Opticoat Review: Beading and Sheeting After 5 Months vs No Opticoat

Zackb911 said:
Why are you stripping it off?
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2 reasons:



1) Although my car is my DD, I love keeping it as perfect as I can. That means spot polishing whenever needed and full polish session once or twice a year. I thought with opticoat that I wouldn't have any more faint swirls or scratches, but even with opticoat, no true daily driver can stay swirl free for long. So I'm polishing it.



2) I find waxing my car therapeutic and relaxing. Originally I thought I wouldn't miss waxing, but I do. And although I could wax over the OC, it just doesn't feel the same to me.



So yeah, kind of weird reasons to get rid of a perfectly good opticoat, but then again I'm kind of weird ;)
 
Can you comment more on the swirls you're getting? I'm going to OC my car in 2 months and picking it up tomorrow.



Is it swirls cause by exposure to outdoor or from improper washing/drying? I doubt its the latter for you
 
Kouyo said:
Can you comment more on the swirls you're getting? I'm going to OC my car in 2 months and picking it up tomorrow.



Is it swirls cause by exposure to outdoor or from improper washing/drying? I doubt its the latter for you
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You don't get swirls from exposure to the outdoors. You get it from washing/drying or QDing.
 
I can't see having a daily driver and not having Opti-Coat on it. Makes regular care so much easier. Redid mine in August (bought the car from my Dad, applied it three years prior but didn't polish it first-more just testing durability) and its still swirl free and beads like when it was first applied. I wax enough cars during the week that using ONR wash and wax is all I want to do to mine.



My results are the same as your video, water just flies off it.
 
Kouyo said:
Can you comment more on the swirls you're getting? I'm going to OC my car in 2 months and picking it up tomorrow.



Is it swirls cause by exposure to outdoor or from improper washing/drying? I doubt its the latter for you
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I'm not aware of a way to forever keep swirls and scratches away. If you wash your car and touch it, there is always a chance of swirliing, just my opinion. And that is a even bigger chance with me as I wash my car 2 to 3 times a week. My wash process is as clean and safe as I can get it, so I minimize my swirls, but they can and will come back, especially on cars that are easy to scratch like mine. I have just a few very faint swirls, but I like to keep my car as show car ready as I can... so bye bye opticoat as I do my Spring polish.



Also, I drive on the highway 120 miles a week. There's no way to avoid light scratches from debris hitting my car.



Opticoat is a wonderful product and I've had a lot of fun with it, but it isn't for me personally.





Also Scottwax points out an interesting point. For me, as a weekend warrior, not a professional detailer during the week, I have plenty of time to give my car proper baths, sealant, and wax.
 
One thing to (re)consider is the love bugs that Floridians get that literally reak havoc on the front end of your car. Having OC on there eliminates these things from ever harming your finish. This can't be said about non-coatings. Atleast coat the front end of your car! :nono
 
One thing to keep in mind is with a coating when you do get swirls and defects is when polishing you are removing the defects from the coating and leaving the original paint untouched. With the OEM paint being so thin this is definitely a plus. This really comes to paly with bird bombs and bug etchings.
 
Paul Sparks said:
One thing to keep in mind is with a coating when you do get swirls and defects is when polishing you are removing the defects from the coating and leaving the original paint untouched. With the OEM paint being so thin this is definitely a plus. This really comes to paly with bird bombs and bug etchings.
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Especially with thin japanese paint! Last few cars have been Mitsu Evo's, several others and now a Subaru WRX. I also have to say that I have no swirls.
 
David Fermani said:
One thing to (re)consider is the love bugs that Floridians get that literally reak havoc on the front end of your car. Having OC on there eliminates these things from ever harming your finish. This can't be said about non-coatings. Atleast coat the front end of your car! :nono
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Good point, I may just not polish off the coating on the front bumper
 
thanks for the detailed response. in my mind I think of opticoat as long term protection and you taking it off after 5 months was a bit alarming for me lol but now I understand :)
 
Kouyo said:
thanks for the detailed response. in my mind I think of opticoat as long term protection and you taking it off after 5 months was a bit alarming for me lol but now I understand :)
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It is a good long term protection and I think you'll be very happy with it. Me taking it off after 5 months is just because I'm a weirdo, not out of necessity at all :D
 
You will not get swirl marks on Opti-Coat 2.0. It is a hard coating above the paint and will not allow dust, dirt, drying towels, etc., touch the paint. You only get swirls marks in the paint. If you are getting swirl marks, you have gone through the Opti!
 
Rob4092xx said:
You will not get swirl marks on Opti-Coat 2.0. It is a hard coating above the paint and will not allow dust, dirt, drying towels, etc., touch the paint. You only get swirls marks in the paint. If you are getting swirl marks, you have gone through the Opti!
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How do you prove that you cannot swirl (scratch) OC?
 
Legacy99 said:
How do you prove that you cannot swirl (scratch) OC?
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I too am suspect of this comment. You can scratch ANYTHING given you have enough abrasives and pressure. OP, I understand you wax your car for therapeutic reasons, but why take the OC off? Why don't you go ahead and polish/wax on top of the OC? At least this way you are polishing the OC not necessarily your paint. Just my thoughts.
 
Legacy99 said:
How do you prove that you cannot swirl (scratch) OC?
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perhaps he would like a pic of my opti-coated trunk that has a few scratches on it. They aren't bad and as i've said, it's the OC and hopefully not the paint, but i can see no primer, so that's always a good sign.
 
If a mild polish will remove opticoat, I'd say its safe to say that you can swirl it just fine. I know I've gotten a few swirl like scratches here and there on the white jetta that has been OC'd.
 
Scratches are not swirl marks. Swirl marks occur when you wipe of a dusty/dirty car without proper soap lubrication, wipe with a dirty towel, wipe it off with a towel that is not ultra soft, etc.



Swirl marks occur because the paint is soft. Opti is a hard, acrylic type coating that prevents the paint from allowing these things to occur. Take some Opti and put it in an empty bottle with the lid off. You will have a clear hard rock once it dries. Do it with paint and you have a soft, bendable glob. Which is harder??? The Opti. Which will prevent swirl marks from getting to the paint...a coating like Opti.



I am not a salesperson or have any realtionship whatsoever with Opti or any other product. I am a detail perfectionist and have applied Opti to my Ferrari 360, C6 Corvette, Hummer and Expedition. I live in Phoenix which is terribly hard on automotive finishes due to the sun, heat and dust. I also drive my Hummer along the beach in Rocky Point Mexico where I have a vacation home. I have never, ever had anything get through Opti and to the paint. I still own all of these vehilces and the finish is incredible!



I have a garage drawer full of Zaino Z-5, Z-2, AIO as well as a variety of other polishes, sealants, waxes, etc. I also have a Griot's Orbital which I used to use to get the swirl marks out of my auto finishes. These have all been idle since discovering Opti-Coat 2.0 last year!
 
Rob4092xx said:
Scratches are not swirl marks. Swirl marks occur when you wipe of a dusty/dirty car without proper soap lubrication, wipe with a dirty towel, wipe it off with a towel that is not ultra soft, etc.
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You are right, scratches are not swirls marks BUT swirl marks are scratches. Opticoat is great stuff but its not going to stop sand and other hard dirt from scratching it. Opticoat, once fully cured has a PENCIL hardness of 9H. This is a film hardness test covered by ISO 15184:2012 . Pencils, aka graphite are a 1.5 on the MOH's scale.



Mohs scale of mineral hardness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



So something that is as hard as pure graphite isn't going to stand a chance to something like minerals found in dirt, (1.5 vs 5-6).
 
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