# Tough Coat vs Optimum Spray Wax



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Decided to have a bit of play with the spray-on's that I've got on the bonnet of my car.

It's a Lexus RX300 with about 108,000 miles on the clock so isn't in the perfect condition, but it does get looked after generally.

Sprayed with ONR first, then a 1:10 solution of G101 and given a quick wipe over with a MF cloth soaked in an ONR wash bucket.

Then gave it a quick claying as it had only been covered with Optimum Spray Wax last week too. The first couple of passes with the clay were quite a bit grubbier!



Then sprayed with ONR again and ONR wash with a grouting sponge. Dried with a DJ Basics of Bling towel.

This is after coating. 1 coat of Tough Coat, then did a coat of Optimum on the other side. Wiped off the Tough Coat and repeated that again for a second layer of each.



No close ups as I'm not really bothered about the shine, etc. Just interested to see what the longevity of them is like (Optimum bottle says up to 5 months!) and I was a bit bored for half an hour :lol:

So I shall try and update with some pics in the near future and see how it goes.

View from the drive.


If it's parked, it's parked there so as you can imagine it gets a bit of a constant battering with sea air.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Not used the AF Tough Coat although as a sealant I would guess it has greater durability than OCW. I do look forward to your results though.

Just as an aside, OCW does not need perfectly dry paint before using. As long as most of the water has gone i.e. first wipe after ONR then OCW can be applied to a slightly damp surface. This also means the paint is never touched by a dry towel


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

I have to say I am liking the Optimum thus far. Although when I did the whole car last week it was a very quick and cowboyish effort, so I'm expecting to have to reapply the rest of the car the next time I get the chance. But there was some nice beading from the couple of showers we've had over the past few days.

It goes on obscenely easily and it almost feels wrong as I thought Tough Coat was too easy when I got it. You have to buff the Tough Coat off, so you at least feel like you've done some work. :lol: Using the Optimum is easier than cleaning glass, if I've done it right!!


Speaking of which, do you have to buff off Optimum after you've applied it? I did a cursory final wipe with a dry MF, when I did the bonnet today, but visually there was nothing there to remove. And of course the instructions don't mention anything about it either, so I'm guessing not.


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

I actually purchased the Optimum spray wax and a few others to do a spray wax test over a year ago and still not gotten round to it...:wall:

Look forward to the results...:thumb:


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

m1pui said:


> .....Speaking of which, do you have to buff off Optimum after you've applied it? I did a cursory final wipe with a dry MF, when I did the bonnet today, but visually there was nothing there to remove. And of course the instructions don't mention anything about it either, so I'm guessing not.


You are right, no buffing as such, just spread and then wipe or sometimes you can get away with not wiping. I use OCW to help dry after cleaning with ONR, it may not be the most durable product but it is very easy to use. One or two sprays per panel is more then enough


----------



## alxg (May 3, 2009)

And a very nice view too :thumb:


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

alxg said:


> And a very nice view too :thumb:


Certainly is. Not so much though when it's wet and windy and you get a nice frosted effect on all the windows :lol:

Been many a time when I've had to wipe the car windows clear every time before I've gone to drive off.


----------



## dillinja999 (Aug 26, 2013)

that sea spray is a *******, i drive along seafront every morning on way to work and can see the salty spray on all the cars windows lol


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Just had a bit of a shower and this was the result. Excuse the poor iPhone picture, was all I had to hand. Beading looks poor with the Optimum, but once I started driving it ran/blew off nicely.

As above, left is Tough Coat, right is Optimum



The Tough Coat, as it usually does, beaded loads tighter towards the other edge of the bonnet but, as you can see below, it was darker on towards the edge so wouldn't show up well in that split shot.


----------



## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Optimum Opti coat would be much more like Tough coat.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Maybe in performance, but not in application/use of the product.

Edit:
I just think that Opti-Seal has quite a exact set of prep and directions to apply. Both of these products are proud to promote their ease of application and that was the main reason for me trying them so, IMO, they absolutely can be looked at as competition for each other.


----------



## Kimb (Oct 4, 2011)

You are comparing a sealant vs a wax?

Try and compare Opti-seal vs tough coat, as Opti-seal is optimums sealant, they might be a better comparison. Opti-seal is just as easy to lay on as the opti-wax, actually maybe more easy as you spray less on the foam pad and wipe it in, instead of spraying on the car.

