alpha12

I was looking to apply opti-coat 2.0 to my 3 month old Lexus IS and was searching if this is adequate preparation:

Chemical Guys citrus wash
Optimum no rinse wash
Optimum opti-eraser
Optimum no rinse wash
15% Isopropyl Alcohol wash
OC 2.0

With detailed image's 25% off summer sale I was looking to buy all products needed and am basically starting with a blank slate of supplies so any adjusting to this regimen is invited.

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

Once you clean off all of the wax, you'll likely notice a fair share of clear coat marring in the form of swirls and the like. Before applying OC 2.0, you should polish/compound all of the defects to make your clear coat blemish free. Otherwise, the surface marring will not be able to be removed once OC 2.0 is applied afterwards until you aggressively machine polish the OC off.

Jetfire

iTrader: (3)

I agree with VT. Even though your car is only 3 months old. You should look into clay bar and polishing the paint because applying opticoat without the clay/polish will essentially seal in the dirt/swirls until you polish off all the opticoat. You may have overspray, rail dust, brake dust, and other contaminants along with dealer installed swirls on your paint even on a car fresh off the lot.

I used opticoat 2.0 and am very happy with it but I did spend 2 days polishing the car before applying opticoat.

To get the deep, warm perfect gloss, 90% of the result is prep and 10% is the sealant/wax

wash
clay
polish as necessary
ipa wipedown and polish more if needed.
opticoat

tea

i've been thinking about applying Opticoat to my car. Are there any long term side effects to this???

Greg@DI

As was said already, you'll need to determine the condition of your paint before applying OptiCoat 2.0 or any other coating for that matter. One way to think about it is if it's a daily driven car and has minor swirl marks, you can just clean it well and apply the coating as you'll get minor swirl marks here and there anyway. However, it's always recommended you polish, if anything to at least give the coating a good base for durability. Optimum recommends Hyper polish before the coating.

Not really any negative side effects except if you plan on polishing the car often and you may remove the coating bit by bit, making it an unnecessary expense. Otherwise it's the best way to protect your paint/clear coat.

Ivan @ DI