Setec Astronomy

You know years ago on another forum there were some experiments run by one of the members, and it was shown that the things that detailers do to "strip" the surface don't really work. This was for a standard sealant--washed with Dawn and the beading went away--sealant stripped! Except then the surface was wiped with IPA and the beading returned. Dawn stripped! It turns out that a lot of things can "clog" the surface of a coating or sealant, which disrupts the beading, then if you can remove the contaminant without removing the LSP, then the beading will return. Bottom line we found out a lot of the things we thought were stripping sealants weren't really doing that. This was backed up by an anonymous chemist on that forum who actually worked at a mfr. of car products in Europe, and validated the results, telling us it was very difficult to chemically remove the silicone components from their mixing equipment, and that the idea that dish detergent or an IPA wipe would remove a sealant was nonsense.

I believe that hydrophobicity, if that's a word, is actually measured by the contact angle of the beading...the higher the contact angle the rounder the bead. Most of us that have waxed a lot of cars have had the same experience as the OP, where the beading changes over time, and take that as an indication that the protection is less than it was originally. As we have learned over the years, in a lot of instances the protection is still there, however it has become "clogged" by contaminants. In this case, it could be contaminants washed down with the rain, such as from overhanging trees, etc. Of course, as someone on another forum many years ago used to say, the best way to get that "just waxed" look...is to have just waxed the car. Heijneker, you might want to think about Gloss-Coat or another coating, or using ONRWW to get a little fresh wax with your wash.

Glad you got better results this time, Ron. As I noted previously, I use a cheap (foam) tire swipe, so it doesn't bother me if it gets torn up, it was 50 cents, works well.

I've been using just a cheap tire swipe to apply my ersatz TPC (GCR). I wash it out after and have been able to reuse it lots of times. I usually use OPC 1:3 to clean tires, so I use that a few times, then go through a few other tire cleaners before putting the coating on. The ribs can be tough to get clean, I've been using a scrub brush made by...if I can remember the name....S.M. Arnold. It's pretty stiff, maybe they should sell a brush like that in the Optimum store. I coated my tires a couple of weeks ago, I probably scrubbed them 6 or 7 times...and this was the backs, that have never even had dressing on them. I did find when I got to the 4th wheel, that just rinsing the brush out and continuing to scrub saved me some cleaning product at the end, rather than rinsing and re-spraying every time.

RO and DI together, that's a new one on me. I'll stick by my advice to the OP that he should get a jug of distilled water at the supermarket before he invests in a DI tank and and RO system.

Just out of curiosity, the base/color coat was a 1K paint, correct? Laquer? To backtrack a bit, I can't really follow what prep you did on the basecoat, but generally I understand that it's kind of porous and you wouldn't have had to do any prep other than removing any dust. Since CCR is basically a 1K clear, it probably has a lot higher solvent content than a current waterborne or even solventborne high solids 2K clear, it doesn't surprise me at all that it would remove basecoat, especially since you are "rubbing" vs. "spraying". I haven't been following CCR too much, but it does seem like a product with a very narrow range of applications, since it's not for failed clear, and not for good clear, only for "damaged clear". As always, use proper respiratory protection when using products like 2K clear or CCR, the effects of polyisocyanates can be cumulative.

I'm not sure I agree with that...since DI is an ion-exchange process and RO is a membrane filtration process, my knowledge is that neither of them will provide an end product that is as "pure" as properly distilled water, although the goal of all 3 is largely the same. There are pros and cons to each method which would lead you to choose one over the other in an industrial or business setting, but for the OP's use distilled water is a more than adequate solution; many detailers use distilled water from the supermarket at $1/gal for waterless and even rinseless washing.

You're mixing your units...clearcoat is generally 2 mils...which is about 50 microns, although anecdotally new cars today seem to be a bit thinner than 2 mils. I think the general rule of thumb was 1 mil of e-coat, 1-2 mils of primer, 1-2 mils of color, and 2 mils of clear, so you would wind up with 5-7 mils total depending on where you measured on the car.

I don't think you are required to list active ingredients if they are not "safety" issues--the purpose of an SDS is not to list the ingredients of a product, but to inform interested parties (distributors, shippers, users) if there are harmful ingredients, how to protect yourself from them, and how to clean up and dispose of the product in case of a spill.

Or it could be since this new formula is supposed to stain the media less, there was more dirt in the water and less on the media--what did you observe on the media staining, Ron?

It sounds like you are using too much Opti-Seal (Disclaimer: My Opti-Seal is the original version, from 1842 or whenever that was). The reason I was asking if you coated the trim (with the Gloss-Coat) is that some of us have experienced "slivering" of trim when using trim coatings (not Gloss-Coat or other OPT coatings). Apparently this can happen when you apply too much of those other coatings; it's like a "highspot", but usually takes much longer to appear. Anyway, my experience with (and the point of) WOWA sealants is to NOT have to remove residue, so if you are having to wipe more than a few isolated "high spots" then (as Ron noted in his reply while I was typing this), I think you are applying too much.

I notice you also have another thread where you say you "Opti Coated" your vehicle. I'm not sure if you meant Gloss-Coat, since Opti-Coat is a pro-only product and Opti-Coat 2.0 (the one-time consumer version) has been off the market for many years. Did you coat the mirrors before you applied the Opti-Seal?

I think you're probably overthinking this. I generally dry first and then apply OCW or Opti-Seal, I just think it works better that way...and I don't have to worry about my drying towels becoming hydrophobic.

I guess I'm easily confused. I had thought that many times in passing you had said something to the effect that "OPT does not test other manufacturer's products", but you've cleared it up now. Sorry for the confusion.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I thought in the past you've told us that Dr. G/Optimum doesn't test competitor's products. That's great if he has started to do that, it will certainly give him more perspective. EDIT: Here's something from a few months ago that apparently gave me the wrong idea: