"New formula" Optimum Protectant - *too* thick?

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paul34

New member
Some of you remember my older thread about odor issues with my OPP. David @ Optimum was very happy to help me, and I recently received my replacement gallon along with some Optimum Polish I ordered.



Couldn't get it to spray out in a mist in my new Rubbermaid spray bottle I got last week (fiddled with the nozzle for quite a while). I use these bottles for other chemicals, so they're trusted.



So I pour it in my empty and cleaned Meg's QD bottle (which many of us would proably agree is one of the best spray bottles out there) - and stream again! :confused: .



I tried shaking it today, quite a bit in fact (the bottle - keep your minds clean!), and it still sprayed out in basically a thick stream.



Oh no. I think its just too thick to spray in a mist. What should I do? The way it sprays now makes it nearly unusable on a car interior. I really love this stuff too, I'd hate to not be able to use the new formula... :(
 
I do spray it on my towel/applicator first always, but its too thick. Think of rather than spraying a mist, it just sprays a globbed stream onto the towel.



Then you're dealing with trying to apply something when one tiny portion of the towel is saturated with a goo of sorts - the rest of the towel dry. It's very hard to get it to go on properly in that case without saturating the surfaces to an armor-all appearance, then going through and wiping it down again. Wastes a LOT of product with that method.
 
I'm not sure what the base is - I didn't try using water because I figured that as a protectant, shouldn't it be hydrophobic anyway? So wouldn't it be a bit like adding water to a bottle of oil?
 
paul34 said:
I'm not sure what the base is - I didn't try using water because I figured that as a protectant, shouldn't it be hydrophobic anyway? So wouldn't it be a bit like adding water to a bottle of oil?
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I don't know but you could try a small test batch and see what happens
 
I spray it on an MF pad in the middle, then fold the pad inward which spreads the product over the surface of the pad.



I believe the rational for a thicker product is due to perceived quality vs thinner products. Optimum not only sells to enthusiasts and small detail shops/mobile detailers but to full service car washes that offer detailing. If I remember right, one of those chains felt that a thicker product would thought of as more protective by their customers. Whether or not that actually translates to a more durable interior protectant, I don't know.
 
Some are too thick to spray a fine mist. TOTL's Best Dressed is thick and needs to be thinned with water. So is Production's Prime. Both very good products. Best Dressed is one of my favorite dressings, long lasting and dilute able to low shine. If the product is cloudy, milky then it is probably water based, and could be diluted. If it is clear or tinted a color like blue, then it is probably solvent based.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. I have a feeling it is water-based and probably only takes on hydrophobic qualities after it is fully exposed and "cures" - but at any rate, I decided to shoot off an e-mail to Optimum asking whether it is ok to dilute. The "old" formula was indeed milky looking - and AFAIK the new one has a new scent and is made thicker. Thing is, I don't know what the process was to make it thicker - whether or not it involved a complete reformulation.



I'll let you all know the reply to the e-mail!
 
I got a reply today, and its okay to dilute.



Although unfortunately I did not keep track of how much water I added exactly, I added enough (maybe 10 oz of water to 20 oz? Not quite sure), and its much improved now! It actually sprays somewhat in a mist now, so its much easier to get on my towel/applicator and onto the surface.



It took some trial and error and adding more water each time to get to that point.



It still wants to "gob" near the center of the mist (its a heavy mist, more like a semi-fine spray), and is a bit heavy, but its actually usable now. Good stuff. I could probably dilute it a bit more, but... naa.
 
That's nice to know. Maybe Optimum should advertise it as a concentrate so people can get more use out of it and achieve different levels of shine :)
 
BlackElantraGT said:
That's nice to know. Maybe Optimum should advertise it as a concentrate so people can get more use out of it and achieve different levels of shine :)
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I agree. I think the closest analogy I can think of to how it was before is like trying to spray tire dressing GEL through a sprayer onto an absorbent towel and onto a surface. Rather difficult, heh.



I'm only surprised no one else has encountered this issue, especially compared with the ease of use of the "old" formula. Seems like a pretty significant thing to just "ignore" without any mention on the boards - unless I missed some threads.



At any rate, I hope this helps anyone else buying this product, since it really is nice, especially with the new scent. I just hope my diluting it didn't affect the actual functionality/durability too much.
 
paul34 said:
I agree. I think the closest analogy I can think of to how it was before is like trying to spray tire dressing GEL through a sprayer onto an absorbent towel and onto a surface. Rather difficult, heh.



I'm only surprised no one else has encountered this issue, especially compared with the ease of use of the "old" formula. Seems like a pretty significant thing to just "ignore" without any mention on the boards - unless I missed some threads.



At any rate, I hope this helps anyone else buying this product, since it really is nice, especially with the new scent. I just hope my diluting it didn't affect the actual functionality/durability too much.
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I mentioned it was thicker when I first got it, but not enough that I thought it was a problem.
 
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