Opti-Coat on a motorcycle....

[tuscarora dave]

You're kidding me! I found OC to be the only thing that doesn't burn off the pipes immediately. Had it on the exhaust on all 3 bikes and it's still there 6 months later. Makes cleaning the exhaist a wash-off affair vs all the polishing I used to do.

TL

Hi TL!! It's nice to hear that the Opti-Coat held up so well on your pipes. Opti-Guard is supposed to provide a more concentrated, thicker film build than Opti-Coat so the Vance & Hines pipes should be good to go on this Kawasaki Vulkan.

I did this job on the Barter System, so after the bike owner gets back from some big bike rally / bike show, I'll go to his storage unit full of shop equipment / tools and engage in a little shopping spree for IR air tools etc. At that point I'll have an opportunity to check the bike out first hand.

[TLMitchell]

I did this job on the Barter System, so after the bike owner gets back from some big bike rally / bike show, I'll go to his storage unit full of shop equipment / tools and engage in a little shopping spree for IR air tools etc. At that point I'll have an opportunity to check the bike out first hand.

Sounds like an even trade for a scissor lift, JUMBO compressor and all the tools you can carry. After all, that OC/OG is kinda pricey

Greedy TL

[tuscarora dave]

I applied Opti-Guard on a Kawasaki Vulkan 1800 last week. I applied it to everything that I could get to. The owner of the bike really wanted me to apply it after doing a 2 step paint correction and metal polishing, even though I told him I wouldn't really have time to do such a tedious job. Well I made time to do it on the agreement that it would be experimental and he would provide me with feedback on how the bike looks going forward.

Any problems that might arise, I'll try to remember to post here. He ran the bike for about 20 minutes before leaving the shop with it (trailered) and the only thing I saw change was the Opti-Guard on the cylinder head fins appeared to have burned off leaving it a dull black instead of shiny like it was before the bike had been run.

The bike had sat about 18 hours since applying the Opti-Guard at that point. Seemed to be fine on the pipes while it was sitting there running for 20 minutes.

I'll have to give him a call and see if he rode it over the weekend and find out how it's holding up.

This customer called me the other day and told me that he has ridden the bike about for about 8 hours total so far and nothing is getting funky with the Opti-Guard. Even the pipes still look awesome he said!!

He went on to tell me how extremely happy he is with the job done on the bike. He said that it keeps looking better and better as the days go on. I told him that as the Opti-Guard fully cures it will tend to get a bit glossier.

This guy is a pro photographer and said for the first time since owning this bike, he has to use special filters to photograph the bike because of how bright the sun is reflecting off of it now. Another extremely impressed customer!!! That's the name of the game!!

If its applied correctly you shouldn't have any problems I wasn't happy with the results on my pipes only due to the heat they carry .Other then that I use opti coat on most surfaces .

You're kidding me! I found OC to be the only thing that doesn't burn off the pipes immediately. Had it on the exhaust on all 3 bikes and it's still there 6 months later. Makes cleaning the exhaist a wash-off affair vs all the polishing I used to do.

TL

I got a call from the guy that I mention above who had the Opti-Guard applied to his Kawasaki. He asked where I was and said he was at my shop so I ran up there and hung out with him for a while. He told me that the Opti-Guard had turned his bike black. Of course I was like.... .... then.... .... and.... .... then.... .... Then I asked him, "What part of the bike did it turn black?" "The chrome?" he said, "The whole thing." to which I said...."Well the bike is black..??.." Then he was like.....

He really had me going there for a minute....

He told me that it still looks as fantastic as it did the day I had presented the freshly Opti-Guarded bike to him... Then I asked him if he thinks the coating is still on the pipes.... He said..."Oh I know it's still on the pipes!!!" I'll be heading up to his cabin soon to square up the bartering deal we did on the Opti-Guard for his bike back in September of 2012, where I'll be able to take a look at the bike in person to see and judge for myself whether the coating is still on the pipes or not. He was pretty adamant about the fact that it hadn't burned off of the pipes, but I'm a skeptic by nature.

Anyway, I look forward to spending a weekend camping at his place, getting "my boy Kinzer" in the river up there, and going through his tool storage unit to pick out $500 worth of tools for payment for Opti-Guarding his bike.

He said all his biker friends drool over his bike's finish and are still asking him to ask me if I'd be willing to do their bikes too. I had said no in the past citing that it just takes too long and I'm just too busy with other stuff at the shop, but... Starting next week I'll have some pretty steady help at the shop when my sister's boyfriend gets back from vacation and will be helping me out at the shop...So I told my buddy (the bike owner) that if I can get this guy trained up to snuff to do them that I may give him the green light to open up the flood gates and let all them bikers bring their bikes in for a coating.

We'll see how things turn out.

Anyway...I thought that was great feedback about Optimum's coatings and thought I should share it with the community here.

