While waiting for my buddy KC to reply, allow me to elaborate.

Orange peel is common on modern cars due to the solvents that are used in the paints or more specifically the clear coats. In the past when the environment was not such an issue the solvents used allowed the paint to cure with less of the orange peel effect. My understanding now is that the modern clears do not contain as much or contains less volatile solvents and this is what causes orange peel. Its also not about the cost of the paint as you can see higher end cars with lots of orange peel as well.

Orange peel is essentially unevenness in the clear coat so compounding and polishing 'might' improve the situation a little but because compounding will also remove the 'top' and 'bottom' of the imperfection, relatively speaking there will not be that much improvement. What you need to do is wetsand the car as the sanding will remove the 'top' of the imperfections to level it out with the surroundings.

Wetsanding is a whole different thing altogether as the clear coats are very thin and excessive removal through wetsanding/compounding could lead to premature clear coat failure. The show cars you see on TV etc. are usually sprayed with a thicker clear coat before being wetsanded to achieve that perfect mirror finish. However, wetsanding and the compounding/polishing required to remove the sanding marks is very time consuming and generally not recommended for daily driven cars.

An example of wetsanding on a car I did a couple of months ago. Notice the very severe paint defects.


Sanding with a sanding block.


Sanding marks.


After compounding and polish.


Documented the very extensive detail on my blog if you want to take a look:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2009/09/p...ni-special.html

Yes I also know where Auto Bavaria sends their cars. What I was explaining is that polishing on its own will do nothing for orange peel. If polishing is all they do then it would be good to see what the paint looks like before and after polishing. BMW and Merc have recently come up with harder clear coats like ceramic clears which as you rightfully pointed out have no or minimal orange peel effect BUT if you are looking to remove orange peel then wetsanding is the way to go.

Have attached a link regarding how environmentally friendly solvents contribute to the orange peel.
http://truthindetailing.com/Forum/showpost...761&postcount=7

True, true....

Orange peel on a just detailed Ferrari F430...

Proton Exora detail with ONR and other Optimum products.

Just got a shipment of ONR and some samples of other OPT products directly in from the US.


I have been using ONR for some time and thought it was fantastic. Couldn't wait to try out all of the other products. Tried out the Optimum Polish II, Optimum Finish, Opti-Seal, Optimum Car Wax and Optimum Instant Detailer.

Before. As is usual with a white car, lots of baked in dirt and stains in the paint.


ONR wash.


50/50.




Done.








The results from using the other OPT products were fantastic but what really blew me away was how EASY it was to achieve those results.

Posted a full step-by-step in depth review of every product on my blog:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/04/optimum-exora.html

After my Optimum Exora detail, I decided to carry out a more in depth trial of the Optimum line of compounds and polishes on a black car.

Started off with an Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) wash.

50/50 after ONR.


Taped up for the comparison test:


One section of the test.


Finishing off the test with Optimum Polish II & Optimum Finish.



After:






The original post is very, very long with an in depth look at the performance of each individual Optimum compound and polish. If you would like to read the entire review please visit my blog:

http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/04/o...-ii-finish.html

Thanks. Will be posting an ONR review soon.

Here's another one I did with my buddy KC.

Was invited by my detailing buddy KC to assist with a detail on a black Honda Accord..... hmm.... he must think I'm some kind of black Accord expert of something.

By the time I arrived, KC had already washed and clayed the Accord with Optimum No Rinse (ONR).




The owner has been really careful about washing and waxing his car but unfortunately was not equipped with the right products and this was the result...






After many, many, many hours of compounding with Meguiar's M105, polishing and finishing with Optimum Polish II and Optimum Finish, and sealing with Opti-Seal and Optimum Car Wax, we managed to get it to this condition.








Needless to say the owner bought some ONR and some quality microfiber towels to care for his car after seeing the results of our efforts.

To read more about the details of this detail, click the link below:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/04/h...-and-seech.html

I received a sample of Optimum Opti-Coat with a shipment of Optimum products from the US.

