Klasee not working?

M

medic

New member
So I had finished with my second coat of SG last sunday and I was quite pleased with the shine. I could see jets flying above my car by looking at my hood - very cool:D This was the first time I'd acheived shine like that on my white car.



However, it started raining on Wednesday and hasn't stopped since. It doesn't seem though that the Klasee is beading/sheeting as well as my mother's carnuba wax used to. I really like the shine, but I don't like the fact that rain water remains on my hood. I realize the slope isn't too great as my car is sort of boxy, but a lot more water seems to be staying on the car. Even driving down the freeway, water would ususally start flying off the car as I was driving, but doesn't seem to any more with the K twins.



Did I do something wrong in my application process?
 
There were a number of old threads where the beading of Klasse was discussed. It seems that Klasse does not bead as well as say a wax. So it sounds normal to me (but I have not used Klasse)





Steven
 
Medic, did you give your paint a thorough cleaning prior to AIO ? Then again Klasse doesnt bead like Carnuabas.......Im not a big Klasse fan myself....
 
If the car's shiny and looks good, I'd say you applied Klasse just fine.



I honestly can't remember how well my Klasse beaded when it was untopped. I think it may not have been spectacular, but I'm not sure.



In any case, Klasse has never been known for its beading effect and has a reputation for sheeting more often. It still protects though - some products are like this. If you want mad beads, Z or #20 are better, or you can just top it with a pure carnauba. My car beads just fine now, thank you. :D
 
Yeah, I do remember reading that the beading was pretty minimal. That's fine really, I'd prefer sheating to beading. I just want the water off my paint so it doesn't sit there and produce that nasty spotted dirt effect. The sheating didn't seem to be happening either.



I went back to my car after posting the first message becuase the rain had stopped for about two hours so I wanted to see if the water had rolled off. Even on the side vertical pannels there was still a good deal of water. After driving the car around for about 5 minutes at 80+ mph, the water had all flown off, but I guess it just wasn't what I expected.



Before doing the AIO (x 2 btw), I dawn washed, clayed, and Gold Class washed. No real polishing or clensing lotion, so maybe that did impact it.



Oh well, after I get another coat of SG on, I plan on topping it with some wax so I guess this won't be a real problem. I wonder if the Harley dealer has S100 in stock...
 
One of the things that causes beads is the oil in the product. That is why carnubas bead so well. The lower the oil content, the lower the beading effect. You don't use SG for the beads... You use it for the shine (like the one you noticed) and the protection (probably something you haven't noticed yet). Get a few more coats of SG on there and then top it with a non cleaner wax and you'll see those tight beads we all love so much. :xyxthumbs I'm a huge Klasse fan myself. Check the pics in the link in my sig. Most of those pictures in there are Klasse pictures.
 
If I understand medic's post, he's saying that it doesn't even appear to be sheeting - it's clinging.



Sheeting means that the water quickly collects itself and rolls off the panel as a sheet, leaving a virtually dry surface behind. Beading means that the water collects in tiny pools of water (the beads) which roll off the car when driven.



From his description, the water isn't sheeting, it's clinging and sticking to the flat surfaces of the car, much like an unprotected surface would do, or an abraded surface would do...



In our tests, Klasse beaded, then sheeted, then sort of died and had the water cling to the panel. Of course, this took a number of weeks - not days...very interesting situation, medic.
 
I seem to be having the same problem as you Medic. The water on my car seems to be clining to the body panels after a rain storm. My paint isn't in the greatest shape however. It's been clayed and feels smooth, but has swirls and little scratches everywhere from the previous owner. Maybe once I #2 and #9 it I won't have this problem.







spin
 
These are my Klasse findings;



I used Klasse on both our cars about 6 weeks ago. both were clayed and AIO'ed and then I put a coat of SG on each. I followed up with two more coats of SG on my G35 in the recommend 24hr intervals, but left only one on the wife's car. 1st and 2nd wash, both cars bead. 3rd wash, wife's car stops beading, my car is still beading like crazy after six weeks.



The second and 3rd coats seem to be real important, I've also found that letting the car bake in the sun between coats seems to help harden the finish and the shine improves.



I've resisted putting on a coat of S100, because I really want to see how long the 3 coats of SG are going to last on my car.
 
geekysteve said:
If I understand medic's post, he's saying that it doesn't even appear to be sheeting - it's clinging.



Sheeting means that the water quickly collects itself and rolls off the panel as a sheet, leaving a virtually dry surface behind. Beading means that the water collects in tiny pools of water (the beads) which roll off the car when driven.



From his description, the water isn't sheeting, it's clinging and sticking to the flat surfaces of the car, much like an unprotected surface would do, or an abraded surface would do...



In our tests, Klasse beaded, then sheeted, then sort of died and had the water cling to the panel. Of course, this took a number of weeks - not days...very interesting situation, medic.
Click to expand...



Exactly. There do appear to be puddles (very large beads that group together) that form on my hood and other areas, but they just don't come off. I wonder if I didn't buff off the excess well enough or if I didn't shake the bottle enough. I see what the result is with more coats and how my GFs car is with only 1 SG coat
 
68GTO said:
After I go through my SG supply I'll probably move on and try Blackfire. I do like the AIO.
Click to expand...