Thanks for reading, TD

[TLMitchell]

Opti Coat proved it's worth in spades spending this winter in Florida. I originally tried it to try to impart some hardness to the super-soft H-D Vivid Black paint. It worked! Not only is it more swirl-resistant but it prevents dealer hackedness...

Had my touring barge over to the Daytona dealer's version of Disneyland For Bikers for some diagnostics I couldn't figure out. They squared me around gratis and when they brought the bike out I saw they had washed it It looked OK in the shade but I knew what I was going to be seeing in direct sunlight. Sure enough next morning every painted surface looked like they'd washed it with Brillo.

I brought a limited amount of products south with me along with my GG6. A light polish with by hand with Hyper Polish confirmed all the damage was in the Opti Coat rather than the finish.

After 20+ years of parking in a heated garage I figured parking the truck outside in Florida was no problem, right? I was amazed at the amount of pollen on the finish...visible even on white...combined with the residue from salt air and heavy morning dew made it look like someone barfed on the horizontal surfaces when it dried. I resolved to get out in the morning and wipe it down while the condensation was still heavy. A light spritz with ONR at QD dilution aided in preventing the majority of marring. What little that was accumulated over 3 months is easily removed with the lightest dose of Hyper Polish. I'll give the finish a thorough polish and refresh the Opti Coat when I return to Ohio.

An aside...after spending 56 winters in the Great White North I've seen the light. "Snowbird" has a nice ring to it, I expect to be basking in the sunshine in the winter every year from now on. I think I'm getting the hang of this retirement thing.

TL
(walking endorsement for Hawaiian Tropic)

[tuscarora dave]

Opti Coat proved it's worth in spades spending this winter in Florida. I originally tried it to try to impart some hardness to the super-soft H-D Vivid Black paint. It worked! Not only is it more swirl-resistant but it prevents dealer hackedness...

Had my touring barge over to the Daytona dealer's version of Disneyland For Bikers for some diagnostics I couldn't figure out. They squared me around gratis and when they brought the bike out I saw they had washed it It looked OK in the shade but I knew what I was going to be seeing in direct sunlight. Sure enough next morning every painted surface looked like they'd washed it with Brillo.

I brought a limited amount of products south with me along with my GG6. A light polish with by hand with Hyper Polish confirmed all the damage was in the Opti Coat rather than the finish.

After 20+ years of parking in a heated garage I figured parking the truck outside in Florida was no problem, right? I was amazed at the amount of pollen on the finish...visible even on white...combined with the residue from salt air and heavy morning dew made it look like someone barfed on the horizontal surfaces when it dried. I resolved to get out in the morning and wipe it down while the condensation was still heavy. A light spritz with ONR at QD dilution aided in preventing the majority of marring. What little that was accumulated over 3 months is easily removed with the lightest dose of Hyper Polish. I'll give the finish a thorough polish and refresh the Opti Coat when I return to Ohio.

An aside...after spending 56 winters in the Great White North I've seen the light. "Snowbird" has a nice ring to it, I expect to be basking in the sunshine in the winter every year from now on. I think I'm getting the hang of this retirement thing.

TL
(walking endorsement for Hawaiian Tropic)

Good for you TL!!! Glad to hear you're enjoying your retirement and have saved a good amount of work by applying O.C.

[geauxtigers89]

I had a bike that was coated with Opti Coat Pro and it seemed that the heat on the pipes caused it to flake off and when I went to make a waranty claim they told me the warranty didnt apply to parts exposed to that much heat. Any body have any suggestions on a different coating that might work. Only things Ive found so far are Tectanium and CQUARTS.

[Chris Thomas]

I had a bike that was coated with Opti Coat Pro and it seemed that the heat on the pipes caused it to flake off and when I went to make a waranty claim they told me the warranty didnt apply to parts exposed to that much heat. Any body have any suggestions on a different coating that might work. Only things Ive found so far are Tectanium and CQUARTS.

Optimum sells a pro only warranty kit for bikes that includes Opti-Coat® Pro for the paint and Opti-Guard Leather/Vinyl for seats and saddlebags. There is no product included for chrome or pipes nor a warranty backing those parts...only paint and leather/vinyl. Who was the installer?

[tdekany]

What is his website? Do you know?

This customer called me the other day and told me that he has ridden the bike about for about 8 hours total so far and nothing is getting funky with the Opti-Guard. Even the pipes still look awesome he said!!

He went on to tell me how extremely happy he is with the job done on the bike. He said that it keeps looking better and better as the days go on. I told him that as the Opti-Guard fully cures it will tend to get a bit glossier.

This guy is a pro photographer and said for the first time since owning this bike, he has to use special filters to photograph the bike because of how bright the sun is reflecting off of it now. Another extremely impressed customer!!! That's the name of the game!!