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The Old Grey Whistle Test
Tucked away in the southwestern corner of Tennessee, Optimum Polymer Technologies has made a big impact on the car care industry. Dr. David Ghodussi, the founder and CEO of Optimum Polymer Technologies has become widely regarded for producing extremely high performing car care products. Dr. “G” founded Optimum Polymer Technologies on July 1st, 2001 after working as an Organic Chemist overseeing research and development focused in polymers and automotive paint formulations.
[Optimum Polymer Technologies works closely with car manufacturers, paint manufactures, and various OEM suppliers to development some of the most advanced detailing products available. Amid developing new products, making excellent ones better, and handing his duties as CEO, Dr. David Ghodussi was kind enough to answer some questions about Optimum's background.
1) Can you please give us a brief history and your background prior to founding Optimum Polymer Technologies?After I received my PhD in Organic and Polymer Chemistry in 1993, I started working in automotive paint manufacturing making mainly clear coat paint.
2) What led to you founding Optimum, and when was it founded?In the 90's automotive paint went through major improvements with the introduction of clear coat enamel paints. There were no automotive product at the time that was designed to safely clean or protect the newer paints. So in the late 90's I started to work on development of a new wax on my own.
3) What is the first product you released?Optimum Car Wax was a new hybrid product that I spent a couple o f years to develop and I was able to incorporate the same UV system that is in the automotive paint to help prevent degradation of the clear coat. We received 2 patents on this new technology that covers the longevity and the UV protection of this product.
4) Which product have you released that you are most proud of?We put a great deal of R&D to make sure that every Optimum Car Care product offers great performance, is easy to use, is cost effective, and helps protect the environment. But the one product that has had the greatest impact to deliver all these benefits to so many people across the globe is Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine. The amount of water that is saved each year with No Rinse and the pollution that I eliminated by using this product instead of the traditional washes is something that I am very proud of!
5) Will we see an update to Car Wax or Opti-Seal in the near future?You never know what to expect from Optimum as polymer technology is always advancing. Rest assured that we will continue to release new formulas as new tech becomes available. We pride ourselves in keeping our offerings current instead of continuing to sell old tech alongside new offerings just to build a larger lineup. With that preamble, I should say that there is a "New and Improved" Opti-Seal that will be coming out next week (you must have a crystal ball).
6) Are there any new products in the pipeline?Opti-Raser is very close to release. It is a clay alternative that boasts a non marring way to decontaminate. It’s easy to use, unlike any other product in the marketplace, and will be reasonably priced like all our easy to use car care products.
7) Have you or are you working on a trim restore product?We have many projects in development, but will not release any until there is a significant improvement over current offerings. We try not to bring products to market just to expand our line. With that said...we are testing a few trim ideas.
8) Does Optimum plan on coming out with a spray paint cleaner/prep product for coatings? (Similar to CarPro Eraser)?The first step of paint prep following correction should be to remove polishing oils and fillers which is easily accomplished with a detergent wash. Polishing will remove waxes and sealants, so polishing residue is the only real concern and it is easily removed with Power Clean or a Dawn wash. We are working on a product to be used as you mentioned, but not just for coatings. Because Opti Seal and Optimum Car Wax are pure protection with no cleaners or abrasives so this new product would clean and prep surfaces for protection that don’t require correction and could be used on new vehicles that don’t require correction.
9) How would you recommend preparing the paint to receive Opti-Coat or Opti-Guard?There are many ways to get paint ready to be coated. Simply put, you need to correct to your satisfaction and clean to remove all products/residues from the paint. How you get there is personal preference, however, with our products it could not be easier. If you use our polishes for your correction step, you can go straight to coating after wiping with a water dampened microfiber or after an ONR wash. With other brands of polishes, you will need to add a degreasing step. Choices here include, but are not limited to Power Clean, Dawn, body shop wax remover/degreaser, etc. or a diluted IPA solution. The latter can cause marring at times. If you are doing a wipe down, the towel needs to be changed to prevent loading up and re-depositing what you’re trying to remove. Of course the new paint prep product we are developing will be ideal for this application!] Dr. David Ghodussi, the founder and CEO of Optimum Polymer Technologies
C&P from the red headed stepchild forum
[Optimum Polymer Technologies works closely with car manufacturers, paint manufactures, and various OEM suppliers to development some of the most advanced detailing products available. Amid developing new products, making excellent ones better, and handing his duties as CEO, Dr. David Ghodussi was kind enough to answer some questions about Optimum's background.
