Recommended method to completely remove Opti Coat Pro + before installing new ceramic coat?

[Sephirote]

Hi all, I'm well into my 4th year of Opti Coat Pro +. 

Overall, I have been really happy with the coating, but I'd like to install a fresh coating. 

What's the recommended method to fully remove the coating from the paint?

At the moment I'm thinking of using the below equipment.

- Compound: Koch Chemie Heavy Cut 9.02

- Pad: Rupes Bigfoot Blue Coarse Wool Pad

- Machine: DAS-6 PRO MK2 Dual Action Polisher

Thanks

[Ron@Optimum]

You may or may not need a compound/course wool pad - if you do use them, you will need to follow with polish/polishing pad to remove any marring. 

[Sephirote]

19 hours ago, Ron@Optimum said:

You may or may not need a compound/course wool pad - if you do use them, you will need to follow with polish/polishing pad to remove any marring. 

Hi @Ron@Optimum and thanks for the reply.

Could you elaborate on the "you may or may not need a compound/coar wool pad"?

I think you are implying that based on how much coating/protection is left, I could only need a less abrasive combo correct?

So I guess the idea is to test different combos on small sections but how do you figure out whether X combo has fully removed the coating?

With paint correction it's easy, I visually inspect the result, and based on the level of correction I can either go more abrasive or less but for removing a coating how can you tell? 

It would be useful to know so I don't unnecessarily use a more aggressive combo and therefore remove more clear coat than necessary 

Thanks in advance for the insights

 

EDIT: just thinking out loud, would measuring the paint could be used as a method to make sure the coating is removed?

SiC coatings mix with the clear coat if my memory serves me well, as opposed to SIO2 coatings which add a few microns on top of the clear coat. Based on this, would you know how many microns need to be removed to make sure the Opti Coat is removed?

 

[zombie1991]

A wool pad and aggressive compound IS probably too much. Most times to remove, or at least “scar” the coating enough to take another ceramic, a medium pad and just polish are needed. No one “KNOWS” how many microns need removed to be sure it’s ALL gone. A medium pad and polish will remove what it does and scar the rest. You’ll be fine.

[Ron@Optimum]

Zombie just said what I was trying to say, better. Always start with least aggressive correction (that is NOT compound/wool pad).  Coatings are about .02 microns, and OCP+ becomes part of the clear coat, so there's no way to avoid removing some clear.  OCP+ can be layered so it's not necessary to remove, simply polish, wipe down, and reapply.

[Sephirote]

18 hours ago, zombie1991 said:

A wool pad and aggressive compound IS probably too much. Most times to remove, or at least “scar” the coating enough to take another ceramic, a medium pad and just polish are needed. No one “KNOWS” how many microns need removed to be sure it’s ALL gone. A medium pad and polish will remove what it does and scar the rest. You’ll be fine.

That's great, I'm glad I asked, I was under the impression that you needed to go aggressive to remove a coating.

Ok so I could go with a white medium pad (Lake Country) and Koch Chemie H7.01 or F6.01.

For my personal knowledge, when you say a medium pad/polish will be enough to at least "scar" the coating enough to take another ceramic. I always read that ceramic coatings only bond to clear coat and that any protection (wax, sealant or ceramic coat) would prevent the ceramic coat from properly bonding. Does that mean that this is not true and that ceramic coats can bond over leftovers of a previous ceramic? Or is there a risk that the performance of the new ceramic will be diminished when applied over a "scared" old ceramic coat?

I wouldn't want to go through 2 days of work and end up with a suboptimal application of my new ceramic coat this is my main worry

15 hours ago, Ron@Optimum said:

Zombie just said what I was trying to say, better. Always start with least aggressive correction (that is NOT compound/wool pad).  Coatings are about .02 microns, and OCP+ becomes part of the clear coat, so there's no way to avoid removing some clear.  OCP+ can be layered so it's not necessary to remove, simply polish, wipe down, and reapply.

I'm not reapplying OCP+ hence why I want to fully remove the coating.

However, you provided me with an interesting piece of information there. If OCP+ is about .02 microns and as you said OCP+ becomes part of the clear coat, I could aim to remove more than .02 microns of clear coat that way I will be sure it's fully removed.

It's a bit more "scientific" than just polish and hope for the best 

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Ron, didn't you mean the coating is 2 microns?  Not .02?

[Ron@Optimum]

Setec, you are correct, average coating thickness is 2 microns (had to check my notes, old guy disease?).  Sephirote, you do need to remove wax/sealants for ceramic to bond, but not the ceramic. Caveat - that's true for Optimum coatings, can't speak for competitors.

[Sephirote]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:03 PM, Setec Astronomy said:

Ron, didn't you mean the coating is 2 microns?  Not .02?

Thanks for picking that up 👍

On 7/25/2024 at 11:47 PM, Ron@Optimum said:

Setec, you are correct, average coating thickness is 2 microns (had to check my notes, old guy disease?).  Sephirote, you do need to remove wax/sealants for ceramic to bond, but not the ceramic. Caveat - that's true for Optimum coatings, can't speak for competitors.

Good to know re ceramics not bonding only on wax/sealants. I thought it included old ceramic coats as well. 

Thanks for the help, everyone.