Self healing Coating?

[Mr.Outback 1]

On his Youtube channel, Pan the Organizer put a portion of his Pro+ coating through a number of chemical applications in an experiment to see if that coating could be chemically removed from his vehicle.  After all 7 chemicals were applied/rinsed off, only the Citrol and the Acid based wheel cleaner appeared to cause damage, causing a reduction of beading and overall performance.  However, in same video Pan remarked that after two weeks and two washings, the Pro + coating recovered and performed similarly to the "unremoved" coating.

Is this a unique property of SIC or were there other factors in play that allowed Pro + to recover?  Could it possibly have been a thin layer of the damaged coating sloughing off during washing that allowed recovery?     Impressive protection , in any case.

[Ron@Optimum 221]

Optimum is careful to never tout "self healing" as a characteristic - hard to verify.  We do know that exposure to UV can heal etching in Opti-Coat Pro and have had numerous testimonials to that effect. 

[Mr.Outback 1]

31 minutes ago, Ron@Optimum said:

Optimum is careful to never tout "self healing" as a characteristic - hard to verify.  We do know that exposure to UV can heal etching in Opti-Coat Pro and have had numerous testimonials to that effect. 

Very interesting and good to know, thanks!

[Mr.Outback 1]

Forgot to ask....  is self healing a characteristic only for SIC coatings?  Or do SIO2 coatings also experience self healing - the "pro" ones, that is ?

[Ron@Optimum 221]

I can't answer that -

[Mr.Outback 1]

No worries.  Perhaps Dr. G could comment on Self Healing, either here or with Pan?   Pan has many subscribers and is enthusiastic about Opti-Coat's Pro+, and it would help me better understand how to care for my Pro+.  There are other you-tuber detailers baking coated car panels in the sun to test durabilities, but to my knowledge none are testing Opti-Coat products.

[Ron@Optimum 221]

Dr G is extremely busy running a company...

[Mr.Outback 1]

15 minutes ago, Ron@Optimum said:

Dr G is extremely busy running a company...

Understandable.

[Setec Astronomy 50]

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.

[Mr.Outback 1]

Thanks, Setec.  The detailing market's becoming incredibly cluttered with various products and promotions.  As a former engineer, facts from reputable sources are appreciated to help choose solid products based on science and engineering.  This forum offers some, while the Detailers Business Academy on Youtube offers others (interesting comments about rinse-less washes, for example).

I do wonder how much previous SIO2 contaminates coating application process!

[Ron@Optimum 221]

The difficulty in removing sealants is why we recommend polishing before applying ceramic coatings.  Even basic sealants like Opti-Seal require multiple decontamination or polish to insure they are gone.  Dr G stated that several applications of concentrated Power Clean are necessary to totally remove Hyper Seal (Optimum's most robust sealant).  That's also why he developed Paint Prep, something more effective than IPA.

[Mr.Outback 1]

6 hours ago, Ron@Optimum said:

The difficulty in removing sealants is why we recommend polishing before applying ceramic coatings.  Even basic sealants like Opti-Seal require multiple decontamination or polish to insure they are gone.  Dr G stated that several applications of concentrated Power Clean are necessary to totally remove Hyper Seal (Optimum's most robust sealant).  That's also why he developed Paint Prep, something more effective than IPA.

Other than removing robust SIO2 sealants, could Paint Prep cause any problems with Opti-Coat pro coatings?  For that matter, would applying Paint Prep twice (just to be sure) prep a previous Opti-Coat pro product for accepting another, newer gen Opti-coat pro product ?

[Ron@Optimum 221]

Paint Prep is formulated to be used before applying ceramics, but no, it won't remove a coating.  Only polish will totally remove Optimum Pro coatings.