SuperBee364
New member
This:
Came yesterday afternoon. It's a Paasche Talon Dual Action air brush. Spent several hours last night spraying distilled water through it, trying to get the hang of the "Fan Air Cap" it comes with. This particular air cap is meant to give a spray pattern similar to an HVLP mini-gun. Turns out, it does a fairly nice job of it.
So today I gave the Charger a thorough washing, removing all remnants of LSP. I then wiped each panel down with a 50/50 IPA/distilled water mix prior to spraying each panel with Opti-Seal.
The good news:
The process was quick, easy, and the results were fantastic.
The bad news:
The compressor I bought with the air brush is puny. It's not capable of delivering enough pressure to get the droplet size down as small as I'd like. While it's not a complete deal killer, it does cause you to use much more product than I'd like. Yeah, I expected to use a lot more product, but I ended up using about 3 ounces to cover the entire vehicle (I did the glass, trim, everything except the wheels). In order for this to be a viable technique for Opti-COAT, I'm gonna need a bigger compressor to get the pressure up and the droplet size down.
Tip: if you're thinking about getting an airbrush or HVLP mini gun to apply WOWA sealants or Opti-Coat, do yourself a favor: Skip the expensive (and puny) dedicated air brush compressor, and grab a small pancake compressor from Sears, Home Depot, or Lowes. They are less expensive than a good air brush compressor, too. You'll end up with a far more versatile tool, as well.
My car hasn't seen the business end of a polisher in quite a while, so these pictures don't quite do justice to how well I imagine a properly polished vehicle would look after spraying, but it still looked *darn* good. Wish my photography skills were better, as these pictures really don't look as good as it does in person. (No jokes about the wheels... this was not a "proper" detailing, just an experiment in spraying).
A few thoughts on the process...
At first I was very concerned about over-application (as I always am with WOWA products). I used a minimum of product, but noticed that my droplet size wasn't small enough to get good, even coverage unless I used a bit more product (larger droplet sizes mean you have to use more product to achieve an even coat). So I went big... applying a coat that looked noticeably "wet". I noticed "high spots" that failed to quickly flash over. Rather than panic, grab an MF, and start wiping, I decided to wait. Turns out that was, surprisingly, the best thing to do; high spots did eventually cure, and the results from a "wet" coat look fantastic. If you happen to notice rainbow-y areas (high spots or areas of over application) when you're doing this, don't stress... just give it time, and they'll eventually flash over.
Next week, I'll probably go shopping for a pancake air compressor, as there's no way I'm gonna use 3 ounces of Opti-COAT on a car!
Opti-Seal really does a great job of popping the flake in my metallic paint... wow. Wish the pictures would have caught the pop.
I'm very impressed with the Paasche Talon air brush. :2thumbs:
Edit: Sheesh, forgot to "give credit where credit is due"! Huuge thanks to Anthony Orosco for this idea and the great information he provided on how to get it done!
Another Edit: I hope Bence doesn't mind that I've taken the liberty of stealing something he posted on another forum to help describe the look of Opti-Seal. Ah well, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?
Bence pretty well sums up exactly how I feel the OS looks, but couldn't quite put in to words. Here's what he said: "It is a subjective thing but after using both the OOS and the UPGP I think that the OOS looks better. The Ultima looks wet and classy only from flatter angles, from wher the surface has a nice glow and shimmer, otherwise it is losing something undefinied when the viewing angles start to grow. OOS look excellent from right angles too, so it wins in my book."
That's pretty much my opinion, as well. One sprayed-on coat doesn't really give the "thicker clear coat" look, but it really pops the flake and shows off the gloss when looked at straight on. As the viewing angle grows, the reflectivity steals the show.
Looks wise, OS is a stunner for sure.
Came yesterday afternoon. It's a Paasche Talon Dual Action air brush. Spent several hours last night spraying distilled water through it, trying to get the hang of the "Fan Air Cap" it comes with. This particular air cap is meant to give a spray pattern similar to an HVLP mini-gun. Turns out, it does a fairly nice job of it.
So today I gave the Charger a thorough washing, removing all remnants of LSP. I then wiped each panel down with a 50/50 IPA/distilled water mix prior to spraying each panel with Opti-Seal.
The good news:
The process was quick, easy, and the results were fantastic.
The bad news:
The compressor I bought with the air brush is puny. It's not capable of delivering enough pressure to get the droplet size down as small as I'd like. While it's not a complete deal killer, it does cause you to use much more product than I'd like. Yeah, I expected to use a lot more product, but I ended up using about 3 ounces to cover the entire vehicle (I did the glass, trim, everything except the wheels). In order for this to be a viable technique for Opti-COAT, I'm gonna need a bigger compressor to get the pressure up and the droplet size down.
Tip: if you're thinking about getting an airbrush or HVLP mini gun to apply WOWA sealants or Opti-Coat, do yourself a favor: Skip the expensive (and puny) dedicated air brush compressor, and grab a small pancake compressor from Sears, Home Depot, or Lowes. They are less expensive than a good air brush compressor, too. You'll end up with a far more versatile tool, as well.
My car hasn't seen the business end of a polisher in quite a while, so these pictures don't quite do justice to how well I imagine a properly polished vehicle would look after spraying, but it still looked *darn* good. Wish my photography skills were better, as these pictures really don't look as good as it does in person. (No jokes about the wheels... this was not a "proper" detailing, just an experiment in spraying).
A few thoughts on the process...
At first I was very concerned about over-application (as I always am with WOWA products). I used a minimum of product, but noticed that my droplet size wasn't small enough to get good, even coverage unless I used a bit more product (larger droplet sizes mean you have to use more product to achieve an even coat). So I went big... applying a coat that looked noticeably "wet". I noticed "high spots" that failed to quickly flash over. Rather than panic, grab an MF, and start wiping, I decided to wait. Turns out that was, surprisingly, the best thing to do; high spots did eventually cure, and the results from a "wet" coat look fantastic. If you happen to notice rainbow-y areas (high spots or areas of over application) when you're doing this, don't stress... just give it time, and they'll eventually flash over.
Next week, I'll probably go shopping for a pancake air compressor, as there's no way I'm gonna use 3 ounces of Opti-COAT on a car!
Opti-Seal really does a great job of popping the flake in my metallic paint... wow. Wish the pictures would have caught the pop.
I'm very impressed with the Paasche Talon air brush. :2thumbs:
Edit: Sheesh, forgot to "give credit where credit is due"! Huuge thanks to Anthony Orosco for this idea and the great information he provided on how to get it done!
Another Edit: I hope Bence doesn't mind that I've taken the liberty of stealing something he posted on another forum to help describe the look of Opti-Seal. Ah well, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?
Bence pretty well sums up exactly how I feel the OS looks, but couldn't quite put in to words. Here's what he said: "It is a subjective thing but after using both the OOS and the UPGP I think that the OOS looks better. The Ultima looks wet and classy only from flatter angles, from wher the surface has a nice glow and shimmer, otherwise it is losing something undefinied when the viewing angles start to grow. OOS look excellent from right angles too, so it wins in my book."That's pretty much my opinion, as well. One sprayed-on coat doesn't really give the "thicker clear coat" look, but it really pops the flake and shows off the gloss when looked at straight on. As the viewing angle grows, the reflectivity steals the show.
Looks wise, OS is a stunner for sure.
