Shawn F. Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Well yesterday I finally after many hours finished my girlfriends 1995 E320 Mercedes. I did an exterior wash and paint repair on it and used Stoner and Optimum products. I figured I might as well post my results on here about the Optimum products I used. Anyways the car is a 95 E320 Mercedes, white in color with light grey bottom rocker and bumpers with tan interior. I did only the exterior yesterday. The car is like new now. When she first bought it a few years ago it was like brand new, low miles, perfect interior, etc. Now it has perfect interior (just a touch dirty but will clean right up) and the exterior had no protection so oxidized and was chalky white, dirt streaks in it that would not come off without buffing, etc. The products I used were Optimum Compound, Poli-Seal, Opti-Seal, Optimum Spray Wax, Optimum Protectant Plus. All of these products worked and turned out GREAT! The car looks better than new now and is slick as butter. The buffing took me way too long though and took hours to do because of how badly it was oxidized and clogging my wool pad up and scratches as well. Optimum Hyper Compound would have saved me some more time and sped things up I'm sure so that's on my list of things to buy. I love the Poli-Seal since it's a two in one product and works great and best of all, these things do not dust! The only dust I had was the wool pad. Opti-Seal is great as well. At first I used it (i did use very little so this is one mistake I did NOT make that I see lots of others doing) and was rubbing it in too hard so it streaked the hood. I paused and went into the house and looked it up on You Tube to show how to use it. It said very light pressure and follow up with the spray wax. I did as told and everything worked out great. Overall I am very happy with it. Two products that did not excite me (I am hoping this is ok to post here since I dont want to put a product down on their own message board) is Protectant Plus, and the Car Wash. It seemed that I had to use too much car wash in a 2 gallon bucket to get it to sud up (not sure why) and the Protectant Plus worked great for conditioning but as for cleaning leather it didn't do much at all. If your looking for a leather conditioner I think its good but for leather cleaner no, not for me. Overall, Optimum car products are my favorites now. I like the compounds, polishes and wax better than 3M!!! Now THAT is a big compliment because I love my 3M stuff too but this stuff beats it for detailing and no dusting hands down. Like I mentioned in other forums when I worked in body shops and paint shops or did it on my own I used mostly 3M products and still do/will but for detailing Optimum is easier to work with outside in the sun and heat. Also I used to use Ardex, Castle, PRO, etc and those products (especially their compounds and polishes) did NOT compare to Optimum. For low end cars they did fine but for the high end vehicles and hot rods I work on Optimum is the best choice for me. Yvan and a few others at mobileworks.com told me about ONR and helping to "go green" or "eco friendly" so I talked to Dr. David Ghodoussi about getting some samples of ONR and a few of the others products. As soon as I tried them I was hooked. If anyone has any questions for me, please feel free to ask! I will post pictures up of the car sometime this week once I load them onto my PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpikle Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Look forward to the pictures I've only used OS, OCW and ONR but like them all as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn F. Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Yes I still have to get the pictures and will. My girlfriend has the camera but this week I will get it from her, load the pictures onto my PC and then post. I need to rewash and wax the car and take closer pictures though but that will come. She did drive in a few thunderstorms with dirt, mud, rain, etc and parked the car in the garage. The water beaded off and the car looked like it was just washed! haha The bottom had a little dirt but that is ok, I will wash it tomarrow and take some more pictures. I still have to do the inside whenever she isn't using it but I have a ton of work around here to keep me busy for the next two weeks (half of it's my own stuff) so I need to get a few things done before I knock the inside out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwaug Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 " It seemed that I had to use too much car wash in a 2 gallon bucket to get it to sud up" Your quote surprises me as I feel exactly the opposite--Optimum Car Wash is not talked about much because ONR is the go to product for most. After a couple of months of ONR washes and anytime I'm going to do a full detail on the cars I like to do a traditional wash. The water where I live is pretty hard and I'm always amazed at the suds I get with O Car Wash. I use 1 oz per gallon of warm water and the suds are amazing. They increase even more as I'm washing as I shake the wash mitt each time I dip it in the solution. It almost appears I am using a foam gun on the section I'm washing as the suds cling to the car in a thick mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn F. Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Hmm, odd. I have tried it several times and it just seemed that I had to use more than usual. I do know that is smells great and when I do use it (even though I have to use lots) it suds up great and has a slickness to it. I'm not saying it is bad, just that I am having to use a lot in a little bucket. I only use 2 gallons in a wash bucket when I wash a vehicle the traditional way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn F. Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 I have it in the sample bottle but it's blue, smells like grape, blueberry or candy (I can't tell the difference between smells of things, my sense of smell is not too great, probably from all the paint thinner). It's not ONR, I have ONR and use it all the time, it's the car wash, I'm sure of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obsessive Detail Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 The car wash does actually have a fruity smell to it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn F. Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Did Optimum change their car wash to this new fruit smelling one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Orosco Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I'm wondering if you have the old formula? The old formula cleaned well but was low in the suds department. The new formula should produce thick suds and have great lubrication properties. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn F. Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Maybe I do I dont know. I need to try the new stuff before I make my big order to Stoner for their 5 gallons of car wash. Like I said before I buy everything in bulk to last me a while and Stoner is free shipping. This stuff I have from Optimum smells good which I like but that doesn't mean anything to me and it's thick but doesn't sud at all. I hear that more suds doesn't mean it cleans any better. I just like high suds to help me remember what I covered and need to cover, plus it lifts the dirt up IMO. At least that is what it looks like to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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