Opti Towel Fine (clay towel) - Review

[Swanicyouth]

So, my go to "clay" for a couple of years now has been the Chemical Guy`s Clay Block / Ultima Elastafoam / Magna Sponge thingee. I`m not sure if all these products are identical - but they are sure damn close. The one I have came directly from CG`s:



This thing has served me well, doesn`t mar for me, and looks pretty much as new today as the day I bought it. I`ve put it in a plastic bag wet before for several months (accident); and while it was still "wet" at the end of that time - it did not start to delaminate or fall apart. It`s basically a flawless detailing tool that is cheap. In fact the "tread" or "grain" on the thing shows zero sign of wear:



But, I do like to just try new things. Optimum came out with their version of the "clay block" a while back - and it didn`t seem to go over too well. While I never used it, it didn`t seem to me to receive much love (or good reviews).

Fast forward to recently, things seem to be changing at Optimum. There is no more OptiCoat and it has been said they are coming out with a Rupe`s knock-off style polisher. For whatever reason, nobody in the USA seems to be selling this polisher yet to he best of my knowledge. Actually, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth regarding Optimum - a company known for innovating one of the first coatings, first spray polishes, and basically the first rinseless wash. Like it or hate it - that`s my opinion.

So, now Optimum is also selling a "clay towel" similar to the Speedy Prep towel - albeit at a lower price & smaller size. You may expect me to do a hatchet job on this review since I voiced my opinions regarding Optimum - but you will have to read on to find out...

Here is the "block" and Optimum`s "Opti-Clay" clay towel (fine):



The towel:







Some closeups of the towel:









As a comparison, here are pictures of the other towels - which I do not own (pictures from AG).

Speedy Prep:

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Nano Skin:

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Basically, my first impression of the towel was it looks sort of cheaply made. There are runs in the rubber coating that I do not believe are common on similar products. However, similar products cost over 2x as much ($60 for Speed Prep or Nano Skin towels) as this clay towel - which I believe I paid under $25 for. So, just on my initial inspection of the towel - I was not too impressed.

I`m not going to show a bunch of pictures of claying a car - as that really doesn`t serve much of a purpose. Most people know how to do it, and if not teaching that skill is not my purpose here. But, basically I found folding the towel in fours (rubber side out) will give you four usable surfaces to clay. My clay lube of choice is always Pinnacle Waterless Wash.

Unfolded, the towel measures 8"x7". That means folded in fours it measures about 4"x3.5". Oddly enough (folded), that is pretty much the exact size of the clay block. As a comparison, both the Speedy Prep and Nano Skin towels are 12"x12" - which means folded on fours they are 6"x6".

So, to be honest - overall - I really liked this towel. For whatever reason, claying seemed to go faster than with the clay block. Also, it didn`t mar my paint. Another thing I noticed, for reasons I can`t describe, is I used a LOT less clay lube with the towel than with the block.

The towel seemed to work - and work well. The size may be a bit small for some - but it seemed good to me. When folded, the towel doesn`t fold flat like a regular towel. The plastic coating gives it some cushion - so it almost acts like a thin block.

It did remove contamination well. It wasn`t grabby - it glided right over the paint. Another interesting thing is the light color of the rubber surface showed when the towel was dirty - and it was time for a new side. One would think that cleaning the towel would just involve rinsing it with water. But, I found that was not the case.

I used 3 sides of the towel to "clay" my lightly contaminated SUV. Here are the after pics of the dirty towel - look closely and you can see 3 dirty sides and 1 clean side (towel was rinsed with water):

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I always assumed on the black clay block that water would remove all the dirt, but as you can see on this towel - water does not. The towel seemed to be stained with dirt. However, I`m guessing this is the same phenomena going on with the black rubberized towels / blocks - but you simply can not see it.

So, now that I know it`s dirty - I had to find a way to clean it. My guess is that anything meant to attack tar / grease or that contained a solvent would remove the dirt - but also would ruin the towel.

So, first I tried cleaning it with Meg`s APC+ 1:10 using a pad cleaning brush to GENTLY agitate the rubber coating. The APC+ didn`t touch the dirt - it just made no difference at all (no pictures - just see original dirty towel). Another reason for me to feel APCs basically are not good at cleaning rubber or plastic.

Then I figured I would use what I always say is the best thing out there to clean rubber or plastic - Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner 1:1. I was only a little surprised when the TS TC removed almost ALL of the dirt immediately using the same procedure as APC+ - without harming the towel.

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After cleaning:

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So my impressions of this product are its pretty good. I`m a little sketchy on how it will hold up. I believe Speedy Prep says you can get about 80 uses out of one of their towels. So, if you clay a lot - it may be worth it to purchase one of those. But, if you don`t want to spend sixty bucks for a clay towel (and don`t want a clay block) - the Opti Towel works pretty well.

[Ronkh]

Cool review, thanks.

I still have about 32 bars of ricard, and a bunch of poorboys world (new and old)

I have the blocks in fine, but sorta been shying away from em since I know what my clay does.

