zmcgovern45
12-02-2013, 12:49 PM
Clay alternatives have been taking over the market for what seems like the last couple of years. `I first remember seeing the Speed Prep Towels, but just couldn`t justify spending the price when I really had no major complaints about "traditional claying". `
`
As more and more of these products have been introduced, my curiosity had finally peaked and I decided to purchase the Optimum Opti-Eraser (Fine Grade and Heavy Grade) earlier this year (February?). `I decided to give these a shot for one main reason - it was cheap. (Bear with me... this all leads to the NanoSkin Wash Mitt review) I felt like if I bought it and didn`t like it - oh well, only a few bucks wasted.
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/734147_230693730402087_1067527245_n.jpg
`
I tried it out on my wife`s car which we had just bought. `It was a 2010 Mazda CX7 that had probably never been decontaminated. `The Opti-Eraser "worked" - I mean it removed the contaminates from the surface, but I didn`t like using it. `
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/221662_230693733735420_786738087_n.jpg
^After a few swipes on the hood (I tried both fine and heavy - I had the same impressions about both of them).
`
The opti-eraser was extremely "grabby" meaning it did not slide across the paint, and believe me - I was using PLENTY of clay lubricant. `The Eraser provided no feedback (sound or feel), so you could not tell if the contaminates had been removed. `It didn`t seem to leave any marring behind, but my wife`s paint is relatively hard so I wasn`t expecting it to. `I tried it again later on a Jet Black M3 and that was a different story, but as we all know - that paint can be a nightmare no matter what you touch it with.
`
Long story short - I did not have a good time with my first "clay alternative" and left it sitting on the shelf for the past 8 months or so. `I occasionally use it to remove contaminates from glass, but that is about it.
`
`
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Now on to the NanoSkin review...
`
`
`
A couple of weeks ago, I was working on a gigantic Lexus GX470... This car was ridiculously contaminated, and I finally felt myself "hating" the claying process after 2 hours of working on it. `I rarely work on anything larger than a large sedan, but this SUV pushed me to my limits when it came to claying. `Afterwards, I began looking into clay alternatives again. `I really liked the idea of the NanoSkin mitt so I decided that would be my next attempt to conform to the `clay alternative ways of detailing`. `After browsing several threads, I decided the fine grade mitt seemed to do the trick for the vast majority of the population so that is what I chose as well. `
`
My first (and only - so far) victim would be a jet black Toyota Avalon. `As many of you probably know - this is super soft, finicky paint. `For this reason, I was expecting the mitt to leave behind some marring. `I was planning a full correction on the vehicle, so I was not worried about any minor defects that it might leave behind. `
`
Prior to using the mitt, the vehicle was foamed with a heavy concentration of CG Citrus Wash, Rinsed, Washed with a similar mixture of Citrus Wash, Blown mostly dry, Iron X`d, Rinsed, and then I went to work with the Nanoskin Mitt. `I decided I wanted to try to use the mitt using only a concentrated shampoo mixture as lube, so I mixed 4oz of CW&G into my gilmour foammaster II and sprayed the windshield - I broke in the mitt on the glass, as recommended by the manufacturer. `Apparently there is a thin film that covers the "clay" surface that is used for protection before the product is used - this film needs to be removed before rubbing the mitt on the paint, and the best way to remove it is to rub the mitt on a glass surface.`
`
After `claying` the glass, I moved to the hood. `I sprayed 1/2 the hood with foam, dunked my mitt in a clean bucket of soapy water for additional lubrication, and gently started rubbing the surface. `I used little to no pressure - just the weight of my hand, and moderate speed as I waved my hand side to side. `I worked in sections about 2`x2` and would dunk my mitt back into my soapy solution to rinse it off before moving to another section (I would apply foam to the surface as needed).
`
I was very pleased with the feedback that this product provided as I was working. `I could easily hear and feel the contamination as I was rubbing the mitt on the surface, and I could just as easily hear and feel when it had been removed. `The larger area of the mitt (compared to traditional clay) produced much quicker results that were equal to (if not better) than traditional clay in terms of decontamination removal.
