Optimum Gloss-Coat


Ron Harris

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Before asking my question I just want to say thank you to Ron and others in this thread, there is a ton of great questions and answers (just read the whole sticky thread).

I applied Gloss Coat for the first time this past Friday after a half day of prep on the car.  After application I waited an hour, applied OptiSeal, then let the car sit in the garage overnight (16 hours total).  I had a 2 hour road trip the next day and against my better judgement I took the freshly coated car (the car looked absolutely stunning).  Weather forecast was sunny but with it warming up in the Midwest the bugs were around during the morning drive I accumulated my share of bug guts.  On the drive home I drove through some light rain.

So my question: I know the instructions say 8 hours no water, 7 days until soap.  ONR is not soap; safe to do a light ONR wash or should I wait and leave the car dirty until 7 days pass?

Thanks again!

 

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Thanks Seabie, there are many helpful posters on this Forum - the rule of thumb for Gloss-Coat is a minimum of 1 hour after coating to get wet and 7 days before use soap.   As Yvan suggests, you can use ONR for a light cleaning before 7 days.

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I also just did my first Gloss-Coat application for a former work colleague on a brand new vehicle.  I made sure to emphasize to him no car washes for next 7 days and also avoid sprinklers (tap water) to avoid any hard water spots in the next 7 days.

 

So I am curious by Yvan's suggestion that ONR  is OK within the 7 day window.  I knew that opti-seal could be applied after 1 hour, so what other optimum products for paint can be applied after 1 hour and before the 7 day window?

1. Power Clean (assume need to wait 7 days or does it depend on dilution ratio)

2. Ferex (again assume need to wait 7 days)

3,. Mineral Deposit Remover ( most likely 7 days but would like confirmation if sooner is possible in case of water spots)

4. ONR (and ONR Wash and Wax if there is a difference)

5. Optimum Car Wax

6. Opti-Clean

7. Optimum Instant Detailer and Gloss Enhancer

Just curious about the "Synergy" of optimum products as it applies to Gloss-Coat application

 

 

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Thanks Yvan.

 

That's what I was thinking (ideally wait seven days) but in case of "stuff" happening, the lighter cleaners can be used with minimal impact.

I was initially intimidated to apply ceramic coating where if I messed up, I would need to compound/polish to remove and start over.  But I found the Gloss-Coat very easy to apply (easier than my first application Klasse acrylic sealant) especially when  using Optimum Paint Prep.  I found there were minimal high spots (over 90% seemed to be absorbed into the paint) and only a light wipe ( virtually no pressure other than weight of towel) with a plush microfiber would level out the high spots.  I am definitely more confident on using Gloss-Coat in the future.  The key being being proper prep with Optimum products:

1. Prewash with Power clean (used 3:1 dilution ratio)

2. Wash with ONR followed with clay towel decontamination on  still wet panel

3. Dry surface with microfiber (mostly horizontal panels to remove significant moisture as Hyper Polish pad prep is dampened with ONR)

4. Use Hyper Polish to perfect paint and wipe down with ONR dampened towel after (used drying towel from step 3 as it was damp with ONR)

5. Wipe down panel with Paint Prep just before Gloss Coat application

6. Apply Gloss Coat with foam applicator (initially spread in circular motion per Yvan's instructions but I found I liked to  go back over in straight lines)

7. Give Gloss-Coat time to set (wait for oil slick on water to mostly disappear) then lightly wipe with plush microfiber to level potential high spots.

 

Thanks again Yvan and the rest of the Optimum team.  I have learned a lot from the YouTube videos as well as Optimum Synergy Podcasts.

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2 hours ago, Detail Mutant said:

Thanks Yvan.

 

That's what I was thinking (ideally wait seven days) but in case of "stuff" happening, the lighter cleaners can be used with minimal impact.

