Opti-Coat Pro water spotting problem

R

Richard Grasa

New member
I OC'ed a black metallic Chevy Traverse 2 days ago. Customer just called and told me he's having serious water spotting problems. Said he washed it and as he's drying it with a MF it's spotting up really bad. I asked if he's doing it in direct sunlight and he said it's a little sunny but no more sunny than when he washed it before coating and never had a problem then. What do you think is going on? I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow morning. Has anyone had this happen? First time I've ever had a customer issue with OC. He's very concerned that his is going to keep happening. My understanding is an hour after application, OC Pro should be good to go and it's 2 days later and it's water spotting. Any input is appreciated.
 
Anything is possible, but I just don't see how OC could cause MORE water spotting. I might could believe the water spots were more difficult to remove than the prior LSP. How was the paint cared for before. did it have any wax on it?
 
IHA Mark said:
Never had this problem. Sounds like we need some input from Christ at Optimum.
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I emailed Chris and he said it's most likely user error. Just talked to the customer again and he said he used plain water to rinse it and then dried it. Also said his town's water is known to be hard. So yeah, user error, pollen, plain hard water, warm black paint, gonna leave spots. Before I left after applying the OC, I advised the customer to maintain it with regular car was soap or ONR and two bucket method. I'm gonna go tomorrow morning anyway and take care of the spots and leave him with some ONR he can use.
 
Dan said:
Anything is possible, but I just don't see how OC could cause MORE water spotting. I might could believe the water spots were more difficult to remove than the prior LSP. How was the paint cared for before. did it have any wax on it?
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He's only had it about a month, but yeah he said he waxed it alot to keep it slick. I told him Opti-Coat is not slick, but if he wants to add some slickness he can wax over it but the wax may not last as long as normal.
 
1 hour after application, you can drive in rain - ( I always tell my customers to not do that to be sure and wait over night)



Wait 7 days before washing it. Again that is just me, I kind of follow the consumer version recommendations.



After 30 days, it is fully cured.



Now - and please don't take this the wrong way, but your customer may have hearing issues. Can you SHOUT next time you see him and TELL HIM:



1 - NEVER EVER JUST RINSE AND DRY. :wall

2 - DO NOT WASH IN DIRECT SUN. :wall

3 - ESPECIALLY A DARK CAR!!!!



I would be more concerned him messing up his paint in no time, than OC. The spots are most likely due to him "washing" the car too early and without a shampoo. I'd charge him by the hour to fix what he messed up.
 
These are the email responses I got from Chris:



"OC doesn’t protect from water spots appearing. It only keeps them from etching below the surface like they would if the minerals were left on regular cleat coat. Water spots frankly are a complete reflection of the process and maintenance practices of the caretaker...not your installation, not Opti Coat."



"Water spots are 100% a result of allowing mineral rich water to dry on the surface. As the water evaporates, the minerals are left behind and will stick/bond to the surface...any surface (even a coated surface). What OptiCoat prevents it the permeation of those sometimes acidic minerals below the surface. To remove these deposits you must use a dedicated water spot remover (chemical non abrasive). To prevent these deposits you must not allow tap/sprinkler water to dry on the surface. The chemicals used to remove water spots should not harm Opti Coat if used per instructions and too much pressure is not used as to scratch the coating."



After my OP, I talked to him again and he said his town is known for hard water and the water was quickly drying before he could dry it all with the MF. I asked if if could try using some QD to see if the spots would come off which he said yes, the QD is taking the spots off on part of the hood where he tried it. So it sounds like just some light mineral deposits from hard water. We agreed he'd leave the rest there until I could look at it tomorrow morning, and so he doesn't mar the OC all up rubbing on it too hard. I will take care of the spots (won't take long if QD is taking them off) and I will show him how to properly care for it (don't use plain water, don't wash in the direct sun, etc.) and I will leave him some ONR to try. I will update after I get done with this tomorrow.



