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Opti-coat on Polished/Billet Aluminum

7K views 51 replies 15 participants last post by  02blackbullet 
#1 ·
I've been working on polishing up a few things on the car and contemplating different wheels and a friend is picking up some polished wheels for his daily as well.

I've contemplated Opti-coat for a while now and wanted to hear from those with experience in the matter. Would it help to hold the shine if all of the polished bits and wheels? I know it's supposedly great on paint but wondering about the bond to metal being as good.

Shiny...

 
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#3 ·
I recommend a product called "Gibbs Brand". I would like to provide you a link but the policies of this site won't allow it. So Google it and you will get a few hits. Select the "roadsters" link to get some great info and real world examples of how it preserves and protects billet and castings. It's not a polish but what it does is eliminate oxidation.
 
#4 ·
Hmm, that looks like something good to have around regardless. Thanks for the suggestions so far guys.

Also looking at 22ple sealant/coating.
 
#13 ·
I have Opti-Coat on the inside barrels of both sets of my polished CCW's. My 05 and 06 are both garage queens, but I do wipe the wheels down after each drive.

I typically polish the faces once a month during the summer, but did try to "polish" part of the inside barrels a few months ago and could not get my towel to turn grey/black. That's telling me that the Opti-Coat is solidly bonded to the metal.

I used to get a lot more marring on the inside barrels from wiping them down due to brake dust, but have noticed that the Opti-Coat is preventing that from happening.

All-in-all, I think the stuff is fantastic. Not sure if I'll use it on the faces or not as I like the raw shine of bare polished aluminum.
 
#14 ·
Can you tell a difference between the opticoated surface and the raw surface as far as appearance goes?

Opticoat really is amazing...I got overspray on the GTO and the CIVIC and claybared over the opticoat this weekend. No signs of it removing any of the opticoat and they are still beading great.
 
#20 ·
Opticoat topped with Sonax PNS
How longer after applying Opticoat do you apply Sonax Polymer Net shield? From what I have read online the consensus is that you should wait 3 months before applying anything on top of freshly applied Opticoat.

I know people say that the Opticoat cures within 24 hrs but it takes up to a month for it to fully harden, which is when I suppose that you could top it with Sonax Polymer Net Shield to reduce water spotting (which is initially caused due to lack of oils in the coating compared to a conventional liquid sealant).
 
#19 ·
It has been my experience that opticoat, or any wax/ sealant/ combo does very little for the appearance of the paint.

Anyone want to guess what this paint is topped with?





And before you ask...these pics are not upside down...!
 
#26 ·
Oh oh oh...I know this one.

Nothing.

Same thing this is topped with.




I'm thinking of doing the car after a small touch up/maintenance detail and also take the time to do the wheels and billet items. Maybe I'll do one and not another for a side by side comparison so it's documented for future questions that won't need to be asked.
 
#24 ·
Just FYI everyone Zoops Seal went out of business.
 
#31 ·
Opti-Gloss is the new 2.0. From what I've read, it's superior to 2.0.

I'm also a bit disappointed right now. I placed it on a friends daily driven, sits outside 24/7 hood in November. The car was throughly detailed this past weekend and the water just sits on the hood. Zero beading whatsoever. A bit shocked right now and am wondering if we did something wrong.
 
#32 ·
Thanks for the heads up. I'll look it up. I'm going to put it on the barrels of the whees as well like you mentioned further up in the thread.


I'll probably end up doing the faces too after a while, assuming it works like I want on the barrels.
 
#34 ·
Well, I had it on the hood of my wife's car thru last winter Oct 2013 - March 2014. The hood was still beading strong and showed nearly no marring from that horrible winter we had that year. Something had to have gone wrong with the application on my friends hood.

We just picked up a 2015 Cruze a few weeks ago and am going to do a test area on that hood this week.
 
#35 ·
Don't know what we could have done wrong with the hood.
Daily driven 2005 Volvo XC70, white, sits outside 24/7/365. Car gets a yearly polishing in the spring. We washed the car, it'd been several months since wax had been applied, so that was all gone. We then clay bared the hood, hood was bare and clean prior to application. If I remember correctly it was a pretty cool fall day, perhaps the temperature had an effect? The car hadn't been washed between that early November application and this past Saturday so it couldn't have been scrubbed off by washing.
 
#38 ·
Yes. Primed a foam applicator with an "X" and only used a few more drops to finish the hood. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes while we waited for any areas to not flash over. Any areas that still showed a haze got lightly knocked down with a microfiber and that was it.

Gonna try on the Cruze this week and see what happens.
 
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