Optimum Compound drying up quickly?

**MXCoop** · 08-16-2008, 06:50 PM

Hey-

I just bought Optimum compound and polish along with Edge Wave 8" yellow, green, blue, and white pads. I have a 95 civic with bad swirls... car has probably not ever been polished. I first tried OP with the green pad, saw a bit of a difference, but didn't do a whole lot, so I switched to OC with a yellow pad. I primed my pad with 2 circles of OC and went at it at about 1500rpm on my rotary. I noticed that the compound went clear or got sucked into the pad VERY quickly, after 2 passes probably, whereas the polish let me work it for 8-10 passes before the pad started grabbing. Really only the first pass on the compound felt well lubed. Seems like a simple solution, right? Just use more compound? I tried a larger amount, but I didn't find much of a difference in terms of correction, and the pad just got gummed up quickly, causing the pad to get grabby again.

Seems like the polish does a better job of swirl removal even on my wrecked paint. I am indeed just a beginner and have more practice to do, but it doesn't seem like the compound should be going clear and drying out so quickly. The polish is massively different in terms of lubrication and working time. If I use as the same amount of compound as I do polish, it really does not keep the pad spinning smoothly at all.

Any comments, help, or stories about optimum compound will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Max

**67Customs** · 08-16-2008, 09:31 PM

Are you using it in the sun? What machine, pads and speed are you using?

**MCFuryNZ** · 08-16-2008, 10:24 PM

Nope, not under the sun. It's been about 80 degrees each day I tried it; always in shade. Using Edge Wave 8" Yellow pad with Optimum Compound on a Vector buffer. I prime the pad with 2 circles on the pad, then continue with maybe 3 pea sized drops when I move to another area. I spread it around a bit with the machine off, then turn to 1000rpm to spread it, then kick it to 1500rpm. Generally by the 2nd pass all the polish is pretty much off the surface. There doesn't seem to be a film or even spread as with the Opt Polish, certainly nothing lasting on the surface past a couple of passes.

Thanks

**wytstang** · 08-16-2008, 10:27 PM

Optimums polishes are known for loooooooooong work times. I've never used a rotary so I'm not sure if it dries up faster. I used OP polish and compound before via PC and it just took to darn long for the polish to break down for me (5.5 pads@speed 6).

**ScottB** · 08-17-2008, 09:39 AM

did you shake it very well ??? Optimum is typically known for the longest work times as offered prior.

**MCFuryNZ** · 08-17-2008, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by killrwheels@autogeek

did you shake it very well ??? Optimum is typically known for the longest work times as offered prior.

I shook it for probably 6-10 seconds before using, same amount of time I shook the polish. The compound is much thinner than the polish, is this normal?

Thanks!

**MXCoop** · 08-17-2008, 03:02 PM

Ooook, round 2 here. Tried it on my Jeep which has moderate swirls. Shook up the compound for a solid 20 seconds then primed my yellow pad. I spread it around with the machine off, then spread it at 1000rpm, kicked it up to 1500, and made a couple of passes. By the second pass there was minimal film/lubrication on the paint and the pad started to grab. The first attached picture shows the result. Beautiful aint it? I then decided it might be the pad, so I grabbed my green edge pad and primed it with the compound. I tried it on a different area of my hood this time. Same deal with lubrication, it just sort of disappears on the paint after 2 passes at 1500rpm.

Second picture shows the result. Holograms and buffer swirls are lighter, but still absolutely caused by the buffer in the same manner.

Next thing I did was go over both areas with the edge green pad and optimum Polish. I primed the pad and applied it in the same manner as the compound. As I was spreading the polish around there seemed to be a much more even layer of lubrication and a pretty hefty film on the surface. I was able to make ample passes and really got a feel for the long optimum work time. There was a good layer of polish left on the paint to wipe off, unlike with the compound. The remaining pictures show the result of the polish and green pad over the swirl and hologram area. I think it came out really well.

I guess my next step is to call Optimum or AG and talk to them.

Thanks for the replies so far, any more help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Max

**Surfer** · 08-17-2008, 03:06 PM

Thats definitely odd, Optimum Compound and Polish have both had long, almost to long, work times for me. You can almost keep just working it and working it, never had it dry or flash on me like you did. I actually had better luck with Compound, I could finish it down like a polish but it was noticeably more aggressive then the Polish so found myself just using only it.

**MXCoop** · 08-17-2008, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by Surfer

Thats definitely odd, Optimum Compound and Polish have both had long, almost to long, work times for me. You can almost keep just working it and working it, never had it dry or flash on me like you did. I actually had better luck with Compound, I could finish it down like a polish but it was noticeably more aggressive then the Polish so found myself just using only it.

I agree that it is very strange. Did you find the compound to be much thinner than the polish?

Thanks

**MCFuryNZ** · 08-18-2008, 05:05 PM

One more thing- the stock # on the bottle says OC2005Q. This doesnt mean it was produced in 2005 does it? It has a new formula sticker on it.

EDIT: sorry for the account change, I forgot I had this one...was saved on another computer

Thanks,
Max