Thoroughly impressed with Optimum Wash & Wax

Through my automotive career, I’ve had access to just about everything except the permanent ceramic sealants. I’ve had waxes worth $$$ from PBMG and others, sealants worth the same... in the end, I was happy with a $40 bottle of Blackfire Wet Diamond and then even happier with a $15 sprayable bottle of Optimum Car Wax

I used it on my car 6 months ago and have been using Optimum No Rinse Wash & Wax every week or two. My car looks and feels freshly detailed, always. It beads rain really well and the moment I start driving, the rain can’t hang onto the slick paint. Wash & Wax and Car Wax both claim to have great UV protection, but I have to say I am skeptical as the car is too new to tell. However, after 6 months and many road trips to Arizona and back to California, I feel no need to do any sort of coating on my car due to how well the wash & Wax has maintained the finish.

I’ve always seen a Wash & Wax as an impossible feat to accomplish well, but I am very, very impressed.

The car looks great. Thanks for the feedback.

I`ve moved on to ceramic coatings, and I`ll say, I still miss the slickness and shine of Blackfire Wet Diamond..

Nice Shine. Glad to see we still have wax users out there. The UV protection is in Optimum products, they hold a patent for it`s design and how it works in their products. Optimum is one of my favorite product lines. When I do try a new Opt product I have never been disappointed.

BluBrett !
Been a long time - hope all has been fabulous with you and yours !
Just a beautiful Bimmer !!!
Your hard work and Optimum Products have been a great match..
I need to get back down to HB and visit my daughter and family - perhaps we can see you down there on that Tuesday evening happening, ok ?
Maybe we can even catch Chip Foose over at his shop and discuss his love for 3M products.. :)
Dan F

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by someidiot

The car looks great. Thanks for the feedback.

I`ve moved on to ceramic coatings, and I`ll say, I still miss the slickness and shine of Blackfire Wet Diamond..

---

You could still use wax on top of your coating for fun, extra depth (maybe), and the whole sacrificial layer/it doesn`t hurt thing, right?

BluBrett- Your unexpected love for OCW + OWW seems similar to my (equally unexpected) appreciation of OCW maintained with IUDJ.

No, doesn`t shed dirt the same as my "real LSPs", but close enough given that I`m washing it so often anyhow and it`s *so* quick and easy. And I bet that "and Wax" part makes it work even better for you.

Quote:

---

You could still use wax on top of your coating for fun...

---

Heh heh, I was gonna post something about ?!?for fun?!? but then I remembered that this *is* Autopia :D

I did the same for the Accord we purchased in late May. It was too hot to apply a sealant or coating and not get paid for it, so I added Adam`s H2O Guard & Gloss to my rinseless wash routine every 6 weeks - RW wash the panel, mist the G&G on the panel ( changed to a Tolco sprayer), spread with a damp MF towel, and dry any remaining moisture with a waffle-weave drying towel. Lots of shine and good protection.

I also like the wax from optimum. According to Dr. G the clear coat`s UV protection has a half life of 5 years. The UV blocking characteristics of his wax product absorbs back into the CC replentishing the UV .

Sounds far fetched, but if it didnt come DrG. I probably wouldnt believe it.

JBM- (Noting that I do use/like OCW and do trust it to protect various things from UV exposure...) Heh heh, you`re more easily convinced than I am ;) Lots of "recognized expert authorities" on lots of subjects have said stuff that didn`t track with my first-hand experiences, almost always after I`d thought the same thing you did- "I wouldn`t believe that had *he* not said it..".

I`m forcing myself to *NOT* spend time/effort thinking about that "5 year half life of clearcoat`s UV protection". I know what "half life" and "clearcoat" and "UV protection" mean, but put `em all together and, well...what does that mean for practical purposes? Not like we`re leaving `em unprotected while under constant UV exposure..

Sorry, sorry...I must be in a mood :o

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Accumulator

JBM- (Noting that I do use/like OCW and do trust it to protect various things from UV exposure...) Heh heh, you`re more easily convinced than I am ;) Lots of "recognized expert authorities" on lots of subjects have said stuff that didn`t track with my first-hand experiences, almost always after I`d thought the same thing you did- "I wouldn`t believe that had *he* not said it..".

I`m forcing myself to *NOT* spend time/effort thinking about that "5 year half life of clearcoat`s UV protection". I know what "half life" and "clearcoat" and "UV protection" mean, but put `em all together and, well...what does that mean for practical purposes? Not like we`re leaving `em unprotected while under constant UV exposure..

Sorry, sorry...I must be in a mood :o

---

Oh I can go either way on it lol. I did a search for spray waxes that said uv protection on the bottle somewhere. I found one other, the Lucas mist spray wax.

Weird eh?

The most common uv blocker is the one in interior products that gasses off after being applied , I’m assuming gassing off is the correct visual. Anyhow, I don’t think it’s that ingredient otherwise interior products would say it absorbs into the material.

Anyways , as cheap as OCW is, if it absorbs or not, it’s still a great value/performance.

Check Dr. G’s resume especially prior to OPT. I think it’s safe to say he knows what he’s talking
when it comes to modern clear coats.

To *me*, credentials, backgrounds, and resumes get somebody a measure of consideration, but they don`t automatically confer credibility. I`ve known too many "top experts" (actual IRL experiences) who, for one reason/motive or another, were dead-wrong about topics in their fields. I don`t take much of anything on faith; gotta bore down into the nitty-gritty of proper studies to know what`s what.
(Yeah, I know.."OK Accumulator, be that way.." :o )

Noting again that I *DO* use OCW for it`s presumed UV protection, even though I`ve only had one oddball situation where that mattered *at all* in over 40 years of Detailing...

I just want to see proper explanations, and documentation of proper testing, to support such claims before I really believe them.

Like what Ford presented when OCW was approved for use on repaints; I wouldn`t/didn`t use it until I was able to study that and determine whether it was credible (it was, so I got some, and now I use it instead of the stuff I`d used previously). Whether OCW confers significant UV protection is of little *real* consequence to me, but how it affects/doesn`t repaints *was* of real consequence! Good thing I could see the Ford info or I never would`ve bought it- seeing that info got them a customer who tells everybody he knows how great OCW is.

They oughta put studies on their websites so everybody can see for themselves, disclosure like that would definitely be of interest to me and would impact my decisions. I`d even preface references to Optimum with something like "once again, Dr. G has presented compelling evidence that..."