Optimum Power Clean Worth It?

BostonBull said:
@ what dillution?
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3:1. Very effective paint safe bug wash at that dillution ratio as well.



Since most Optimum products are relatively inexpensive (c'mon, seriously, 70-80 applications of Opti-Seal per bottle for $25 is CHEAP), it would be safe to assume that the price is due to the cost of the raw materials used to make OPC.
 
crew219 said:
I'm a huge fan of Optimum's Power Clean. A month or so ago, I posed a question to whether or not OPC could be used in lieu of the more expensive P21s TAW. Not many responses but I opted to try it out anyways.



I originally tried the 3:1 dilution as recommended by optimum, and have had great results with it. 3:1 is stronger / more effective than P21s TAW, but it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects on the paint. The few spots that I have let dry have had the typical white haze, which easily comes off with a rinse of the panel or a swipe of the wash mitt.



On bugs and road grime, two applications of OPC have allowed me to rinse the front bumper cleanly without agitation via sponge. It also works really well in cleaning off exhaust soot from the rear bumper and exhaust tips themselves.



Overall for $35, I'm a fan. I've noticed no lubricity issues when washing with OPC + meguiar's GC.



Dave
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I too am a user of P21S TAW and hate the $60 for 5 ltr, I think Im going to try the OPC for a change and well if I dont like it I can go back to TAW, Just hope OPC is just a safe on everything as TAW is.
 
I've become a huge fan of OPC. This is really a great product. I use it to clean my wheels, tires, engine, bug wash and just recently I started using it on interiors. I detailed my friend's Envoy recently and this had to be by far the dirties car I've ever seen. Imagine five years of sweat just caked onto the center armrest and driver side door...just nasty!! He said that he had tried different products on it and that it wasn't budging. I sprayed some OPC @ 3:1 and let it dwell until it was complety absorbed by the grime. I then gave it another light mist and wiped it all off on one pass. The armrest looked brand new again. The same thing happended with the door. It was at that moment that I became hooked on it.



The water where I live is super hard. If I let the windshield dry after hosing it off, it always looks like someone threw a bucket of muddy water on it. To combat this, I concocted a solution of Opt Car Wash (smells great!), OPC and distilled water. It leaves my windows crystal clear and it also helps to cut down on the amount of clutter. I no longer have a zillion different product bottles lying around.



Sorry for being long-winded. When I start talking about Optimum products, it's sometimes hard for me to stop. :)
 
Dragons4life said:
sorry if this is stupid..when people say 3:1 ratio..how much do i mix between these in terms of Oz or Liter used?
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3:1 means 3 parts water for every 1 part chemical. 3oz water + 1oz chemical=4oz total. Take the total you want to create and work backwards. 1gal = 128oz. 128 divided in to 4 parts is 1quart or 32oz. 3 parts water is 3quarts or 96oz. 1 part chemical is 1 quart or 32oz. add water (96oz)+chemical(32oz)=1 gallon of usable product.
 
Dragons4life said:
sorry if this is stupid..when people say 3:1 ratio..how much do i mix between these in terms of Oz or Liter used?
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To help you a little more, I used OPC @ 3:1 in a 32 oz. bottle. I mixed 8oz of OPC with 24oz. of water. If you take a look at most spray bottles, you'll notice that they have different dilution ratios on the side. Find the ratio that you want to use, fill with chemical to that line and then add your water to the full line. The full line is located near the top of the neck of the bottle. Hope that helps.
 
In a similar boat here. I see my garage growing products and am looking to keep the clutter to a minimum. I'm just going to use the info I'm learning here to keep up on our DDs (and a few family autos). I saw Scottwax's video on cleaning with ONR an OPC and was amazed how the OPC dissolved the dirt in a wheel well. Since we are coming up to winter here, I'll be washing with ONR in the garage.



I don't imagine that Meg's APC works the same way as demonstrated by OPC, does it?



