Quick Review: Optimum Opti-Clean

[Shane731]

OK, got the chance to use Opti-Clean for the first time and thought I'd share my thoughts on it. For a more info-filled and detailed review, check out CEE DOG's review: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/28895-review-optimum-opti-clean.html. I did a wash, clay, WG PPE, and WG DGPS on Monday, followed by a wipedown with DP Final Gloss Tuesday. It rained a bit on Tuesday night and some on Wednesday, so there was some light dust that had turned into a light film of dirt.

The product: Optimum Opti Clean Cleaner & Protectant, Opticlean all purpose cleaner protectant

Before

some light dust, water spots, etc. (hard to see it on this color, but it's dirty)




After

no, I didn't clean the tires and wheel wells




This car was last polished back in the middle of March. Using proper washing tools and technique, and always trying to work clean, you can maintain a swirl free finish!


Thoughts:
The front end of my car was in the sun and the back half was in the shade, so just for kicks I used OOC in the sun to see what would happen. I did notice a little bit of streaking on both the paint and glass when used in the sun, but a quick follow-up with a clean dry towel took care of that. Lots of lubricity, picked up the dirt easily and didn't spread it around. Looked like I'd spent a couple of hours on my car, when I'd really only spent about 20 minutes. BTW, I used a Miracle towel and really only needed one to do the whole car, although I probably could have used 2. This is a really good product for keeping that just washed look anytime! I think I might pick up the 32 oz. next time. This will be great to use when it gets cooler out. Next product to be used is DP Waterless Wash.

 

[Old Tiger]

Its great isnt it? Buy a gallon Shane!

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

Thanks for the quick review Shane, I think I'll be picking up some Opti-clean with my next order. :xyxthumbs:

 

[toxygene]

Thanks for putting this review together. I have been using the DP Waterless Wash, but I am still very interested to try the Optimum version. Not having access to a hose at my apartment, these waterless washes make my life easier during the week when I can just do a quick wipedown instead of dragging out the buckets and so forth. Looks like I will have to pick some up soon.

 

[CEE DOG]

Thanks for the review Shane! I like it as well :dblthumb2:

 

[Rsurfer]

Question for those that have OOC. Would it not be more economical to use ONR at QD strength (8oz per gallon) than using OOC? OOC at 3:1 will yield 4 gallons. One gallon of ONR at QD strength will yield 16 gallons of QD. Reading the directions it said if the car is dirty do an ONR wash. Is OOC that much better than ONR? Any thoughts? They are both $39.99 a gallon. BTW I just got my gallon of OOC.

 

[Old Tiger]

Question for those that have OOC. Would it not be more economical to use ONR at QD strength (8oz per gallon) than using OOC? OOC at 3:1 will yield 4 gallons. One gallon of ONR at QD strength will yield 16 gallons of QD. Reading the directions it said if the car is dirty do an ONR wash. Is OOC that much better than ONR? Any thoughts? They are both $39.99 a gallon. BTW I just got my gallon of OOC.

Im sure you will find it superior to ONR as soon as you try it compared to ONR QD. Doc G. sent a response to Corey on this ? and said OOC has mo' better polymers than ONR because not as much water in solution as I recall. Please post your observations as we respect your opinions on all things detailing!

 

[Shane731]

Question for those that have OOC. Would it not be more economical to use ONR at QD strength (8oz per gallon) than using OOC? OOC at 3:1 will yield 4 gallons. One gallon of ONR at QD strength will yield 16 gallons of QD. Reading the directions it said if the car is dirty do an ONR wash. Is OOC that much better than ONR? Any thoughts? They are both $39.99 a gallon. BTW I just got my gallon of OOC.

I don't think ONR at QD strength would have enough lubricity to safely remove a light film of dirt (as opposed to dust). I would assume you would have to mix it at a slightly higher product to water ratio in order to have a "waterless wash" versus a quick detailer. That will yield you less than your 16 gallons obviously. Since you already picked up Opti-Clean, try it against ONR mixed at waterless wash ratio and see how they stack up and which one you like better.

 

[Rsurfer]

Im sure you will find it superior to ONR as soon as you try it compared to ONR QD. Doc G. sent a response to Corey on this ? and said OOC has mo' better polymers than ONR because not as much water in solution as I recall. Please post your observations as we respect your opinions on all things detailing!

Thank you for your response. I will try it this weekend and let you know.

 

[Rsurfer]

I don't think ONR at QD strength would have enough lubricity to safely remove a light film of dirt (as opposed to dust). I would assume you would have to mix it at a slightly higher product to water ratio in order to have a "waterless wash" versus a quick detailer. That will yield you less than your 16 gallons obviously. Since you already picked up Opti-Clean, try it against ONR mixed at waterless wash ratio and see how they stack up and which one you like better.

Makes sense Shane...Since Dr. G did not have a waterless wash, OCC filled in that gap. I will try it and see what happens.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I don't think ONR at QD strength would have enough lubricity to safely remove a light film of dirt (as opposed to dust).

Huh? QD strength is a stronger mix than wash mix, and I certainly hope that ONR has enough lubricity as a wash to remove a light film of dirt!

 

[Shane731]

Huh? QD strength is a stronger mix than wash mix, and I certainly hope that ONR has enough lubricity as a wash to remove a light film of dirt!

