Looking at Optimum products

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kai-wun

New member
Hey All,



DISCLAIMER: Absolute newbie here. I drive a white '02 Honda that's _NEVER_ been detailed.



I fell in love with the simplicity and elegance of No-Rinse that I'd like to try out some their other products.



I'm looking for a simple system for my daily driver. Doesn't need to be in showroom condition, but still put a smile on my face when I drive it :pray1:



I'm thinking about this as a regimen:



1-2x/year:

1. Dawn wash to strip wax.

2. Riccardo Clay (with ONR as QD)

3. Dawn again.

4. Hyper-Polish Spray using Orange pad on PC (at about 5-6)

5. Opti-Seal using Blue pad by hand (maybe more than one layer)



Every 2-3mo:

1. ONR wash

2. Poli-Seal using Green pad on PC (at about 4-5)

3. Opti-Seal using Blue pad by hand (maybe more than one layer)



Every 1-2weeks:

1. ONR wash



My questions:

-How does this sound? Any obvious changes you would make?

-Do I only need one of each pad? (orange/green/blue) Will a single pad be enough for the entire car?

-Can I use the PC pad by hand? (for Opti-Seal)

-For Dawn, should I just use a sheepskin mitt?

-For Hyper-Polish, do I just spray on the pad, polish using PC, then use a clean MF to wipe off? same as Poli-Seal?

-For Opti-Seal, I just spray on the pad and wipe?

-For the mitts, pads, MFs; how do you recommend cleaning them? Can I just toss them all into the washer with some sort of microfiber cleaner like Chemical Guys?



Looks like I need to load up on MF (2x for ONR, 1x for wiping) and WW (2-3x for drying ONR).



I apologize if all this sounds elementary/obvious; but I just wanna get it all right before tackling this and messing up my only car :D



Thank you!
 
That sounds like a great regimen. If you are ordering I would also consider OPT - I just love it and it even makes a great wheel cleaner. For in between polishes, I would take a look at OCW. The spray wax is just awesome. It gives a nice shine and some protection and only takes a couple of minutes to apply. I love using it to dress up the cars and as a quick-fix protection when I don't have time to do the whole prep and clean process.
 
Your paint is single stage white, please don't wash it with Dawn. Using soaps with a degreaser in them isn't good for single stage (non-clear coated) paints. Just use ONR to wash, when you clay and polish it will remove whatever is on the paint anyway.



You will find that Optimum Hyper Compound and Polish both work great on single stage finishes. They cut through oxidation quickly and amp up the gloss. I would suggest polishing it with Hyper Polish every 3 months or so to keep the oxidation at bay and to continue improving the gloss. Opti-Seal works great on single stage paints too.



Here is a write-up I did on a single stage white Accord a couple months ago: http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...d-mopar-challenger-gt3-karmann-ghia-more.html



You spray OHP onto the pad, and Opti-Seal should come with a foam applicator, use that.

I wash my microfiber towels together using liquid detergent. Seems to work just fine.

Without knowing the condition of your finish, you may or may not need two pads for the car. If the oxidation isn't too bad and isn't caking the pad in white, you can spin the pad over a damp MF towel after each panel to keep it clean.
 
If your wash technique is good, you can maintain with poliseal on a white pad. Also, I'm probably the only person on earth that doesn't like to top Poliseal with Optiseal. I'd prefer to hit it with Optiseal on the next wash, you get more bang for your time, and I can't seem to get Optiseal to stick to Ooliseal unless I apply way too much, then I get streaking.
 
2005GTPinMD said:
That sounds like a great regimen. If you are ordering I would also consider OPT - I just love it and it even makes a great wheel cleaner. For in between polishes, I would take a look at OCW. The spray wax is just awesome. It gives a nice shine and some protection and only takes a couple of minutes to apply. I love using it to dress up the cars and as a quick-fix protection when I don't have time to do the whole prep and clean process.
Click to expand...



OPT - is that Optimum Tire Shine? Or Opti-Bond Gel? I wanna keep this as simple as possible!



I'll add OCW to the list too. I love how it's real carnauba in a spray bottle! Just spray it on, and wipe off with MF?



Scottwax said:
Your paint is single stage white, please don't wash it with Dawn. Using soaps with a degreaser in them isn't good for single stage (non-clear coated) paints. Just use ONR to wash, when you clay and polish it will remove whatever is on the paint anyway.



You will find that Optimum Hyper Compound and Polish both work great on single stage finishes. They cut through oxidation quickly and amp up the gloss. I would suggest polishing it with Hyper Polish every 3 months or so to keep the oxidation at bay and to continue improving the gloss. Opti-Seal works great on single stage paints too.



Here is a write-up I did on a single stage white Accord a couple months ago: http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...d-mopar-challenger-gt3-karmann-ghia-more.html



You spray OHP onto the pad, and Opti-Seal should come with a foam applicator, use that.

I wash my microfiber towels together using liquid detergent. Seems to work just fine.

Without knowing the condition of your finish, you may or may not need two pads for the car. If the oxidation isn't too bad and isn't caking the pad in white, you can spin the pad over a damp MF towel after each panel to keep it clean.
Click to expand...



Wow! THANK YOU SO MUCH :clap1: Great advice. Glad to hear I don't have to worry about dawn-ing my car. I was kinda afraid/annoyed about that. I love ONR. Do I even need to dry the ONR? Or should I just wipe, then clay at the same time?



yakky said:
If your wash technique is good, you can maintain with poliseal on a white pad. Also, I'm probably the only person on earth that doesn't like to top Poliseal with Optiseal. I'd prefer to hit it with Optiseal on the next wash, you get more bang for your time, and I can't seem to get Optiseal to stick to Ooliseal unless I apply way too much, then I get streaking.
Click to expand...



Interesting. I'll play around with it to see what works.



So far I'm revisiting my cart and perhaps buying Orange, White, Green pad for the PC? Orange and White for the OHP and Green for the Poli-Seal?



Cheers, and thanks so much!
 
I use the spray wax over just about every wash I do- when still wet, spray down, and then dry once. Power Clean- I think that's it- I like that, too.



All else you have been told should make it easy and pretty quick to keep it looking good.



Rob
 
Beane71884 said:
Not trying to hijack, but Scott, is there somewhere online that tells you what type of paint particular vehicles use?
Click to expand...



You'd have to find the paint code and check with the manufacturer. The companies I know still use single stage white are Honda and Toyota and I believe the solid colors on Evos are also single stage.
 
kai-wun said:
Wow! THANK YOU SO MUCH :clap1: Great advice. Glad to hear I don't have to worry about dawn-ing my car. I was kinda afraid/annoyed about that. I love ONR. Do I even need to dry the ONR? Or should I just wipe, then clay at the same time?
Click to expand...



Dawn washing is overrated IMO. Can't see doing it unless you are washing the car down prior to painting.



If the car is clean when you are using ONR to clay, no need to dry. If it is dirty, I'd dry the section first to make sure there isn't any dirt left behind.
 
This thread gives me an idea (that I'm sure has already been done before). If you're gonna do a clay/polish and/or LSP, you could cut the time from drying the first wash by just doing a clay as you wash it (assuming its a maintenance wash on a vehicle with just water spots). Granted this would dirty your clay a little faster than normal, but they always make more.
 
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