Optimum Car Wash Review
Thanks to Krismas for the sample of Optimum Car Shampoo.
So we have here a daily driver that sits outside 24/7 with about a week’s worth of dirt.
70ml of Optimum Car Wash is then measured and poured into the wash solution bucket, while the rinse bucket holds clean water with two grit guards sitting at the bottom.
My initial sense while mixing the shampoo is that it’s very slick and slippery.
After using the much money-saving Osren shampoo (about RM0.20 per wash), I’ve forgotten the feel of a luxurious shampoo. The difference is that with the Osren shampoo, my lambswool wash mitt feel like hair that’s been washed with just shampoo. With the Opt wash, the mitt feels like hair that’s been washed and conditioned several times.
The mitt glides on the paint very easily and rinses off easily with a gentle stream of water.
Here the panel is wearing a week’s old coat of Optimum Car Wax.
The next thing that surprised me was the strength of the suds/foam/lather. I normally remove my grit guard from the rinse bucket before throwing the water out, here’s a picture of the RINSE bucket after removing the grit guard. Looks like whipped cream.
After drying the car, the lubricity and suds of shampoo helped to achieve a safe swirl-free wash.
(This panel was polished with M205 and protected with Zaino Z2 a week ago)
I then waxed the rest of the car with Optimum Car Wax. 
Yeah I know, the orange peel…
Pros: great lubricity, strong suds, good cleaning power.
Cons: can’t be sourced locally(yet?)
In conclusion, if you can afford it, go for it!
P.S sorry for the lack of updates, I have the pictures and results of another sealant test we did and still haven't have the time to do a write-up on that yet.
My exams are next week and should be free to update then.
Also there will be some details during that time, so make sure to check back again!
19 comments:
Yay you're back please update moer thanks bai!
wah are you using a blogtracker or something, how you know got update? o.O
Bro Kenneth,
Any reason why you top up with Optimum Car Wax instead of Z6 above the Z2 seal?
Reason I asked is plain simply because I found a bottle of OCW in my storeroom still hald full, LOl so wonder if it will add more protection over the car which has been zainoed.
Hi Elvi_76,
Well I do not have much experience with Zaino products but I think Z6 is the Gloss Enhancer Quick Detailer that lightly removes lose contaminants and oils on the surface, but does not leave much protection on it's own.
Something like Z8 Grand Finale Spray would be more suitable on top of Z2 to boost the gloss and protection.
I'm not saying using Z6 is wrong, but for something comparable to OCW would be Z8, because these are not quick detailers. OCW is a spray wax where as Z8 is more akin to a spray sealant.
And, I only have little amounts of Z6 and the car wasn't sealed with Z2 beforehand, so I just use OCW to top up whatever was on the car before(the original M21 I think, still can't finish it, LOL).
:)
regards,
Kenneth
Thks for ya reply Bro. Its sometimes difficult to choose between a spray sealant or spray wax but I guess its really up to personal preference with considerations, i.e. feel, look, protection etc.
I could be a bit anal cos if I thought if I use OCW on a Zainoed car, will gt a prob getting Z8 or Z6 to bond with the previous Z2 seal in the next subsequent wash unless I wash it properly. I am a very hands (rather than machine) guy and really taxing at times. LOL
Oops, my account seemed to screw up. This is Elvi just in case u r wondering who.
Hi Elvi,
yup I can tell it's you, lol. BTW just curious, how do you know I replied? You will get an email notification?
Yes regarding being a hands guy, I'm also a hands guy with my own car since don't have to machine polish it very frequently. Hand polishing has that therapeutic feel for me, haha.
Oh yeah, I will receive email notification and will see posting of this thread.
Haha, r ya kidding me? u seemed so knowledgeable in a range of products and well verse in rotary and DA. I am contemplating to get a DA oso...wonder whetehr worth it...but if I get it, its more for the love of DIY rather than for profits. Hence, not much use for a DA if I hand polish it regularly. Just that after some time down the rd, need to compound with more agrressives on the car.
hahaha, seriously I'm not, just a detailing enthusiast like yourself. :)
well instead of getting a DA like a Flex or a Meguiar's G220, both costing over RM1000. Maybe you can try the Bosch 125AE ROB, use it with 5.25" pads and it will work great for light polishing, pre-wax cleaning and applying waxes or sealants. It won't be aggressive enough to use with compounds though. If not mistaken the machine costs around RM330. But once invest in machine, have to buy few pads and polishes.
Alternatively, you can send to a real pro detailer to get rid of any scratches or defects in your paint, and then maintain it yourself from then on.
You can join us at the Autoworld- Auto Detailing section. Quite alot of enthusiasts there as well. Here's the link:
http://forum.autoworld.com.my/index.php?s=a928a68fd5290f25efcf74c6cdfad67f&showforum=5
Haha, thks bro.
In fact I found ya blog via the forum as well. But I am Singaporean. In Singapore, to do a good detailing requires resources like water, power supply which unfortunately in our HDB flats today r limited or require to queue up, unless one stay in Private housing.
Ya suggestion is good. I find that to get a rotary may not be practical for me if I only used it one time on my sis 5 yr old Altis which is in bad shape. I DIY my own ride regularly which is pretty new so maintenance easier than one time curing.
Actually I found this forum and ya blog through Benny as well. I think u know him also.
Hi Elvi,
ohh through bro Benny, hehehe, don't know him personally, just by reading his posts on forums, and of course his very nice looking website. He is a very influential person in DIY detailing in SG. I respect him alot also when he started bringing DG products in by himself and has now created a large group of followers, kudos to him really.
