JLs Detailing ~ Opti Coating Honda Pilot

Discussion in 'Professional Detailer's Studio' started by JLs Detailing, Jul 8, 2010.

  1. JLs Detailing

    JLs Detailing DB Pro Supporter

    Well lets start out by saying that I've been wanting to try out the Opti Coating by Optimum since reading and researching it. I really think that the nanotechnology will be the wave of the future for detailing. There are very reputable reports of 3 years of durability and numerous for 1 year and still going strong. Well this is actually the perfect coating for most of the customers I see as it will allow them to go through touchless washes and never degrade the durability of the coating. I contacted Justin at Obsessive Details and went through the process to secure a syringe for myself. Justin was great at helping me out getting it and giving me some advice on application.

    The application takes a little getting used to but if you've ever used Opti Seal then you will see a resemblence in how the application is. It flash cures in 30 minutes and in even less time when it's hot and humid out. Well this requires you to work a bit fast and know what you are doing or you may end up with some high spots and then the only thing to do is break out the buffer and buff it off.

    This is the second car I have done with it and on the first I intentionally got it a little thick on the chrome door handles. After about 20 minutes I couldn't remove it with APC, Body Solvent, Straight alcohol or any type of cleaner. I'll talk more about the coating in the LSP section of this show and shine. This Pilot is owned by our receptionist at work and she just purchased it a month or so ago. She asked me what the most durable sealant/wax she could get because she wanted it to look great with minimal effort on her part. Well I told her about the Opti Coating and she was thrilled to pay for it. I get to see this Pilot everyday so I'll get to witness first hand how it holds up. Well here's what I did:

    Wheels/Wells/Tires: When she purchased the Pilot it had the cheapest wheels Honda has on them and they were just a notch above ugly. She hated them but didn't want to pay the extra money for a package that gave her wheels she wanted but didn't provide anything else she wanted. Well Honda wanted $700 a wheel for the upgraded wheels but I found a set of 4 on Ebay for $600 shipped! She bought them and let me clean them and coat them before she had them mounted.

    Well I rinsed them and cleaned them with Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff @ 3:1 and an old grout sponge. I then dried them with a leaf blower and then wiped them down with 70/30 mixture of alcohol/water to ensure nothing was on them. I then put some Opti Coating on a foam applicator and applied to the wheels and barrels. When I got the Pilot a few days after they were mounted for the detail I just cleaned them with little soap although they only needed a rinse!

    For the tires and wells they got the ol' standby Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff at 3:1 in a Gilmour 2 gallon pressurized sprayer and the long handle brush I got from Majestic Solutions. The tires were first dressed with MS Perfect 10 with a MS tire applicator, then with Megs Hyper Dressing @ 3:1 with another MS tire applicator. Then right before she picked it up I dressed them with a MS tire applicator and my Tropi-Care tire dressing. This gives a glossier look like a gel gives but is bone dry to the touch. Wells were dressed with MS Super Blue.

    Engine: I gave the engine a quick rinse with the CR Spotless, and sprayed it down with MS SGS. There was a lot of "tree debris" in just about every crevice there was so I blew it out with the leaf blower and for the rest of the engine I agitated it and re-rinsed. I dried most of the water with a leaf blower and then sprayed the engine bay down with Megs Hyper Dressing @ 3:1. I cranked the engine and let it run for about 20 minutes and voila it looks better than the day it left the Honda factory.

    Wash: For the bugs I used the CGs Strong Wash and a Majestic Solutions Bug Brick. The gas filler area and all badges and emblems were soaked down with MS SGS, agitated with a Swissvax Wheel brush, and rinsed before beginning the wash routine.

    You could tell while doing the initial rinse with the PW that there wasn't much LSP on this thing but I needed a good cleaning because to get a good cure from the Opti Coating you need a clean surface with no wax or oils. Since I wanted it really stripped I first did a soak of the entire car with MS SGS @3:1 and after letting it dwell it was rinsed. For the wash I went with my favorite LSP stripping formula and loaded up the foam cannon with 2 oz. of MS Super Foam and 1 oz. of MS Power Prep. Man this combo foams like crazy and cleans even better. I used my CR Spotless for the entire detail and the 2 bucket method. In one bucket I used 2 oz of Superfoam and an ounce of MS SGS (to ensure everything came off) and the other was a rinse bucket, both with grit guards. I used my Chenille MF wash mitt. The car was then dried with the good ol' smokin hot NC sun and a leaf blower.

    Clay: Since the Pilot was virtually brand new there was very little contamination on the paint so I went with Bilt Hamber soft clay for this one with CR Spotless water for lube.

    Opti Coating Prep: After claying and drying the car I wiped it down (paint, glass, and trim) with a 70/30 alcohol/water mixture and a CGs 530xl MF. Paint was "squeaky" clean after this. I did buff out a scratch below the drivers door handle before applying the coating. The metabo and some Scholl Concepts S17 made quick work of the scratches.

    Glass: The inside glass got AG Fast Glass Glass Cleaner with a MS Blue Huck glass MF and buffed dry with a Walmart WW. The outside glass got cleaned with the alcohol/water mixture described above.

    Interior: Well the interior didn't need a lot so I vacuumed it out with the shop vac. I dusted down the entire interior with some Swissvax look alike brushes from Micheals and then cleaned with MS Leather and Plastic cleaner and a MF mitt. It was then protected with Jeffs Werkstat Satin Prot.

    The door jambs were cleaned with a MF and MS Power Prep @15:1.

    LSP: Well like I said I have been wanting to use this Opti Coating for a while and decided to buy it and use it as an upsell. Needless to say it has been incredibly successful as an upsell. It comes in a syringe and there is 40cc of product. I use it on everything including paint, glass, trim and wheels and have been using 10cc per vehicle.

