Setec Astronomy

Or it could be since this new formula is supposed to stain the media less, there was more dirt in the water and less on the media--what did you observe on the media staining, Ron?

It sounds like you are using too much Opti-Seal (Disclaimer: My Opti-Seal is the original version, from 1842 or whenever that was). The reason I was asking if you coated the trim (with the Gloss-Coat) is that some of us have experienced "slivering" of trim when using trim coatings (not Gloss-Coat or other OPT coatings). Apparently this can happen when you apply too much of those other coatings; it's like a "highspot", but usually takes much longer to appear. Anyway, my experience with (and the point of) WOWA sealants is to NOT have to remove residue, so if you are having to wipe more than a few isolated "high spots" then (as Ron noted in his reply while I was typing this), I think you are applying too much.

I notice you also have another thread where you say you "Opti Coated" your vehicle. I'm not sure if you meant Gloss-Coat, since Opti-Coat is a pro-only product and Opti-Coat 2.0 (the one-time consumer version) has been off the market for many years. Did you coat the mirrors before you applied the Opti-Seal?

A member here mentioned on another forum that Yvan is retiring/retired? Is that correct?

I think you're probably overthinking this. I generally dry first and then apply OCW or Opti-Seal, I just think it works better that way...and I don't have to worry about my drying towels becoming hydrophobic.

I guess I'm easily confused. I had thought that many times in passing you had said something to the effect that "OPT does not test other manufacturer's products", but you've cleared it up now. Sorry for the confusion.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I thought in the past you've told us that Dr. G/Optimum doesn't test competitor's products. That's great if he has started to do that, it will certainly give him more perspective. EDIT: Here's something from a few months ago that apparently gave me the wrong idea:

You know I love Optimum Ron...but many times you will tell us you can't compare any other products to Optimum products, because you/Optimum/Dr. G don't test competing products...if that is true, then how do you know that ONR is superior to anything else in the marketplace?

I am not an inveterate FerreX or similar product user, but you can have a lot of iron contamination, and 2 sprays doesn't seem like a huge amount for 1/3 of a hood. In your test, I'm presuming that the unclayed area was the worst, followed by the ONR/Clay, with the FerreX/clay being the best? It may just be that you need to do another application, with or without the clay towel.

I understand that, I was referring to the additional "new formula" label that has been used in the past to identify um...new formulas.

So we should expect a "new formula" label on ONR bottles now?

So does it have the "tweak" from a couple of months ago?

Should I presume that the ONRWW in stock at the Optimum store is not the new version yet? Since it doesn't say "new formula"? EDIT: Will the "new formula" bottles be labeled as in the past?

Ron--if regular ONR now has protection that may last a week or two--does that undercut ONRWW? Or can we now expect ONRWW to be improved from what it was? Great to hear about increased lubricity--but I'm also a bit confused, a couple of months ago, in this thread http://optimumforums.org/topic/64653-product-updates/ , you said updates to ONR were a "tweak" that didn't rise to the level of "new formula", but now (and in the OPT store) it's referred to as a new formula...can you elaborate? Or was it simply that the true nature of the tweak was being held for a SEMA announcement? Also, since you confirmed in the linked thread that ONRWW received the same tweak, but there is no "new formula" announcement here or in the store for ONRWW, can you clarify whether that formula has been changed in the same way or not? Arguably ONRWW already had increased lubricity due to the OCW components.

Wow, four times the thickness! How many microns thick does that make OC3, Ron?

This doesn't have anything to do with the formula update, does it Ron?

Has the same change been made to ONRWW?

So product in the Optimum store has these updates? Is there any labeling to know when receiving product from a distributor whether it is the updated version?

I'm not sure where mine is leaking when I shake it, whether it's from the threads or somewhere else in the sprayer. I have to go through my bottles and dispenser caps and find something to put the GPS in, I'm pretty sure I can find something that will work. I think I had to change the sprayer on the GPS because it exploded, unless it was on one of the other spray polishes that that happened.

Is it my imagination, or didn't the spray polishes used to cost around $18 for the the 18oz spray bottle? Because now they are $30. The GPS is $20.

LOL...okay. I'm afraid to use my Poli-Seal because I can't get any more, I don't like using my GPS because every time I shake it up I get solvent all over my hand. I thought maybe I'd order another bottle of GPS to put in a squeeze bottle....but not for $30 when my bottle is almost full. I'll just have to find a cap, take the sprayer out, and shake it up real good and pour it into something else. And I guess do the same thing with my Hyper Compound and Hyper Polish, since every time I get the sprayer to work, the next time it...doesn't. Oh, and that's too complicated to have to call up to get a sample size, who uses the phone anymore? If I can't put it in my internet cart, well...I guess I'm not getting a sample size.

My original thought was that if low sales was the reason the lotion/creme polishes were discontinued, then that doesn't bode well for the spray polishes at the current price point. However, it seems I haven't been keeping up with the price of polishes/compounds, there are certainly more expensive ones out there, and less (on a per-ounce basis). But most of those other polishes have an entry point for the smallest bottle of $20-24. Maybe an 8oz non-spray bottle of the spray polishes would be a good entry-point addition to the line, especially since most people seem to dislike/not use/break the sprayers.

Great news...I've been clamoring for less media staining ever since products came to market that did better at that than ONR.

Well, since I have enough isocyanates in my life, I didn't want to use the Clearcoat Restorer, so I tried the Gelcoat Restorer on some failed clear on my SO's car that she's getting rid of shortly. It did improve the gloss quite a bit and created some hydrophobicity, not sure if I will be able to test the longevity depending on how long she has the car. My thinking on this was if the GCR soaks into chalked gelcoat and makes it glossy again, then maybe it will soak into basecoat and make it glossy again. Which it did, sort of. It was a little streaky, however. Sorry, no pictures (I know, I know). My next off-label use is going to be as a tire coating, since I have a quart of this stuff and it looks just like a tire coating.

Is anyone else as disappointed with this as I am? In case anyone doesn't know, Compound II, Polish II, Finish, and Poli-Seal were all recently discontinued in favor of the spray products. I like the spray products, but for someone who doesn't use them regularly, the sprayers clog, and I've had one physically break and fly apart (presumably because it was clogged). Also, the whole spray concept can be trying, I usually joke that when I spray the polish on the pad, I also get it on the polisher, my arm, the car, the house, the dog...oh wait...that's not a joke. And the solvent package in the sprays really lingers, you can't get away from the smell and it's hard to wash out if it's on your hands or towels or pads. I understand the lotions were not a big seller and considered to be "older technology", but certainly part of the slow sales is not really having anyone online pushing these products out in the larger forum/YouTube world, and I guess of course polishes sell less than wash and sealant/wax in general. I'm sorry, I'm just venting. It just seems like in the world of "mass-customization" we ought to still be able to get these products, even if it's only direct from OPT. Maybe cut the sizes down to one instead of four, instead of 8 oz, quart, half-gallon, and gallon, maybe just sell the quart size. Or a 16 oz.