Optimum Opti-Coat Review

[seech]

I received a sample of Optimum Opti-Coat with a shipment of Optimum products from the US.

Opti-Coat is one of the latest products to be released by Optimum Polymer Technologies. According to Optimum, Opti-Coat forms a permanent coating that acts as a second layer of clear coat that bonds to all surfaces. As the Opti-Coat will seal in any paint defects or contamination on the surface, it is only sold to professional detailers who have to sign a release form before they can purchase the Opti-Coat.

Naturally, after signing a release form and reading about how Opti-Coat forms a permanent coating that acts as a second layer of clear coat, I had to try it out for myself.

Although the Opti-Coat is supposed to provide an additional layer of protection on top of the regular clear coat, what better way to try out a product that is supposed to act as an additional layer of clear coat than on a car with clear coat failure?

I had carried out a trial in 2009 on a Mazda 626 which suffered from clear coat failure on the trunk of the car. At that time I was evaluating the correction potential of a few Meguiar's products.

Some pictures from that trial. Before:

After:

The full details of the trial can be found here:
ProDetailing: Wetsanding+M105 vs M105 vs M86 vs M83 vs UC vs D151

Note that despite the clear coat failure as evident in the first picture, the paint defects were removed by compounding. However, this was only temporary as the paint would fade back to its original condition due to a lack of a clear coat.

While not designed for this purpose, would the Opti-Coat be able to act as a 'new' clear coat? Only one way to find out.....

The condition of the car about a year after the initial trial.

After an ONR wash.

Inspired by the Porsche Design Cayman I did a couple of weeks earlier (ProDetailing: Porsche Cayman Special Edition - Optimum Detail), I decided to replicate the stripes by taping off the middle of the trunk for the trial.

Compounded the trial area with Optimum Compound II + Meg's 2.0 Foam Cutting Pad. As the Opti-Coat will permanently seal the surface of the paint, it was critical to ensure that the surface was properly prepared so the OCII was followed up with Optimum Polish II and Optimum Finish.

Ready for Opti-Coat:

A few drops of Opti-Coat were applied to the surface of the paint and spread with a foam applicator pad until evenly distributed. For a product which is supposed to form a permanent coating, it was surprisingly easy to apply with no mixing of parts A & B or any special application techniques. In fact, the Opti-Coat was more like a supercharged version of Opti-Seal.

The Opti-Coat dries to the touch in 30 min and fully cures in 12 hours.

After Opti-Coat:

Can't say that there's much difference but the real test will be to see if the Opti-Coat can act as a 'new' clear coat and how long it can protect the paint.

Got the LED light out for some shots. Untreated:

50/50:

After Opti-Coat:

More comparison shots:

Should have taped off one line down the middle and it would <i>really</i> have looked like the Porsche Design Cayman...

It will be interesting to see how the Opti-Coat performs over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more updates...

Original post on my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review

 

[seech]

It has been two weeks since my attempt at replacing the clear coat on a clear coat failure situation with Opti-Coat. Took some pictures to monitor the progress of the Opti-Coat.
The condition of the test section after the Opti-Coat application two weeks ago.

2 weeks later, after spraying the area with ONR before wiping off.

The area treated with Opti-Coat is still beading quite well.

Untreated.

Opti-Coat.

After wiping down with ONR.

The Opti-Coat seems to be holding up well with some nice water beading and the test area still looking nice and glossy. But, there is a slight issue with a section of the test area.

Although the entire section is still glossy and the Opti-Coat seems to be sealing in the entire test area, the paint below the Opti-Coat at the edge of the test area seems to be fading.

However, the Opti-Coat seems to be working well on the top section.

Bottom.

Top.

Observations so far, with the exception of that one section, the Opti-Coat seems to be holding up well and preventing the clear-coat failure from reappearing. As for the section which is fading again, perhaps the compounding and polishing wasn't sufficient or the Opti-Coat was not applied thick enough in that area.

It will be interesting to see if the fading continues to spread and how long the rest of the test area will lasts.

Stay tuned for further updates...