    I put a small amount of Opti Coating on a yellow foam applicator and apply it to a panel. It starts to evaporate and cure immediately so you have to work fast. After applying to a panel I wait about a minute or two and go back with a Danase Phat MF to smooth out any high areas that there might be. I work my way around the entire car applying to each panel including trim and glass. Application is a lot like that for Opti Seal only if you get Opti Seal a little thick you can go back hours later and even it out, but not so with the Opti Coating.

    After application the paint had a tremendous amount of reflectivity. It's definately a sealant look so if you don't like that then just stay away from this product because you probably won't like the look. It has a super slick look about it as well and it got even wetter and slicker looking the next day.

    She was ecstatic and said she had tons of compliments on her car that weekend. She has been thrilled with the coating and her wheels have been blindingly shiny since the application. Here are the before and afters:

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    Random reflection shots:

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    I did this car 2 weeks ago and today was the first time she took it through the touchless wash. She had travelled a great deal during that 2 weeks and accumulated a lot of bugs that have been baked on in 100 degree weather here. Well the touchless got 98% of the bugs and what it didn't get you could wipe away with your finger! After leaving the wash she drove about a block and a half to get lunch and said when she got there the car was completely dry. One thing I noticed about the coating was that it cut down on the amount of dust and dirt that accumulated on the liftgate area of the SUV. As you know these get dirty quick but even today before the wash it looked great.

    I'm sure I didn't answer all the questions about Opti Coating in the thread so if you have any others just post them up and I'll answer them.
     
  2. RustyBumper

    RustyBumper Jedi Nuba

    Outstanding job! Just to clarify, did you use Opti-Coat on the plastic mirror housing and the black plastic door pieces? If so, it does a fantastic job or making them look jet black.
     
  3. JLs Detailing

    JLs Detailing DB Pro Supporter

    Yes I used it on all the plastic trim including the mirrors. You are right they looked awesome after application and still look great today.
     
  4. Misha

    Misha Nuba Guru

    i wonder how this actualy works, does it self level or something, will surface reflection stay the same if applied properly?
     
  5. JLs Detailing

    JLs Detailing DB Pro Supporter

    Not sure I'm following the question.:shead:
     
  6. Deep Gloss Auto Salon

    Deep Gloss Auto Salon DB Pro Supporter

    Great work as always JL...
     
  7. 911Fanatic

    911Fanatic DB Pro Supporter

    Awesome job JL! The reflectivity off that sealant is unreal. Gonna have to get some.
     
  8. Misha

    Misha Nuba Guru

    im trying to figure out how it is applied and how does it lay on surface? is it similar how ppl apply urethane on headlighs? i dont know how to formulate this question,video would be nice :)
     
  9. RustyBumper

    RustyBumper Jedi Nuba

    Think of it like Opti-Seal on steroids. It does not self level. If you get some areas where Opti-Coat is higher than other areas, you can not buff it off with a mf towel. The only way to level it is by machine buffing it off. Thinner is better with this product. When done properly, the coating will last a long time and it's reflective properties are awesome!
     
  10. supercharged

    supercharged DB Forum Supporter

    amazing work, JL! Looks like you like Opti-Coating! I wanted to try it for myself, but then again, I don't really need that much of durability...
     
  11. Carn

    Carn Welcome to Detailing

    Terrific job JL, the sliver looks clean and crisp :thumb:

    Interesting to see the product applied to all the trim, etc...I'm keen to see how it holds up especially on the plastics.
     
  12. Pats300zx

    Pats300zx Official DB Moderator

    Awesome job JL. I am sure the owner was thrilled with the outcome.
     
  13. JLs Detailing

    JLs Detailing DB Pro Supporter

    Thanks Jason.

    Ken you really should try it as like you said it's reflectivity is incredible and it got even more so the second day.

    Ok I see what you mean and no it's not self leveling. Like RustyBumper says below (great explanation by the way) it's best to go on thin and apply like you would Opti Seal. Only con is it's really hard to see coverae on light colored cars. I did a black truck that I'll be posting up soon and it was easier to see coverage. Because of the lighting in my garage the hood is the hardest for me to see coverage on so I do one layer and about 10 minutes later do another one to ensure I got it all.

    Great response there and thanks RustyBumper.

    Yeah man I really like it a lot! I fully understand about not needing that much durability if you are OCD like we are over our own cars.

    Thanks David! So far I've done two silvers, a champagne, and a black and it looked great on all of them. I have a lot of different colors lined up in the next few weeks to get it as well! I love how you put it on everything.

    Yeah she was thrilled with it. Believe it or not she bought the car sight unseen as the dealer said they had a silver one they could get for her so she had them get it. Well when she picked it up she said she was never really thrilled because the silver looked so dull. Well after the detail she said she fell in love with the color as that's what she was expecting when she picked it up from the dealer.
     
  14. corrswitch

    corrswitch Jedi Nuba

    thnx for the detailed information. You've answered a lot of questions I had in mind. Keep us posted on how it works for you.
     
  15. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    That paint is incredibly bright, wow!
     
  16. JLs Detailing

    JLs Detailing DB Pro Supporter

    No problem and I'll certainly keep you posted on how it holds up.

    You are right Piet and it was brighter the next day.
     
  17. Obsessive Detail

    Obsessive Detail Pro Detailer - Lifetime Member

    Nice writeup JL! Opti Coat is an excellent product and gets easier and easier to use after each application. I will be doing a 25ft Baja boat very soon that I will be putting that coating on, I'm gonna make a point to take some pics!
     
  18. Dangler

    Dangler Birth of a Detailer

    wow, looks great. I'm looking to pick up some Opti-Coat in the near future.
     

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