My new 2012 WRX prep and opti-coat

[peekeesh]

id love to try those. unfortunately for me i dont have my own place to wash my car so i just use the self service carwash. do you have any advice when using those self service carwash? i usually just set it to soap then fire away, rinse with water and then dry the car using mf towels..

btw, oc was awesome.water beads like crazy when i wash the car this morning

[Eric05mx]

I've had the Opti-Coat on now for like 2 months and I'm pretty impressed with it so far. Next winter will be the ultimate test living in western PA. Especially on the exhaust since I did that too before installing it.

[Methodical4u]

id love to try those. unfortunately for me i dont have my own place to wash my car so i just use the self service carwash. do you have any advice when using those self service carwash? i usually just set it to soap then fire away, rinse with water and then dry the car using mf towels..

btw, oc was awesome.water beads like crazy when i wash the car this morning

Yeah, if you can put it on a soap setting and get it all sprayed down well, I would wait for just a few minutes after it's covered in soap and then rinse it just to help anything that might be stuck on, though I doubt it would be. Drying is fine with the MF towels, though you might want to think about just getting a big drying towel that's made just for drying. It's a little easier IMO. Either would be fine.

[90crxfreak]

subscribed for later use.

[90crxfreak]

ok.... my turn

posted from detailers bliss


I've washed/clayed/waxed many cars all by hand With what I have considered before to be great results. Now I own a brand new 2012 world rally blue WRX. I have almost no scratches (opted for the dealer to not wash my car). I have a tiny tiny scratch on my hood that is unnoticeable unless your nose is to the car. I also have a hologram from the factory. As a guy who doesn't use a machine (although i have a slow speed sears OB i think its a random because it doesn't just spin like a grinder would. [its my fathers. He's used it for years. Did auto body/paint for decades.. Gave it to me so I could practice.]) I want to and have purchased Opti-Coat 2.0.

I've watched hours of videos on waxing/claying/polishing.... (1.) Should I stay to what I am comfortable with or try a hand at my new car with the OB....

Hereis a List of the products and tools I have. They are all meguiars products due to cash and availability.

Tools: Gilmour Foam master 2
Multiple microfiber towels. Some thicker and of better quality of others
2 buckets, no grit guard
cheapo mitts and a dreadlock sponge
leaf blower
Old Sears OB no pads but have those clothy things that you put on.
AR Blue Clean 1500 PSI Electric power washer

Products:
Meg's Gold class wash and conditioner
Meg's Quick detailer (use for lubricant for Meg's clay)
Meg's Clay bars (new bars)
Meg's Ultimate Compound
(i dont know if i have the polish....)
Meg's Ultimate Liquid Wax
Meg's Quick wax (dont use anymore)
Meg's NXT Gen 2.0 wax (I like a lot. I had great success with it.)
Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0

I think that is about it. So besides the obvious steps... (foam, foam, rinse, 2BM, rinse, clay....) (2a.) After the clay should continue with the compound by hand or is that compound too aggressive for the paint? (b.) what about with the buffer? (3.) After that should I wash again or go right to wax?

[Methodical4u]

ok.... my turn

posted from detailers bliss


I've washed/clayed/waxed many cars all by hand With what I have considered before to be great results. Now I own a brand new 2012 world rally blue WRX. I have almost no scratches (opted for the dealer to not wash my car). I have a tiny tiny scratch on my hood that is unnoticeable unless your nose is to the car. I also have a hologram from the factory. As a guy who doesn't use a machine (although i have a slow speed sears OB i think its a random because it doesn't just spin like a grinder would. [its my fathers. He's used it for years. Did auto body/paint for decades.. Gave it to me so I could practice.]) I want to and have purchased Opti-Coat 2.0.

I've watched hours of videos on waxing/claying/polishing.... (1.) Should I stay to what I am comfortable with or try a hand at my new car with the OB....

Hereis a List of the products and tools I have. They are all meguiars products due to cash and availability.

