Detail Mutant

Considering you are in Halifax and it is winter, it is best to have some additional topper during the curing time. Gloss Coat can get wet within a few hours without issue but I would be more concerned about the salt build up driving around affecting the coating during the 7 day cure time. If you don't have access to Opti-Seal, I would consider doing a light ONR wash of any salt build up daily. Yvan indicated than ONR only wash is safe after 24-48 hours but should be reserved for emergency cases. Or just be prepared to re-apply Gloss Coat on the lower body panels in the spring. Note, like you I prefer Hyper Seal as a drying aid/topper for the exterior surfaces but Opti-Seal is excellent for interior surfaces (especially windows combined with ONR). I've had my 8 oz container of Opti-Seal for 4 years and have barely used 2 oz while maintaining two vehicles. So an 8 oz bottle can easily last a lifetime and is good investment if you intend to apply more Optimum ceramic coatings.

Have fun. Only thing missing that I would recommend is potentially acquiring some Opti-Seal. Apply this after a minimum of 1 hour (maybe 2 hrs if below 15 deg C in garage) after application of Gloss Coat. This will protect Optimum ceramic coating for the one week cure time before full chemical resistance is achieved. Do not use Hyper Seal (not the same) as it will interfere with the cure process of Gloss Coat. Note, if it is currently cold in the garage (below 5 deg C), I would recommend waiting till spring. Coating relies on moisture in the air to properly cure which is significantly reduced at low temperatures. Optimum typically recommends minimum 15 deg C for coating application. Just did Gloss Coat to my newly acquired Blue Tesla Model 3 but I have a heater in my garage to get temp above 15 deg C.

I generally find there is little need to use an APC (such as Power Clean ) on tires with TPC as it eliminates the browning that typically occurs. I will typically just use ONR dampened microfiber towel for cleaning tires with TPC applied. For the rims, it depends on the amount of brake dust accumulated. If very little, the ONR dampened microfiber towel will probably be very effective (especially if rims are coated). For maintenance washes, I have started using P and S Brake Buster (at 1:1 dilution ratio). For pure cleaning power, Power Clean is superior but Brake Buster has certain advantages specifically for rims. It has a slight gel like consistency (even at 1:1 dilution) that allows it to cling to rims for longer dwell time. In fact undiluted, some of my sprayers have a hard time with this product. The second advantage is it contains a rust inhibitor. This is very apparent on large disk brakes where they do not turn deep orange after they dry unlike when washing using other APCs. Brake Buster is decent at cleaning lightly browned tires so you can use single product for rims and tires. However, if tires have severe browning (badly neglected) then Power Clean will get you the best result in fewer applications (1-2 vs 3-5).

I would not worry about the plastic trim as the "Hyper Triplets" are known not to stain plastic trim. In fact I have occasionally used Hyper Polish to remove built up compound/wax (white residue) build up on black plastic trim. The rubber trim I would be a bit more cautious as depending on the rubber, it can be slightly porous. This might allow some of the Hyper polish to be absorbed and slightly lighten the rubber trim (similar to how porous foam polishing pad can become discoloured). I am sure you can restore it to it's original condition using Power Clean (3:1 dilution ratio) but to be safe I would test a small area to confirm. It may be less work to tape up the rubber trim if it proves to be problematic.

I applied it to my Alpine White BMW wagon without issue. The key to see the flash (as stated by Ron) is good lighting and looking off angle of the panel. If looking straight down on the panel, it will be harder to see on lighter coloured vehicles.

When applying to non-coated car maybe not an issue but when I did my optimization training with Yvan Opti-Seal was to be applied 1 hour after coating application (to protect during 1 week cure time) and then if you wanted to boost gloss, OID could be applied half an hour after Opti-Seal. The main purpose for OID is to enhance gloss which may be partially lost if applied first with Opti-Seal afterwards. I would consider reversing yor process with Opti-Seal as drying aid and OID applied afterwards.

Ron I don't know if that answered my question. In my optimization training, it was stated that applying OCW (or ONRWW) first will not interfere with Opti-Seal bonding to the paint. Is this the same for Hyper-Seal? Or is it better to use plain ONR (if claying do not use OCW) to maximize the adhision of Hyper-Seal since it is a SiO2 based sealant vs a polymer based sealant.

I know Optimum has stated there is no compatibility issue between OCW (or ONRWW) and Opti-Seal in that Opti-Seal is able to penetrate wax and still bond with paint. I wonder if the same is true for Hyper Seal.