Yeah the limitations of staying in HDB flats(what's HDB?)makes it much more inconvenient to detail your car at your own leisurely pace.
so you are DIY-ing your car using DG products? I'm thinking of getting some myself. Especially the DG105 TTP, the durability is really impressive in our climate conditions, furthermore for its cheap price. what do you recommend?
Yes, he is a very respectable person and I bought some of the detailing clothes and grit guard from him.
I am actually on Zaino for the last 6 years over my 2 rides, all by hand. But because they have not been finished yet, I have not really switched ard others. I have recently top up another few bottles of Zaino to try out.All got from Brian (You might know him also).
Ya blog will prove to be very useful when I can check to see the properties of various products under experiment. Anyway our climates are the same and I drive my car on a daily basis all in open carparks without shelter. Hence the more I see the need to regularly maintain. Oh HDB stands for Housing Development Board, government statboard in Sg for housing.
Personally, I have also been monkeying ard other products like Meguiar 21, Klasse AIO before. DG is somethg I look forward to try as it is very price competitive a a good.
I may contact Bro BEnny to get some stuffs on glass and leather cleaner too. They just introduce this Ultimate Orange which is a multipurpose cleaner that can deatil engine bays as well. Although my polish system is based on Zaino, My interiors, wheels and wash r all rojak haha...
Hahaha! Ohh you're a Zaino person, hehe. Well Zaino does have a glass polish and leather in a bottle for you to use, lol. Wheels can ZAIO and ZCS, hahaha.
Always wanna splurge on one bottle of Zaino also, but the price keep putting me off. How lasting is the Zaino on your rides?
From one of our earlier sealant tests, if based on water repellency, Zaino Z2 was still lasting, followed by DG 105 and then third place is tied between Osren's Synthetic Sealant and M21 2.0
Yup, have met Brian before, funny guy, hehe.
hmmm, just curious, if you don't have a sheltered car park, you do all your detailing under the sun??
So hot! Or drive to a shopping mall's basement and do. Haha!
Oh yeah, I am trying to move away from being a one-product person and do see hw Meg and DG works as well. Haha ZAIO and ZCS will be wasteful on the wheel rims but in fact I did put Z2 and Z6 on the rims and after a week of daily driven car and open shelter, I wiped off with tissue and in fact it is as easy as that for maintenance. My fren did commented that the gloss of the rim still there and he actually did the same thg and even zaino his exhaust! A bit wasteful la haha. I am intending to use DG on my leather cos its cheaper and people commented that zaino and DG leather smell similar.
Its difficult to answer how long it will last cos really many factors...I am used to hearing some people commenting Zaino shine 10 out of 10 but protection 0 out of 10. But ya experiments mentioned otherwise ..of cos in terms of water beading. I find that for my daily driven vehicle, maybe 4 weeks with in between weekly wash and Z6 QD, I need to Z2/Z6 again to "renew" the freshness and slickness of the sealant. Cannot really comment other products yet.
For detailing my ride, some of our flats have multi storey carparks with washing bay but of cos open to public and will be lucky if we find no one washing and I can keep the whole washing bay to myself. After wash, clay and dry, I will drive my car to upper storeys fewer people) to polish. Normally thats my weekly activity =)...
Hi Elvi,
'Wiped off with tissue' I should have done that ages ago and not have to spend time washing extra microfibres! Especially if I'm polishing rims or exhaust tips, the dirt that is wiped off really very difficult to wash off.
protection 0 out of 10? hmmm That's a first I hear from my Zaino.
Yup my test only confirms it form a water beading/durability stand point, not from a protection stand point.
And you commented that you get 4 weeks out of Z2 before you have to top it up with something again. I do understand as our environment is really a killer on LSPs. A week ago I just clayed, AG SRP and Ag EGP my car's horizontal panels. After one week(hot sun and heavy rain), the sheeting speed reduced by half.
What if you are washing your car halfway and got ppl waiting for you to finish?
And then they keep looking at you, probably weirdly with your two buckets and careful washing movements, LOL.
oh, you don't have to reply to my messages :), just in case you feel burdened to do so.
haha ya serious...only a couple of weeks before topping up. Some of my frens use other products like Meg and mentioned can last 3 mths before reset the process again. I cannot do the same for mine...not possible...maybe I have not be multi-layering a lot...which Zaino is good for multi-tiered..if u gt the time..
Tomorrow I will try 3 layers with Zfx (subject to time) and see how long the protection will be. =)
Ya normally bo bian..cannot wash halfway so have to be understanding oso...quickly finish up and smtimes drive away frm the washing bay than dry and continue in another level...dats life for me...
No prob..I always like to read about others' DIy experience and learn and share. Thats part of growing for me...=)...
Cool, look forward to your result with the ZFX.
wah it's nice lor to have a cooperating community like that. Have to applaud you for DIY detailing your car even with the hassles, you must really love your car. :)
Thks man...actually, my ride is very new and I am just doing my due diligence to keep up with regular cleaning so that the gunks dun accumulate and more difficult to remove. I just take it as past time and exercise..=P., so nuttin really so shout about.. Anyway if u r interested...
http://s871.photobucket.com/albums/ab271/hwanloon/Ride%20of%20Elvi/24%20Aug%202009/
Let me know if u cannot get in.
And just this morning, there was a heavy downpour..what a good start and test to my resetted process...I think if can last 4 weeks, very good for me already...I dun expect much from our tropical climate...=)
Top quality car care products really keep your car looking brand new and shiny and spanking clean! Thank heavens for these.
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