If you polish your car, by hand or machine, there will be oils left from the polish. These need to be removed before Opti-Coating. If no polishing was done you still need to strip the paint of any possible sealants, waxes etc. that would cause bonding issues.

I take it u just strip it off with rubbing alcohol? I have a porter cable. Do I need something more qgressive like the flex or a rotary? Got any pics or write up of application? Thanks for the info!

A Porter Cable is just fine. For people with less experience it's the best choice. I still use it most of the time by the way. Always do the least abrasive method for paint correction, so start with a fine polish and polishing pad and move up from there.


Opti-Coat is based on a resin pre-polymer and once it is applied, it cross links and reacts with urethane and other clear coat paints to form a permanent film. Opti-Coat has better chemical resistance, scratch & mar resistance, and release properties than any automotive coating in use. Like a regular clear coat, Opti Coat lasts indefinitely unless it is removed by polishing, sanding, or paint removers.

DIRECTIONS
1. Remove defects to your satisfaction
2. Clean surface to remove all polishing oils, waxes, and silicone.
3. Prime the applicator by making an X across the pad. Only a few drops will be needed for each subsequent panel.
4. Wipe Opti-Coat on a single panel at a time in a thin layer using several directions for even coverage.
5. Inspect the panel with adequate lighting withing 5-10 minutes looking for any thick areas that have not flashed away to clear.
6. Use applicator or paint safe microfiber to even out (no pressure)any spots where you see streaks. This step is key, as any spots not leveled will have to be abrasively repaired is allowed to cure. Panels will feel a bit tacky and will be self -leveling during cure time, so avoid any unnecessary touching, wiping, or contact to produce the best results.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 for each panel where application is desired.

NOTE: Take care to get complete coverage in your initial application as Opti Coat CANNOT be layered.

Why do you think it cant be layered? Are you going to put wax on top of your opti coat just for the hell of it?

How thick do you think the coat is when you apply it? Like the device that tests clear coat thickness. Did you do a before and after?

For more info on Opti-Coat you can go on their forum and check it out(Optimumforums). Look under the heading Opti-Coat 2. On this forum you get to personally speak with the manufacturer. Every possible question has already been asked and answered there. For anyone with questions about this product, I recommend you check it out.

Wow this looks amazing! Nicola said it looks like a sheet of glass on the car and said to make sure the 300ZX gets the same treatment :) Can't wait!

I've never used it Forrest so I cannot comment as to how good it is.

I use opti-seal and that last for a while.... kind of nervous to try this but i may try it on the BMW first.

I had the full prep work and opti-coat application done Monday. I'm going to give it a wash this weekend and give some opinions at that point.

Nice. So how does it look? On my Carbon Silver it took a couple of days to get real glossy.

The first day it didn't look too great, honestly. It looked like the car was missing a coat of sealant/wax. But after about 3 days it started looking really glossy and smooth. That's why I'm holding off on the review until I can take a closer look this weekend.

I look forward to your review. Did you get the car the same day it was Opti-Coated? If you did I can understand why it didn't look it's best. I really like how the clear bra looks now, OC made a nice improvement to it. When I did my rims I took them off and coated them inside and out, that should pay off big time. I did a measurement of the OC and found it to be 4-5 microns. Thats rather substantial and should give some great protection. Remember that it takes several weeks to harden completely, so I wouldn't hand wash for a couple of weeks.

It has been over a month since I had opti-coat applied, so I'm due for a more detailed review. Overall, I am happy with the results. But I am still waiting to see how it performs over the long term.

Having fully hardened, the opti-coat looks very glossy now. Almost like a thin sheet of glass over the paint. However, I wouldn't say that the color is "deep" like with some waxes. This is just my personal opinion, though, and I'm no expert.

The beading is very impressive. Earlier this week it was misting very lightly outside. In the 5 minutes before getting to the interstate, my hood was covered in miniature little water droplets. As you all know, smaller droplets are less willing to roll off the paint. However, as soon as I got above 40mph on the highway, all of the droplets instantly gelled and literally flew right off the hood. It was amazing.

My only skepticism is with the supposed hardness. After getting home from that drive, I pulled out some quick detailer and a cobra guzzler towel to get rid of any water spots. For some reason I had trouble getting the water spots out (as an aside, I'm interested in any input on this issue). And when I flipped my microfiber towel over a second time and started to wipe, I heard this horrible high-pitched scraping sound against the paint. I lifted up the towel and found a nice scratch that I guess was caused by something in the towel. I was pretty pissed, having just washed the towel and not let it touch any surface aside from other clean microfiber towels.

So I pulled out the optimum spray polish and my softest hand applicator, and the scratch came out with very minimal effort. What I don't understand is how a scratch that is deep enough to feel with your finger can come out so easily if the opti-coat is really as hard and protective as claimed. I would still use the opti-coat even if it was as soft as the OEM clear coat, because extra protection is always better, but I just wonder how hard it really is.

So in conclusion, I'm fairly pleased with the look and very impressed with the beading ability. We will see how the durability issue progresses, but I don't feel as "indestructible" as I was originally hoping.

I'll update again in the future if any of these opinions change. For those of you that also have opti-coat, give us your updates as well!

Inquiry minds would also like to know. :confused:

Armon, I can't comment on the hardness just yet, but will do my own testing very soon. I know Chris from Optimum said he needed the Hyper spray with an Orange pad to knock it down enough to reapply it to a panel. I needed to use 106 FA with a black pad the day after application to get through the OC. Also, I have tried Optimum Finish polish on a microfiber rag to remove some excess OC the following day without any success. I would think after a month it should be pretty hard. I will let you know soon. I have washed my car a couple of times now since the OC has been applied and I can tell you it's a dream to wash it now. Nothing sticks anymore. Every once in a while I get these little yellow pine needle like objects stuck to my paint. After washing I have to polish, and sometimes wet sand, the etching out from these things. I noticed the other day I had two more of these on the paint. To my delight they just came right off when I washed the car with no etching left behind either. And nothing sticks to the rims anymore either.