing before you can even start correcting.

[asalesagent912]

i cant comment on oc but i have an 03 4 runner same color and just did it with nanoskin and waxed it. looks beautiful the color doesnt show swirls and scratches. dont know if its worth polishing unles u got time and energy.lol

[Pureshine]

I do it for my customers after they sign a waiver under standing what their doing and that I'm not liable for all the swirls and scratches already in the paint.

[Tato]

Good evening,

In my opinion, you'll be skipping an important step unnecessarily. If you 'can live' with swirls, at LEAST, do a cleaning / fine polishing just to clean the paint and remove, at LEAST, clay marring (maybe not easy to see on your color, but I'm sure it's there, and will show up when under the sun).

A cleansing / fine polishing step will barely remove swirls (only finer and superficial), but will give you a slick, clean and shiny paint to coat.

Also, a finer step like suggested will take you no more than 1-2 hours, so I don't believe 2 hours more will be so difficult to invest if you're willing to apply such protection.

You can use M205 on a finishing or polishing pad, or any other finishing polish and you'll be set.

To correct the swirls on the level you're relating, you should take at least 7-8 hours (can take even more!), so now we are talking about 'a totally different beast'.

You've cited only the 2 extremes: Or a 100% correction, or Zero Polishing / Correction. Gotta find the 'common sense' in between those points.

A full correction should be optional for your case, but 1-step light polishing is, (IMO), obligatory.

Hope you arrange your time and invest it right on the car your working on.

You'll be much prouder of what you've done, if you do it proper.

That's only my 0.02$, hope I've helped.

Kind Regards.

[Rod]

I would be doing at least -mínimum- a one step correction prior to the coating


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[Tato]

Agreed.

On the following thread, I've done 1-step correction on a silver Ford Focus prior coating application. The swirls and paint stains were not much visible away from direct sunlight, but if I'm to apply a coating, I will do my best to leave an optimum underlying for it to adhere and protect.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/76044-2010-ford-focus-pbl-surface-coating.html

Hope this example helps you deciding on what's best for your case.

Should I add the best protection (actually a coating) to my swirls and stains, or to my flawless just polished paint?

Another suggestion is, if you don't have the full time for the work now, just use a cleaner wax.

Car will be protected and paint will be cleaner while you find enough time for whole coating process. You can also top your cleaner wax with another dedicated protection of your choice, just follow product guidelines to respect 'cure time' between applications.

Here on this Peugeot I've done exactly this:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/75723-360-aio-transformation-peugeot.html

Owner wanted his car looking nice and a coating, but (on that occasion) couldn't left the car the time needed for whole coating process.

I've washed, clayed, and used XMT360. Car went back to well maintained state. This car is scheduled for next week for the coating application.

I'll save time on claying, because car has been clayed recently. I'll do 1-step correction/polishing like with the Focus cited above. Then, I'll apply the coating.

Remember! All my words are suggestions to help you find the best for you, not 'The Right or Best' way to do it. It's up to you to read mine and many other opinions to form yours.

Hope I've helped,


Kind Regards.

[mg6045]

any protection is better than none. Just because a car is in rough shape and you dont want to spend hours correcting the paint, does not mean you dont have the right to protect it as much as possible. If you ever want to correct the paint in the future you can go ahead and machine polish it and remove the opticoat at the same time. Even though most people prefer to work the other way around (correct paint first) doesn't mean you have to do the same thing.

Its absolutely fine to apply OC to uncorrected paint. Just make sure you clean and strip the paint very well before applying.

If you have swirls an scratch's in your paint, they will be visible with or without opticoat. one coating that will help hide defects is a thick coating like CQUK. If anything I would apply that instead of opti-coat to a neglected car. Its cheaper, and easier to use to boot. And it leaves a smoother , slicker surface making washing very easy.

Cquartz UK Edition (http://www.autogeek.net/cquartz-uk-edition.html)

[Scott@IncrediblyDetailed]

At the very least it would be in your best interest to remove the oxidation, which would also remove some swirls and scratches.

[hernandez.art13]

I would like to request before and after pictures, just to see how it looks. :D

and IMO not opt icoating you car's paint can be worse than coating your paint

[zmcgovern45]

IMO it would be in your best interest to at least do a light polish to ensure the paint is completely clean. This is a crucial step in assuring the coating will properly adhere to the vehicle's painted surfaces.

[tuscarora dave]

IMO it would be in your best interest to at least do a light polish to ensure the paint is completely clean. This is a crucial step in assuring the coating will properly adhere to the vehicle's painted surfaces.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing.

Whether you see it or not, I am absolutely certain you'll remove some below surface contaminates with a light polishing using some sort of Pro Polish or Pre Wax Cleaner polish. Those below surface contaminates will prevent the best results concerning durability.

[tdekany]

OP - as it has been said, do a polishing step after claying. That step alone will make a huge difference in the way the paint looks before you apply opti coat. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with putting OC on a finish that is not 100% swirl free. I mean people wax their cars all the time right? Most of those are far from mint.