Poli-seal, Opti-Seal and OCW performance

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charlestek

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I layered my car with Poli-Seal, Opti-Seal and OCW about a month and a half ago.
I've been using Meguiars car wash on the car fairly frequently. As far as I can tell the combination thus far has poor durability as I no longer get any beading (although I remember some people commenting that the products don't cause beading) and I've got some water spotting etched on top of the products (that is if they still are there at all). I did have one week where it rained and I did not get to wash the car for a number of days,
so water dried on the car.

Originally I was going to use Klasse glaze, and from what I read on the autogeek description page it looks like it will provide a hard shell protection for the car. I'm sorry I wasted time and energy with the Optimum products. With the winter coming up I had hoped that the Optimum stuff would give me good protection for awhile, but it looks like not so.

I guess I will do some searching on the site for Klasse reviews, any comments from people that have used both lines of products would be great, as well as other people's experience with Optimum's durability.
 
It is the Meguiars gold consumer wash (I'm waiting for an order of Optimum waterless car wash ordered from autogeek, which should arrive tomorrow.

I dilute it according to the instructions, 4 bottle caps per gallon.

BTW, I just searched and got this thread on favorite sealers:http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/29815-opinions-best-sealant.html
but I do not get all the abbreviations for products. I think there is an abbreviation list somewhere on this site???

I realize too that I'm probably opening a can of worms asking opinions on sealant products. I see a high number of votes for Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant on the favorite sealants thread. Given the time of year and the weather in Boston at best I might get to use an unheated garage. I probably can't do a complete buffing swirl removal until warm weather, so the Klass All-In-One looks attractive.I am definitely looking for something with an eye toward a good number of months of winter protection.
 
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I wouldn't put much emphasis on the water beading. These products don't bead much to begin with.

I've got 4 months of durability out of Opti-Seal, and that was through the winter months (in Southern California).
 
Given my impressions by looking at the paint, I'm feeling that I'd be lucky to get that much time for protection with the Optimum products. When I wipe the car dry after washing I see a lot of recent water spots etched that are easy to see as you wipe the water film off the car. Given that I washed the car frequently, and don't think we have exceptional acid in our rain, I think this points to the Optimum products as giving me no protection from water spots. We have a long winter in Boston, so I need something durable, and the acrylic in Klasse looks like it would be tough. I would use the Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, but I'd have to buff out the swirls first before applying it then I'd have to do something like use my mom's garage in CT for 12 hours for it to cure.
 
charlestek said:
I layered my car with Poli-Seal, Opti-Seal and OCW about a month and a half ago.
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If you would have stuck to one product other then mixing them then I'm sure you would have had much better results. It also depends on what kind of prep work you did before putting the sealant on.
 
Dwayne, I clayed the car, cleaned it with Isopropyl alcohol, then did swirl removal with Meguiars 205 with a Porter Cable XL machine and what I believe to be the proper Lake Country pads. I busted my *ss taking a number of days to do the swirl removal thoroughly.
 
charlestek said:
Duane, I clayed the car, cleaned it with Isopropyl alcohol, then did swirl removal with Meguiars 205 with a Porter Cable XL machine and what I believe to be the proper Lake Country pads. I busted my *ss taking a number of days to do the swirl removal thoroughly.
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Did you do an IPA wipe down again after polishing? I don't use the Megs shampoo, maybe its stripping the wax/sealant? I have had excellent results with Opti-Seal.
 
Dubbin1 said:
Did you do an IPA wipe down again after polishing? I don't use the Megs shampoo, maybe its stripping the wax/sealant? I have had excellent results with Opti-Seal.
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I think I did another wipe down, but don't remember now. It is indeed possible that the Meguiars wash stripped the products, but I believe they advertise it as being gentle and preserving waxes. I probably should post something on the Meguiars forum and ask.
 
Well if you didn't do another wipe down then the oils from M205 could have caused a problem ;)

It very well may be a safe shampoo, like I said I don't use it so I have no clue.
 
I've gotten a lot better then 3 months of durability with the OCW alone.

For what it's worth Optimum is a really great company that puts out quality products. I haven't used the Opti-seal but I've used OCW, OOC, ONR, OID, OPC and a couple of other Opti products. Based on the quality I've seen and the character that Dr. G exhibits I would bet my Optimum or even my Ultima stash that the Opti-seal is a great product. Give it another shot. :props: Be sure to remove the polishing oils before applying.

Let us know how it goes
 
charlestek said:
I layered my car with Poli-Seal, Opti-Seal and OCW about a month and a half ago.


I guess I will do some searching on the site for Klasse reviews, any comments from people that have used both lines of products would be great, as well as other people's experience with Optimum's durability.
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For good winter protection you can use collinite 845
 
WGDGPS and Klasse are both going to last a good while. The WGDGPS is a lot easier to apply and remove. In fact it's as easy as it gets (for a product that has to be removed.)

I've used Klasse and its good but make sure you learn from others mistakes. Apply thin and don't leave on too long... or follow the tips from that other thread you linked (page 5 or 6 I think) Otherwise it's not fun to remove... I use Klasse on my door jambs with no issues.

Also, I do believe the Colli-845 is more of a sealant then it is a wax.
 
Thanks. If I use the Wolfgang product rather than Klasse AIO, I need to repolish the car to remove swirls in a garage,because of the present cold weather, which is going to be difficult, but we will see.
I would think also that you could equate durability with non ease of removal, but I realize that when it is time to re-seal the car, you need to get the old product off the finish.
 
charlestek said:
Thanks. If I use the Wolfgang product rather than Klasse AIO, I need to repolish the car to remove swirls in a garage,because of the present cold weather, which is going to be difficult, but we will see.
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I don't understand what you are saying--KAIO isn't going to remove any swirls.

charlestek said:
I would think also that you could equate durability with non ease of removal, but I realize that when it is time to re-seal the car, you need to get the old product off the finish.
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Why would you need to get the old product off the finish? If you are putting the same product back on...especially if it's an AIO, you don't need to remove the old product first. Even if it's not an AIO, if it's the same or same class of product (sealant over sealant, wax over wax, or wax over sealant) you don't have to remove the old product. If it's been a long time you could do a quick clay, etc. If it's seasonal you may be polishing anyway which is going to remove any old LSP.
 
charlestek said:
I layered my car with Poli-Seal, Opti-Seal and OCW about a month and a half ago.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you stacked everything in one sitting. IMO, its hard to get Opti-seal on top of Poli-seal. The surface is just too slick. Though others will disagree, you stacked stuff on a not very durable product, and everything on top just went down the drain. I think if you had waited till the next car wash or re-applied the Opti-seal then, you would get at least two months durability. If you want to really judge durability of any product, do an IPA wipedown and apply it to bare paint.

That said, if you like easy to work with products, 845IW will give you what you want, its great stuff. KSG is also great, but it has a well earned reputation for the disaster that happens if you apply it too thick.
 
If you IPA after 205 and remove the oils, does that not sort of defeat the purpose of using it? Or is the 205's job to basically get rid of any marks left over by the 105 and the oils just help in that process? Then once its done its done and an IPA is fine to use?
 
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