Optimum Car Wax

Clayed, galzed and applied Sealant to a customers new Jag in June 2005.

Applied two coats of OCW on said vehicle in Sept. 2005.

I service this car by-weekly, and yesterday while cleaning noticed that

the water "sheets off", leaving behind not alot of beading.

So thats just a bit over 4 months and to me OCW is still there working.



My experience with OCW is favorable, with the overall appearance improving with time.



Just my 2 cents, which is worth what you paid for it.
 
Let’s explore the inverse of our argument (constructive criticism for the thread) . . .



If beading, slickness, and surface adhesion, is not a not test of sealant/wax protection*



THEN



A slick surface with rolling, tight beads at 4 - 6 months is not protected.



* other things held constant.
 
Knockwurst said:
Let’s explore the inverse of our argument (constructive criticism for the thread) . . .



If beading, slickness, and surface adhesion, is not a not test of sealant/wax protection*



THEN



A slick surface with rolling, tight beads at 4 - 6 months is not protected.



* other things held constant.
Click to expand...



Hmm ... this is faulty propositional logic in several ways:



1) What you have specified is not the inverse of the original statement. As far as I know, there is no specific name for the construct above.



2) You simply cannot draw the conclusion you have from the original statement. It's just not logically true.
 
Heh heh, if a thread is gonna veer off-topic anyhow, I like it when it gets into epistemological matters.



I suppose "protection" can mean different things to different people...hope the following doesn't sound all :argue:



I am curious about what *is* a better barometer of "protection" than slickness and/or the behavior of water on the finish :confused: I consider appearance, beyond the basic good/bad, to be too subtle and subjective, and I believe that a *significant change* in slickness and beading indicates a correspondingly significant change in the condition of the LSP. Perhaps not a terminal change, but a change for the worst nonetheless. Seems to me that as empirical measures go, a change in slickness has to be rather significant to be truly noticed, and a change from small, tight, spherical beads to large, flat, irregular ones is also not a subtle difference. These things become different from what they were when the LSP was applied, indicating to me that the "just waxed" effect has been compromised.



This is leaving aside the fact that some of us apply/reapply LSPs *for* the slickness. E.g., it's UPP's slickness that keeps the marring down when I wash so I'll reapply it *just* for that effect even if nothing else has changed. Gets back to "what does protection mean to you?"
 
Wow..presuppositions and epistemology within a topic for car detailing.....awesome!! :)



I always apply or mist OCW onto a DRY low plush microfiber towel before I mist it onto paint. I usually only do this once for the entire car.



When I speak of water beading or slickness I do not mean that one trumps over the other but rather should be taken as a whole. As stated the beta Opti-seal has no slickness at all, or better it does not leave behind an enhanced slickness, but it sure does last a very long time. Nor does it add any gloss but again the durability is amazing.



Now to those whose presupposition is "Slickness indicates protection present" may never agree that slickness is not the only indicator for their bias or presupposition will not allow it :)



Yet with this sealant, when washed and rinsed, you'll notice that the water beads tightly then gathers and sheets off, so what's this say about beading vs sheeting? What I am getting at is if one relies soley on water beading how do they know just how large the beads can get before there is truly no more protection? If they really on slickness alone then how do they account for water beading present but no slickness?



So it is better if we broaden the barometer a bit....a lack of tight water beads (but who then determines the correct size of water bead?), lack of slickness in conjunction with a microfiber towel "grabbing" the paint would be a better more rounded barometer.



The more intelligent and trustworthy manufacturers of car care products will give a sealant no more than 12 months for durability. Even then one must take into account ones washing and drying habits, the soap used, the condition of the water, where the car is parked, etc. The claim of "5 months" for Optimum OCW came from an independant lab if I am not mistaken and not directly from Optimum. I have gotten 3 months with it on some cars, others 6 to 8 weeks.



Now yes I do sell Optimum but you all also see me speak of, endorse and use Hi-Temp, 303, Menzerna and also some Valugard. I have not advertised this to anyone here on Autopia nor shall I so me trumping up Optimum for sales has no benefit for me in the terms of "sales". Perhaps in the future, as I re-design my website, I may have a "shop" where one can purchase products and at that time my relationship with Autopia will of course change.



oak3x



Dude....love the Vette picture :bigups Looking very nice!



I use the Optimum car shampoo, also Valugard and I have been using for years TOL's Bubble Bath. On my weekly cars I use the Opt. soap as David told me he formulated it with an added polymer to help in water sheeting. So far so good.



I use the Valugard soap in conjunction with their ABC system designed for paint contamination removal.



I use the Bubble Bath, because it is so economical, on big vehicles, like trucks and Hummers, that I am washing for the first time.



