Review: Optimum Hyper Polish

[The Critic]

Last weekend, I did a 1-step polish and Opticoat 2.0 job for a friend’s 2012 Chevy Volt.

For this job, I decided to use Hyper Polish, and this was mainly because of the synergistic compatibility within the Optimum family. According to Optimum, if you do your final polishing with Hyper Polish (or Primer Polish), you will not need to do a degreaser wash and isopropyl alcohol wipedown before Opticoat 2.0 application.

There does not appear to be many recent reviews on the reformulated Hyper Polish, so I wanted to post up my thoughts on the product in case anyone is interested.

The good:

- Lots of cut for a finishing polish.
- Very long work time – six passes at speed five on a Rupes 21 was no problem.
- Cleans out of pads very easily – based on the smell of the pads during clean-up, I think the carrier contains mineral spirits.
- ZERO dust, even with long work times.
- SMAT, so not breakdown needed.

The bad:

- Not available in 32 oz size.
- Although I have not tried it, I think it may be a bit too much cut for certain paints. Of course, this is dependent on the pad and technique.
- If used at the recommended amount, it clogs up pads quickly – so you should blow out your pads with compressed air after each section.
- The recommended amount is way too much – you can cut it in half and still get good results.

The ugly:

- Depending on the polisher, amount used and the pad – this stuff can make a big mess. For me, it splattered everywhere….but I used the recommended amount and it was way too much.

Overall, I think this can be a great 1-step polish, especially for harder paints. It does not have an issue with fillers, so it’s a great final polish if you are planning to apply a coating.

 

[genynnc]

Critic,

How did the OC application go after HP? Have you spoke with said vehicle's owner about the performance of the coating since you applied after using Hyper Polish? Or have you had the chance to schedule a maintenance wash with the customer to inspect the coating's performance after the application?

Did you do perform any other prep before appliaction other than HP step?

What pad did you use on the Rupes?

Ball park... how much HP did you use on the Volt? It's a small car for sure... just wondering how long the bottle will last. It's expensive but piece of mind before coating is nice as well.

Thanks for the post,
-Dellinger

 

[The Critic]

Dellinger:

Quote:
How did the OC application go after HP? Have you spoke with said vehicle's owner about the performance of the coating since you applied after using Hyper Polish? Or have you had the chance to schedule a maintenance wash with the customer to inspect the coating's performance after the application?


The OC 2.0 application went ridiculously smooth. Even after the sloppy IPA wipe to remove all the polish residue, Hyper Polish leaves something on the surface. Normally, I find the paint to be very grabby during application, but this was not the case at all.

No maintenance was has been done. I understand that the car was wiped down with Meguiars QD two days after the application. I have a gallon of ONR Wash/Wax on order for this person, so I think he’ll do the first “wash” once the product arrives next week. He has a serious hard water problem, so going forward, ONR will allow him to use the treated tap water from inside the house for washing.

Oh, and this person is not a customer – I did this job (like most of my details)… for free!



Quote:
Did you do perform any other prep before application other than HP step?

This time, I sprayed a few big splatters of IPA on each panel and wiped them down with an IPA-soaked MF towel.

Normally, after polishing, I would spray the entire vehicle down with Optimum Power Clean diluted 2:1, agitate, rinse, dry. Then I would spray down the entire car again with a fine mist of IPA mix (I’d make sure the entire panel was covered in the mist), allow it to dwell for 1-2 minutes, then wipe down.


Quote:
What pad did you use on the Rupes?


Rupes Yellow. I did a quick pass at speed 3.5-4 to spread, then 4 really slow passes at speed 5 with light pressure, then 2 passes at speed 3.5-4 with little/no pressure.

Quote:
Ball park... how much HP did you use on the Volt? It's a small car for sure... just wondering how long the bottle will last. It's expensive but piece of mind before coating is nice as well.

I used a lot – probably about ¼ of the bottle. Looking back, if I could have used half of the recommended amount without a negative impact on the results. If I had used less, it would have made less of a mess, too.

Going forward, I may/may not use Hyper Polish again since I am seeing very good results from Sonax Perfect Finish in about ½ the work time. I know that there’s some filling controversy with the SPF, but I think I have a handle on the issue.

 

[genynnc]

Dang... that's a lot of passes with HP, I guess the vehicle needed it!

1/4 of the bottle on the Volt... that's not what I was hoping for. Oh well, I'll see how far a bottle takes me.

Thanks for the info!
-Dellinger

 

[The Critic]

You can get away with a lot less. Probably just a feel drops. I was just following the instructions to the letter...sometimes common sense should prevail.

The paint was pretty hard, but HP had a surprisingly good cut.