Full posting on my blog:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/05/optimum-opti-coat-review-update.html

 

[kc2]

doc at work...shhhhh


interesting results there....as to why certain angle of the paint in diffrent parts reflect different results

cant wait to see the final results

 

[seech]

The Optimum Opti-Coat trial was started about a month ago on a car with clear coat failure to evaluate if the Opti-Coat would act as a 'new' clear coat and a follow up update was done two weeks later.

The initial results were simply astounding.

This was the state of the boot before anything was done.</div>

This was what it looked like after compounding, polishing and an application of Optimum Opti-Coat.

After two weeks, there were some issues with the paint fading at the edge of the test area.

It has now been another two weeks....

I was very keen to find out how the Opti-Coat was holding up as there was some issue of fading in the edge of the test area. As reported in the update two weeks ago, I suspect that this was due to the surface preparation as the rest of the test panel looked great. The only way to confirm this was to evaluate if the fading continue across the rest of the panel.

The Opti-Coat still looks great!!!

I was very anxious to view the results after another two weeks and after a quick ONR wipedown this was the results...

[i,g]http://lh5.ggpht.com/_KgHZeGuxwBw/TAmzRO6rwwI/AAAAAAAABcA/uQP4Blp-0WQ/s800/2010_06050047.JPG[/img]

If you compare this with two weeks ago, the faded areas still look the same.

How about the rest of the panel?

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Still looking pretty good...

Conclusion:
The Optimum Opti-Coat really does work. Although this was never meant to be its intended purpose, I could think of no better way to test what is supposed to be a second-layer of coating on a car which had clear coat failure.

There was a slight issue with the paint fading in one section of the test area but as the fading was confined to that area, I suspect that this is probably due to issues with the surface preparation.

This will be the final update as the rest of the boot lid will be corrected and sealed with Opti-Coat.

Thank you for your interest in this review.

 

[seech]

Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

How long does the Optimum Opti-Coat lasts? Does it really work?
- Optimum Opti-Coat is supposed to form a PERMANENT protective layer on top of your existing paint and is designed to be harder, more scratch resistant and has better water beading characteristics than the original paint.
- Optimum Opti-Coat is supposed to last and protect for as long as the coating is taken care of properly.
- Another advantage of getting your car coated is that should there be any issue with with scratches or watermarks which requires polishing or compounding, only the Optimum Opti-Coat will be affected as the original paint below the Optimum Opti-Coat will not be touched.

Does it really work? How long does it last?

The only way to tell is to try it out...

The surface of this test vehicle suffered from clearcoat failure. IF the Optimum Opti-Coat really works and forms an additional permanent protective layer on top of the paint, the coated area should remain the same and the paint should not oxidize and revert back to the original condition over time.

Early-May 2010: A section of the test area was taped off and corrected before the Optimum Opti-Coat was applied.

After correction. Nice and shiny with the gloss restored.

Time to try out the coating...

The surface really looks great!!!

Mid-May 2010: Great water beading!!!

June 2010: Still the same reflection...

May 2011: Water sheeting ONE YEAR LATER!!!

August 2011: After 15 MONTHS!!!

Does Optimum Opti-Coat work?

They say a picture tells a thousand words..... at least this saves me from typing another 738 words.

Original post from my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

 

[fishbonezken]

Nice!!!

 

[Veloc]

Hope I can try this one day... Looks divine...

 

[nommiey]

Impressive work with very nice products. I wish somebody could do a nice job like that to my car.

 

[seech]

Car Coatings? Hype or reality?

The internet has been abuzz lately with all of the various types of car coatings available on the market. Some 'coatings' cost only a few hundred ringgit to apply while others cost thousands. What is the difference?

Aside from the varying amount of work and effort put in to correcting the paint before the coating is applied, the main differentiating factor about coatings compared with traditional car protection products such as waxes and sealants, is that coatings offer longer term protection without the need to reapply the product. All of these products promise amazing durability and there have been some amazing claims about coating products in the market but how true are these claims and more importantly, how long does the coating last?

Optimum OptiCoat is manufactured in the USA and is claimed to form a PERMANENT protective layer on top of the existing factory paint. Is Optimum OptiCoat really permanent or is it just another unsubstantiated manufacturers claim?

