26 replies to this topic

[Pro-TEcht]

The purpose of this test is to document the durability and effectiveness of Optimum Opti-Coat. Unlike mainstream polymer paint sealants & waxes, this coating is not offered to the general public and is only sold to licensed and insured professional detailers. After hearing several people raving about the results of this new product I reached out to Dr. Ghodoussi @ Optimum to discuss its properties as well as the marketing direction this product is intended to satisfy. I suggested to Dr. G that I’d like to do an independent test on my new company car to see if this product is as good as everyone claims. He showed a moderate amount of interest at 1st, but when I told him that I’d only be washing only with Dawn dish soap & harsh Touchless car washes he became even more awakened to say the least. To add fuel to the fire, I told him that I’d only be applying the product to ½ the vehicle and the paint on the factory hood would be sanded flat to test the product’s UV ability. We’ll, the rest is history…..

Here are the particulars on the car. 2010 Ford Fusion – Silver clear coat metallic. I contacted my sales rep@ Plantation Ford (Plantation, FL) to insist that nobody lay a single hand on my car except the Tech to do the mechanical prepping. This one came 100% defect free.






Here’s how it beaded with ZERO protection:








Top horizontal place of the hood was sanded 95% flat. I used 3M 1500 Trizact(wet) with my Porter Cable XP on speed 3.5. This clear is ROCK HARD & I ended up going through 5 discs of paper on just the hood!! I then refined the 1500 with 3M 3000 grit Trizact(wet).

[Pro-TEcht]

I then removed the sand scratches with Meg’s M105 via Lake Country Cyan (blue) by PC using the Kevin Brown Method (KBM). I then followed with Meg’s M205 via CL White via PC too.




50/50 Sanded Shots:











As you can see, there is quite a large difference in texture after the sanding process. I’m anxious to see if any premature failure occurs (on either side) as this car will be parked 100% outside and runs at least 8 hours per day, 5 days a week in the hot S. Florida climate!



Orange Peel (no sanding):


Orange Peel (after sanding):





PREP PROCESS

Beading with M205 oils:

[Pro-TEcht]

Dawn Wash:



Soaking:



Beading after Dawn:



AM Blue Clay Magic (H2O Flush Technique):



Optimum Power Clean (totally killed beading):



No More Beading after Power Clean:

[Pro-TEcht]

Alcohol Wipe Down:





The Driver’s Side of vehicle was taped off for application of the sealant:







Tools used for application of the Coating:



Coating was applied to every square inch of the Driver’s side of vehicle (paint/chrome/trim/glass):





After the coating was allowed to “set up”, the tape was removed and the residual was wiped towards/into the applied section. This was to cut down the “hard line” and to not cross contaminate the uncoated side (to eliminate a sque result).

[Pro-TEcht]

This is what the coating looks like after it’s completely dry. I used a product dampened applicator and pushed down on an inconspicuous area of the back glass. This product is literally like an epoxy-like coating of glass. This will be interesting to watch as time goes on:




After coating is applied:








Here’s 1 of the 2 ways this vehicle will be washed. The other will be with Dawn.







As you can see, after roughly 1 month beading is very strong:

Frost on car:

[Pro-TEcht]

Rain sitting on dirty finish:







I’ll keep posting results every few months as the testing continues……..

[bigltc]

Coool test! Looking forward to the results.

[Chris Thomas]

Nice, subscribed fo sho.

[repare-brise]

Great test, and I am confident your results will be worth the effort. Just a suggestion, possibly do parts of the other panels with other sealants, leaving of course parts untouched, just to have something to compmair with other than bare paint.

[Obsessive Detail]

Looks like an awesome test David. Great writeup too!

[Pro-TEcht]

6 MONTH UPDATE


Well the 6 month mark has snuck up quickly and this product is outperforming my expectations by a mile!! I’ve been religiously washing my car with a weekly dose of Dawn dish soap as well as monthly trips to the Touchless Automatic and I can honestly say this product’s durability has gone unchanged from the day I 1st applied it. I’ve closely watched it’s characteristics on a regular basis under several environments and it is truly an amazing product. In all my years (decades) of car care, I have never seen another product or concept defy mainstream and unconventional properties like this product. It’s nothing like I originally thought it would be to say the least. In laymen’s terms; it’s basically like applying an additional layer of clearcoat that constantly beads water. In addition to this, it’s cleaning power and scratch resistancy is unparelled to any other. I look forward to continued testing and at this point have confidence that this product will most likely outlast my companionship with this vehicle (approximately 2 years). I’ll be updating this thread as needed and will be testing this coating against other mainstream sealants to compare their durability in regards to my wash methods employed.

Remember: Entire Driver’s side of vehicle has been coated (glass/paint/trim/wheels)


Basic shots of morning dew (surface is dirty too):








Rinsed off:

[Pro-TEcht]

I took a trip across the state a few weeks ago and got slammed with Love Bugs! Here’s the results of the cleaning power this product has on bug guts that were left on for about 2 weeks.

I used the wipers and as you can see the coated side (driver) easily sheds the debris. The passenger doesn’t:


Uncoated/Bare (passenger):





Coated (driver):







I then used my pressure washer(~1500 psi) to pre-blast the bugs off the finish prior to hand washing:





Observe the beading strength on the coating:

[Pro-TEcht]

After the initial bug blasting, I used a leaf blower to dry the front end (didn’t want to wipe a towel across the still dirty paint):




Here’s the results documenting the cleaning ability of this product after 6 months on a surface:

Coated:








Uncoated:








Additional Comparison:

[KrisMas]

OK. That's it. I'm hooked. This is definitely THE thing that I need for my daily drive.

So is it available to us non-professional detailers yet? Especially so since I'm asking from the other end of the world. I know a guy here (Seech) is also from Malaysia and doing his own testing but I would LOVE to have it on my ride.

[Obsessive Detail]

KrisMas, on Jun 2 2010, 10:55 PM, said:

OK. That's it. I'm hooked. This is definitely THE thing that I need for my daily drive.

So is it available to us non-professional detailers yet? Especially so since I'm asking from the other end of the world. I know a guy here (Seech) is also from Malaysia and doing his own testing but I would LOVE to have it on my ride.

You can get it if you are not a professional, but I liability waiver has to be signed. I keep the coating in stock and do ship international quite a bit if you are interested in getting some. Send me a pm on here or e-mail me at obsessivedetail@att.net if you have any other questions.