Tried some optimum products this weekend, and...

spike

spike

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I FINALLY had a chance to wash one of the vehicles this weekend, and I got to try some optimum products for the very first time on my 1999 sage grey camry. Here are some observations from my experiences:

1. Washed the car with optimum car wash (not ONR, which I already love). Loved the scent (like blueberries), and it really suds up well, even with the hard water we have at the house. A little goes a long way. The bottle says to use 0.5 oz per gallon of water, and that really is enough. I was pleased with its cleaning abilities as well.

2. After drying the car off, I used the optimum car wax. The first thing I noticed was, man, this is soo easy to use! Just spray on, and wipe off. I didn't get the streaking that some here on the forum had said they got, but I found that if you spray it on one section or panel at a time, then wipe it off pretty much immediately, then it did not streak. The slickness of the car was awesome after applying, and it gave a nice shine to the car. I really like the beading it gives too (rained today and got to see the beading). A very nice product, and I highly recommend it. And I really like that it has UV protection as well.

3. Used the optimum tire shine. This gave me mixed reviews, but I think it might be because of the way I used it. I sprayed it on, then wiped with a tire swipe, and at the time it looked like an even coating, but the next morning it looked a bit splotchy in parts on the tire. Maybe I needed to apply it, then after it soaked in, buff the tires again to get a more even coating. I didn't do this, but I was still pleased with how nice and matte black the tires looked. I will have to see how durable it is, but I am pleased with the product.

All in all, I am glad I tried optimum products, and I will be using them in the future, especially the spray car wax. :xyxthumbs:
 
Thanks for the Reviews.
I've never used any of the Optimum products but I do have ONR on my list of things to try. Might have to try spray wax as well. A lot of people seemed to like it.
 
agree with you on the tire shine. Immediately after use I thought "this is perfect!...looks like a brand new tire, not shiney etc". Next day, even though it remained in the garage, it was a bit splotchy. No biggie on MY cars as I can apply a 2nd coat and maybe that solves it but not if it's a customer's car.

The spray wax is fantastic. Super gloss and slickness and a little goes a long way. Ahhh the blueberries! I was in such a euphoria over the smell that I couldn't pay attention to whether the shampoo was good or not.
 
Good job, and thank you for taking the time to provide us with the reviews...
 
Cool! I just bought some Optimum car wash, Optimum Car Wax, Opti-Seal, and Opti-Bond myself. Looking forward to trying them out. Questions:

1. Optimum Car Wash: What kind of wash mitt did you use? Can you compare this with some other car washes you've used?

2. Optimum Spray Wax: What kind of towel did you use? Have you used any other spray waxes that you can compare this to?

3. Optimum Tire Shine: :Picture:

Thanks for the reviews! :dblthumb2:
 
spike said:
1. Washed the car with optimum car wash (not ONR, which I already love). Loved the scent (like blueberries), and it really suds up well, even with the hard water we have at the house. A little goes a long way. The bottle says to use 0.5 oz per gallon of water, and that really is enough.
Click to expand...

Everything I have read including Optimum web site says 1 oz (or less) per gallon. ONR is 0.5 oz per gallon.
 
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dublifecrisis said:
agree with you on the tire shine. Immediately after use I thought "this is perfect!...looks like a brand new tire, not shiney etc". Next day, even though it remained in the garage, it was a bit splotchy. No biggie on MY cars as I can apply a 2nd coat and maybe that solves it but not if it's a customer's car.

The spray wax is fantastic. Super gloss and slickness and a little goes a long way. Ahhh the blueberries! I was in such a euphoria over the smell that I couldn't pay attention to whether the shampoo was good or not.
Click to expand...
I have not tried Tire Shine, but Opti Bond is superb on tires, trim and wheel wells. It is a gel. It is a WYSIWYG product and is fairly durable. It has a nice finish. I have not figured out why they make 2 tire dressings, but you wont have any problems with Opti Bond IME. Optimum is my favorite product line. Power Clean and Protection are also superb products. I thought Spray Wax was the undisputed king until I bought Four Star on BOGO a few weeks ago.
 