Opti-Coat is one of the latest products to be released by Optimum Polymer Technologies. According to Optimum, Opti-Coat forms a permanent coating that acts as a second layer of clear coat that bonds to all surfaces. As the Opti-Coat will seal in any paint defects or contamination on the surface, it is only sold to professional detailers who have to sign a release form before they can purchase the Opti-Coat.

Naturally, after signing a release form and reading about how Opti-Coat forms a permanent coating that acts as a second layer of clear coat, I had to try it out for myself.

Although the Opti-Coat is supposed to provide an additional layer of protection on top of the regular clear coat, what better way to try out a product that is supposed to act as an additional layer of clear coat than on a car with clear coat failure?

I had carried out a trial in 2009 on a Mazda 626 which suffered from clear coat failure on the trunk of the car. At that time I was evaluating the correction potential of a few Meguiar's products.

Some pictures from that trial. Before:


After:


The full details of the trial can be found here:
ProDetailing: Wetsanding+M105 vs M105 vs M86 vs M83 vs UC vs D151

Note that despite the clear coat failure as evident in the first picture, the paint defects were removed by compounding. However, this was only temporary as the paint would fade back to its original condition due to a lack of a clear coat.

While not designed for this purpose, would the Opti-Coat be able to act as a 'new' clear coat? Only one way to find out.....

Inspired by the Porsche Design Cayman I did a couple of weeks earlier (ProDetailing: Porsche Cayman Special Edition - Optimum Detail), I decided to replicate the stripes by taping off the middle of the trunk for the trial.



Compounded the trial area with Optimum Compound II + Meg's 2.0 Foam Cutting Pad. As the Opti-Coat will permanently seal the surface of the paint, it was critical to ensure that the surface was properly prepared so the OCII was followed up with Optimum Polish II and Optimum Finish.

Ready for Opti-Coat:


A few drops of Opti-Coat were applied to the surface of the paint and spread with a foam applicator pad until evenly distributed. For a product which is supposed to form a permanent coating, it was surprisingly easy to apply with no mixing of parts A & B or any special application techniques. In fact, the Opti-Coat was more like a supercharged version of Opti-Seal.

The Opti-Coat dries to the touch in 30 min and fully cures in 12 hours.

Can't say that there's much difference but the real test will be to see if the Opti-Coat can act as a 'new' clear coat and how long it can protect the paint.

Got the LED light out for some shots. Untreated:


After Opti-Coat:


Should have taped off one line down the middle and it would <i>really</i> have looked like the Porsche Design Cayman...






It will be interesting to see how the Opti-Coat performs over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more updates...

Original post on my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review

Will PM you.

According to Dr. G of Optimum, its more like a polymer coating. Once it hardens it is like a second layer of clear coat so the only way you can remove the layer is to wetsand or compound it off. That's why the surface preparation below is critical as whatever is there will be sealed in and that Optimum requires the buyer to sign a release form indicating that they understand this and the risks involved.

The reason I did the test was to see how long the coating actually lasts. I know there are a few other 'coating' products on the market but I don't think anyone has actually done a comparison between them. We shall see....

It has been two weeks since my attempt at replacing the clear coat on a clear coat failure situation with Opti-Coat. Took some pictures to monitor the progress of the Opti-Coat.
The condition of the test section after the Opti-Coat application two weeks ago.


2 weeks later, the area treated with Opti-Coat is still beading quite well.




After wiping down with ONR.




The Opti-Coat seems to be holding up well with some nice water beading and the test area still looking nice and glossy. But, there is a slight issue with a section of the test area.

Full review on my blog:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/05/o...iew-update.html

Finally managed to put together all of my pictures from the GT3 detail. Better late than never I suppose.















Full post on my blog:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/05/p...he-911-gt3.html

That's just about right. The location should be on the left if you're coming from the roundabout.

Whoever polish your car just didn't want to do it for you. Paint is paint. If its on fiber or plastic you just need to make sure it doesn't get too hot but saying that they do not polish fiber is just nonsense.

Hi. The Opti Coat is indeed for professional application only as it forms a semi-permanent coating on top of your paint that last >1 year+++ so any paint defects have to be fixed before the coating is applied otherwise it will be sealed in.

