My Definitive Optimum Product Thread

Leadfootluke

New member
I had this posted on another forum with hyperlinks to the website I obtained my products at, so I can remove the links if necessary. This is a thread, I hope to update regularly, with Optimum product discussion. To be honest, I have a lot of products, and am not pushing optimum but since I had a chance to try them out, I thought I would write a few reviews! I will do such with my Wolfgang products from PBMA, and future products I get a chance to try out.



[copy & paste]



A few weeks ago Dr. David Ghodoussi came to Truth In Detailing Chat. While in chat I had a chance to talk about some products I had wanted to try and decided on placing an order. After calling PAC and talking to Jack for a while [great guy] and Angelo [another great guy] I placed my order for Optimum Opti-Seal, and Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel to add to the Optimum Car Wax that Jack offered to send me to try out. I already had a gallon of Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine and a quart of Optimum Poli-Seal in my possession. I had an opportunity to try all 5 products on my boss's car this past Sunday. There are no before images and hardly any afters but I will provide my personal thoughts in regards to these products. The car is a 2003 Chevy Malibu that he bought late last summer, and it had not been washed since. This is through a Michigan Winter with salt and dirt on the roads too. There was an abundant amount of grease covering the side of the vehicle as well which was slung up from both tires covering the passenger doors and rear quarter panel. I will have a small write up integrating the product reviews as I go :)



Process

Megs APC+ at 4:1 to clean the grease off of the paint. Liberally soaked the wheels, tires, and wheel-wells in Megs APC+ at 4:1, followed by agitating and rinsing them. Washed with dawn and dried using waffle weave microfibers. After inspecting the paint, there was absolutely no need for clay. Even after being neglected for the last 6 months.



Reviews



Poli-Seal





The paint did not need clay, but it did need to be cleaned before it could be protected. Poli-Seal was applied with microfibers and buffed off with microfibers as well. Poli-Seal goes on very easy and is removed just as easy. What I like about Poli-Seal is that you can see the contamination coming out of the paint as soon as you buff in the product. Although we operated on silver paint, the areas that were cleaned with Poli-Seal were very apparent. Although I said clay was not needed, there was rail dust on the door panels which the Poli-Seal made very quick work of. The paint was instantly smoother and was protected too. As an AIO I was very impressed. I was more or less using this as a paint prep, but was going to add more protection to it shortly.



Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine





After finishing the vehicle, I washed it once more with Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine. Since the vehicle was moved from where it was washed to where we were working on it, the ONR removed residual dust left over from the Poli-Seal, and the wheels and wheel-wells/tires were cleaned once more.

I have been using ONR for the last 6 months and have been very happy with it's results. The ease of use, the look after using it, and the versatility. I have used ONR as a clay lubricant and as a quick detailer. As a clay lubricant it works excellent as the price is very affordable and the lubricity can be dialed up by adding a little more ONR. As a quick detailer, I can use it with confidence to remove dust and finger prints and leave a nice finish.



Opti-Seal







Opti-Seal is one heck of a cool product. This is the first WOWA product I have used and I was very happy with the results. I am using Optimum Car Wax on the paint, to test it out, but the Opti-Seal I used on the spoiler, glass, wheels, and other trim. It is very slick and if you use the right amount needs no further attention beyond the application of it. I actually did use it on my dads car, but just on the hood. After washing the sheeting was excellent as compared to the rest of the car which had OCW on it, which was beading nicely. I look forward to using Opti-Seal as a base on my next details.



Optimum Car Wax





This is the product I was sent to test out, and I really looked forward to using it. The claim that it would last as long as a paste wax, but it was in a spray form that just needed to be sprayed on and wiped off, is very appealing. On my boss's car, it added a great amount of gloss and slickness. I am amazed at how slick the paint feels after OCW has been applied. The ease of use makes me want to use this after every wash to ensure there is protection on the car because it is so quick and easy to use! I will be washing my boss's car for him to track the durability and not let anyone compromise the integrity of it.



Opti-Bond





The last product to review is Opti-Bond tire gel. This gel is fantastic in my book. I am not a huge fan of glossy wheels or wheel wells, and opti-bond is not a product that leaves that finish. It leaves a very clean looking surface. The application is easy, I applied it with a round microfiber applicator, not a gel applicator, because I then proceeded to dress the wheel wells. After applying and leaving to sit for a while, I wiped off the surfaced to ensure there was no 'standing product" to be slung off and wasted.



Pictures



There are just a few images that I took when I finished. For not being taken care of, the silver really came to life after the OCW.

IMG_0231.jpg




This is where the Opti-Seal was applied. It was extremely slick and glossy when finished.

IMG_0236.jpg




I shot the last 3 pictures in black and white because I think it is easier to see how "clean" the car looks. Not how shiny or wet the finish is, but how the final product looked. This was not a correction job, but merely a cleaning and protecting job. You can see the tires are not shining either, but more of a matte finish. I was happy with the finished product, and I offered to spend the afternoon on his car for free to test out my optimum products, so he was thrilled as well.



IMG_0238.jpg




IMG_0245.jpg




IMG_0248.jpg




I shot these tonight on my dads hood. I just added OCW on top of the Opti-Seal. This is on a horizontal panel so the water had a chance to bead. When it was washed with pressure the beads were very fine and slid right off of the vertical panels. This is just a pooling of water, but after using a flooding method, almost no water remained on the hood.



IMG_0262.jpg




IMG_0265.jpg






Thank you TID and PAC for the opportunity to try out some products! I hope to have some better pictures in the future and I hope I have a chance to try out the other Optimum Car Care products. Thanks for looking :woot2:



[/copy & paste]
 
Just the other week I washed my truck too. It was about 60* out and cloudy, but my truck had not been washed in 2 weeks and it desperately needed it. It is my daily driver with 140,000 miles too. All I did was wash with ONR, dry with a waffle weave MF, and then give it a quick coat of OCW. The finish is very glossy to say the least. I know these are not sun shots, but it was not sunny out :)



A few color/sepia comparisons followed with some B&W shots. Enjoy!































Quick shot of our Magnum that I washed the other night as well.



[/QUOTE]
 
Yes, I have not even used those products without a PC- or Makita depending on which one. Actually, I first used the Poly-Seal with my Cyclo and orange pads- super results!



I just bought an airless sprayer and will be working to apply with air pressure and spray gun.



rob
 
Bence said:
Opti-Bond...



I was thinking that. I did dilute Opti-Bond 1:1 in a water spray bottle and shook it very well. I can fully understand why a sprayer would be best. I did the dilution right after this writeup and I actually liked it better diluted.



An observation in regards to 1:1 OB. When I sprayed it on the tires, I misted it as best as I could and used a MF applicator, that was primed, so as to spread the OB evenly. The water in the mixture beaded off of the tire, as if it separated once it hit the tire. The usage of OB was still very low, and the finish was just as glossy as straight OB. I will be tracking the durability of it testing it in a few other ways.



Pictures will be added later, but I did dress the wheel wells and tires on our car at 1:1 and the tires on my truck.
 
Luke, have you tried the Optimum Car Wash? It's quite excellent and my favorite in the foam gun.
 
tom p. said:
Luke, have you tried the Optimum Car Wash? It's quite excellent and my favorite in the foam gun.



At this point, I have Wolfgang AutoBathe, and P21S shampoo, and ONR for washing protected finishes. Obviously, I will run out and I think I will pick up the car wash when I get a chance. I also don't have a foam gun yet, but I will keep that in mind as well. :bigups
 
Back
Top