Thomas, I know what you mean that I should charge to fix it, but as long as it's not a huge chunk of my time, I would rather just take care of it and educate him on the proper care some more.
 
Might be the perfect time to teach him how to do a Gary Dean ONR wash. You'd have to really apply yourself to get water spots that way. Have you suggested he try vinegar on the spots?



It is great you are trying to educate him and fix the issue, just like Chris said, its just hard water drying on the surface.
 
Dan said:
Might be the perfect time to teach him how to do a Gary Dean ONR wash. You'd have to really apply yourself to get water spots that way. Have you suggested he try vinegar on the spots?



It is great you are trying to educate him and fix the issue, just like Chris said, its just hard water drying on the surface.
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I'm actually gonna bring some vinegar with me tomorrow and try that first.
 
What do you guys think about using some KAIO? I understand it works real well for water spots on glass and should be safe for the fresh OC.
 
KAiO has some strong solvents. Not sure if it would be any more safe than vinegar.
 
Way too early to polish the paint. Polish off the areas and reapply. OC needs 30 days before fully cured. Until then, it is pretty vulnerable



Richard Grasa said:
What do you guys think about using some KAIO? I understand it works real well for water spots on glass and should be safe for the fresh OC.
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Had a customer "help" me by rinsing his three cars off the day before and allowing them to air dry. With rock hard Arizona water...Two had been Opti-Coated last fall, one was new. The vehicle closest to the hose (which was the one rinsed off first) was the worst, no telling how long it had been since that hose was used. Had to polish the roof and reapply Opti-Coat...and I could feel the buffer grabbing and pulling me around as it went through the coating. The other one with Opti-Coat, water/alcohol (30% solution) took the spots off, and the coating was still really slick. But what a nightmare. Between all three vehicles my son and I spent an additional 6-7 hours just dealing with the spotting.



I go over with customers how to take care of their cars after applying Opti-Coat, most of them switch to ONR. In fact, I revisited the Fisker Karma I Opti-Coated about a year ago (he wanted Opti-Glass applied next time I was in the area) and it looked like it had just been applied. I also stress to all customer that they should avoid parking near grass due to sprinklers and the problems they can cause.
 
An ONR wash actually took about 99% of the spots off. The few stubborn spots that were left, which were not all that bad, I told him to wait a few more days and use vinegar on those. He's going to be switching over to ONR now. Thanks for all the input.
 
lkotsios said:
Forget about these type of coatings just stick to traditional products.
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Do you have any actual facts or experience to add with the above opinion?
 
If you want a permanent coating just go get your car painted that's all. Look at all the probems with the above posts. I will stick with duragloss products, thank you very much.
 
I'm not sure it is fair to blame the coating for water spots from poor wash practices. In fact, a DG product would be even more susceptible to that issue due to the extremely tight beading vs OC's rather relaxed beading.
 
lkotsios, re-read my post #15, this was easily resolved and not the issue the customer thought it was. The spots were also all over the glass and other parts of the truck that didn't get coated, so the coating has nothing to do with it. On those uncoated areas, the spots did not want to budge and will need to be removed with the vinegar or a water spot remover, but on the coated areas, washed right off with ONR, with the exception of a couple spots on the roof that I imagine were in the most direct sunlight. It just happened that he decided to try to rinse some pollen off the truck (first pollen of the year in this area) in the sun and didn't get to the hood and driver side of the truck before the sun dried it and left the water spots. If he rinsed the truck like this in the sun without the coating and this happened, those spots would have been alot harder to remove and could also possibly etch right into the clear coat. The coating did it's job quite well and protected the paint from damage and also released the otherwise extremely hard to remove hard water deposits with just a quick ONR wash. All this was something that he thought was more of an issue than it was because he was not expecting to see the water spots and he thought it was because of the coating so he panicked and called me with his concern, but now he realizes it was an issue caused by his water supply and doing it in the sun, not the coatings fault.
 
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