My First Opti-Coat

LeMarque

New member
I found a video where someone at Optimum (how come Chris doesn't post here?) put the small foam pad in a latex glove and wrapped the glove with a blue paper shop towel. This is the technique I used. Changing the towel every panel.



OC went on very easily and flashed fairly quickly, with out without using compressed air. Buffed/knocked it down; also easy. Lighting is important 'cause it was difficult at times to see the OC flash.



Problems I encountered were, even tho I went over the car inch by inch and polished out any minor imperfections I saw, I still missed one or two that I spotted during coating.



My BIG complaint is the 'syringe' leaked out the bottom! I mean allot! It was a real PITA and if anything would prevent me from buying OC again it that.



Pics, just because:



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Contact Optimum on the syringe and they should replace it for you. I think they sourced syringes from a different vendor on one order (never again) and they had some issue with them.
 
Thanks all for the comments.



As for changing the blue shop towels out, even tho I read OC wouldn't pick up dust, I did see some every now and then.



And I spoke with David and he did say there was a problem with some of the tubes and I'm waiting for ADS to warranty it. Thanks for bringing that up.



And here's the YouTube link:





 
I tried the blue shop towel technique and ran into some problems with swirls and light scratches. Switched back to pinnacle applicators and never had another problem. I just throw out the applicator after use, they are not super expensive and worth it to get a better application.



I think the original person was David Fermani or something like that that came up with the shop towel idea... Or another person that posts a lot on these forums. He is a tester for optimum products.
 
PC and more took a lightning strike. be back sun?



but to say, I'll accept the feedback and use a different technique next time.



being my first experience i was super gentle with the application and didn't notice any marring





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D_Nyholm said:
I tried the blue shop towel technique and ran into some problems with swirls and light scratches. Switched back to pinnacle applicators and never had another problem. I just throw out the applicator after use, they are not super expensive and worth it to get a better application.



I think the original person was David Fermani or something like that that came up with the shop towel idea... Or another person that posts a lot on these forums. He is a tester for optimum products.



Anthony Orasco came up with the glove/ shop towel method. There is a video demonstrating it, just google his name and opti-coat and you will find it.
 
That sucks to hear about the syringe leaking, I am sure that made the whole more problematic than it should have been. I used to the yellow applicator that came with it as I was told by Jeff it was the best to use. I used OC for the first time on a black Camaro I did a few months ago. I had not seen any videos on how to apply it and what "high spots" looked like.



What I learned from applying it was I didn't use enough product to "prime" the applicator nor did I use enough OC in general. The OC flashed pretty quick for me, I did it this summer in the garage with the doors closed when it was like 98 degrees out. Basically by the time I was done with a panel I wiped the high spots out.



I used a really good MF. I haven't heard about using the blue shop towel. Can I ask what the benefits are compared to using the MF?



After I did the car I found the videos on how to apply it. Surprisingly I did it correctly and it turned out great. I am confident the next car I do will go much smoother. I was so stressed out about doing it right I think I made the whole process worse than it actually is.
 
LilJayV10 said:
That sucks to hear about the syringe leaking, I am sure that made the whole more problematic than it should have been. I used to the yellow applicator that came with it as I was told by Jeff it was the best to use. I used OC for the first time on a black Camaro I did a few months ago. I had not seen any videos on how to apply it and what "high spots" looked like.



What I learned from applying it was I didn't use enough product to "prime" the applicator nor did I use enough OC in general. The OC flashed pretty quick for me, I did it this summer in the garage with the doors closed when it was like 98 degrees out. Basically by the time I was done with a panel I wiped the high spots out.



I used a really good MF. I haven't heard about using the blue shop towel. Can I ask what the benefits are compared to using the MF?



After I did the car I found the videos on how to apply it. Surprisingly I did it correctly and it turned out great. I am confident the next car I do will go much smoother. I was so stressed out about doing it right I think I made the whole process worse than it actually is.

Check out the new video @ Auto Geek by Chris.
 
Can you point me towards it. I have been on Autogeek for an hour and can't find it. I'm probably not looking in the right place.
 
FWIW, pay attention to the packaging on the Scott blue shop towels if you use them for OC/OG application. I picked up a couple of rolls without noticing they now have a 'Pro' version. They're waffled, stouter and while still soft, I don't think they'd be appropriate for OC/OG application. YMMV.



TL
 
TLMitchell said:
FWIW, pay attention to the packaging on the Scott blue shop towels if you use them for OC/OG application. I picked up a couple of rolls without noticing they now have a 'Pro' version. They're waffled, stouter and while still soft, I don't think they'd be appropriate for OC/OG application. YMMV.



TL



Thanks for the heads up. Not going there again. With the exception of possibly wheel barrels. Anything other then the foam pads? They have to be soaking up a good portion of the $50 per 2ml.



Maybe some kind of thin soft foam sheet that could be folded in quarters?
 
Good job. I just did my first opti coat also. I opti coated my brand new avalanche. I used a glove over the pad and a soft brawney paper towel. Worked perfectly for me! I like this method because it does not soak into the applicator and it seemed to spread out very nicely. It did not induce any marring at all.
 
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