Sidenote: You can also use the opti-seal the same way in driyng the car as other people do with opti-wax...

Opti-coat is a more permanent coating, not a sealant compared to tough coat...


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Just realised that I had mistakenly wrote opti-seal instead of opti-coat in my last post.

I know it's sealant vs wax. They weren't bought or blagged to conduct a test. It was a comparison done purely because I had both products to hand and I was curious.


----------



## msb (Dec 20, 2009)

Ocw will be easier but Toughcoat will look better for longer imo!


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Been raining most of the evening and the beading of both products was looking very nice earlier. Didn't get a pic as I was going out in a hurry, so hopefully it'll carry on overnight and I'll be able to in the morning. 

Must've just been a glitch in the matrix when I snapped the last pictures as the rest of the car (coated in Optimum) has beaded up nicely too tonight. :thumb:


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Courtesy of the overnight rain. Hasn't been re-washed since application. Will probably get to that later on in the week if I get time.



Larger/Original pictures (from iPhone).


----------



## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

I'm confused - in the earlier pics beading on OCW was worse than it is in the above pics.

One thing I noticed immediately in the first pic - the OCW part looks considerably wetter.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Guru said:


> I'm confused - in the earlier pics beading on OCW was worse than it is in the above pics.
> 
> One thing I noticed immediately in the first pic - the OCW part looks considerably wetter.


I am a little too, but it is how it is, as I said in my post last night...



m1pui said:


> Been raining most of the evening and the beading of both products was looking very nice earlier. Didn't get a pic as I was going out in a hurry, so hopefully it'll carry on overnight and I'll be able to in the morning.
> 
> *Must've just been a glitch in the matrix when I snapped the last pictures as the rest of the car (coated in Optimum) has beaded up nicely too tonight.* :thumb:


The only possible way I can explain it is that it was perhaps due to wind or dirt that affected only that side of the bonnet the other night (it does have a slight crease and slope to it) and has since washed away with the rain. What might be worth noting is that the Tough Coat side of the bonnet has a wall slightly shorter than me (5ft 10") a few ft from it (you can just see it in photo 2 of post 1), whereas the Optimum has a driveway about 6 cars width before the next wall.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Guru said:


> One thing I noticed immediately in the first pic - the OCW part looks considerably wetter.


I think that is just a trick of the light. You can get an idea of the angle the sun passes over by the reflection on the wing mirror and I think it's just a case of the harsh light of the sun peaking making it tough coat side look a bit washed out.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

First wash this morning after 9 days and about 260miles driving. ONR, 1BM with tiling sponge.

It kindly rained heavily about 2 hours after I finished so managed to get some freshish pictures. Couldn't get them straight away so this is after driving for a few miles and being parked up for half hour or so.





(Left side AF, right side Optimum)


----------



## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

Up close the beading doesn't look much but from a distance you can tell that both of them are still holding.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Despite a few grim and wet days earlier this week, it's actually quite nice today. So, whilst not the ideal tool to use, I decided to tip a watering can over the bonnet and take a reasonably decent picture of the results for once! Should really get my GX-1 out to take them, but I'm lazy!

Car hasn't been washed since last posted, so 8 days and about 260 miles ago.

Wish I'd videoed it too as both sides are sheeting very nicely too.


----------



## flatlinerz (Feb 29, 2012)

Optimum Spray Wax I love it! was blown away how awesome it look once applied and lasted just over a month


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

35 days in and beading the morning after some overnight rain.

Car was ONR washed about a week ago. Have done a bit less than 200 miles since then.

iPhone photo's.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Both are still looking good to me


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Washed the car on Thursday (third wash since application) and it's rained quite heavily since. Car was dry this morning but rain looks imminent so, not wanting to stand outside in it and take photo's later, decided a bit of manufactured rain from a spray bottle would do.

Drove it last night when it had some rain beading on and it's great to see it still doing the jelly wobble as you pull off, then run around the bonnet as you accelerate/brake/corner. 

