I thought my Opti Coat was done for

[mustangmike]

Today I washed my Opti Coated 03 Focus wagon. It had been a couple of weeks since the last wash, it was pretty dirty and had bird bombs and maple tree propellers all over it. The car sits outside 24/7 and had not been driven in about 2 weeks. As I wet the car down to begin the wash it looked like there was no protection at all on the car, there was no beading. The water was flat on the surface, especially on the roof. I was somewhat alarmed since the Opti Coat had only been on since last November, way too early for it to be depleted.

As I reached the rinse stage on the first panels that were washed the rinse water beaded nicely like it should have on an Opti Coated surface. When the wash was finished and the car was still wet all the panels were beading nicely except for the roof, it was only beading in the middle, the sides were flat like there was no protection.

My first thoughts were that I had somehow done an improper application, after all it was the first vehicle that I had applied Opti Coat to. Thinking back I remembered polishing the car with Optimum spray polish then doing an alcohol wipe before the Opti Coat. I did the roof first.

Then I started wondering if the paint surface being as dirty as it was affected the ability of the Opti Coat to bead, the surface tension of the water drops was compromised by the dirt not allowing the water drops to form. However, my 11 Escape, which also has been Opti Coated, beads right from the get go during a wash, but it spends it`s nights in my garage.

No explanation for the lack of beading on the sides of the roof other than I must not have covered that area well enough.

The wheels are still beading nicely. I`m thinking I need to polish the roof and recoat it with Opti Coat once again taking care to cover the surface completely.

I know, pics would be helpful. My camera batteries are dead and my memory card is full of vacation pics.

Am I missing something?

[Chris@Optimum]

Your reasoning is right on. Anything stuck to the surface could change the beading characteristics. My wheels won`t bead at all (BMW) until I clean them. The dirt/dust comes off easily because of the coating, and the beading is fully restored during the rinse.

To be sure there isn`t just some thing on the surface, wipe down the roof with low odor mineral spirits then check it again. If it still acts the same, try a mild clay bar. If at this point, you don`t see the beading restored you can just lightly polish with a finishing polish and reapply.

If you do need to reapply, remember that there`s no need to over polish. You only need to lightly rough the surface for the new to stick so a pass in two directions should do. After applying Opti Coat with just about every technique and applicator I can think of or find.

• I have discovered that if you apply in 12x12 or 18x18 sections instead of a whole panel at a time, it really doesn`t matter what you apply it with because you don`t have to spread it very far.

• I quickly go up-down once, side-side once, then circles like waxing once...anything seen after that gets lightly buffed with a MF.

• You may want to illuminate the section as you look from several angles before moving on to the next section. It goes pretty quick.

• Even if you were to miss excess product and allow it to dry, the product doesn`t fully harden for 30+ days so it can easily be fixed with a soft applicator and Poli Seal, GPS, or Finish by hand with a few quick passes.

[mustangmike]

Thanks for the verification Chris. I`ll give your suggestions a try.

[Todd@RUPES]

Your reasoning is right on. Anything stuck to the surface could change the beading characteristics. My wheels won`t bead at all (BMW) until I clean them. The dirt/dust comes off easily because of the coating, and the beading is fully restored during the rinse.

To be sure there isn`t just some thing on the surface, wipe down the roof with low odor mineral spirits then check it again. If it still acts the same, try a mild clay bar. If at this point, you don`t see the beading restored you can just lightly polish with a finishing polish and reapply.

If you do need to reapply, remember that there`s no need to over polish. You only need to lightly rough the surface for the new to stick so a pass in two directions should do. After applying Opti Coat with just about every technique and applicator I can think of or find.

• I have discovered that if you apply in 12x12 or 18x18 sections instead of a whole panel at a time, it really doesn`t matter what you apply it with because you don`t have to spread it very far.

• I quickly go up-down once, side-side once, then circles like waxing once...anything seen after that gets lightly buffed with a MF.

• You may want to illuminate the section as you look from several angles before moving on to the next section. It goes pretty quick.

• Even if you were to miss excess product and allow it to dry, the product doesn`t fully harden for 30+ days so it can easily be fixed with a soft applicator and Poli Seal, GPS, or Finish by hand with a few quick passes.

Great suggestions Chris!