Opti-seal application

[buja]

To those who use the opti-seal product...



Am I the only one being paranoid bout inducing fine lines when applying the product with the foam applicators ?



It is said that a little goes a long way, but sometimes it feels a little grabby, and when I give the panel an extra spritz, it then appears to be too much, too "oily" , and takes longer to dry and sometimes have the extra "blotch" - over application. so yeah it is quite tricky at times, applying too much and getting streaks, or sometimes applying too little, and result in more friction and feel the pad grab a lil more and might end up with fine lines.



therefore i find myself spraying like 3-4 times a panel, which I think might b too much as I experience a few spots of streaking and blots which remain even after finishing the whole car. and yup I do prime the pad with 3 -4 spritz before starting the process.

or should I "prime" the pad before starting each panel ?





should I get one of those mf pad applicators ? will they decrease the chance of inducing fine lines ? will they be grabby too ? I think those mf applicators (and the sponge/pad centre) might absorb the product more, ending up with spraying more/wasting more product.





would be great to have feedback from fellow opti seal users please.







and also while we are on the topic of fine lines and "swirls" ,

I try to do everthing uni-directionally, from onr to polish to wax.

could this also have been a result of my onr process ?Before starting the onr wash, I spray the whole car n presoak with the onr solution.

I am currently using a cotton chennile mitt from "Turtle". It does feel soft and fluffly and I do not apply pressure when spreading the onr. is this mitt a no no , and I should get a lambs wool natural mitt or mf mitt ? any recommended brands ?



thanks all !

 

[Chris@Optimum]

I apply to the pad only, spritzing the foam app when it gets grabby. Also, when priming you need to prime the whole pad, edges and all. Also, I use the same pattern for applying OS that I use for polishing: vertical figure 8's, followed by horizontal figure 8's and I never have any streaking. You will not get a perfect answer that will solve all your troubles, you just have to "get a feel for the product." I would say by the 3rd of 4th car or application you should be getting pretty proficient.



As far the unidirectional approach, I will hold my media so that it's alway moving the same direction over the surface. As I move left to right, I will spin the media's top to bottom as i move right to left, kinda the way a window washer moves a squeegie. It's always bothered me to just go back and forth realeasing dirt you just picked up by changing directions. This method is also useful when cleaning glass. Have you ever wiped a window back and forth and just couldn't get it to stay clean? I find that by never reversing my grip of the towel, I can get a cleaner window much faster.

 

[buja]

hmm so with the opti seal it doesnt matter if you do it unidirectional, circular, or whatever ?

there might still be a possibility of creating swirls ?

so other than priming the pad before application, how many spritzes do you use for a panel on average ? 2-4 ? thats bout what I use, but might b too much at times...

 

[Chris@Optimum]

hmm so with the opti seal it doesnt matter if you do it unidirectional, circular, or whatever ?

there might still be a possibility of creating swirls ?

so other than priming the pad before application, how many spritzes do you use for a panel on average ? 2-4 ? thats bout what I use, but might b too much at times...

I don't do swirls, I would call it bi-directional (left to right then right to left on the way back covering a new area) then top to bottom without respritzing to ensure even coverage. On and average panel I use 2-4 pumps, but I don't spritz till I get drag. Sometimes it seems like a panel will use more than others, don't know why! Less than 20 for an average car total. There's a dedicated section on the Optimum forum on OS application if I'm not being clear, I'm finding it hard to explain, but I could show you in like 2 seconds-go figure.