Swanicyouth
New member
So, my go to "clay" for a couple of years now has been the Chemical Guy's Clay Block / Ultima Elastafoam / Magna Sponge thingee. I'm not sure if all these products are identical - but they are sure damn close. The one I have came directly from CG's:
This thing has served me well, doesn't mar for me, and looks pretty much as new today as the day I bought it. I've put it in a plastic bag wet before for several months (accident); and while it was still "wet" at the end of that time - it did not start to delaminate or fall apart. It's basically a flawless detailing tool that is cheap. In fact the "tread" or "grain" on the thing shows zero sign of wear:
But, I do like to just try new things. Optimum came out with their version of the "clay block" a while back - and it didn't seem to go over too well. While I never used it, it didn't seem to me to receive much love (or good reviews).
Fast forward to recently, things seem to be changing at Optimum. There is no more OptiCoat and it has been said they are coming out with a Rupe's knock-off style polisher. For whatever reason, nobody in the USA seems to be selling this polisher yet to he best of my knowledge. Actually, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth regarding Optimum - a company known for innovating one of the first coatings, first spray polishes, and basically the first rinseless wash. Like it or hate it - that's my opinion.
So, now Optimum is also selling a "clay towel" similar to the Speedy Prep towel - albeit at a lower price & smaller size. You may expect me to do a hatchet job on this review since I voiced my opinions regarding Optimum - but you will have to read on to find out...
Here is the "block" and Optimum's "Opti-Clay" clay towel (fine):
The towel:
Some closeups of the towel:
As a comparison, here are pictures of the other towels - which I do not own (pictures from AG).
Speedy Prep:
Nano Skin:
Basically, my first impression of the towel was it looks sort of cheaply made. There are runs in the rubber coating that I do not believe are common on similar products. However, similar products cost over 2x as much ($60 for Speed Prep or Nano Skin towels) as this clay towel - which I believe I paid under $25 for. So, just on my initial inspection of the towel - I was not too impressed.
I'm not going to show a bunch of pictures of claying a car - as that really doesn't serve much of a purpose. Most people know how to do it, and if not teaching that skill is not my purpose here. But, basically I found folding the towel in fours (rubber side out) will give you four usable surfaces to clay. My clay lube of choice is always Pinnacle Waterless Wash.
Unfolded, the towel measures 8"x7". That means folded in fours it measures about 4"x3.5". Oddly enough (folded), that is pretty much the exact size of the clay block. As a comparison, both the Speedy Prep and Nano Skin towels are 12"x12" - which means folded on fours they are 6"x6".
So, to be honest - overall - I really liked this towel. For whatever reason, claying seemed to go faster than with the clay block. Also, it didn't mar my paint. Another thing I noticed, for reasons I can't describe, is I used a LOT less clay lube with the towel than with the block.
The towel seemed to work - and work well. The size may be a bit small for some - but it seemed good to me. When folded, the towel doesn't fold flat like a regular towel. The plastic coating gives it some cushion - so it almost acts like a thin block.
It did remove contamination well. It wasn't grabby - it glided right over the paint. Another interesting thing is the light color of the rubber surface showed when the towel was dirty - and it was time for a new side. One would think that cleaning the towel would just involve rinsing it with water. But, I found that was not the case.
I used 3 sides of the towel to "clay" my lightly contaminated SUV. Here are the after pics of the dirty towel - look closely and you can see 3 dirty sides and 1 clean side (towel was rinsed with water):
I always assumed on the black clay block that water would remove all the dirt, but as you can see on this towel - water does not. The towel seemed to be stained with dirt. However, I'm guessing this is the same phenomena going on with the black rubberized towels / blocks - but you simply can not see it.
So, now that I know it's dirty - I had to find a way to clean it. My guess is that anything meant to attack tar / grease or that contained a solvent would remove the dirt - but also would ruin the towel.
So, first I tried cleaning it with Meg's APC+ 1:10 using a pad cleaning brush to GENTLY agitate the rubber coating. The APC+ didn't touch the dirt - it just made no difference at all (no pictures - just see original dirty towel). Another reason for me to feel APCs basically are not good at cleaning rubber or plastic.
Then I figured I would use what I always say is the best thing out there to clean rubber or plastic - Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner 1:1. I was only a little surprised when the TS TC removed almost ALL of the dirt immediately using the same procedure as APC+ - without harming the towel.
After cleaning:
So my impressions of this product are its pretty good. I'm a little sketchy on how it will hold up. I believe Speedy Prep says you can get about 80 uses out of one of their towels. So, if you clay a lot - it may be worth it to purchase one of those. But, if you don't want to spend sixty bucks for a clay towel (and don't want a clay block) - the Opti Towel works pretty well.