I was initially intimidated to apply ceramic coating where if I messed up, I would need to compound/polish to remove and start over.  But I found the Gloss-Coat very easy to apply (easier than my first application Klasse acrylic sealant) especially when  using Optimum Paint Prep.  I found there were minimal high spots (over 90% seemed to be absorbed into the paint) and only a light wipe ( virtually no pressure other than weight of towel) with a plush microfiber would level out the high spots.  I am definitely more confident on using Gloss-Coat in the future.  The key being being proper prep with Optimum products:

1. Prewash with Power clean (used 3:1 dilution ratio)

2. Wash with ONR followed with clay towel decontamination on  still wet panel

3. Dry surface with microfiber (mostly horizontal panels to remove significant moisture as Hyper Polish pad prep is dampened with ONR)

4. Use Hyper Polish to perfect paint and wipe down with ONR dampened towel after (used drying towel from step 3 as it was damp with ONR)

5. Wipe down panel with Paint Prep just before Gloss Coat application

6. Apply Gloss Coat with foam applicator (initially spread in circular motion per Yvan's instructions but I found I liked to  go back over in straight lines)

7. Give Gloss-Coat time to set (wait for oil slick on water to mostly disappear) then lightly wipe with plush microfiber to level potential high spots.

 

Thanks again Yvan and the rest of the Optimum team.  I have learned a lot from the YouTube videos as well as Optimum Synergy Podcasts.

I'm about to do my first application of Gloss Coat in a month or so and your plan seems foolproof. 

How did the actual application of the product feel? Is it similar to Opti-Seal where it almost feels like butter going on, or does it want to grip a bit more? 

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Hi the THiiiNG,

The Gloss Coat grabs a bit more than Opti-Seal but that may have more to do with the supplied foam applicators (yellow applicator without strap for Opti-Seal vs blue applicator with strap for Gloss-Coat).  I don't know for sure (but I'm sure one of the Optimum experts will chime in), on visual inspection the blue applicator looks more open foam and is possibly more absorbent which would tend to grab more.  That is why I believe Yvan recommends priming the blue applicator on first panel with more drops than on following panels.  I did the recommended 1/4 V pattern on the front edge (area primarily under index/middle/ring fingers)  of the applicator which takes 15 -20 drops and subsequent panels only apply 5-7 drops to replenish applicator.  Using the area under your fingers allows better pressure control. You don't need a lot a pressure, you are trying to spread the product not press it into the paint.

The part which grabbed the most was applying the Paint Prep.  The initial wet wipe of Paint Prep grabbed pretty hard and as a result didn't fully dry on first pass.  I moved microfiber to a dry side for second pass to fully dry.

 

Are you doing a new car (less than a 1000 km driven) or is it something older?  If it's older I would add an iron decontamination (such as Ferex) to paint after the Power Clean pre-wash.  I technical did a iron decontamination to the Chrome rims only even though the car had less than 1000 km as this is where brake dust accumulates first.  If it's a car that's seen a decent amount of time on the roads, iron filings will be embedded all over the lower body panels.

Also depending on the condition of the paint of an older vehicle, you may want to add Hyper Compound step prior to Hyper Polish.  But as Yvan has indicated in multiple videos you don't need to wipe off the Hyper Compound residue before using Hyper Polish (saving time and being more efficient Optimum Synergy).

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Thanks for the reply. My car is a VW R36 Passat (I posted a photo of it in the ONR section) so it is a used car, but I've recently done a 20 hour paint correction on it to get it back to about 95% defect removal. 

This will be my first time using a coating however, so I have the usual uncertainty that comes with it. I will still do a comprehensive wash and decontamination on it and even a quick Hyper Polish on a finishing pad to ensure a clean, smooth surface.

I'm sure once you've done it once the procedure won't be near as intimidating the next time. I'm actually excited to try it out as I'll also be getting Hyper Seal to top it with on maintence washes. I will be doing a comprehensive review of the whole process when I do, just because it's what I want to see and read before I do something like this. 