`
I made my way around the car - working on horizontal surfaces and then vertical surfaces, rinsing each section as I went so the soap would not dry on the paint (although it was night time and rather cool out - better safe than sorry). `I then dried the car off and pulled it in for inspection. `
`
As expected - the mitt had marred the surface. `As I already stated, the Toyota Jet Black Paint is some of the softest paint I have ever touched so I was actually surprised at the minor amount of marring that was there. `
`
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae273/zmcgovern45/nanoskinmarring_zps16dbea18.jpg
^I circled the areas where you can see the marring left by the mitt. `(yes the rest of the paint was destroyed, but the mitt did not do that!) `Just for the heck of it, I decided to see how light this marring was - I was able to remove it with Menzerna SF4500 on a white polishing pad (I did not try any less aggressive pads), so that goes to show it was very light.
`
*Note: I should have also tried a section using my NanoSkin Glide lubricant instead of the foam solution to see if that made a difference in marring, sorry!
`
`
After a quick baggie test on a few random areas, I confirmed the mitt had done its job and removed the vast majority of bonded contaminates from the surface.
`
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Pros
- Excellent Feedback (you can hear and feel the contaminates being removed)
- Works well at removing bonded contaminates
- Quicker than traditional clay due to the larger surface area
- Supposedly lasts longer than traditional clay
- Can simply be rinsed off if you drop it on the floor
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Cons
- Somewhat pricey (more of a concern for enthusiasts/hobbyists)
- Can leave more marring that traditional clay, therefore I would only recommend using IF you have time to do a light polish afterwards
`
Overall I was extremely pleased with the product and plan to use it on any vehicle that will be receiving a paint correction to help speed up my decontamination process.
`
I was able to clean wheels and tires, foam, rinse, wash, iron x, rinse, autoscrub in 2 hours... I would estimate that the autoscrub portion only took 20-30 minutes, and a Toyota Avalon is NOT a small vehicle.
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1240631_299780540160072_1610524684_n.jpg
`
Complete write up of the Toyota can be seen here:`http://www.autopia.org/forum/topic/132460-detail-for-charity-well-kinda-trashed-toyota-avalon-corrected-and-coated-with-22ple-vx1-pro/ (`http://www.autopia.org/forum/topic/132460-detail-for-charity-well-kinda-trashed-toyota-avalon-corrected-and-coated-with-22ple-vx1-pro/`)
`
Thanks for looking!!!
`
-Zach
`
`
As more and more of these products have been introduced, my curiosity had finally peaked and I decided to purchase the Optimum Opti-Eraser (Fine Grade and Heavy Grade) earlier this year (February?). `I decided to give these a shot for one main reason - it was cheap. (Bear with me... this all leads to the NanoSkin Wash Mitt review) I felt like if I bought it and didn`t like it - oh well, only a few bucks wasted.
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/734147_230693730402087_1067527245_n.jpg
`
I tried it out on my wife`s car which we had just bought. `It was a 2010 Mazda CX7 that had probably never been decontaminated. `The Opti-Eraser "worked" - I mean it removed the contaminates from the surface, but I didn`t like using it. `
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/221662_230693733735420_786738087_n.jpg
^After a few swipes on the hood (I tried both fine and heavy - I had the same impressions about both of them).
`
The opti-eraser was extremely "grabby" meaning it did not slide across the paint, and believe me - I was using PLENTY of clay lubricant. `The Eraser provided no feedback (sound or feel), so you could not tell if the contaminates had been removed. `It didn`t seem to leave any marring behind, but my wife`s paint is relatively hard so I wasn`t expecting it to. `I tried it again later on a Jet Black M3 and that was a different story, but as we all know - that paint can be a nightmare no matter what you touch it with.
`
Long story short - I did not have a good time with my first "clay alternative" and left it sitting on the shelf for the past 8 months or so. `I occasionally use it to remove contaminates from glass, but that is about it.
`
`
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Now on to the NanoSkin review...