1) Can you please give us a brief history and your background prior to founding Optimum Polymer Technologies?After I received my PhD in Organic and Polymer Chemistry in 1993, I started working in automotive paint manufacturing making mainly clear coat paint.
2) What led to you founding Optimum, and when was it founded?In the 90's automotive paint went through major improvements with the introduction of clear coat enamel paints. There were no automotive product at the time that was designed to safely clean or protect the newer paints. So in the late 90's I started to work on development of a new wax on my own.
3) What is the first product you released?Optimum Car Wax was a new hybrid product that I spent a couple o f years to develop and I was able to incorporate the same UV system that is in the automotive paint to help prevent degradation of the clear coat. We received 2 patents on this new technology that covers the longevity and the UV protection of this product.
4) Which product have you released that you are most proud of?We put a great deal of R&D to make sure that every Optimum Car Care product offers great performance, is easy to use, is cost effective, and helps protect the environment. But the one product that has had the greatest impact to deliver all these benefits to so many people across the globe is Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine. The amount of water that is saved each year with No Rinse and the pollution that I eliminated by using this product instead of the traditional washes is something that I am very proud of!
5) Will we see an update to Car Wax or Opti-Seal in the near future?You never know what to expect from Optimum as polymer technology is always advancing. Rest assured that we will continue to release new formulas as new tech becomes available. We pride ourselves in keeping our offerings current instead of continuing to sell old tech alongside new offerings just to build a larger lineup. With that preamble, I should say that there is a "New and Improved" Opti-Seal that will be coming out next week (you must have a crystal ball).
6) Are there any new products in the pipeline?Opti-Raser is very close to release. It is a clay alternative that boasts a non marring way to decontaminate. It’s easy to use, unlike any other product in the marketplace, and will be reasonably priced like all our easy to use car care products.
7) Have you or are you working on a trim restore product?We have many projects in development, but will not release any until there is a significant improvement over current offerings. We try not to bring products to market just to expand our line. With that said...we are testing a few trim ideas.
8) Does Optimum plan on coming out with a spray paint cleaner/prep product for coatings? (Similar to CarPro Eraser)?The first step of paint prep following correction should be to remove polishing oils and fillers which is easily accomplished with a detergent wash. Polishing will remove waxes and sealants, so polishing residue is the only real concern and it is easily removed with Power Clean or a Dawn wash. We are working on a product to be used as you mentioned, but not just for coatings. Because Opti Seal and Optimum Car Wax are pure protection with no cleaners or abrasives so this new product would clean and prep surfaces for protection that don’t require correction and could be used on new vehicles that don’t require correction.
9) How would you recommend preparing the paint to receive Opti-Coat or Opti-Guard?There are many ways to get paint ready to be coated. Simply put, you need to correct to your satisfaction and clean to remove all products/residues from the paint. How you get there is personal preference, however, with our products it could not be easier. If you use our polishes for your correction step, you can go straight to coating after wiping with a water dampened microfiber or after an ONR wash. With other brands of polishes, you will need to add a degreasing step. Choices here include, but are not limited to Power Clean, Dawn, body shop wax remover/degreaser, etc. or a diluted IPA solution. The latter can cause marring at times. If you are doing a wipe down, the towel needs to be changed to prevent loading up and re-depositing what you’re trying to remove. Of course the new paint prep product we are developing will be ideal for this application!] Dr. David Ghodussi, the founder and CEO of Optimum Polymer Technologies
C&P from the red headed stepchild forum
)? For those interested, this interview was by Todd Helme, posted over at the "other" Autopia.
