First motorcycle detail

H

highspeeddata

New member
I'm interested to hear about all the "objective" comparison tests people in this forum have run in the past using some of the most talked about products. What I mean by objective is like a half-hood test where they used one product on one half the hood and one product on the other half and then looked at the results 4 months or so later.



The comparisons I'm most interested in hearing about are with Klasse, Nu Finish, Zaino, Blitz, and Meguairs products.



I know a lot of people have subjective opinions on how the whole car looks when these products were used at different times but I'm looking for a more objective methodology.



Thanks!
 
Thanks for the links! I see why people are using Zaino. However it appears it takes a lot longer to properly apply all the recommended Zaino products than the two Klasse products (unless you apply several coats of Klasse). I find it hard to believe applying several coats provides THAT much additional benefit. I would expect it follows the law of deminishing returns.



So I don't see any good reason here to dump the Klasse products I recently bought and go out and buy a bunch of Zaino as it appears they are very very similar in their results and (most important to me) their durability.



The P21S Carnuba is intriguing but it appears the polymers have the advantage. To bad no one has done the test with Nu Finish. That's the product the Primo Detail shop in town recommended to me as lasting longer than Klasse and providing as good as results. The only drawback being it has a bit more aggressive cleaners in it compared to these other products.
 
A few months back I clayed my hood, then taped half of it off with that blue 3M masking tape. I applied Klasse AIO to half, then moved the tape over so it was <em class='bbc'>exactly[/i] covering the edge of the Klassed half, and applied AutoInt's OEM One-Step to the other side. So, when I removed the tape, I had a half/half (Klasse/OEM One-Step) hood with no gap in between them. I could tell a definite difference in the way the two products looked, but I could never fully make up my mind as to which looked better. In certain light the Klasse looked better, but in other light the One-Step looked better. In the end, I think I was leaning towards the Klasse. After about a week I noticed a difference in the way water behaved on my hood: the Klasse side would sheet the water, whereas the One-Step side tended to bead more. After a couple of weeks I applied Klasse SG to the whole hood and couldn't tell much of a difference in the way the sides looked after that. I have since redone my whole truck, so this wasn't really a long term test.

I would volunteer to try Klasse vs. Nu Finish, but that NF has me scared! :eek: When I first got my truck I wanted to get a coat of something on it right away so I bought a bottle of NF. As I was applying it, I kept getting little flecks of orange plastic on the applicator, evidently from the orange NF bottle! At first I thought they were coming from around the cap area, but I think they were actually inside the bottle. Yikes!!! I know of another professional detailer that said he used to use NF regularly though...
 
My 3rd coat of SG was definately noticably shinier then my 1st, and my 5th turned it up even more including the feel compared to the 5th. I had 3 coats on my car that lasted for 6+ months when I decided to recoat before winter.



The polymer chain that Klasse lays down does build up, it's a process you can observe.



But all in all you'll be happy with either Z or K, just depends on what your needs are.
 
Since the hood was taped and two different products were used on each side of the hood, it still is not 100% objective. You knew beforehand which side was done with each particular product and the eyes tend to see what the mind wants it to seel (placebo). A more objective way is to do the same procedure not knowing which product was used on what side of the hood, then you are to inspect the hood and then decide which looks better if in fact you can discern there is a difference OR not even knowing what products are even being used. This is why there are so called double blind and triple blind studies done in many testing procedures concerning many different products from prescription drugs to vitamins, etc. etc. You can also take it further down the objective road and do the hood test with the inspector *thinking* the left side was done with product A and the right side with product B when in fact the "entire hood" was done with product A but the person inspecting is not aware of this and is then asked to give his opinion. Placebo effect is a very real and powerful phenomenon. Of course the above pretains to aesthetics. The beading and durability would require different testing procedures altogether.



TBone :)
 
Well, bigboyhf put 10 coats of KSG on his spoiler and said:

"..... The SG just kept getting glossier and deeper, and definitely covered the paint imperfections.... "

It's all a personal thing. I spent about 22 hours the last 2 days (stayed up all night) working on 1/2 of my car's paint. It was worth it to me. But perhaps your time is more important to you -- to each their own.

Here's 299 coats of ZAINO:
 
I am curious as to why DON.



I always wonder what people are after in the look of their paint so please do not take this the wrong way? I am just curious is all.
 
This is a 2006 Kawasaki 1600 Vulcan that belongs to a friend of mine from church. Since he's had it, the only thing he has done to is wash it. Despite the fact that he rides it everywhere, it wasn't in too bad of shape.

Process was as follows:
Wash-ONR+APC

Clay-Blue Magic, Blue Magic lube

Wheels- Sprayed with S100 and scrubbed with Mini EZ Detail brush and generic soap.

Tires-Sprayed with OPC and scrubbed with stiff bristle brush.

Chrome-Optimum Metal Polish.

Rubber-Treated with AG Rubber and Vinyl care

Correction:
Makita 9227 with 3" backing plate Erasure orange, white and black pads
Flex 3401-6.5 inch green and black pads
Polishes-Menzerna Power Finish and Menzerna 85rd

Protection:
Optimum Opti-Seal

LSP:
Pink wax

I first tested a small area on tank using the Makita, 4" Orange Erasure pad and Menzerna Power Finish. This combo created more work for me so I stepped it down to a white Erasure pad and Menzerna 85rd. After going over the Power Finish test spot with the combo and doing an IPA wipe down, I discovered that this was my winning combo. It did a great job of cleaning up the marring that the Power Finish left behind. I used this combo on all the green paint areas and used my Flex with a green pad and Power Finish on the saddle bags. The bags had some paint transfer and scratches that were easily taken care of with this combo, and also finished down nicely. The paint on the bags was harder than the rest of the bike. I followed it up with 85rd on a black pad.
After all painted surfaces were polished, they were washed again with ONR+APC to get rid of any oils. Protection and LSP was then applied.

The windshield was taken down and dismantled. All rubber gaskets were coated with AG Rubber and Vinyl care and sealed in a bag. Plastic cleaned with Plexus.
All rubber on bike received AG Rubber and Vinyl care and all chrome was polished with Optimum Metal Polish. Chrome was sealed with Opti-Seal.

Before:
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After:
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Thanks for looking!! Sorry about the randomness of some of the pictures. I'm too tired to really sift through them and this is the only free time I'll have until sometime next week.
 
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