Opticoat Not Beading Up

[breser]

When I had Xpel Ultimate installed I also had Opticoat put on the car. The car got dirty considerably faster than the first car. There's some construction going on down the street from me and they've been dragging dirt onto the road which has ended up on my car. I assumed the road construction was the cause of this accelerated rate of gathering dirt.

Yesterday I washed the car and now I'm not so sure about my reasoning for the car getting dirty faster. I noticed that the top part of the car and the upper parts of the sides beaded immediately when they got wet. However, the lower portions of sides didn't bead. You'd have a sheen of water on them. I'm thinking this is not the way Opticoat is supposed to behave.

I'm debating taking it back to my installer and asking but before I did this I wanted to seek some second opinions. Should a car with Opticoat bead all the way down the sides when wet? Or does some of the run off turn into a sheet and stay there?

 

[Lloyd]

I've found that another coat of opticoat is necessary after about a year, but I am still getting sheeting after 1.5 years +. If anyone buffed the car after the initial application, then the opticoat is gone and it needs to be re-applied.

 

[breser]

I've found that another coat of opticoat is necessary after about a year, but I am still getting sheeting after 1.5 years +. If anyone buffed the car after the initial application, then the opticoat is gone and it needs to be re-applied.

This is an application that was done about 2 weeks ago. So I don't think that applies.

 

[Jean-Claude]

Sometimes, coatings can get bonded contaminants. Even though they are not as porous as clear coat, bonding is still possible. This can interfere with the sheeting/beading.

There are a few ways you can address bonded contaminants; chemically and abrasively. After you've washed the car, try using Carpro's IronX on the surface. This is a chemical means to decontaminate. In terms of abrasively decontaminating, you can attempt to clay bar the surface after it has been thoroughly washed. Be aware that clay bar is abrasive by nature and this could result in some level of marring on the surface.

Another possible cause is that proper prepping and/or application was not performed and the coating never bonded with the surface.

I urge you to reach out to your installer and explain what you're seeing. He may be able to address this without much effort. Even if an error was made, please give him an opportunity to right it. Many small business owners jump at the opportunity to correct anything that would reflect poorly on them or aggravate their loyal clients.

**Edit**
Whoops, I see that the coating was applied 2 weeks ago. Not that it's impossible, but it's unlikely that you already have bonding of contaminates. Reach out to your installer and express your concerns.

**I will leave the other bit up for others to reference should they encounter a similar situation and need advice**

 

[Zarwin]

I've got a few "spots" that stopped beading 6 months after application, but as long as the car is clean, it should bead everywhere. When mine was first applied, an entire fender was missed somehow. The guy was great about it and quick to fix the issue. I shot this short video to show the one fender compared to the rest of the car.

Fender missed? - YouTube

 

[CHG-ON]

I'd talk to your detailer. I have CQuartz and have incredible beading, even when dirty.

 

[breser]

I've got a few "spots" that stopped beading 6 months after application, but as long as the car is clean, it should bead everywhere. When mine was first applied, an entire fender was missed somehow. The guy was great about it and quick to fix the issue. I shot this short video to show the one fender compared to the rest of the car.

Fender missed? - YouTube

That is almost exactly what I'm talking about, different spots but same deal. I'll talk with the installer. For what it's worth I'm not worried about them taking care of it. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being unreasonable before I asked.

 

[Denarius]

Try doing a nice hand wash and actually wipe the surface clean. It should then bead again unless there is a problem. I have construction around me and get lots of fine dust. When it gets on thick enough the water sticks to it and doesn't bead. After getting the surface clean it beads just fine.

 

[paintpolisher]

I've found that another coat of opticoat is necessary after about a year, but I am still getting sheeting after 1.5 years +. If anyone buffed the car after the initial application, then the opticoat is gone and it needs to be re-applied.

Lloyd, As noted above you could just need a decon wash with Carpro reset, dry the surface and out of the sun apply IronX, let it sit and notice the red spots on your clear. Those are iron and other contaminants blocking your OptiCoat. Wash the IronX off using the carpro reset shampoo again. You OptiCoat Pro should act like day 30. My LEAF w/ OptiCoat Pro sits at the airport from 3-7 days a week and also sits out at home. I have to do the above procedure every 6 months to remove the contaminants.

 

[breser]

This turned out to be a non-issue. Washed it after I posted this thread and it was behaving as it should.

 

[JPP]

This turned out to be a non-issue. Washed it after I posted this thread and it was behaving as it should.

Excellent. FWIW, my detailer/pro wants to see my car every year to decontaminate the OptiCoat pro and check it. I am going to see him in a couple of days to have OptiGloss applied for a 'tune-up. Mine still beads up after about 20 months.