Opti-Coated the new whip with 2.0

Ubetit

I've been doing paint correction for a long time and been in an out of it mostly for me, friends, family and a few on-the-side clients. I had a Black and Decker rotary that was older than probably half of you until recently. Yes, B&D made good stuff 24 years ago.

I have cabinets full of MF towels, products from everyone, four machines including a Flex, Cyclo, Hitachi Rotary and a PC. I settled on a few great products and quit reading all the detailing forums about 4 years ago when I sold my babied S2000 and an old CRV and moved to one daily driver that sat outside all the time.

With the very recent purchase of my 2011 370z roadster, I found the will to rearrange my garage so I could park in it. I also started to care about the exterior appearance of my car again but the previous owner had installed some serious spider webs and scratches. I logged back on to the detailing forums and started to read again. Not much had changed with the machines and pads. Seems like the Flex is still loved, the RO machines have gained a little power over my ancient PC, the Cyclo is still an under-utilized machine and most people still avoid the rotary.

While reading, I noticed some new polishes that have longer working times than some of my old go to polishes like Menzerna and Presta. I decided to give HD UNO advanced cut and HD Polish a try. I'm very impressed with both. With the Flex and an orange LC pad, all but the deepest scratches came out. It left a little hologramming on the hood and trunk but that was easily removed by the HD Polish and a white/blue pad. Working time is awesome. The paint is almost flawless now except for a few rock chips.

My favorite sealant was Wolfgang. I got very nice durability and I couldn't find a synthetic that was a better combination of wet looking and slick. For a carnauba topper I used Pinnacle Souveran or Wolfgang Fuzion. I wanted to try something different however. Years ago there was rumors of a "product x" being developed by Optimum. It was nice to see that this product finally made it to market as Opti-guard and Opti-coat and now Opti-Coat 2.0 is out. I was a little hesitant because I never had success with the wipe on and walk away type of product like Opti-Seal or Zaino Clear Seal. They protected the paint, I just couldn't get them to not streak on my car and always had to wipe them down. I ordered the Opti-Coat anyway. If I decided to change my mind I’d throw it on my Civic SI instead.

After 16 hours of polishing and prep, it was time to apply the Opti-coat. After a few panels, it was very easy to apply and I got right in a groove. Humidity and temp was high so I would let it sit a bit and then lightly run over it with a MF towel to knock down any high/thick areas. All my lights were out for this step; overhead fluorescents and twin and single head halogens. Since it hardens, I kept going back to look at my work. If it cures, you'll need polish to remove any imperfections. It was starting to look fantastic.

I left a few panels for this morning as well as the wheels. It was much cooler and the product went on and flashed much better. Wipe it on and watch 98% of it disappear. Next time, I won't apply in higher temps and humidity, lesson learned.

I missed one spot that I overlapped on a panel. Yes, it hardened as promised and no chemical would remove it. I had to break out the finger polishing pads, polish it down and reapply the Opti-coat in that area.

I'm really looking forward "waxing" my car much less in the coming years.

So here's the outcome of many sweat soaked shirts.



The sun was behind a few low clouds so it looks a little hazy in the next two pics, I can assure you it's not.




The sky cleared and you can see the clarity in the reflections

NS370Z

Looks good.