This thing has served me well, doesn't mar for me, and looks pretty much as new today as the day I bought it. I've put it in a plastic bag wet before for several months (accident); and while it was still "wet" at the end of that time - it did not start to delaminate or fall apart. It's basically a flawless detailing tool that is cheap. In fact the "tread" or "grain" on the thing shows zero sign of wear:
But, I do like to just try new things. Optimum came out with their version of the "clay block" a while back - and it didn't seem to go over too well. While I never used it, it didn't seem to me to receive much love (or good reviews).
Fast forward to recently, things seem to be changing at Optimum. There is no more OptiCoat and it has been said they are coming out with a Rupe's knock-off style polisher. For whatever reason, nobody in the USA seems to be selling this polisher yet to he best of my knowledge. Actually, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth regarding Optimum - a company known for innovating one of the first coatings, first spray polishes, and basically the first rinseless wash. Like it or hate it - that's my opinion.
So, now Optimum is also selling a "clay towel" similar to the Speedy Prep towel - albeit at a lower price & smaller size. You may expect me to do a hatchet job on this review since I voiced my opinions regarding Optimum - but you will have to read on to find out...
Here is the "block" and Optimum's "Opti-Clay" clay towel (fine):
The towel:
Some closeups of the towel:
As a comparison, here are pictures of the other towels - which I do not own (pictures from AG).
Speedy Prep:
Nano Skin:
Basically, my first impression of the towel was it looks sort of cheaply made. There are runs in the rubber coating that I do not believe are common on similar products. However, similar products cost over 2x as much ($60 for Speed Prep or Nano Skin towels) as this clay towel - which I believe I paid under $25 for. So, just on my initial inspection of the towel - I was not too impressed.
I'm not going to show a bunch of pictures of claying a car - as that really doesn't serve much of a purpose. Most people know how to do it, and if not teaching that skill is not my purpose here. But, basically I found folding the towel in fours (rubber side out) will give you four usable surfaces to clay. My clay lube of choice is always Pinnacle Waterless Wash.
Unfolded, the towel measures 8"x7". That means folded in fours it measures about 4"x3.5". Oddly enough (folded), that is pretty much the exact size of the clay block. As a comparison, both the Speedy Prep and Nano Skin towels are 12"x12" - which means folded on fours they are 6"x6".
So, to be honest - overall - I really liked this towel. For whatever reason, claying seemed to go faster than with the clay block. Also, it didn't mar my paint. Another thing I noticed, for reasons I can't describe, is I used a LOT less clay lube with the towel than with the block.
The towel seemed to work - and work well. The size may be a bit small for some - but it seemed good to me. When folded, the towel doesn't fold flat like a regular towel. The plastic coating gives it some cushion - so it almost acts like a thin block.
It did remove contamination well. It wasn't grabby - it glided right over the paint. Another interesting thing is the light color of the rubber surface showed when the towel was dirty - and it was time for a new side. One would think that cleaning the towel would just involve rinsing it with water. But, I found that was not the case.
I used 3 sides of the towel to "clay" my lightly contaminated SUV. Here are the after pics of the dirty towel - look closely and you can see 3 dirty sides and 1 clean side (towel was rinsed with water):
I always assumed on the black clay block that water would remove all the dirt, but as you can see on this towel - water does not. The towel seemed to be stained with dirt. However, I'm guessing this is the same phenomena going on with the black rubberized towels / blocks - but you simply can not see it.
So, now that I know it's dirty - I had to find a way to clean it. My guess is that anything meant to attack tar / grease or that contained a solvent would remove the dirt - but also would ruin the towel.
So, first I tried cleaning it with Meg's APC+ 1:10 using a pad cleaning brush to GENTLY agitate the rubber coating. The APC+ didn't touch the dirt - it just made no difference at all (no pictures - just see original dirty towel). Another reason for me to feel APCs basically are not good at cleaning rubber or plastic.
Then I figured I would use what I always say is the best thing out there to clean rubber or plastic - Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner 1:1. I was only a little surprised when the TS TC removed almost ALL of the dirt immediately using the same procedure as APC+ - without harming the towel.
After cleaning:
So my impressions of this product are its pretty good. I'm a little sketchy on how it will hold up. I believe Speedy Prep says you can get about 80 uses out of one of their towels. So, if you clay a lot - it may be worth it to purchase one of those. But, if you don't want to spend sixty bucks for a clay towel (and don't want a clay block) - the Opti Towel works pretty well.
.