CieraSL said:
Cool! I just bought some Optimum car wash, Optimum Car Wax, Opti-Seal, and Opti-Bond myself. Looking forward to trying them out. Questions:

1. Optimum Car Wash: What kind of wash mitt did you use? Can you compare this with some other car washes you've used?

2. Optimum Spray Wax: What kind of towel did you use? Have you used any other spray waxes that you can compare this to?

3. Optimum Tire Shine: :Picture:

Thanks for the reviews! :dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

Thanks all. I think this is one of the first reviews I have posted, so bear with me...
I used a generic chenille mitt to wash with (bought at walmart I think a long time ago). The car wash that I use the most is Megs NXT because it will suds up pretty well when used with hard-ish water. I like the NXT soap, but I haven't tried a "gourmet" kind of soap like OPT car wash before, so I'm still new when it comes to this. As far as spray waxes, the only other one I've tried is DG Aquawax based on the good reviews it got on the forum. And I really like that wax too, but I think it doesn't give the supreme slickness that OCW does. And if you use Aquawax, you'll see that the car isn't so shiny right at first, but look at it the next day, and wow! But to me, the OCW looked good right after I applied it. I used a blue microfiber towel to WOWO.

As far as the tire shine, I should have gotten some pics, but I didn't think I could capture the splotchiness I got in a pic with my limited camera anyway. I'm sure the product is great, but maybe I didn't apply it correctly or something...I'll try to get some pics, but it was pouring rain today...
 
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Bunky said:
Everything I have read including Optimum web site says 1 oz (or less) per gallon. ONR is 0.5 oz per gallon.
Click to expand...

I bought the sampler kit from a local OPT distributor (sorry Autogeek :)), and on the back of the little 4 oz bottle of the car wash is says to use 0.5 oz per gallon. I usually use my ONR at 1 oz per gallon. Could the label on my bottle be a mis-print? Not sure, but the soap does seem to be super concentrated, so a little went a long way...
 
I just checked my gallon jugs of Optimum Car Wash and ONR, and this is what I got:

Optimum Car Wash: 1 oz. per gallon of water

ONR: 1 oz. for 2 gallons of water (for washing)
2 oz. per gallon of water (for a clay lube)
8 oz. per gallon of water (for a quick detailer)
 
CieraSL said:
I just checked my gallon jugs of Optimum Car Wash and ONR, and this is what I got:

Optimum Car Wash: 1 oz. per gallon of water

ONR: 1 oz. for 2 gallons of water (for washing)
2 oz. per gallon of water (for a clay lube)
8 oz. per gallon of water (for a quick detailer)
Click to expand...


Thanks Shane for the clarification...my bottle must have a typo on it. But why? I wonder why this one says 0.5 oz per gallon? Mistake, I guess.
 
spike said:
Thanks Shane for the clarification...my bottle must have a typo on it. But why? I wonder why this one says 0.5 oz per gallon? Mistake, I guess.
Click to expand...

Must be a typo. :dunno:

Hey look! You have 100 posts! That makes you a senior member now! Congrats! :props:
 
CieraSL said:
Must be a typo. :dunno:

Hey look! You have 100 posts! That makes you a senior member now! Congrats! :props:
Click to expand...


Wow!! I didn't even notice that. That's awesome!! Im the MAN
 
I have been pretty faithful Meguiars user but I have been thinking of experimenting with other products. I want to expand my knowledge and experience of different products. I will be doing some research on optimum products and then start experimenting with thier products.
 
Hi Spike,
Here is my review on the Optimum spray wax:
The result was surprisingly good, less good however was the buffing (there was a lot of it).

The result is a buttery smooth finish (not Pinnacle level, but still, competes easily against the regular 20$ wax)

However, the application isn’t as easy as it looks on the demo video.

I had to scrub quite a bit because it is like a grease and unless your microfiber is brand new, there is some streaking.

But it is not product intensive (3 sprays per panel), my 4 oz bottle is more than ½ full. Definitely more than a gadget.

This leads me to believe in the polish spray product because the spray wax finished like a regular liquid wax. Optimum achieved this part of their promise. (The main part).

All in all, it took me 1 and 1/3 hours to wash and wax.

I think that this product is good for the car detailer that does not own the Porter Cable.
So, Optimum is a serious company. It fulfills 3 of its 4 promises.
One, it is like a regular wax in terms of performance.
Two, it goes on super, super easy. (You do not have to break out the heavy application equipment)
Three, it is product efficient (Hardly used any)
But four, it does not come off that easily.

Result, I will not be buying their wax because Pinnacle is better and comes off easier. But nevertheless, it does inspire to buy their Hyper polish and I shall on their next special.
 
Thanks Chris for all of your info. I didn't have too much trouble taking the spray wax off, but I've heard it can be a bit tricky sometimes with streaking. If you try any of the other optimum products, let us know how you like 'em!!

:)
 
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