Optimum Gloss-Coat - 3M 1080p Gloss Vinyl on 2008 Lexus ISF

[Zelfiris]

I recently had my car wrapped in 3M Gloss Blackrose and I wanted to see how well a paint coating would bond to vinyl. Since I got a few boxes of Opti-Gloss Coat sitting around, why not test it out?

First I emailed 3M directly to ask if their 1080p Gloss Vinyl lineup is similar to automotive clearcoat and I was redirected to a company from UK which gave me the final response: Yes!

Subject: 2008 Lexus ISF wrapped in 3M 1080p Gloss Blackrose

Underneath the vinyl is a beautiful ultrasonic blue paint that was originally introduced to be an exclusive blue for the Lexus ISF but later became available for for the IS250/IS350 line up. Unfortunately for me the paint had a number of paint defects (stone chips, roof scratch exposing metal, and most recently the fenders were rolled to accommodate my aftermarket rims where paint had started cracking). Thus, I decided to try something new and went with a vinyl wrap (still that gloss in my life)

Product for testing - Optimum Opti-Gloss Coat

My box came with a gold microfiber towel and an orange circle applicator (similar to Opti-coat 2.0 packaging).

Application

After reading other members reviews and having used Opti-coat 2.0 several times myself, I knew applying opti-gloss coat would not pose any issues for me. It honestly doesn`t get any easier in my opinion. But this time instead of clearcoat, I will be trying a vinyl.
And you know what? It really was simple. I applied it in 77 Fahrenheit/ 25 Celsius, one panel at a time and followed up with a wipe down.

Process:
Prep
1. Perform rinseless wash with Ultima Waterless Wash Plus (bucket ratio for bucket and QD ratio for spray bottle). I usually go for ONR but wanted to try my UWW+ since I haven`t opened it in 2 years
2. Wipe down with IPA mixed at 20% ratio. I found my vinyl had some glue residue and IPA was able to remove those easily.
3. Wipe down with CarPro Eraser to knock off any dust or oil missed (my overkill step)
Application
4. I used CarPro applicator with CarPro Suede cloth to apply Opti-Gloss Coat, one panel at a time. For Hood, bumper, roof and doors I had splitted in half.
5. About 3 drops were used in between each panel (or half panels) and applied in cross hatch sectional technqiue (left to right and up to down)
Post Application
6. Each panel were inspected with LED light and high spots were knocked down with the gold microfiber towel
7. Although I don`t think it was necessary, I left the car in the garage to cure for an hour before baking it in the sun light.

I had used about 4oz of product


After Photos







Interim Thoughts:
So I want to talk about two things:

Opti-Gloss Coat Feedback
1. Opti-Gloss Coat was stupidly easy to apply for me. I found the high spots to flash off almost immediately. The applicator did not stick or build any resistance as the suede cloth was soaked in product. Now only time will tell me if it can actually bond to vinyl and last for its advertised duration of 2 years. Tomorrow it will rain and I will inspect for beading effects. What I have noticed so far, it is very slick to touch the vinyl. Maybe it is the feel of the vinyl not opti-gloss coat? I`ll touch the carbon fiber spoiler on top to compare.

Vinyl Feedback
2. As you can see above from the photo above showing the roof, the gloss reflection on vinyl is nowhere close to the clearcoat on paint. The 3M gloss vinyl has a natural `orange peel` effect that we would love to eliminate with wetstanding. Overall I`m happy with trying a vinyl wrap for the first time (cost wise was much less than a paint job). Blackrose is a great colour where red would pop in the sun but it have a darken, almost black look to it at night.

Thanks for reading!
Zel

[Zelfiris]

Day 2 in the rain.


Beading very nicely!

[512detail]

Great experiment.

Awesome work and pics.
I love that wrap too.

[Zelfiris]

Great experiment.

Awesome work and pics.
I love that wrap too.

Thank you for the compliment!

[RaysWay]

Beautiful! This morning I was behind a fairly new model Lexus in the Dunkin Donuts drive thru and I noticed clearcoat failure on their trunk and roof, it was sad to see on such a nice car. With a vinyl wrap + Gloss-Coat, you shouldn`t have to worry about that problem. Love the color and I enjoyed reading your feedback. How do you plan on maintaining the coating/wrap in the future?

[Justins00ss]

That`s awesome!!! Love the gloss wrap! Keep us updated.

[Ronkh]

Coolness !!!!

[Zelfiris]

Beautiful! This morning I was behind a fairly new model Lexus in the Dunkin Donuts drive thru and I noticed clearcoat failure on their trunk and roof, it was sad to see on such a nice car. With a vinyl wrap + Gloss-Coat, you shouldn`t have to worry about that problem. Love the color and I enjoyed reading your feedback. How do you plan on maintaining the coating/wrap in the future?

That`s awesome!!! Love the gloss wrap! Keep us updated.

Coolness !!!!

Thanks guys!

Vega - I plan on using UWW+ more often as waterless wash with 1200gsm towels (overkill, yeah lol). Waterless wash is something I have never tried. With paint I was paranoid of any potential for marring by using waterless wash. But on vinyl, I can already see some imperfections where the soft felt squeegee was used so its easier to accept any potential marring caused by myself (does that make sense? lol)

Next I will be applying Opti-Glass to the windows and Cquartz Dlux on the trim pieces (and two reviews to follow for those products of course!)

[Chris@Optimum]

Optimum coatings are great on wraps. From keeping the color true to making cleaning easier!

[SmartSolution]

Car looks super cool and great job with the optimum coating!

[Zelfiris]

Optimum coatings are great on wraps. From keeping the color true to making cleaning easier!

Hi Chris,

Do you know if optimum coating would bond to satin/matte vinyl wraps as well?

Car looks super cool and great job with the optimum coating!

Thank you!

[Jacamóvel]

That outcome was really awesome. Good job man. I think you just got the ultimate protection with the clear film and the opticoat gloss coat. Looks really neat.

[Zelfiris]

Update: 10 months into opti-gloss coat application

I did a before/after winter video to show case the quality of the wrap (holding up well after winter). But also you can see the gloss added after I applied opti-gloss coat to the vinyl. A bit of over cast in the after section, but you can see the vinyl actually looks a bit darker (less red, more brown). I noticed this after I applied opti-gloss coat.

- Car was washed with ONR only since vinyl wrap was installed (however wheels were cleaned with tire and rim cleaner)
- In the after section of the video, you can see stain marks on the trunk/rear bumper, I believe this is accumulated brake dust (need a traditional wash soon)



Enjoy!

[mjlinane]

Very nice!!!

[Zelfiris]

Very nice!!!

Thank you mjlinane!