The only way to find out is to put it to the test.

To date, I have not seen any other coating being put through a similar test.

I received one of the first bottles of Optimum OptiCoat from Dr. G of Optimum Polymer Technologies as a sample to test out. Obviously the best way to test anything out is to use it in the worst-case-scenario to see where the limits of the products are.

I had posted my review of the Optimum OptiCoat sometime in May 2010 where it was being tested out on a car with clear coat failure to see if the coating would prevent the paint from becoming oxidized again after some time. If the Optimum OptiCoat does indeed form a permanent barrier then even paint with clear coat failure should still be protected by the Optimum OptiCoat.
My previous post on Optimum OptiCoat can be found here:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Final Update

ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

I had planned to stop updating the status of the Optimum OptiCoat as even after 15 months there was still no sign of any oxidization or the symptoms of clear coat failure returning to the portion which had been OptiCoated.

However, the car which I carried out the coating test was being sold to a new owner so I thought that a Final Update was in order. How long does Optimum OptiCoat last? This is the oldest and most extreme test of the coating.

Is it permanent? I can say with certainty that it most certainly still appears to be permanent after 2 years!

The coating was applied on around May 2010 and it is now nearly 2 years since the coating was first applied. This was the condition of the paint with definite symptoms of clear coat failure.

After correction and application of Optimum OptiCoat.

Fast forward 2 years later...

The side without Optimum OptiCoat is definitely suffering from clear coat failure!

The OptiCoated side is still in good condition without any signs of oxidization or clear coat failure returning but there are now swirls in the coating from improper washing.

One of the other benefits of coating is that if there is a need to correct the surface in the future, only the coating will be affected leaving the original paint untouched and as the coating is harder than the original factory clear coat, paint defects are more easily removed. In this case a simple light polish with Optimum Hyper Polish on a polishing pad with the Flex 3401 was more than sufficient to correct the defects on the coating.

All done! Testing the reflection with a bottle of detailien alien wax!

I think this picture says it all....

Test of water beading.

How about some full sun shots?

Lovely color and definition to the area protected by Optimum OptiCoat.

Do coatings work?

I haven't seen similar post about other coatings but....

OPTIMUM OPTICOAT CERTAINLY DOES!

Original post on my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum OptiCoat Review After 2 years!

 

[Veloc]

They sure as hell do work. At least this one!

 

[ShowTime]

Master Seech/KC! I got an awesome idea. Try to Opti-Coat 2.0 a ride and then loan a paint thickness gauge(defelsko). Get the reading before compound, after compound, before polish, after polish and after opti-coated. It will be awesome! I guess it will add thickness... say... 4 mils? As thick as those security tint films?

 

[seech]

Master Seech/KC! I got an awesome idea. Try to Opti-Coat 2.0 a ride and then loan a paint thickness gauge(defelsko). Get the reading before compound, after compound, before polish, after polish and after opti-coated. It will be awesome! I guess it will add thickness... say... 4 mils? As thick as those security tint films?

Don't worry. Test will be carried out soon. :-)

 

[Izso]

Great product test! I'm curious though, something this sturdy will most probably be expensive. Could you tell me how much this would cost the average joe who has oxidised paint?

 

[seech]

Great product test! I'm curious though, something this sturdy will most probably be expensive. Could you tell me how much this would cost the average joe who has oxidised paint?

It's not really the method of choice to repair oxidized paint. Repainting would probably be much cheaper.

The reason for this test on oxidized paint was to illustrate the protective properties and durability of the OptiCoat. If it can protect oxidized paint, imagine what it can do on top of regular paint.

 

[Izso]

It's not really the method of choice to repair oxidized paint. Repainting would probably be much cheaper.

The reason for this test on oxidized paint was to illustrate the protective properties and durability of the OptiCoat. If it can protect oxidized paint, imagine what it can do on top of regular paint.

that's true. But with repainting, it usully involves a more significant investment in comparison. In my case I just need to fix the fenders. Could you perhaps PM me the cost of doing something like this just to fix the fenders? This is just for my info.