Opticoat maintenance

[02whitetundra]

I applied Opticoat 2 last summer. Since then, due to the past winter and the inevitable swirl here and there, my vehicle is in need of a correction.

What's my best best to correct the swirls without having to reapply Opticoat? I'm thinking of using Opti-clean for the decontamination step but not sure if using my DA with a black finishing pad will remove any of the coating.

[swanicyouth]

Nobody knows for sure. That is sort of the problem for me with permanent coatings and liking to keep my car perfect. If you have to polish defects out - it's a lot easier, cheaper, and faster just to re-wax the car than go through the whole coating prep process again.

The only way you will know is so polish said car, wipe it down with Eraser or similar, and see if the coating beads well. Or, if it was me, I'd just apply another coat.

I'm hoping Pinnacle Synergy will be the best of both worlds.

[tuscarora dave]

When I recommend a coating for a client, I first make sure that they understand that to create a beautiful finish on their car or truck, I have to remove a very thin layer of the original clear coat to do so.

Then I explain that to continue to do this over and over on their vehicle, would diminish their clear coat to the point of failure. After they understand all of that, I offer the coating as a sacrificial layer that will become swirled up eventually through the regular wear and tear of operating and washing the vehicle. The good news is that if they purchase the coating, from here on out, when the paint starts looking tattered and swirled, I buff off the coating and reapply it instead of removing more OEM clear coat.

To me, that's what a coating is for. I don't explain a coating as something that's swirl resistant, even though it may be slightly more swirl resistant than a lot of OEM clear coats. I explain coatings as purely sacrificial, with the added benefit of being better at releasing stains and dirt in general, which makes the car or truck much easier to keep clean than if untreated.

I seem to remember earlier on, Optimum fans recommending a light polishing using a soft finishing pad and Poli-Seal as a maintenance measure for Optimum Coatings.

[silverfox]

Its simple. If you polish, you remove. If you remove, you must reapply. I think the whole longevity argument for coatings is bogus because they are suitable for people who don't really want to constantly maintain their cars ..which in turns means a swirled mess in a few months...which in turn means repolishing and reapplying again usually long before the longevity of the coatings wears off.



I do agree coatings make a great sacrificial barrier but the lasting 2 years or permanently is not realistic and more marketing hype than anything else