Opti-coat application problem

I often just perform another wash with Dawn dish soap. I know some don't like this because it may dry out plastic trim bits, but I dress the trim pieces soon after anyway.



At least this will ensure the paint is stripped of oils.
 
I have some New Car Prep which is a commercial solvent and I wiped down the trunk lid twice. Now what I've noticed after applying OC is now the whole trunk has a haze to it. It wipes away just as any fogging does, but it comes back. I am hoping this is just temporary and will eventually settle down and not fog up any more.
 
bcgreen said:
I have some New Car Prep which is a commercial solvent and I wiped down the trunk lid twice. Now what I've noticed after applying OC is now the whole trunk has a haze to it. It wipes away just as any fogging does, but it comes back. I am hoping this is just temporary and will eventually settle down and not fog up any more.
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Did you make sure the NCP had fully flashed off/dried before proceeding to the OC? I'm wondering if there could have been an adverse reaction with the solvent to cause the hazing....
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
Did you make sure the NCP had fully flashed off/dried before proceeding to the OC? I'm wondering if there could have been an adverse reaction with the solvent to cause the hazing....
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I spent half the morning polish down the trunk lid again and then using the New Car Prep.

Now the whole panel is fogging up. It wipes away nice and easy as if it was just waxed, but the fogging returns. The fogging is just like what you experience when you shower and the mirrors fog up.

I am so anal about this, since I've gone through this process once, then to have to polish it down and then to have flaws.

So, YES, I did made sure it flashed before proceeding to OC. I wiped it down numerous times because you could see it flash under the lighting. Went through a couple of towels wiping it down.

I am beginning to wonder if there is a limited time you can keep the solvent on the shelf. Here is an observation I've made between just using IPA vs the New Car Prep, is that the panel wasn't so grabby when I went to apply the OC than when I used the IPA.
 
bcgreen said:
I spent half the morning polish down the trunk lid again and then using the New Car Prep.

Now the whole panel is fogging up. It wipes away nice and easy as if it was just waxed, but the fogging returns. The fogging is just like what you experience when you shower and the mirrors fog up.

I am so anal about this, since I've gone through this process once, then to have to polish it down and then to have flaws.

So, YES, I did made sure it flashed before proceeding to OC. I wiped it down numerous times because you could see it flash under the lighting. Went through a couple of towels wiping it down.

I am beginning to wonder if there is a limited time you can keep the solvent on the shelf. Here is an observation I've made between just using IPA vs the New Car Prep, is that the panel wasn't so grabby when I went to apply the OC than when I used the IPA.
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Hmm.... let's see if Ron Ketcham chimes in on the NCP issue; I sure wouldn't think it would have a limited shelf life if kept in a sealed container but he'd be able to say for sure.



The other thing you might do at this point is give Dr. G a call and see if he's got any ideas. I've never heard of someone getting a bad batch of OC, though I suppose it's another possibility. If you followed the advice from this thread about applying thin/etc. you shouldn't be having these problems.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
Hmm.... let's see if Ron Ketcham chimes in on the NCP issue; I sure wouldn't think it would have a limited shelf life if kept in a sealed container but he'd be able to say for sure.



The other thing you might do at this point is give Dr. G a call and see if he's got any ideas. I've never heard of someone getting a bad batch of OC, though I suppose it's another possibility. If you followed the advice from this thread about applying thin/etc. you shouldn't be having these problems.
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I did find it interesting that using the solvent left the surface smooth and not as grabby compared to using IPA. It is very uniform fogging, not just random here and there type spots.
 
When you apply it, does it disappear into the paint, or do you see a little bit of a rainbow effect?
 
Dan said:
When you apply it, does it disappear into the paint, or do you see a little bit of a rainbow effect?
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No rainbow. are you talking about OC or the New Car Prep? In either case there was no rainbow. The solvent flashed, I then went over it with a clean towel under the lights and from different angles - nothing remained behind. I took a 15 min. break and decided I didn't want to take a chance, and so I did another solvent wipe down, followed with another clean towel. Took the car outside to see how everything looked and then took the car back into the garage, ready for the OC.

With a clean applicator and good lighting, I wiped the product on checking as I went for flashing. Went over all areas with the same applicator till I didn't see any remants of product. When I was satisfied I went over the entire trunk lid with two towels just to be absolutely positive I got everything. It looked just fabulous. So I cleaned up the garage, put everything away and took an hour break as I needed to do some errands. When I took anothe look at the vehicle, I noticed the entire trunk lid was fogged. So that's where I am now.
 
Ok, that clears it up. Very strange behavior... time to get in touch with someone from Optimum.
 
did the temperature change while you were applying it? it will fog up if it goes from warm to cold like late evenings for example



bcgreen said:
No rainbow. are you talking about OC or the New Car Prep? In either case there was no rainbow. The solvent flashed, I then went over it with a clean towel under the lights and from different angles - nothing remained behind. I took a 15 min. break and decided I didn't want to take a chance, and so I did another solvent wipe down, followed with another clean towel. Took the car outside to see how everything looked and then took the car back into the garage, ready for the OC.

With a clean applicator and good lighting, I wiped the product on checking as I went for flashing. Went over all areas with the same applicator till I didn't see any remants of product. When I was satisfied I went over the entire trunk lid with two towels just to be absolutely positive I got everything. It looked just fabulous. So I clean up the garage, put everything away and took an hour break before I needed to do some errands. When I took anothe look at the vehicle, I noticed the entire trunk lid was fogged. So that's where I am now.
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The weather here in SoCal is kind of boring, sunshine every day, temp. slowly changes as the sun goes down, but nothing drastic. I originally come from the PNW and the NWT, so I know what you're talking about.
 
For those who are interested in an update. It took an overnight cure to take care of the fogging. I don't know why this happened but all I think of is, that there was some sort of chemical reaction between OC and the solvent. Even though I was very thorough I think something remained behind. This might explain why the surface was much slicker during the application than applying post IPA. I will have to say it was so much nicer to apply and I got the feeling OC went further, it was almost like applying another layer of wax on top of wax. I won't know if it got thinned out but time will tell.

What a relief after that first evening and the first wash. It really does look great.
 
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