`
`
`
A couple of weeks ago, I was working on a gigantic Lexus GX470... This car was ridiculously contaminated, and I finally felt myself "hating" the claying process after 2 hours of working on it. `I rarely work on anything larger than a large sedan, but this SUV pushed me to my limits when it came to claying. `Afterwards, I began looking into clay alternatives again. `I really liked the idea of the NanoSkin mitt so I decided that would be my next attempt to conform to the `clay alternative ways of detailing`. `After browsing several threads, I decided the fine grade mitt seemed to do the trick for the vast majority of the population so that is what I chose as well. `
`
My first (and only - so far) victim would be a jet black Toyota Avalon. `As many of you probably know - this is super soft, finicky paint. `For this reason, I was expecting the mitt to leave behind some marring. `I was planning a full correction on the vehicle, so I was not worried about any minor defects that it might leave behind. `
`
Prior to using the mitt, the vehicle was foamed with a heavy concentration of CG Citrus Wash, Rinsed, Washed with a similar mixture of Citrus Wash, Blown mostly dry, Iron X`d, Rinsed, and then I went to work with the Nanoskin Mitt. `I decided I wanted to try to use the mitt using only a concentrated shampoo mixture as lube, so I mixed 4oz of CW&G into my gilmour foammaster II and sprayed the windshield - I broke in the mitt on the glass, as recommended by the manufacturer. `Apparently there is a thin film that covers the "clay" surface that is used for protection before the product is used - this film needs to be removed before rubbing the mitt on the paint, and the best way to remove it is to rub the mitt on a glass surface.`
`
After `claying` the glass, I moved to the hood. `I sprayed 1/2 the hood with foam, dunked my mitt in a clean bucket of soapy water for additional lubrication, and gently started rubbing the surface. `I used little to no pressure - just the weight of my hand, and moderate speed as I waved my hand side to side. `I worked in sections about 2`x2` and would dunk my mitt back into my soapy solution to rinse it off before moving to another section (I would apply foam to the surface as needed).
`
I was very pleased with the feedback that this product provided as I was working. `I could easily hear and feel the contamination as I was rubbing the mitt on the surface, and I could just as easily hear and feel when it had been removed. `The larger area of the mitt (compared to traditional clay) produced much quicker results that were equal to (if not better) than traditional clay in terms of decontamination removal.
`
I made my way around the car - working on horizontal surfaces and then vertical surfaces, rinsing each section as I went so the soap would not dry on the paint (although it was night time and rather cool out - better safe than sorry). `I then dried the car off and pulled it in for inspection. `
`
As expected - the mitt had marred the surface. `As I already stated, the Toyota Jet Black Paint is some of the softest paint I have ever touched so I was actually surprised at the minor amount of marring that was there. `
`
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae273/zmcgovern45/nanoskinmarring_zps16dbea18.jpg
^I circled the areas where you can see the marring left by the mitt. `(yes the rest of the paint was destroyed, but the mitt did not do that!) `Just for the heck of it, I decided to see how light this marring was - I was able to remove it with Menzerna SF4500 on a white polishing pad (I did not try any less aggressive pads), so that goes to show it was very light.
`
*Note: I should have also tried a section using my NanoSkin Glide lubricant instead of the foam solution to see if that made a difference in marring, sorry!
`
`
After a quick baggie test on a few random areas, I confirmed the mitt had done its job and removed the vast majority of bonded contaminates from the surface.
`
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Pros
- Excellent Feedback (you can hear and feel the contaminates being removed)
- Works well at removing bonded contaminates
- Quicker than traditional clay due to the larger surface area
- Supposedly lasts longer than traditional clay
- Can simply be rinsed off if you drop it on the floor
`
<span style="font-size:18px;">Cons
- Somewhat pricey (more of a concern for enthusiasts/hobbyists)
- Can leave more marring that traditional clay, therefore I would only recommend using IF you have time to do a light polish afterwards
`
Overall I was extremely pleased with the product and plan to use it on any vehicle that will be receiving a paint correction to help speed up my decontamination process.
`
I was able to clean wheels and tires, foam, rinse, wash, iron x, rinse, autoscrub in 2 hours... I would estimate that the autoscrub portion only took 20-30 minutes, and a Toyota Avalon is NOT a small vehicle.
`
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1240631_299780540160072_1610524684_n.jpg
`
Complete write up of the Toyota can be seen here:`http://www.autopia.org/forum/topic/132460-detail-for-charity-well-kinda-trashed-toyota-avalon-corrected-and-coated-with-22ple-vx1-pro/ (`http://www.autopia.org/forum/topic/132460-detail-for-charity-well-kinda-trashed-toyota-avalon-corrected-and-coated-with-22ple-vx1-pro/`)
`
Thanks for looking!!!
`
-Zach
`