And it's save to use as an interior vinyl cleaner?



I'll search some more, but does it work as a carpet cleaner (in lieu of Woolite)?
 
djs134 said:
In a similar boat here. I see my garage growing products and am looking to keep the clutter to a minimum. I'm just going to use the info I'm learning here to keep up on our DDs (and a few family autos). I saw Scottwax's video on cleaning with ONR an OPC and was amazed how the OPC dissolved the dirt in a wheel well. Since we are coming up to winter here, I'll be washing with ONR in the garage.



I don't imagine that Meg's APC works the same way as demonstrated by OPC, does it?



And it's save to use as an interior vinyl cleaner?



I'll search some more, but does it work as a carpet cleaner (in lieu of Woolite)?
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That's what I was looking into as well as I begin detailing [trying to find multi-purpose, multi-functioning chemicals].



Trying to use the APC+ at 4:1 to clean wheels and tires and 10:1 for interiors. The ONR for detailing spray and wash, etc. But I also saw the effectiveness of the OPC on the wheels and was impressed, thinking the APC nor ONR could do what it did in their dilutions.
 
I have the 17oz bottle, which is suppose to be already 3:1 (no need to dilute). I use ONR and OPC to clean wheels, where OPC to clean tough spots. I tried it on tires and I got the "orange". Dont know why. Maybe the 17oz is not 3:1 diluted?



I am thinking about using it on the interior, but the smells is a bit strong.
 
shadow85 said:
I have the 17oz bottle, which is suppose to be already 3:1 (no need to dilute). I use ONR and OPC to clean wheels, where OPC to clean tough spots. I tried it on tires and I got the "orange". Dont know why. Maybe the 17oz is not 3:1 diluted?



I am thinking about using it on the interior, but the smells is a bit strong.
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Dilute it more.



I have never tried OPClean, but for the cost there is much cheaper options out there. Like 20:1 or 40:1 on lighter stains.
 
Mixing ratio math:

I know it sounds simple, but to the "mathmatically challanged" ADD the two numbers of the ratio up and DIVIDE that into the FINAL amount you want. (It's OK to use a calculator!)

Example:

I want one quart (32 oz) of a 10:1 ratio solution.

The sumed (Added) parts of the ratio are 11.

So if I DIVIDE 32 oz by 11, I get 2.91 oz of APC is what I need mixed with 29.09 oz of water to dilute it. The 2.91oz + 29.,09 oz. = 32 oz (1 quart)

If you wanted a 1/2 gallon (64 oz) of 4:1 solution

I would use 5 as the sum to divide into 64, yielding 12.8 oz of APC and 51.2 oz of water to end up with 64 oz (1/2 gallon).



Here's a safety lesson about mixing:

Pour in the water FIRST, then the chemical you are trying to dilute.

WHY? Because the water acts to make a very diluted solution to begin with and the solution will get stronger as you add more chemical. Some chemicals, like sufuric acid react with water and will get VERY hot if water is poured into it. I know first hand because of that very mistake I made in a high school chemistry laboratory experiment and luckily, only had slight chemical burns on my shoulder(plus ruining my high school track T-shirt I had on). Now I know you may not be dealing with acids of this type, but it is still a good rule to follow. You may need to work with wheel /brake dust cleaners with hydrofluoric acid in them and if it spills or splashes up, it's a lot better to have a diluted water solution to deal with rather than an almost full strength chemical.
 
I was skeptic on OPC because of the cost as well, but figured since I liked most all Opt. products I'd try it.



My standby has been SimpleGreen classic, diluted 4:1. Then I tried Meg's APC+ (orange); I found it works best on interior plastics and carpets (actually great on carpets).



OPC when diluted really works great underhood. I haven't tried it much elsewhere but it REALLY turns surface dirt loose well and doesn't dry out rubber intake hoses and leaves the surface very 'clean'. It rinses really well, also works nice in door jambs.
 
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