Car had some sand/dust that had settled on today, but was good to see a some of this being picked up in the beads and then running off the bonnet 







All in, I'm still pleased as punch with the Optimum.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Given the time of year I would have expected the Tough Coat to be performing better than the OCW but it looks as if both are doing well


----------



## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

I recognise that view, I lived just along the road in Whitburn:thumb:


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

lowejackson said:


> Given the time of year I would have expected the Tough Coat to be performing better than the OCW but it looks as if both are doing well


I thought the TC would've been doing better too. Tbh though, I wasn't going to be shocked if the OCW had only lasted a couple of weeks and I ended up never using it again!

I topped up the rest of my car when I washed (although I am trying Sonax BSD on my roof lol) it, but that was mainly because I tried FK425 after the last wash and it seemed to make the car look streaky and a real dirt magnet.

It goes quite far too. I've done 10 coats on cars of varying sizes (A-Class, 1-series, Pug 308, Astra Cab, Lexus RX) and still have a fair bit left in the bottle.





knightstemplar said:


> I recognise that view, I lived just along the road in Whitburn:thumb:


Cool. I've lived here for almost 30 years now. Went to Whitburn Comp school too


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

As the Sonax seems to be incredibly popular I would be interested in your views on how they compare


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Early thoughts would be;

For application, Optimum is easier/better. For Beading/water behaviour, Sonax. There's no two ways about that. But equally, that's not to say Optimums beading is bad, simply Sonax is very very good.

By chance, I washed better halves car same day as I last did mine (last Thursday I think) and gave it a coat of Optimum. Birds decided to bomb the bonnet on the Saturday, cleaned it off and redid the bonnet with Sonax. So I might leave it as is and see how they last/tail off together

Think I and someone else mentioned it on other thread too that when applying the Sonax, the cloth felt quite grabby on the bodywork, whereas the Optimum just spreads and glides uniformly. In both instances, I gave the cloth a quick squirt of ONR (at spray bottle dilution) to damp it and the product is applied with a "painters flick" (I think that's the term) across the panel rather than dumping a full squirt in one area then spreading it around.

As it stands. I'd reach for Optimum over the Sonax, but I will take notice of where I've already applied it (my roof, other halves bonnet, brothers whole car) and will try it on other candidates. Maybe just that it's one that takes a bit of adjusting to.


----------



## Flakey (May 5, 2013)

Good to see OCW perform well. It's a ridiculously easy to use product, looks very good and if it lasts this well; what else can one ask for? And unlike many tall claims, Dr. G's product is proven to protect the paint from UV rays and fading. 

Well written and well tracked.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Sun was a bit too bright and high in the sky to get a really clear full bonnet shot, but here they are anyway.

Thought it would be really tailing by now, but they're still doing well. Car has been washed, IIRC, twice with Wolf's Mean Green between the last wash and todays wash. Beads are with water from a spray bottle as we are honoured to be having a dry day thus far. Can see a dark cloud approaching though!



This one is Tough Coat, but for some reason PhotoBucket won't save the text box I'm putting on the image.


----------



## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

Both still looking good, and that is something knowing the battering your car will be getting on the sea front from salt, sand and rain. :thumb:


----------



## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

Wow, 102 days is pretty impressive for both of them.


----------



## RMM (Jan 9, 2014)

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this! :thumb:

OCW is a very nice LSP: I used to use it quite often. It is specially noteworthy the proven fact that the UV inhibitors that it has in its formulation tend to migrate to the substrate over time.

I think that you should wash this panel regularly with a soap that leaves nothing behind, like DJBTBM or OCWash (I'm not sure those Rinseless products accomplish this).


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

This will probably be my last update on this. With any luck I'll be changing y car in the next week or so!

I'm only on my phone so haven't annotated the pictures properly either. Great effort eh :lol:

The car was washed, again with Wolfs Mean Green 10 days ago and has done around 300 miles since then, so the beading isn't particularly tight in the photos, but it's still showing good run off in the rain.

It's, by my reckoning, 62 days since last update so that takes the total up to 164 days since they were coated.

This side is Auto Finesse Tough coat @ 164 days



The right half is Optimum Car Wax @ 164 days


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I really thought the Tough Coat would outlast the OCW so it is nice to see both products still working. Thanks for taking the time to do this


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

I am suprised how OCW has performed, I first bought it nearly 10 yr ago and never thought it lived up to the hype at the time.


----------



## Flakey (May 5, 2013)

It lives up to the hype and more


----------

