[mikenap]

Sorry if this reply is a bit long-winded...

Originally Posted by bacon_cheese_beer

as above, im planning on getting a few swirl marks removed.

If you've already had your car OptiCoated, the swirls you see will can be from two different places.

1. If the car was polished before OptiCoat was applied, the swirls you see are likely in the top surface of the coating itself. These may be able to be polished out, but you do run the risk of compromising some of the coating.

2. If some existing swirls were not removed prior to the coating, then what you see is UNDER the coating and in the car's clearcoat. In this case, you WILL have to polish away the coating to reach the swirls. Once they are polished out, you will need to reapply the coating.

Originally Posted by xn7485

Yes it will. You're supposed to have prepped the surface prior to Opti-coat application.

Edit: Here's the idea behind Opticoat:
Metal layer // Primer layer // Paint layer // Clearcoat layer // Opti-coat
Up to clearcoat is what you get from factory. When dealerships prepare vehicles, they sometimes use orbital polishers that swirl up your clearcoat, so you would have needed to do some paint correction (light polish) to correct the swirl's you're trying to remove now.
The Opticoat layer is supposed to keep your finish looking the way it did when you applied Opticoat. Therefore proper prep work is required before its application (and why Opticoating costs so much). After that, Opticoat repels everything so that a simple wash would have your car looking like the day you put Opticoat on, that's the idea anyways.

Sorry, this isn't quite accurate. Swirl marks are from improper washing and drying, dry-wiping and other forms of careless contact with the car's paint. Buffer swirls or holograms, which you are referring to, are caused by rotary polishers, not orbitals. I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs or being preachy, but it's important to know the difference especially if you ask your detailer what machines he uses to correct paint. In this day and age, orbital polishers are becoming more and more popular because generally speaking, they DON'T cause buffer swirls.

Originally Posted by bacon_cheese_beer

so the opticoat is suppose to prevent swirls?

OptiCoat does not prevent swirls. It was never designed to. What it does is leave a semi-permanent coating on top of the factory paint that cleans easier and is more resistant to environmental contamination. It's like a permanent coat of wax, except it sheds dirt and grime much better than any wax or sealant. The byproduct is that since it cleans so easily, you have much less chance of scratching or swirling your car since contamination and debris come off with very little effort. But if you are careless with your washing and drying techniques, you still can put swirls into the coating.