Mebbe I`m a dinosaur

[Swanicyouth]

The thing is - for whatever reason - the blocks and towels just seem to make it faster for me. It seems significantly faster. Maybe because you don have to knead them or maybe because it`s a uniform shape. I`m always up for something that works faster.

[Ronkh]

The thing is - for whatever reason - the blocks and towels just seem to make it faster for me. It seems significantly faster. Maybe because you don have to knead them or maybe because it`s a uniform shape. I`m always up for something that works faster.

hhhmmmm. That makes sense actually. I always thought I was quick at claying

[Setec Astronomy]

regarding Optimum - a company known for innovating one of the first coatings, first spray polishes, and basically the first rinseless wash.

You always give really detailed reviews and this is no exception, and I didn`t even really get to the meat of this one yet, but I had to stop here and post this. While Opti-Coat may have been the first coating, and the Hyper sprays may have been the first spray polishes (although Four Star has one, which possibly predated the Optimum ones), ONR was absolutely NOT the first rinseless. Well before ONR came out we were all using Protect All Quick and Easy Wash (QEW) in the winter. It was developed for the RV industry, and while I don`t understand why you need a rinseless wash on your RV (has something to do with water restrictions at campsites?), once ONR came out that was targeted at the "detailing" market and there were people that represented Optimum in one form or another posting on forums, answering questions, and giving tips/pointers, QEW was quickly a memory.

[Swanicyouth]

^ thanks Setec. I know about QEW (although I never used it). But, that`s why I said "basically" - since Optimum seemed to figure out how to bring it to the masses of the detailing market. I also know they technically didn`t invent waterless, as I know of at least one waterless AIO type product ("Wet Paint") that pre-dates Opti-Clean.

[Setec Astronomy]

Yeah, I hope you didn`t take my post the wrong way--OPT certainly DID "invent" rinseless for the detailing market, which is why QEW is simply a distant memory. Waterless I think a lot of players beat them to the punch on that one, Meguiar`s has been selling Last Touch as waterless in certain markets for 10 years or more, and I think Mike Phillips posted that Meg`s had a product like that in the 80`s.

[Setec Astronomy]

Ok, now I read the review, and I have a few questions that you presumably can`t answer; I asked them at the Optimum forum a few weeks ago but they don`t answer questions about their products because that would be "selling"; they want people who have used the product to "sell" it, which doesn`t help much when the product is new and no one has used it, or the people who review it don`t work for Optimum and can`t answer the following questions:

1. Is the functional surface of this towel the same material as the Opti-Eraser and Opti-Clay Disc?

2. How is this product different/better than other clay towels on the market? At one time Chris Thomas told us that Dr. G didn`t bring a product to market unless he thought he could outperform what was already in that market segment, but lately OPT has come out with a bunch of "me-too" products (clay towel, clay disc for DA, iron remover, water spot remover) and we really haven`t gotten any low-down as to why we should use these products instead of the others already on the market.

[Swanicyouth]

I think the functional surface of the towel is LIKELY different, because the consensus seems to be the Opti clay blocks are "grabby" - and this thing is anything but.

On another note, the Opti Towel is USA made.

On #2 - As I said in my post, it seems have changed at Optimum.

[mnehls86]

Yet another reason for me to finally buy some TS TC. Great review. I have been wondering though, what is the point of the fabric/mircofiber? side? Why not the rubber coating on both sides?

[Mr. Gloss]

Yet another reason for me to finally buy some TS TC. Great review. I have been wondering though, what is the point of the fabric/mircofiber? side? Why not the rubber coating on both sides?

two cleaning sides for the price of one. good suggestion. Although it may become slippery when wet.

[JSFM35X]

Great review. It sounds a lot like the pad in performance. I actually purchased the Nano Skin Pad when they first came out and really like it for the same reasons you like the towel. Its fast, effective and reusable.

I use it on my DA, with ONR lube so I don`t have t rewash after claying.

I too expected loads of marring and it did not at all. Mine is the fine grade.

I still have a lot of clay in the closet and use it on the dirtier parts of the car. Like the lower rocker panels and hood and trunk jambs as well as places I cant easily or safely get to with the DA.

David from Street Dreams turned me onto it when he did the New Car detail and Optic coat 2.0 coating my Son`s Subaru.

You must wet it and break it in on the glass before using it on paint. Run it for 1 minute on glass with lots of lube before each use to soften it up. Also rinse with lube and wipe with a MF towel after each panel. This may be excessive, but it works like a charm. I hate polishing marring I induced .

[EXPDetailing]

The thing is - for whatever reason - the blocks and towels just seem to make it faster for me. It seems significantly faster. Maybe because you don have to knead them or maybe because it`s a uniform shape. I`m always up for something that works faster.

I can recommend the one`s that attach to a da. You can even level some orange peel with them when using a da at high speeds. I have used a "medium" scrub disk, and have found that combined with a da, you can go as slow or as fast as you want. The only thing is going faster willl likely produce a lot of marring, which is no big deal if you`re going to polish. Thanks for the review.