Opti Seal is a great product which also seals the paint but it does not form a coating so it needs to be reapplied regularly. I personally don't see much benefit to appealing multiple coats and prefer to apply it more regularly instead. If you wash your car with ONR and Opti Seal it weekly, which should take less than 30min to do, it would look great all the time!

Most welcome. Had fun that day especially the end where the kids were helping detail the vans and demo car.

Flex is very nice! Even a kid can use it....

My buddy Joe with the flex...



But still, for ultimate cutting power the rotary is still unbeatable. With the right pads, products and technique the rotary can finish just as well.

The brand new Optimum pads really impressed with the Optimum Hyper Polish. I never expected it to finish that well especially since the car was being used as a demo car for those that were attending to practice on. First time rotary users and the finish is hologram free....



Full sun pics just to make sure....


Hope everyone had a good time..... Thanks again to my buddy KC for organizing this.

Hmm.... can't post any more pics.... anyway.

Does Optimum Opti-Coat work?

They say a picture tells a thousand words..... at least this saves me from typing another 738 words.

Original post from my blog:
ProDetailing: Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Update after 15 Months

This post has been edited by seech: Aug 1 2011, 11:19 AM

The owner of this AMG Mercedes had contacted me some time ago as he wanted to ensure that his newly acquired pride and joy was properly protected from the harsh environmental conditions with a protective layer of Optimum Opti-Coat.

Optimum Opti-Coat forms a PERMANENT protective layer on the surface of the paint which helps protect the original paint from environmental damage. The Optimium Opti-Coat adds 2-3 microns to the thickness of the paint and is harder and more scratch resistant than the original factory paint. Optimum Opti-Coat also has superior hydrophobic properties which helps to ensure that dirt or other contaminants are less likely to bond with the paint and to make cleaning and maintaining the paint easier. Should there be any need to remove any stains which have bonded to the paint such as watermarks, the Optimum Opti-Coat can be polished while leaving the original factory paint untouched.

A common misconception with regards to coating is that the coat itself is the most important part of the process. The coating does matter but it is the surface preparation that makes all of the difference to the appearance of the paint and the coating is added as the last step to protect the paint. Any paint defects that are not corrected will be sealed in by the coating and hence it is critical to ensure the paint is properly corrected before coating.

This Mercedes Benz AMG E-Class took well over 15 hours and two-days to carry out the paint correction and Opti-Coating of the exterior and glass surfaces.



A....M....G....


Swirls and RIDS....




No need to PANIC!!!


Optimum Hyper Compound and Optimum Hyper Polish are here to save the day....




After many, many, hours... lots of sweat and a little beer....




Too many pics of the entire process to post here.

For the entire detail of this detail:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2011/08/o...s-benz-amg.html

After completing the full detail and Opti-Coating of the exterior, it was time to move on to the interior.







After completing the Optimum Opti-Coating very, very, early in the morning... I continued the next day or should I say later that same morning with a light interior cleaning with Optimum Opti-Clean and protected the leather with Optimum Protectant Plus.

Optimum Opti-Clean is the latest product from Optimum Polymer Technologies and is a revolutionary waterless wash which is suitable for cleaning exterior AND interior surfaces.






The glass and wheels were then coated with Optimum Opti-Coat.








Full details of this detail, posted on my blog:
http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2011/08/m...ss-coating.html

The Porsche 911 GT2 (997).... 523hp... 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds.... top speed 331 km/h (206 mph). First Porsche 911 to break 200 mph! Only 4 units in Malaysia...


Some of the worst swirls and RIDS...




A 50/50 shot of the corrected/uncorrected paintwork...


A summary of the detail:

Cleaned with ONR and Clayed.




Taped off.


Preparing for the 50/50 test area on the hood with Optimum Hyper Compound (OHC) on wool and Optimum Hyper Polish (OHP) on foam with rotary and Flex 3401 to finish.


Thanks to Mun aka muyo from Hypergloss (My Detailing Art) for helping out with this massive paint correction.




Part 2 coming soon...


For more of this epic correction, check out the full post at:

ProDetailing: Porsche 911 GT2 (997) Extreme Paint Correction!!!

This post has been edited by seech: Jan 31 2012, 09:17 AM