Nick

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If you've done 20 hours of paint correction on a single car, you are way ahead of me .  I'm building up to doing my wife's two year old van (expect 6-8 hours of paint correction with half the panels requiring two stages)  and eventually my 2011 BMW E91 wagon (probably need closer to 10 hours with minimum two stages on all panels).  The other confidence builder is having good lighting so you can see the oil slick on water on initial application gradually disappear to a few small high points.  Online videos just can't show this effect like seeing it in person.

When I did my former work colleagues vehicle ( a 2018 Kia Sorrento ) I managed to complete the entire vehicle (including rims) in  5.5 hours which included 30-40 minutes for polishing the front windshield with a glass polish and applying Aquapel to the front windshield. I did steps 2 thru 4 panel by panel in order to avoid moving around the vehicle continuously(and avoid the need to keep moving step platform for doing high roof of SUV).  I then took a break for lunch and then did steps 5 thru 7 panel by panel (about 1 to 1.5 hours) in order to avoid any dust settling on the surface between paint prep wipe and Gloss Coat application. Started with hood so that when I was done entire vehicle , I applied second coat to hood to ensure I had good coverage as this is the area likely to take the most abuse.

Best of luck but I'm sure you won't need any.

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3 hours ago, Detail Mutant said:

If you've done 20 hours of paint correction on a single car, you are way ahead of me .  I'm building up to doing my wife's two year old van (expect 6-8 hours of paint correction with half the panels requiring two stages)  and eventually my 2011 BMW E91 wagon (probably need closer to 10 hours with minimum two stages on all panels).  The other confidence builder is having good lighting so you can see the oil slick on water on initial application gradually disappear to a few small high points.  Online videos just can't show this effect like seeing it in person.

When I did my former work colleagues vehicle ( a 2018 Kia Sorrento ) I managed to complete the entire vehicle (including rims) in  5.5 hours which included 30-40 minutes for polishing the front windshield with a glass polish and applying Aquapel to the front windshield. I did steps 2 thru 4 panel by panel in order to avoid moving around the vehicle continuously(and avoid the need to keep moving step platform for doing high roof of SUV).  I then took a break for lunch and then did steps 5 thru 7 panel by panel (about 1 to 1.5 hours) in order to avoid any dust settling on the surface between paint prep wipe and Gloss Coat application. Started with hood so that when I was done entire vehicle , I applied second coat to hood to ensure I had good coverage as this is the area likely to take the most abuse.

Best of luck but I'm sure you won't need any.

Thanks for the info and help! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the Kia Sorrento back 8 days after Gloss-Coat application for a maintenance wash (ONR with Opti-Seal as drying aid) and to check for any high spots (as well as get some pictures).  I found one minor high spot on the roof near the shark fin antenna which my former work colleague doesn't care about since it isn't visible.  Rest of the vehicle looks pristine.  The chrome rims seemed extra slick when using Opti-Seal as drying aid.   Be interesting to see how easy the rims are to clean after more significant brake dust accumulation.  Next up will be my wife's Kia Sedona in the same colour (Platinum Graphite).

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It's fun being someone who's watched the metamorphosis of Coatings - from the original Opti-Guard to 2.0 to Opti-Coat Pro or Gloss-Coat - and now see the community of users experiment and assist each other discover how easy it is!  I talk to new customers daily and from the miracle of ONR to the high tech benefits of Coatings (all of them - paint, glass, metal, leather, fabric, trim) it's incredibly rewarding.  Look at that gorgeous glowing Kia - who would have thought it possible?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Is there any downside to using ONRWW and Opti-Seal as a drying agent after an hour of applying Gloss Coat?  Will the WW work well with the OS like ONRWS does?  Should I just do the WW first the follow up with the OS?  Love this forum, thanks for having me.  I am a long time user of more than 10 years of ONRWS and a newer fan of the rest of the Optimum line.  I have religiously used Wolfgang, Menzerna/ Jescar and Pooorboy's World Natty's blue in that timeframe.  Thanks for any and all help.

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