Snake Oil or the Real McCoy ? - Optimum Polish

[EdT]

I guess recently most Autopians have switched using Meguair's trusty #80 and #83 to opted for a new polish called Optimum Polish optimumcarcare.com/optimumpolish
optimumcarcare.com [edited for commercial link as clearly stated in the Forum Rules; 2hotford]

Supposely now paint detailers will only need one polish and one cutting compound to replace all other grades of polishes and compounds by switching the type of pad will provide the proper aggressiveness of the polish.

I want to put this question to Meguair's chemists on the pros and cons of this product. Most Autopian detailers have now opted for Optimum Polish as their go to product of choice leaving Meguair's polishes behind.

[Setec Astronomy]

Re: Snake Oil or the Real McCoy ? - Optimum Polish

Originally posted by EdT
Most Autopian detailers have now opted for Optimum Polish as their go to product of choice leaving Meguair's polishes behind.

That is really an overarching and unfounded statement, that has no place on a manufacturer-sponsored forum such as this one. There is always buzz about new products (Meguiar's included), and people who try them; that doesn't mean they have left anything "behind".

[Mosca]

I dunno Ed, I've never heard of it until now. Once the car shines, I'm done changing brands.


Tom

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by Mosca
I dunno Ed, I've never heard of it until now. Once the car shines, I'm done changing brands.


Tom

Well said Mosca....

[rusty bumper]

There was some discussion on Autopia recently about Optimum polish/cleaner or something like that.

Some have complained about how DACP leaves too much dust behind, and have switched to using the Optimum brand more often.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Snake Oil or the Real McCoy ? - Optimum Polish

Originally posted by EdT
I guess

Supposely now paint detailers will only need one polish and one cutting compound to replace all other grades of polishes and compounds by switching the type of pad will provide the proper aggressiveness of the polish.

This is true of all products including product formulated for use by hand. For example you can change the aggressiveness of our M80 Speed Glaze by simply changing the aggressiveness of your pad. We discuss this in our video also. Watch our how-to video online here,

How to remove paint defects

Or you can purchase it here,

Professional Education Series Video

I want to put this question to Meguiar's chemists on the pros and cons of this product. Most Autopian detailers have now opted for Optimum Polish as their go to product of choice leaving Meguiar's polishes behind.

That's kind of a broad statement; we've been around for over 100 years and I don't think a few people using a new product will change much. Let's see what happens over a longer period of time versus a few months, or even a few years.

I personally haven't tried the Optimum polishes, but when I've tried the others that are talked about on that forum I've never been that impressed, nor has any of them convinced me to leave Meguiar's and start using something else, especially when working on something important. Like they say,

"One man's ceiling is another man's floor"

I love the below picture as it's a car build on the Overhaulin show by Chip Foose's team. The results you see on the paint on the deck lid are after a thorough polishing with M80 Speed Glaze, I can't fathom any product improving, or taking the results you see below to an even higher level.



After the M80 Speed Glaze the team at Icon Productions put to coats of NXT Tech Wax on the Challenger and the following Sunday the car took two first places, best of class and best of show.








How about you Ed, have you tried the Optimum polishes? Do think they could improve upon the results achieved above?

[detailbarn]

I've used the optimum polish and it does work well but I do not agree that it will replace all my other polishes. Like Mike said you can change the agressiveness of most products by changing the pad. I've had good success with Meg's #80 with a wool pad , it really works nice to remove old oxidation and does well to remove swirls with out adding and haze.

[Mike Phillips]

It should be noted that at least one person on Autopia that likes this product also sells it. Nothing wrong with that at all, in fact it's vitally important that you believe in the products you sell before you ever go on to sell them in order to be honest and credible with your customers. It's also important to make sure everyone is aware of the fact that you sell something you publicly post that you like and recommend so that everyone is aware of your affiliation with the product.

Again, nothing wrong with recommending and endorsing a product you like and sell, while I don't directly sell any Meguiar's as a part of my job, the results of my posts on this forum and others leads to sales as I believe in the products. I also used them long before I have went to work for Meguiar's.

[mrzeee]

I love the below picture as it's a car build on the Overhaulin show by Chip Foose's team. The results you see on the paint on the deck lid are after a thorough polishing with M80 Speed Glaze, I can't fathom any product improving, or taking the results you see below to an even higher level.