Tools: Gilmour Foam master 2
Multiple microfiber towels. Some thicker and of better quality of others
2 buckets, no grit guard
cheapo mitts and a dreadlock sponge
leaf blower
Old Sears OB no pads but have those clothy things that you put on.
AR Blue Clean 1500 PSI Electric power washer

Products:
Meg's Gold class wash and conditioner
Meg's Quick detailer (use for lubricant for Meg's clay)
Meg's Clay bars (new bars)
Meg's Ultimate Compound
(i dont know if i have the polish....)
Meg's Ultimate Liquid Wax
Meg's Quick wax (dont use anymore)
Meg's NXT Gen 2.0 wax (I like a lot. I had great success with it.)
Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0

I think that is about it. So besides the obvious steps... (foam, foam, rinse, 2BM, rinse, clay....) (2a.) After the clay should continue with the compound by hand or is that compound too aggressive for the paint? (b.) what about with the buffer? (3.) After that should I wash again or go right to wax?

If you're going to OC the car then obviously you won't use the waxes. I'm not a big fan of the NXT stuff...it's just a very watered down version of standard wax (like many other waxes are) and seems to break down pretty fast. The car wash is fine, the QD is also fine, though if you are going to OC the car... again I wouldn't use it because it does have some oils and such in it and you want to get the surface as clean as possible. For me, a bucket of water and dawn dish soap works very well as a clay lubricant... it's very slick stuff and will help to break down oils/waxes that may already be on your paint.

Is this a hand held orbital buffer? If so I don't think that's going to do the job correctly, though i'm not positive of that particular model. There are OB's that have a similar motion, and then you have a DA polisher, but it has a lot more power and more OPM thus cutting down any marring much faster. I don't use meg's products much, the ultimate compound i'm not familiar with honestly. If you had the other polisher I could recommend some other polishes that are pretty good and not super expensive though. It's worth it to maybe save a little bit of money up and get a decent DA polisher like from Griot's or even meg's I think is supposed to be pretty good for the money.

[90crxfreak]

so no wax before the OC?

[Methodical4u]

so no wax before the OC?

NO!!! lol, you need to read more OC prep before you even attempt to use that stuff. Wax also will NEVER be needed over OC. The paint must be polished (if you choose) and an IPA wipedown must be done. Look through my posts on this and it should explain everything.

[90crxfreak]

I see now. I thought you always had to wax after polishing. I guess that would be the case of you weren't putting a sealant on.

[Methodical4u]

I see now. I thought you always had to wax after polishing. I guess that would be the case of you weren't putting a sealant on.

yes, you would always apply a LSP (last step product) after polishing.. in this case the LSP would be OC instead of a wax or standard sealant.

[90crxfreak]

Well because I had a panel to work with thanks to my license plate relocation kit I applied OC to that small cover leaving the inside part uncoated for later comparison.

What I did.
small dawn wash/rinse
then clayed... It was really clean. Didn't pick anything up from it.
polished with Meg's compound
another dawn bath/rinse
IPA wipedown
and then OC

So far it looks great. And I now understand the too much part of it. Even after it looks even with no rainbow streaks after it dries slightly there can be a small amount of residue you will need to wipe off....

[Methodical4u]

Well because I had a panel to work with thanks to my license plate relocation kit I applied OC to that small cover leaving the inside part uncoated for later comparison.

What I did.
small dawn wash/rinse
then clayed... It was really clean. Didn't pick anything up from it.
polished with Meg's compound
another dawn bath/rinse
IPA wipedown
and then OC

So far it looks great. And I now understand the too much part of it. Even after it looks even with no rainbow streaks after it dries slightly there can be a small amount of residue you will need to wipe off....

Yeah, it's always a good idea to wipe gently with a MF towel to knock down any high spots as a just in case, remember, on the areas of the car take more abuse such as the front, you can IPA that area again to make sure it's clean and can apply more coats. I have 2 on my bumper. Just make sure you wait a minimum of 3 hours before doing this... you can do it for up to 30 days... after that I don't think it sticks to well.... or maybe not at all.

[90crxfreak]

[peekeesh]

ok just to bump this thread.

Opticoat has held up great. The car is so much easier to clean as water still beads till now. pretty impressed on how it performs. By the way, the wrx sits outside everyday in socal.

[rage-wrx]

ok just to bump this thread.

Opticoat has held up great. The car is so much easier to clean as water still beads till now. pretty impressed on how it performs.

+1. Mine beads perfectly too.