Hope all this helps,

Anthony
 
I judge durability of a product by

first noticing the qualities i like of the product either beading or slickness or look

and then when i notice these qualities fading to a point where im no longer satisfied then its time to reapply. Even tho there still is some product still there protecting its time to reapply
 
Atticdog- That's the approach I use.



Anthony- Yeah, I'd expect reasonable people to accept that there are different qualities making up "protection" but you know the kind of trouble one can get into expecting people to be reasonable ;)



Oh, and just in case I was unclear, I sure don't believe that lack of slickness or beading means lack of protection. When I use UPP/BF, the slickness and beading will diminish sorta quickly if I don't refresh it, but I'm confident that the surface is still protected. I just don't know how long it's safe to keep making that assumption. So I figure that the diminishing of a previously present characteristic indicates some sort of change, which is probably not for the better. These are easy to note, so they're my signifiers.



Probably just a foible of mine, but I don't trust using appearance as a barometer. Seems like the appearance degrades so incrementally that by the time I notice any difference at all it might actually be pretty dramatic.



So how do *you* evaluate the presence/absence of protection? Do you use the same criteria on your cars as on those of your customers? (genuinely curious, not being :argue: at all; I wouldn't blame you for wondering, what with the way some people are...)



Almost hit [submit] before realizing that people who prefer sheeting over beading sure wouldn't find UPP/BF's change from beading to sheeing to be an unwelcome change ;)
 
We've had very little rain since March here in Texas so that may have something to do with the 3 months of beading, decent appearance and at least some slicknes (compared to a completely non-waxed surface) I've been able to get from OCW. It also probably helps that I use QEW instead of a traditional car wash soap and pretty much all of my regulars garage their cars at home. I don't leave my own car alone long enough to truly determine how long something lasts on a car that sits outside 24/7. I would agree that enviromental conditions, exposure and washing technique can affect the durability of any wax or sealant. Honestly, I think Meguiars has the right approach in not making any specific durability claims.



Personally, I really like OCW. Easy way to wax a car, decent appearance and slickness. :)
 
OCW works best after polishing, as do most sealants.





Straight after polishing with OCP, I applied OCW on my girlfriend's Saab and I got just shy of 3 months in the dead of pollen/rain season. It sat outside everynight, many times under disgusting trees. Washed weekly, it beaded longer, was slicker, and protected better (far less water spots) than right next to NXT Paste.
 
I applied OCW to my parents mini-van a year ago X-Mas, and it was still alive in June when they visited. They live in Ohio (snow belt) and get plenty of weather. I decided to put OCW to the test. I was shocked (but impressed too) that OCW held up. That convinced me to stick with OCW, and I keep a gallon around at all times. IMO it's an excellent product at a VERY reasonable price.



This year I sealed the van with FK #218 and #2180 and will see how it holds up after another Ohio winter.



That about the only thing I like about the mini-van. It's a good test bed (LOL).
 
I applied OCW to a Nissan Titan about 3 weeks ago over a 4 month old application of Natty's Blue-which was still beading a bit but slickness was down. This truck saw hunting usage until the end of the year and sits outside about 500 feet from a major freeway in Arlington; in addition, he has a 75 mile daily commute. No garage queen, just over a year old and it has 27,000 on it. QEW'ed it today, still was very slick and the paint still looked freshly waxed. I probably won't do any polishing and waxing on this truck until March, so I'll keep on eye on how OCW is holding up as time passes.



I clean it every 2 weeks so I can monitor it pretty closely. :)
 
I would rather take extra 5 minuets to spray and wipe every other time I wash my car then mix some sealant and spend the day layering it. I know this way I will have some longevity. For less money.
 
Dent's & Details said:
I would rather take extra 5 minuets to spray and wipe every other time I wash my car then mix some sealant and spend the day layering it. I know this way I will have some longevity. For less money.
Click to expand...



Mixers get ~26 weeks

Spray and wipers get ~6-8 weeks



I'll take em both please but there's no need to slam the use of another product.:)
 
SpoiledMan said:
I'll take em both please but there's no need to slam the use of another product.:)
Click to expand...



Amen.



Folks, this is just my personal review/findings. Some users will be the same, some will be different. Tact and class can go a long way...
 
Dent's & Details said:
I would rather take extra 5 minuets to spray and wipe every other time I wash my car then mix some sealant and spend the day layering it. I know this way I will have some longevity. For less money.
Click to expand...



sounds good to me -- I have been applying OCW to my M3 after every wash.
 
How many cars do you guys think one bottle of OCW can cover, it looks like it won't last that long for its price and size.
 
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