The best maintenance product to use on top of opti glass pro (or non pro glass coating) is Optimum Glass Clean and Protect. I would definitely stay away from putting Rain X on top of the Optimum glass coating on the windshield as it is more of wax type product that could impact clarity which is critical for the windshield. For the other windows with opti coat pro plus (ceramic coating) you could try Optimum Glass Clean and Protect but toppers for ceramic coatings may be most compatible. Opti-Seal may be best as it is also extremely good for interior of windows (note do not use Optimum Glass Clean and Protect on interior as it can cause condensation issues).

Glad to here it went well with no issues. I would let your observation washing with your Big Gold Sponge be your guide as to whether you need to clay at more frequent intervals. If it starts to grab/ feel gritty consider claying those sections again. Just make sure to use appropriate clay lube (OCW) and minimize pressure on the clay media to eliminate potential for marring.

Well it might depend on what constitutes free flowing water. In my community that means connecting up to a standard city water supply hose bib connection. I use the Worx Hydroshot (https://www.worx.com/en_CA/20v-hydroshot-portable-power-cleaner-wg625.html) which is a battery powered pressure washer that is able draw water from a standard 5 gal bucket using the supplied hose. I will typically fill up my 5 gal bucket (with gamma seal lid) with water from my rain barrel to perform car wash rinses. The rain water cannot be considered free flowing water as it has been harvested from my roof and it is better than city water as it is virtually mineral free(measured with water tester as 1 ppm vs 250 ppm for city water). I find 5 gal is enough to perform a complete rinse of midsize car (Toyota camry) including tires/rims. Larger trucks/SUVs I find need about 7 gal per rinse. Smaller cars use less than 5 gals. The Hydroshot is not overly powerful compared to standard pressure washers but is much more effective than standard city hose connection (75-90 psi for city vs 150-200 psi Hydroshot).

Personally, I will do prewash with OPC at 1:5 dilution ratio every 2-3 months but the mileage I put on my car is substantially less than you. If you are going to do a weekly OPC prewash, I would definitely use a higher dilution ratio which might not completely remove the Opti-Seal LSP. Ideally it should be at 1:10 (or higher) dilution ratio to minimize removal of polymer based LSP like Opti-Seal. If you are typically storing your RTU OPC at 1:3 dilution ratio then add to 2 parts water with your RTU solution (1:3 plus two additional equal parts water at 0:4) would result in final dilution ratio 1:11. Experiment to see if this solution is strong enough for your typical weekly contamination and adjust if needed (either higher or lower).

Talk to your Opti Coat installer on what you should do. Assuming the water is relatively low hardness, then there should be no issue. During my Optimization training, Yvan indicated that you can perform ONR wash as an emergency measure after 24 hours from the coating being applied (bird droppings or other contaminants within first week) with minimal impact to the coating . If hard water used then ONR wash would be prudent before the minerals get baked into the coating but you should confirm with your Opti Coat installer on how to proceed.

Depends on the type of dirt / contaminants. For heavily soiled areas , it is always best to start with rinsing (ideally with a moderate amount of water pressure) to knock off most of the heavy dirt. I usually don't rinse the entire vehicle just areas where there is visible dirt build up (typically front bumper, wheel arches, lower panels and backend for vans/suvs with square backend). For general agitation of power clean before performing ONR wash, I will use a good quality microfiber towel soaked in standard ONR dilution ratio. I do not return this towel to my ONR bucket to avoid contaminating the ONR solution with PC. The ONR solution provides additional lubrication over just PC in order to minimize chance of marring. I like using the Minx (or Minx Royale) from The Rag Company as it is very soft and absorbent which makes it ideal for pulling dirt from panel in order to minimize marring. I will typically do a full rinse afterwards to remove PC residue but you could still try your method of drying with microfiber to remove remaining PC. When completing ONR wash if I notice any stubborn tar or bug guts remaining, I will pull out Jersey Bug Scrubber soaked in ONR and apply small spray of PC to surface of scrubber to attack that stubborn area. I will go over again with ONR from BRS to flush area and dry as normal.

Opti-Coat No Rinse includes a Gloss Enhancer similar to that found in Optimum Instant Detailer which will improve the shine of any vehicle over the use of standard ONR. However I found when using a drying aid such as Opti-Coat Hyper Seal with OCNR can result in slight streaking that requires additional passes with drying media . I prefer to use standard ONR with Hyper Seal to avoid the streaking issues. I think the combination of gloss enhancer in OCNR plus drying aid is too much to apply in single step. So if not using drying aid, stick with OCNR for best results but if using drying aid stick with standard ONR for easier application.