Questions On OCP

[Hines]

got a few questions guys, working nights this week an came home an decided to polish an wax my moms neon at 3am......lol, washed, clayed then on to the polishing.



Applied polish with PC started out at speed 3. Put 3 nickle size spots of OCP on the pad and started on half the roof. I worked it for about 8 min and still wasnt breaking down. so turned up the PC to speed 5.5 and worked it for another 8 min with no luck....still didnt break down. I will admit i have only used OCP on warm and dry days and usually breaks down in 4 or 5 min of working it on speeds 3 or 4.



after spending that much time on it i just decided to rap it up thinking that the damp cool raining weather was causing me much of the trouble and didnt want to kick on the heater in the garage because of other people sleeping.



Okay after all that explanation, whats the deal....anyone tell me if the weather is the problem, maybe used too much polish or if i should just go to bed because im too tired to be doing paint correction???

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Hines, kudos for attempting this at 3am ! Your one sick detailer!

I think you`ll find OCP finishes and break down quicker at a higher speed. I usually spread it around on about 4, then crank it up to 6, and let the machine walk itself real slow. One thing is key with Opt, dont use too much......I did a Porsche yesterady and used no more then 1oz for the entire car. Once your pad is seasoned, it takes very little to finish it up, just a dab here and there.....Real cold surface temps could play a role, but I doubt it in this case.........

[imported_Picus]

Patrick`s got it - turn the speed up to 6 and use a little less next time (half a roof is about one glob the size of a nickel in the pad is primed, maybe even less, in my experience), it will still take awhile before it`s ready to wipe off, but no more than 5-6 minutes. Definitely not 16. :)



It could be the damp weather, but I`ve used OCP on some gross foggy days and didn`t notice a problem.

[Brazo]

I love OCW but struggle with OCP, I see its work time as a major disadvantage and cannot see any advantages over other products bar the differing pad thing which will apply to most polishes really. Can someone enlighten me?

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Brazo, maybe its not the right product for your particular job? In comparison, i have used #80 with very similiar results, and been able to accomplish it in 1/2 the time....but if I need additional working time, #80 doesnt afford me that...Slow, and thin, again key with Optimum.....It has its niche in my arsenal no doubt. I can get #80 results with Optimum, but not Optimum results with #80.....

[Brazo]

Cheers Patrick, thats my bug bear with the product the need to work it for so long compared to others, I guess that would have its advantages for example when its reall hot but those kind of days are few and far between here in the uk!

[imported_Picus]

I think the advantage I find with it`s long working time is two fold. First, you can work it until the job is done, as in - you don`t need to make multiple passes like with some polishes that flash quickly. Sure, you could use a more aggressive polish, but then you`re usually left with a finish that doesn`t have marring, but needs to be polished further with a less aggressive polish before your LSP.



The second is that it doesn`t dust, ever. If I`m in a rush I`ll use definitely reach for OCW or Sonus 1/2, but if the finish isn`t in bad shape OCP + polishing pad is pretty much my go to, since it will take out up to moderate marring (given the time, like I mentioned above) and at the same time it will finish down to an LSP ready finish. It might take longer, but in my experience you usually save time because you have to do less steps.



Cheers.