New Member with Questions

[David S 0]

After raising kids & sports on weekends, I'm getting back into detailing my cars.  the detail world has changed, lots of new companies & products. I chose Optimum for their synergy.

I want to start my full detail process within the few  weeks.

1)  Should I use GPS after Hyper Polish to enhance the gloss before using Gloss Coat?

2) Can you use their spray car wax occasionally to enhance gloss & UV protection over Gloss Coat? 

3) What can you use to prolong the Gloss Coat's protection?  Just Opti Seal or other products like the detail spray etc?

4) Is it OK to use their car wash when necessary or will it hurt the gloss coat?

I'll also start browsing the forum for answers to more questions.

Thank you in advance for everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A&J 74]

1)  Should I use GPS after Hyper Polish to enhance the gloss before using Gloss Coat?

No dont use GPS if you want to apply Gloss coat. GPS has some built in protection that will interfere with Gloss coat bonding to the paint. Hyper polish alone gives some mad gloss on its on. Also I would suggest you buy and use some OPT paint prep before you apply the coating.

2) Can you use their spray car wax occasionally to enhance gloss & UV protection over Gloss Coat? 

Yes ofcourse. OCW, opti-seal or hyper seal are all good ontop of Gloss coat.

3) What can you use to prolong the Gloss Coat's protection?  Just Opti Seal or other products like the detail spray etc?

If you get the newest version of opti-seal its got some SiO2 protection built in so thats good for topping up...the old version is fine as well. Opti coat hyper seal is also another option for a topper.

4) Is it OK to use their car wash when necessary or will it hurt the gloss coat?

Yes its perfectly fine. OPT synergy remember!

 

The car will get contaminated with iron particles over time so I also advise you use Ferrex & clay towel every 6 months. So basically wash, spray ferrex liberarly, use a clay towel to spread ferrex around the car, rinse the car after a few minutes and use some sort of protection product to dry and protect your paint.

[Ron@Optimum 334]

as usual, A&J is right on with his comments.  I want to reinforce not using GPS prior to Gloss-Coat (or after coating as well) - it has sealants that need to be removed before coating and polish that can reduce ceramics.  As for topping Gloss-Coat, Wax or Opti-Seal are great if used regularly, but will not have great durability on ceramic coatings.  Your best long term topper is Hyper Seal (up to 1 year) due to it's ceramic components.

[Jessica2008 0]

Can you give me some information about washing car? I want to know what to do before washing my car

[Ron@Optimum 334]

welcome to the Optimum Forum!  Not sure how to answer this question "what to do before washing the car"?  There are several ways to wash cars and products to do it, and they are listed with thorough instructions under "No Rinse Wash & Shine", "Opti-Clean", and other headings...but what to do before washing is a mystery!

[David S 0]

On 4/20/2022 at 12:51 AM, A&J said:

1)  Should I use GPS after Hyper Polish to enhance the gloss before using Gloss Coat?

No dont use GPS if you want to apply Gloss coat. GPS has some built in protection that will interfere with Gloss coat bonding to the paint. Hyper polish alone gives some mad gloss on its on. Also I would suggest you buy and use some OPT paint prep before you apply the coating.

2) Can you use their spray car wax occasionally to enhance gloss & UV protection over Gloss Coat? 

Yes ofcourse. OCW, opti-seal or hyper seal are all good ontop of Gloss coat.

3) What can you use to prolong the Gloss Coat's protection?  Just Opti Seal or other products like the detail spray etc?

If you get the newest version of opti-seal its got some SiO2 protection built in so thats good for topping up...the old version is fine as well. Opti coat hyper seal is also another option for a topper.

4) Is it OK to use their car wash when necessary or will it hurt the gloss coat?

Yes its perfectly fine. OPT synergy remember!

 

The car will get contaminated with iron particles over time so I also advise you use Ferrex & clay towel every 6 months. So basically wash, spray ferrex liberarly, use a clay towel to spread ferrex around the car, rinse the car after a few minutes and use some sort of protection product to dry and protect your paint.

Thank you for the great information. My car is a daily driver that sits out in the sun so looking for ways to keep the gloss coat & paint  protected for as long as I can from elements & UV.

[David S 0]

On 4/20/2022 at 7:22 AM, Ron@Optimum said:

as usual, A&J is right on with his comments.  I want to reinforce not using GPS prior to Gloss-Coat (or after coating as well) - it has sealants that need to be removed before coating and polish that can reduce ceramics.  As for topping Gloss-Coat, Wax or Opti-Seal are great if used regularly, but will not have great durability on ceramic coatings.  Your best long term topper is Hyper Seal (up to 1 year) due to it's ceramic components.

 

1 minute ago, David S said:

Thank you for the great information. My car is a daily driver that sits out in the sun so looking for ways to keep the gloss coat & paint  protected for as long as I can from elements & UV.

Ron, thanks to you & AJ for some great tips. After applying the gloss coat, & I use AJ's tip of applying Ferrex & claying is using either opti-sea, spray way a good protectant to use after this process?  I've read that Ferrex won't affect the Gloss Coat.

[A&J 74]

Ferrex wont affect Gloss coat...it may even restore some beading from the coating by removing imbeded ferrous particles from the coating. After decon either opti-seal or spray wax is good but like Ron said Opti coat hyper seal is a SiO2 spray sealant that will bond better then those 2 previosly mentioned protectants and will offer longer durability. But again all 3 will work fine as a protectant. If you see any drop in beading then just re-aplly opti seal or car wax after the next wash and your car will be protected again for another month or 2.

And you are welcome 👍

[Jessica2008 0]

Additionally, washing a car after it has been waxed and polished reduces the clear coat’s lifespan.

[David S 0]

What car wash should i use to remove road film / grime from my daily driver coated with Gloss Coat?  I will wash every few weeks or monthly.   I've read that ONR & Optimum car wash doesn't remove this as they are PH neutral?  I'm concerned that using a higher PH soap could remove or weaken the Gloss coat.  If a higher PH doesn't hurt gloss coat then I would follow up with either opti-seal or optimum spray wax.

[zombie1991 5]

ONR does fine. If you still think something is there then spray/foam on some Power clean diluted at 5-1 or even 10-1. Let it sit for a while and then ONR again and you’ll be fine.. I wash all winter as well with(central IL) ONR/Powerclean combo and have no issues. I then seal it with Spray Wax, opti-seal, or hyper seal. I think you read some bad information. A BRS and ONR is fine for removing  said film/grime. 

[Ron@Optimum 334]

not sure where you read that ONR will not remove road film or grime - Zombie is correct that ONR/Car Wash will be all you need 90% of the time.  Periodically (and I do mean "periodically") you can use stronger products like Power Clean, FerrreX, MDR to decontaminate your paint.  For regular maintenance Optimum does not recommend using product with pH over 10 (Power Clean is d13), so over use can reduce your coating. 

[A&J 74]

Ive been using ONR for years now and Ive never felt the need to use anything stronger during the winter time. ONR was always enough...well sometimes I use opti-clean for a pre spray but thats about it.

You could use a coin op pre wash to remove the majority of dirt if there is any near by and then drive home and do a onr wash.

[David S 0]

Thank you all for clearing this up.  Another reason why this forum is so valuable!!

[Mr.Outback 10]

There's also M-Wash for maintenance washing, and claims to repel airborne heavy metal pollution via its fluoropolymers (not sure how that affects brake dust (iron)).