My reply was partially based on Mike Phillips article: The difference between a Normal Car Wash, a Waterless Car Wash, a Rinseless Car Wash and a Spray Detailer

Waterless Car Wash
A waterless car wash is where you use a high lubricity pre-mixed spray detailer to heavily saturate a panel and then carefully wipe any dirt or road grime off to a dry shine. The key to working safely with a waterless car wash is to use plenty of clean, microfiber polishing towels and after using all 8 sides of a microfiber towel, quit using the microfiber towel and switch to a new, clean microfiber polishing towel so you don't simply transfer dirt removed from one panel to another panel.


Rinseless Car Wash
A rinseless car wash is kind of a cross between a normal car wash and a waterless car wash. Like a normal car wash, you’re still going to use water, but only a couple of gallons. Like a waterless wash, instead of rinsing your wash solution off, you’ll work panel by panel and wipe each panel to a dry shine using microfiber drying towels like the Water Guzzler. With a Rinseless Wash, you’ll use dramatically less water but still be flushing the panel with plenty of high lubricity wash solution to leave behind a scratch-free finish.


Spray Detailer
Spray Detailers are for removing, Light Dust, Fingerprints, Smudges and most can also be used as a clay lubricant. Light dust is a light accumulation of airborne dust and contaminants that have landed primarily on horizontal surfaces and have not in any way bonded to the paint.

Thus, one would assume that a waterless wash is merely a spray detailer with more lubricants and dirt particle emulsifiers. So, in order for this to be the case, ONR would have to be mixed at a dilution higher than 8:1 in order to qualify as a waterless wash as opposed to a quick detailer. It's just one of those cases where you just have to put your trust in the manufacturer and believe that they know their product best. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Rsurfer]

My reply was partially based on Mike Phillips article: The difference between a Normal Car Wash, a Waterless Car Wash, a Rinseless Car Wash and a Spray Detailer



Thus, one would assume that a waterless wash is merely a spray detailer with more lubricants and dirt particle emulsifiers. So, in order for this to be the case, ONR would have to be mixed at a dilution higher than 8:1 in order to qualify as a waterless wash as opposed to a quick detailer. It's just one of those cases where you just have to put your trust in the manufacturer and believe that they know their product best. :xyxthumbs:

Boils down to how dirty your car is. Nice to have so many options.:xyxthumbs:

 

[Shane731]

Boils down to how dirty your car is. Nice to have so many options.:xyxthumbs:

Indeed. Just getting into the whole rinseless/waterless washing thing myself, so I expect I may start doing it more often. It would be nice not to drag out the hose all the time if I don't have to. :xyxthumbs:

 

[CEE DOG]

Question for those that have OOC. Would it not be more economical to use ONR at QD strength (8oz per gallon) than using OOC? OOC at 3:1 will yield 4 gallons. One gallon of ONR at QD strength will yield 16 gallons of QD. Reading the directions it said if the car is dirty do an ONR wash. Is OOC that much better than ONR? Any thoughts? They are both $39.99 a gallon. BTW I just got my gallon of OOC.

Here was my question and Dr. G's answer:

1. - For what reason would someone not just use ONR in the place of OOC for the purpose of cleaning paint. What I mean is: When a car is at the stage where OOC would be a good solution for cleaning, why not use ONR in a spray bottle and MF towels to achieve the same result?

No Rinse used as a quick detailer works fine for a car with light dust while Opti-Clean can be used on a car with several days of build up. The reason is that Opti-Clean contains the same polymers in No Rinse that encapsulate dirt but at a much higher concentration than No Rinse QD as well as other polymers not used in No rinse that offer more lubricity and gloss.

For the rest of Dr. G's answers see: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/28895-review-optimum-opti-clean-3.html

 

[pfix]

What about using OOC on bird bombs? I am thinking about getting a bottle to keep in the car for those occasions. Would it be more effective than ONR at QD strength? I have read that QD sprays can actually trap some of the acid on the paint surface.....

 

[Woob]

What about using OOC on bird bombs? I am thinking about getting a bottle to keep in the car for those occasions. Would it be more effective than ONR at QD strength? I have read that QD sprays can actually trap some of the acid on the paint surface.....

Yes it would be much better that ONR @ QD Strength for bird bombs. Spray on, let sit, then wipe carefully!

 

[Chris Thomas]

What about using OOC on bird bombs? I am thinking about getting a bottle to keep in the car for those occasions. Would it be more effective than ONR at QD strength? I have read that QD sprays can actually trap some of the acid on the paint surface.....

Yes it is more effective and probably safer for just such an occasion of spot cleaning.

 

[Rsurfer]

What about using OOC on bird bombs? I am thinking about getting a bottle to keep in the car for those occasions. Would it be more effective than ONR at QD strength? I have read that QD sprays can actually trap some of the acid on the paint surface.....

If your paint is well sealed/wax any QD will work. Guess it wouldn't hurt to have a bottle of OOC for such an occasion.

 

[Old Tiger]

Used OOC to touch up the Ford this AM. Had a few bugs on the grill that had been there over the week. I sprayed it on heavy , let it dwell a minute and wiped with a SHamrock, Buffed with a second Shamrock and all bugs gone! BTW my mailbox is used for bombing practice, I used OOC on it. The ball on top of the post was white but the paint is black powdercoat. OOC did OK but I had to resort to M103+ APC @ 4::1 to get the black back, The stuff had been on there since May! OOC will definately do fresh do do even from a condor!