JRey350hou

Have a question on after care of opti-coat 2.0. very soon after purchasing my wife's 2013 -RX350 in Nov 2012, I had o/c 2.0 applied professionally. I'm interested in doing some diy on the vehicle to give it a more luster finish. Its Obsidian black and has only been hand washed...never been through car wash and I'm sure there are some but I don't see any visible swirls even when looking close to paint. So question is , is it ok to apply a wax, etc or will that cause issues with o/c that was put on. sorry kind of novice here and wasn't able to see after care when researching here in the forum. thanks to any input. Jess

sydtoosic

you can wax if you want but it will not stay on too long... i use Optimum Opti Seal and apply a light spritz on each panel while the car is still wet... it's a great drying agent and will leave a gloss the neighbors will envy. my car is Starfire Pearl and people can not believe how glossy she is. wax will not harm or degrade the OC. this is how she looks... if i can get white to shine, imagine what you can do to Obsidian... i've used SPNS, CPH2, CPRL, but i feel the Opti Seal worked the best. Car Pro Hydro 2 (CPH2) is something you should seriously consider also. BTW, OC2.0 was applied to my car 17 months ago and it's still going strong.

JRey350hou

Syd, thank you very much. WAs hoping someone like you would reply. I'm going to purchase several Optimum products...ONR, etc that I think will help keep the shine lasting. The heat here in Houston area is brutal in summer, but Fall is coming none to soon...so time to order and get into some good habits. I keep a very clean garage so no reason why I cant use ONR, when needed for quick wash. Can I ask who you order from , I think I know but....and also which 3-4 products would be good to get me started. Your car looks unbelievable btw, showed the wife and she was very impressed. She says how much you charge...hehe.
Jess

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Here's another reference for coating maintenance.

Maintaining Your Paint Coating

In general, routine washing is critical. Decontamination will be needed from time to time, and applying additional protection is optional, but recommended to keep your coating performing great for as long as possible. I'd recommend purchasing anything you need from www.Detailedimage.com if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.

-Zach

JRey350hou

Excellent info Zach, much appreciated. I will be ordering some of the wash shampoo you mention in article also. I have the proper micro towels, 2 bucket approach, just need to order a new inventory of products you and Syd mention.as you state in article, most like me are afraid to put anything on top of coating, I have just been using Adam's( pink color) detail spray after washings. Thank you both.

Jess

UDel

Like what others have said, you can put wax or sealant over Opti Coat but it won't bond to the paint and won't bond properly or very well to the Opti Coated finish and won't last on the finish very long. Not sure how you can tell how long it is on there or will last but without proper bonding onto the paint a sealant or wax is unlikely to stay on opti coat finish after a wash or two.

Nospinzone

Wow Syd, that really looks fantastic!

I wish I had known this stuff 20 years ago when I had my white pearl Q45a.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

For what it's worth... it doesn't take a paint coating to make the paint look great. 98% of the overall final results has to do with proper prep and processes leading up to applying the final paint protection product.

This Alpine White 335i was properly corrected and then topped with a standard polymer sealant... looked incredible.








A paint coating will certainly make any vehicle easier to maintain and keep that type of "just detailed" look for a much longer time (and also add much more protection).

LexBob2

Hi Zach. What a coincidence! I've been shopping for a white (in this case Mineral White Metallic) 328i and was going to ask you which product you feel would work/look best on this color?

Opti Coat Pro or CQuartz Finest? My priorities, in order are shine and then durability. My cars are garage kept and live a pretty easy low mileage life, and I usually keep them 4 years or so. I'd have an authorized detailer do the job with either product.

Thanks for any information. If you already have covered this, if you can send me the link, I would appreciate it.

The Alpine White 335i looks great.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Given your priorities, it is a clear choice for CQuartz Finest.... given your estimated 4 years of ownership and easy, low mileage life... I wouldn't be surprised if the coating lasted you 4 years if properly maintained.

If you need any more info, let me know

sydtoosic

you are very welcome... tell the wife i'm not that expensive. lol... optimum products are great for maintaining your vehicle. ONR, OOS, OID, OOC, OPC, (or CPIX... car pro iron X) Iron X is for decontamination purposes, won't hurt the coating.ONR is great, but don't forget to pre soak your panels before washing with ONR. OC is not really known for the gloss properties, durability is it's strong point. CQF, 22PLE, WHB and GTE are known for insane glossisity ( just made up that word ). your car is OB so you should have no problem at all kicking the gloss level up a few notches, with the OC. Optic Seal, Car Pro Reload, Car Pro Hydro 2, Sonax Polymer Net Shield, CG HV7, OID, just to name a few, will aid you in keeping that OB sparkling, oh and keeping the paint as perfect as possible, little to no swirls and or scratches will help a lot.

LexBob2

Zach, thanks for the information. Are you also pro-CQuartz Finest for a black car? That would be our second choice if we can't find the right white one.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Most definitely. CQuartz finest is stunning on any color. If you want picture proof id be happy to share some

LexBob2

Some pictures would be great. Tks.

JRey350hou

Ok...I appreciate it very much. Much more comfortable on what I can and cant do now. be ordering before end of week.