Advice needed dealing with Opti-Seal.

L

LS1 Eddie

New member
My opti-seal should be here any day now. I plan on using it on my white diamond Caddy. I want to combine the opti-seal with a coat of Collinite. Should I use the opti-seal first, then Collinite or vice versa. Any other suggestions are more than welcome!
 
Opti-seal first. As a rule of thumb, you typically want to put anything with oils OVER a sealant. By applying the sealant first, you allow it to properly bond to the vehicle paint rather then fight for such a property against the oils in the wax or glaze. However, a wax or glaze over a sealant will work just fine. Some argue that any oil over a sealant will impact the longevity of the sealant. But hey, whose counting. If its your own car, and your no hyper-omega-ultra OCD about the longevity of your sealant, I doubt the week of lost durability caused by a wax over a sealant will be any issue.



Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, all the WOWA products work well with waxes. So in fact, you may not be loosing any durability at all by applying the wax over the opti-seal. Hell, you may even want to relayer opti-seal over the wax to make it last longer.



OS, wax, wax, OS would be my preferred method over a week of detailing.
 
Firstly, I will need to ask u which Collinite are u using? For me, I prefer Collinite 476S over the OS. I'm using Collinite 476S, my favorite wax at this moment. :)



Altho Optimum would advise to top the OS on carnauba wax. But it's just me, I prefer the Collinite over OS combo.... :)
 
Boy thats a toughy. But if it was me, I would do 2 layers of OptiSeal, then either 845 or 476. The Optiseal is your base protection. Also use the OS with a MF instead of the foam applicator...
 
does optiseal have any cleaning ability?



I once put #16 x2 over VMWHG. It looked great!

Acually it looked great after #83 and #80.
 
I was going to finish off with Collinite over NXT (NXT is curing as I type this). Would Opti-seal be a good product in between the NXT and the Collinite? I would be looking for increased durability.
 
I apply the sealant first, then wax on top. One reason being is that the wax takes much longer to fully cure than the opti-seal's 15 min. MAX. Make sure you go over the Opti-Seal with a MF before you apply the wax to get any streaks out, which is pretty common with Opti-Seal.
 
Ambrosia said:
Make sure you go over the Opti-Seal with a MF before you apply the wax to get any streaks out, which is pretty common with Opti-Seal.
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ugh.gif
If it is streaking at all, you are using too much or whatever product you used to prep the paint was not completely removed prior to applying Opti-Seal. I *may* get a random streak every 3rd or 4th vehicle I apply OS to and it is always operator error.



mshu7 said:
As some one else mentioned, apply OS with a MF applicator instead of a foam applicator.
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:think:



The Meguiars foam hand applicators are absolutely ideal for applying both Opti-Seal and Clear Seal. I am getting 10 vehicles per ounce of product using the Meg's foam pads and no streaking. :)
 
Scottwax said:
ugh.gif
If it is streaking at all, you are using too much or whatever product you used to prep the paint was not completely removed prior to applying Opti-Seal. I *may* get a random streak every 3rd or 4th vehicle I apply OS to and it is always operator error.
Click to expand...



Absolutely agree!



Sometimes I think people confuse the spots where the product sits thicker with streaking. The thick/high spots are always movable, easy to remove if you want to kick them down with the applicator.



"Normal" streaking is defined as ghosts/marks/shades or imperfections in the film that are hard to move, or entirely immovable with rubbing. In extreme cases streaking appears as harder swirl marks (usually mimicking the structure of the applicator) where the sealant was originally applied.
 
Try a half and half panel before you do the whole car. I used OS and Collinite 815 on a pearl white LS400, and I liked the look of OS alone better than OS/Collinite. I ended up doing OS x2 on the rest of the car.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Also use the OS with a MF instead of the foam applicator...
Click to expand...

I just tried this last weekend; it worked much better for me than the applicator that came with the OS. Much easier to use.



Scottwax said:
ugh.gif
If it is streaking at all, you are using too much or whatever product you used to prep the paint was not completely removed prior to applying Opti-Seal. I *may* get a random streak every 3rd or 4th vehicle I apply OS to and it is always operator error.



:think:



The Meguiars foam hand applicators are absolutely ideal for applying both Opti-Seal and Clear Seal. I am getting 10 vehicles per ounce of product using the Meg's foam pads and no streaking. :)
Click to expand...

Scott, I wish I had half the talent you do for detailing cars. I'm sure the applicator is how OS is designed to be used, but for a relative noob like me the MF made the job easier. The applicator will grab the paint sometimes and fly out of my hand, while the MF glides over the surface. If it costs me a little more product to use it this way so be it.
 
I had the same issues with the foam applicator, Lenny. The first couple times I used OS I got really frustrated because of the foam applicator. Now that I use the MF applicator, I love using OS. I think it's all personal preference though.
 
Scottwax said:
ugh.gif
If it is streaking at all, you are using too much or whatever product you used to prep the paint was not completely removed prior to applying Opti-Seal. I *may* get a random streak every 3rd or 4th vehicle I apply OS to and it is always operator error.



:think:



The Meguiars foam hand applicators are absolutely ideal for applying both Opti-Seal and Clear Seal. I am getting 10 vehicles per ounce of product using the Meg's foam pads and no streaking. :)
Click to expand...



I apply opti-seal on top of remaining wax, (no need to claybar) so it doesn't bond as well.
 
itb76 said:
I just tried this last weekend; it worked much better for me than the applicator that came with the OS. Much easier to use.





Scott, I wish I had half the talent you do for detailing cars. I'm sure the applicator is how OS is designed to be used, but for a relative noob like me the MF made the job easier. The applicator will grab the paint sometimes and fly out of my hand, while the MF glides over the surface. If it costs me a little more product to use it this way so be it.
Click to expand...



Believe me, no talent involved using OS. ;)



I recommend the Meguiars foam hand pad, not the foam pad that comes with OS. Once the Meguiars pad is primed, it glides over the paint.
 
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