Opti-Seal durability?

I

imported_Detailing Technology

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I use Optimum products and have no complaints with any I have used to date.



I have read posts of people getting 3-4 months from Opti-Seal, but not me. Im lucky to get 4 weeks.





By durability, I'm speaking of water beading and ease of washing. I notice the beads stop forming at 4 weeks and the car does require a bit of extra effort on the weekly wash to remove debris.



One problem I notice with product durability posts is that people re-apply the product at every weekly wash or opportunity they get. I'll read a post like, "I get 6 months from product X. Then 3 posts later, "I wash and reapply product X every week". Not valid. I have a car sitting outside 24/7 with g-Techniq on it. I am not going to post a single comment until March as 4 months will have past.



I'd like to see this product from a customer point of view. Any observations on customer/personal vehicles?
 
I think you would need to enhance it with QD and Spray wax like OID or OCW for it to live longer. It also depends on the soap you are using I suppose. I haven't seen any product that doesn't loose slickness after a few washes. That's why they make QD and Spray waxes to fill in the missing link between washing. IMHO.
 
Seems we all have the same durability with this product. I am always touching it up in the garage with OCW or OID. It has the slickest finish I have felt without attracting unwanted dust/polen.





I do like it, its a nice enhancer/topper, great for jambs, plastics, glass, and tough to get at areas. But I think it needs a base sealant for extended use.
 
I tried it a few times. It looks great the first couple of weeks but seemed to dull some after a few washes, and at the same time started to hold dirt a little more. It's good stuff, but not really for me.
 
I think Optimum needs to come put with a grand slam LSP.

Opti-Coat? No talk of it and its "pro only". They need a granite like base for Opti/OCW to enhance.



Poli-Seal and Opti-Seal have similar durability it seems.



OCW is another excellent product, but is not a durable LSP either.
 
Boy, I'm having better results than you folks. I put 3 coats of Opti seal on my car at the end of August and added a coat of CMW for fun after that in September. Basically four months later, with it too cold for my to add QD of any sort or other product, the OS is still going strong. As I noted in another post, I got hit by a raven bomb the other day and it came off with ease. I think my car still looks generally great, at least for winter. I have been lucky enough to have had it in the garage the majority of days, and not outside 24/7, but still, I'm impressed. It is still shedding dirt and doing its job for me at least.
 
UpNorth said:
Boy, I'm having better results than you folks. I put 3 coats of Opti seal on my car at the end of August and added a coat of CMW for fun after that in September. Basically four months later, with it too cold for my to add QD of any sort or other product, the OS is still going strong. As I noted in another post, I got hit by a raven bomb the other day and it came off with ease. I think my car still looks generally great, at least for winter. I have been lucky enough to have had it in the garage the majority of days, and not outside 24/7, but still, I'm impressed. It is still shedding dirt and doing its job for me at least.
Click to expand...



How can you say opti-seal is still going strong when you topped it with CMW? :confused:



That is like me saying Meg's gold class is durable but, I topped it with collinite.
 
Good point really. I should have said my tag team of OS and CMW are going strong. I guess in my mind I had jumped to the conclusion that after four months of winter, whatever top layer was there is probably long gone. But I agree, my facts weaken my defense of OS alone.



Have I mentioned how well a combination of OS & CMW handle winter?
 
I have not tried Opti-Seal yet, but I am using a comparable product, Ultima Paint Guard Plus, on my wife's CR-V. I have applied maybe four coats of UPGP between May and October. It's now been two months since the last application. I washed the car last week, and it still beads well and looks great. I am very pleased. The CR-V is a daily driver but is garaged in the evenings. I hope the UPGP gets me through to April. We shall see.
 
Sound like OptiCoat is what you want. It has the look of Optiseal (very similar) and relentless beading that lasts over a year. I applied and left it on my hood for months before I tried it on the rest of the car. It's not avalable to "just anyone" because it must be removed with abrasives if applied too thick and the surface needs to be as close to perfect as possible since you will be "coating" the paint and sealing in the defects. Since most DIY don't have the tools or ability to do proper prep, you may have to take it to a pro for this one step, then maintain yourself. It's not a product that's hard to us in any way, but Optimum feels that it should be applied professionally from a liability and credibility standpoint.

jdoria said:
I think Optimum needs to come put with a grand slam LSP.

Opti-Coat? No talk of it and its "pro only". They need a granite like base for Opti/OCW to enhance.



Poli-Seal and Opti-Seal have similar durability it seems.



OCW is another excellent product, but is not a durable LSP either.
Click to expand...
 
Just like with any LSP, your location, environment, exposure to sun, acid rain and fallout make it hard to give a blanket statement with regards to durability.
 
integritydetail said:
Sound like OptiCoat is what you want. It has the look of Optiseal (very similar) and relentless beading that lasts over a year. I applied and left it on my hood for months before I tried it on the rest of the car. It's not avalable to "just anyone" because it must be removed with abrasives if applied too thick and the surface needs to be as close to perfect as possible since you will be "coating" the paint and sealing in the defects. Since most DIY don't have the tools or ability to do proper prep, you may have to take it to a pro for this one step, then maintain yourself. It's not a product that's hard to us in any way, but Optimum feels that it should be applied professionally from a liability and credibility standpoint.
Click to expand...



Scottwax said:
Just like with any LSP, your location, environment, exposure to sun, acid rain and fallout make it hard to give a blanket statement with regards to durability.
Click to expand...



I wanted both of you to comment.



I think I want to try Opt-Coat after G-Techniq. G-Techniq has a similar application principle. I've painted plenty of cars, and am familiar with prepping, mixing, spraying, and finishing.



But I do see the need for a knock-out consumer grade product in the Optimum line up. Something between Opti-coat and Opti-Seal.
 
I'm growing very interested in Opti-Seal especially because of its WOWA aspect. I read on detailingworld.com that a lot of people would use 2-3 layers of wax (i.e. P21S 100%) and top is with 2-3 layers of Opti-Seal. They claimed that the finish is very similar to Z2-Pro but has similar durability to 1000p.



Now I was originally going to go with Z2 topped with Z8.



Has anyone had any experience or input about layering OS on top of a carnauba wax? Is it still ok to use Z8 on top of the OS? I thought you were suppose to layer OS then top with a wax?



Thanks.
 
I didn't want to talk about this, was afraid to get flamed here for saying it.. but I also get better results from OCW than OS. I think OCW looks better and I notice that it is there for a longer time than OS alone..meaning it beads, feels slick and have the wet look for a longer time..
 
OS + OCW is a hard combo to beat. Durability? Who cares you can do your whole car in 15 minutes flat. Literally it takes 5-10 minutes to do an entire car in Opti-Seal and then go over it with OCW or Aqua Wax which takes another 5 minutes tops. I like to use a short knap MF when buffing OCW/AW. It's really slick and looks awesome.



I think wash technique plays the biggest part of durability. If you use OS+OCW then do ONR maintance washes it will last alot longer than traditional washes from my experience.
 
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