Best Products - Pro Opinions

[jcrist]

I just bought a brand new Acura (TL-S) with that deep (not really dark) blue color. I found a couple scratches in the hood and took it back to the dealer. Their detail shop proceeded to get the scracthes out but put swirl marks all over the hood.

I consulted a 72 year-old retired detailer (like 40 years under his belt) who used to detail my friend's dad's Ferraris. He said his secret product (and he has tried hundreds) was the Turtle Wax Scratch and Swirl remover (everything else Turtle Wax is crap).

I went over the hood with it by hand and Wow, bye bye swirl marks. I can barely see them under flourescent lights even! But you can still see them. I applied Klasse Sealant Glaze on top.

I wasn't sure how bad the dealer messed the hood up, it looked pretty good, but I wanted to make sure that the car was really back to the condition it would be after a few washes if the dealer hadn't buffed it -- face it, with darker colored cars, everytime you wash it you put slightly visible light scratches in the clear coat.

So I took the car to the *best* detail shop in town. They've got Porsches and Ferraris sitting in there that they are working on almost every day. He said "they didn't manhandle the car too bad" and that it looked "okay." (Sigh of relief)

However he did say you have be careful about using these cleaners/polishes with lots of silicone in them because they just hide the scratches and then wear off quickly. (Not sure how much silicone is in Turtle Wax Scratch & Swirl remover).

I asked him about the Klasse products. He said they are good products but wear off a lot faster than you think (and they advertise.) He said Nu Finish (believe it or not) was a much longer lasting acrylic sealant than Klasse and had just as good results. This kind of suprised me because it seems a people in this forum mostly poo poo Nu Finish but I am wondering if that is just because it seems like a cheesy mainstream product. He also receommended Meguairs #3 for removing swirl marks. I know this guy knows his stuff.

So if I had to end with a question to this long post it would be, are there any other *professional detailers* in these forums that have good reason to believe Nu-Funish is not a good product to apply to a brand new car? I saw a post from someone about it having abrassives, but then a Pro posted right after it that it has the same ingredients as 90% of all the other products discussed here. They are all just marketed differently. Plus a lot of the time people get bad results because they didn't detail correctly (didn't wash and clean the surface thoroughly, etc.)

Looking for factual responses from people with professional experience, not rumors or one-time band experiences.

[DETAILKING]

First of all, he is correct. Most scratch and swirl removers contain some type of oil for lubrication. This helps to fill in the defects as well. The proper way to evaluate would be to use DAWN on the car and wash away all those oils to reveal the bare paint. Also, if you are applying a polymer sealant that does not contain cleaners in it, you should strip down that oil layer first for proper bonding............

As for KLASSE not lasting, well, it looses it's water beading fast and turns to sheeting for the times that I have used it, but the gloss remains and the product seems to be lasting just fine in my opinion. There are many users here that have very positive experiences with it and will swear it gives months and months of protection. These users have been using it for many years. Who knows if NU finish will last longer. I think we are splitting hairs here. Also, NU finish is not an acrylic, but a different type of polymer system. Most of us detail our cars more than 2-3 times a year anyway so that LONG durability is not so much a problem. What I look for is gloss retention, water beading, and slickness. I don't care much if a product doesn't last 4-6 months, but for the first 2-3 I want it to have minimal loss in water beading, gloss, and slickness. THAT is what is important to me. If I had a new car sitting in my garage, you can bet I would grab KLASSE before NU Finish.

I personally, would not use NU finish on a new car (I have been using it on and off for years on some cars and boats). It is much too harsh in my opinion, unless you only planned to use it 2-3 times a year. It's not the best product out there either, while the gloss it provides is nice, it is nothing "shocking." It also makes a lot of dust buffing of and if you get any on rubber trim....well.....good luck removing it! Again, its not a BAD product, but in my opinion, just the wrong product for the job for a brand new acura.

I would get the paint the way you want it using clay, swirl mark removers and pre cleaners, and then follow up with a quality sealant and you should be fine for while.

Is this the color of your car? This guy from the acura_CL forum uses zaino on his car.

[BillNorth]

Holy smokes!!! DK, that acura looks amazing!! I think I'll be trying Zaino this summer. Did he put zaino on the windows too! They look like they're not even there.

[jcrist]

Yep, that's my car except the 2-dr version. I have the 4-dr (got two kids).

It does sound like the difference between Nu Finish and Klasse is almost splitting hairs. And the guy didn't say Klasse was BAD at all, just that you have to apply it more often than the company may lead you to believe (they say 6 months on the AIO and 12 months on the sealant! - I but it is about half in actuallity) I don't want to have to polish and seal the car more than 3 times a year (every 4 months or so).

Well, the fact that I already have a new supply of Klasse also is making me lean back towards it. I've heard of people applying carnuba waxes on top of it? If that works, seems like it would help it last longer? Of course when considering the price of the car, the $ cost of tossing the Klasse and using Nu Finish should be insignificant.

[darbh]

I would not let the dealer off the hook regarding liability for the damaged caused. I would send a letter immediately documenting the harm caused. Then, follow up with a request for reimbursement.

[Intermezzo]

Damn DK, I was all psyched and looking forward to putting on a few coats of SG on my bimmer this weekend and you had to post a picture of that Zaino'd CL! I'll bet that car's paint is as slippery as ice. It's been a few months since my last coat of Z-5 on my silver car and there hasn't been any discernible loss in slickness.

BillNorth, what color is your car?

[BillNorth]

Originally posted by Intermezzo330I
It's been a few months since my last coat of Z-5 on my silver car and there hasn't been any discernible loss in slickness.

BillNorth, what color is your car?

Tony, my bimmer is Boston Green Metallic. I think zaino would look amazing on it! I can't believe your zaino'd car is still slick after a few months. My SG doesn't feel anywhere near as slick as the first week.

[DETAILKING]

slickness is pretty cool with Zaino. Z7 wash and Z6 really complitment the system, but after every wash,the car stays very slick.....it just doesn't die!

[RH]

The shine from Klasse is far greater than that of NuFinish. The amount of Klasse used per application is also far less than NuFinish. Removal of Klasse produces far less dust as DK mentioned. Removal is also far easier with Klasse. All in all, Klasse is a far better product on just these factors alone.

As for that Acura, yes it looks nice, very nice. It's also brand new, and any quick detailer used on the paint could produce the shine in that picture. New car shine pics dont impress me, sorry.

[Guess My Name]

What impresses ya RH?

[RH]

Originally posted by Guess My Name
What impresses ya RH?

Slickness/feel, beading/sheeting, 10 year old paint that "still" looks new, swirl free cars, etc.

[Guess My Name]

Ditto RH.

Pictures can be deceiving. But it still looked pretty good whatever was used.