I thought OverHaulin' pushed Mothers products??

[EdT]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
How about you Ed, have you tried the Optimum polishes? Do think they could improve upon the results achieved above?

Thanks for the response, I myself have not tried the Optimum Polish and have been a true Meguair's user for the longest time and have just started my online business selling Meg's Pro Line Polishes. This post was intended to let Meguair's know what they are up against currently to dispell any claims or notions that most people have about this new polish.

Some people on Autopia have started calling Meguair's polishes old technology due to dusting, limited work time and hard to remove and the only reason I have posted this matter was because senior members of Autopia's forums are all using Optimum Polish with great results and have claimed to leave Meguair's products behind.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by EdT
Thanks for the response,

Just to note, I edited your above reply to show my words in the correct quotes to help anyone reading this understand who said what.

I myself have not tried the Optimum Polish and have been a true Meguiar's user for the longest time and have just started my online business selling Meg's Pro Line Polishes. This post was intended to let Meguiar's know what they are up against currently to dispel any claims or notions that most people have about this new polish.

And we appreciate you're letting us know about the buzz on Optimum products on Autopia. We also appreciate your using and selling our products, just to note my question to you was posted in good faith since you started the thread as at the time you posted this I had know idea if you had used them or not and if you had, I sincerely wanted to know what your thoughts were. Now that we know you're a user of Meguiar's products, your opinion of these products would offer even more value.

Some people on Autopia have started calling Meguiar's polishes old technology due to dusting, limited work time and hard to remove and the only reason I have posted this matter was because senior members of Autopia's forums are all using Optimum Polish with great results and have claimed to leave Meguiar's products behind.

That's one of the things about other discussion forums you can always count on, different opinions; and that's okay, we all have features and benefits we're each looking for out of our products of choice and our process, in the big picture, a product will excel or fail based upon the performance of the product and so far we're not worried about a few people on another discussion forum that prefer one product over another as we have plenty of happy customers who are satisfied with the results they are getting from using our products.

I'll order in their compound and polish, maybe their spray wax as I've read all the information on their website and it's a good idea to use a product before ever posting a comment about it.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mrzeee
I thought OverHaulin' pushed Mothers products??

They do, although I don't know if that's all they use when they work on cars on that show. When we got to the car months had passed since it was finished and the normal wear & tear a car finish can undergo was apparent although when it left the show it probably looked pretty good. That's life.

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by EdT
Thanks for the response, I myself have not tried the Optimum Polish and have been a true Meguair's user for the longest time and have just started my online business selling Meg's Pro Line Polishes.....

Just curious, what is the name of your online business? What other brands of products do you sell?

Tim

[JeffM]

I have a couple sample bottles of Optimum and just this weekend had a chance to try it out.

My vehicles have been brought back to life using DACP and SFX2&3, and i have managed to keep them looking pretty decent , so i have not needed much of anything terribly abrasive until this weekend.

Optimum is mainly marketed towards pros, or car manufacturers. It is paint shop safe.

With that said, i have a gut feeling, after using it, that a more experienced detailer would agree it is a product designed around the rotary.

I tried this polish with an Orange LC VC pad. Like everyone says, it can be worked until the cows come home. My only problem with that, for the PC user, is that it never goes clear, not for me anyways.

I was buffing and buffing and buffing, i finally stopped and wiped it off assuming it "had to be long enough".

It removed the defect in the area i was trying to remove, produced a good looking finish and didnt dust.

My problem is, i like to know when the abrasives have broken down, so i can wipe the product off.

If the abrasives dont break down with the PC then it would stand to reason that a person could continually remove paint until they stopped. Is that good or bad, i dont know, im not going to vote for good right now.

Perhaps the abrasives did in fact break down, it just never went to a clear color.

I did half the hood, and switched over to DACP. I have a love hate thing going on with DACP, but it gives me feedback and i know when it has done its job.

[EdT]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Just curious, what is the name of your online business? What other brands of products do you sell?

Tim

My website toughwax.com[edited for commercial link:2hotford] is currently under construction and should be up in a week or two. I currently distribute the little known Collinite brand and specifically their 845IW and 476S waxes that are legendary for their durability and gloss thats almost unheard of and unavailable in Canada, but well known to Autopians. I think their LSP products will suit the harsh Canadian climate. I also carry several of Meg's 80 series Pro polishes to compliment my product range.