Opticoat Observations

J

JSFM35X

Active member
Some of you may recall a post where I applied Opticoat to a Subaru back in the middle of July? It has been about 5 weeks since application and to date the car has not been washed. I am amazed at how clean and shiney the paint remains.

The only attention this car has recieved is a bird bomb removal done with ONR and several Euro Shag towels. And the front windshield Glass has been cleaned on several occasions.

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The only thing needing immediate attention is the wheels which are showing some brake dust accumulation (Not visible in the photo's but it is there). This is a low mileage vehicle and had only traveled approx 450 miles in the last 5 weeks.

The car went to a Senior HS Rally last night (today is the first day of school for my older son who is a Senior and the first day of HS for my younger son-Read-I am getting old-LOL). So, now the car is now painted from the Rally, luckily my son knows his Dad, and only the windows were painted, the 2 rear and back window. So tonight, if the rain stops, it will get its first bath so we can get the paint off. I am glad it is raining/overcast today so the paint is not baking in the sun.

I will keep you updated on the Opticoat. My main driver for applying opticoat is to get the extended durability and mar resistance. The coating feels very smooth, but lacks the slick feel of the BFWD I love. If it performs as advertised I will take the trade off as I am looking to cut my hours of polishing and sealing the cars. I really enjoy the wash process, but dred the decon/polishing step bc of the time involved.

Picture of the hood up close to show the beading of the OC after a very heavy rain.

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In the next few weeks I will be Opticoating my wifes MDX and applying EXO to my Infiniti DD to see what the differences are between the 2 coatings. I have about 24 months left on that lease and it would be nice it the EXO took me through the end of it.

Have a great week!
 

The car looks great!


I will add this. If you want to increase the slickness try using FK425, DG Aquawax, CG V7 after a wash. I know that some use Opti-Seal, or Opti Car Wax as well. I just topped my OG'd truck with OCW this past weekend and it looks great.

Another great option is to use CarPro Reload -or- Permanon as a topper. These tend to last much longer than traditional spray waxes. Reload is my favorite topper on OC/OG. And it last quite awhile.

 
TroyScherer said:

The car looks great!


I will add this. If you want to increase the slickness try using FK425, DG Aquawax, CG V7 after a wash. I know that some use Opti-Seal, or Opti Car Wax as well. I just topped my OG'd truck with OCW this past weekend and it looks great.

Another great option is to use CarPro Reload -or- Permanon as a topper. These tend to last much longer than traditional spray waxes. Reload is my favorite topper on OC/OG. And it last quite awhile.

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Thanks, I am happy with the look and performance of the Opticoat so far. It is in its infancy at 5 weeks, so it should be performing strong at this point and it is.

I have permanon on the shelf but I think I will run soley with Opticoat to see what I can expect over time. It is good to know the Permanon will be a good topper if I decide to go that route. I love permanon for its ease of use, self cleaning ability and stella hard candy gloss but the durability (or lack of it) was too short for the expense of the product.

If you top with reload or Permanon, how do you know when it is gone? Is it just by feel, or is there a decernable difference in the beading on the car? My understanding is that Opticoat does not allow anything to bond to it very well.
 
JSFM35X said:
If you top with reload or Permanon, how do you know when it is gone? Is it just by feel, or is there a decernable difference in the beading on the car? My understanding is that Opticoat does not allow anything to bond to it very well.
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I have found that adding either Reload or Permanon adds/changes the look of the vehicle slightly. Also I have found that both Permanon & Reload have their own beading characteristics that are slightly different from OC.

I tried & liked Permanon for it ease of use and "self cleaning" ability. But the durability was very short lived as I have now learned you must basically use Dawn as you wash soap and can't use regular car washes as they effect the durability to much. :(

Reload has been the best option as far as durability goes. The beading and sheeting of Reload is great as well.
 
I guess I need to give reload a try, with reload you can use any regular car wash? I usually use Poorboys Super Slick & Suds (Also use this in my foam cannon), Ultima Paint Shampoo and Suds or Lusso depending on how dirty the car is and what sealant/coating is on the car.

Thanks

TroyScherer said:

I have found that adding either Reload or Permanon adds/changes the look of the vehicle slightly. Also I have found that both Permanon & Reload have their own beading characteristics that are slightly different from OC.

I tried & liked Permanon for it ease of use and "self cleaning" ability. But the durability was very short lived as I have now learned you must basically use Dawn as you wash soap and can't use regular car washes as they effect the durability to much. :(

Reload has been the best option as far as durability goes. The beading and sheeting of Reload is great as well.
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Todd Helme said:
Looking forward to reading your thoughts after you wash it! :bigups
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We had crazy T Storms and on and off rain here in NY. I will get to it as soon as the weather clears up.

I stood out in the rain with my son taking the paint-markers his friends wrote all over the windows off the car. Killed a few MF and 2 bottles of Stoners Invisible glass. I did not want to disolve it with tarminator and have it run into the "doors wipes" so we rubbed and rubbed and won!
 
looking good so far ! silver is a great color for hiding dirt and grime and you might be surprised when you wash it. :)
 
Well it has been a year and 2 months since the opticoat was applied to the Subaru and about a year and a month since it was applied to the MDX next to it.

I washed the car Sunday evening and the car is still a peice of cake to clean. Nothng sticks to it. The coating apears to be going strong, and I will be iron xing the car the next time I was becasue the surface is not a smooth as I would like.

I was told that this would not damage the coating and I hope that is true. The car still beads like crazy on the sides and the hood, roof and trunk lid still bead, but not like crazy. I am unsure if this observation is accurate becasue I have been looking at the EXO beads lately.

Still, I am very happy that the OC 2.0 is still doing its job protecting the paint from the elements, keeping the car very nice and glossy and keeping all the maring gremlins at bay.

I will let you know how the iron X stage goes.

Todd- We need an emogie for the marring gremlin-what do you think.

Todd Helme said:
Looking forward to reading your thoughts after you wash it! :bigups
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dunno how I missed this when originally posted

looks good, love the bead shot

need to hear the diffs of exo/oc
 
Interested in hearing the thoughts on Opti Coat after you decon the paint. IME, the beading returned to like new after claying the surface, I am hoping/suspecting you will see the same.
 
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