Compared to what I've heard with SG, Blackfire Paint Protectant is a cinch to use. Make sure that the new stuff is applied very thin and it's absolutely wonderful stuff. It's a Carnauba-like, not a candy apple shine and looks especially good on darker cars, although it's still highly reflective on my white one.



In retrospect, I wish that I had used AIO as my base coat rather than the Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. It sounds sturdier.
 
Although I have learned many techniques for using Klasse here on Autopia, I haven't heard this one for thinning the application on.



Try using a terry washcloth. I make about a 2 inch pad out of it. I apply the SG in a thin line to one side of the pad making a applicator portion of the cloth. Apply in even, longish strokes in the direction of the airflow. Look from the side to make sure that there is a continuous application over the area. Move a bit faster over the area and flatten the rest of the cloth so that some of the "dry" area comes in contact with the SG, thinning it out as you move across the surface.



It seems like using this technique can thin the coat dramatically without removing the coat. Allow to dry, and if there are any areas which require it, spritz with a non-carnuba QD and stand back... you won't be able to see for the shine. Subsequent coats (3 seems to be the magic minimum) seem to be even easier to thin out. You can actually see it dry into the finish. Very cool. VERY nice gloss. Excellent depth. Superb product. Getting ready for winter. Hard to stop SGing now. Wait until the ice tries to grab onto my baby!



Jeff
 
what people seem to forget in all these beading theories is that every week we sort of add to the mix.



What kind of car wash do you use?

Did you use the correct amount?



Is their sheeting action associated with it?



PBS is my favorite (Pinnacle Bodywash Shampoo).



You won't have any beading problems with this stuff.
 
Patrick said:
Medic, did you give your paint a thorough cleaning prior to AIO ? Then again Klasse doesnt bead like Carnuabas.......Im not a big Klasse fan myself....
Click to expand...





Not a big fan? That's tough considering you might have bought a bottle or two and it's pricey. Perhaps you can troubleshoot your method. (I haven't been around to pay attention much).



Ultimately Klasse can protect a car by spending 2 weekends a year (washing regularly). That's pretty good by my boat (course I'm a big fan).
 
YoSteve said:
Not a big fan? That's tough considering you might have bought a bottle or two and it's pricey. Perhaps you can troubleshoot your method. (I haven't been around to pay attention much).



Ultimately Klasse can protect a car by spending 2 weekends a year (washing regularly). That's pretty good by my boat (course I'm a big fan).
Click to expand...



Good point Steve!

I've been a proud fan of Klasse AIO & SG for 15 years, and never have had any problems with it.

I would suggest, that the difficulties some people experienced,mostly due to the "user error", IMO.

Serg:wavey
 
YoSteve said:
Not a big fan? That's tough considering you might have bought a bottle or two and it's pricey. Perhaps you can troubleshoot your method. (I haven't been around to pay attention much).



Ultimately Klasse can protect a car by spending 2 weekends a year (washing regularly). That's pretty good by my boat (course I'm a big fan).
Click to expand...



I found it very difficult to work with. A 99 Dodge Ram quad cab...Sandalwood in color (Metallic Silver/grey, paint in excellent condition...

1. Wash

2. Remove existing wax

3. 1xAIO to doors (4), I didnt feel more was necessary due to the fact of the clarity and existing shine on the paint....

4. Apply SG by hand with yellow foam applicator, using as little as possible, let set for 1+ hrs, until a haze was evident.

5. Remove with USA 100% cotton, then MF...

6. And QD, MF, and QD and MF and QD, and MF......it was very laborous and time consuming !!!

7. Next day, applied SG again, same method...and QD, MF, QD, MF....it really wasnt any easier the 2nd time.....Thats where i gave up...I wasnt about to do the whole truck.....

The problem i found with it was removing the SG, it didnt want to come off. I was left with what looked like smears of the product....
 
Medic,



I wouldn't worry too much about the sheeting/beading action of Klasse. I've heard a few different theories, but one thing I've been able to find out by looking into a few things myself is that true acrylic protectants are "supposed" to sheet water instead of bead water and the initial beading you might get in the first couple of washes are more due to oils in the product that will eventually wash out.



Also, keep in mind that no matter how well a product sheets water, it will never sheet off rain-water. The sheeting action should be more visible when spraying your car with water.



And like you said in your post, this will no longer be an issue once you top your Klasse layers with S100. Even without a carnauba topper, if you maintain your Klasse layers regularly with something like Meguair's #34, you'll get plenty of beading action.
 
68GTO said:
So if it doesn't bead or sheet rainwater how do we know it works? What is the definition of protection?
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Rainwater will bead on most cars...regardless of whether or not it's protected. A better way to test is to observe if your paint surface sheets or beads when spraying water on it.



Definition of protection? Anything that acts as a sacrificial layer in lieu of your top layers of paint.



Also, I agree with your points (in the sense that I disagree! :D ) about many of the Klasse problems originating from user technique. Perhaps ppl could be more specific about what we're doing wrong when we get the Klasse haze.
 
Rightlane, Im not sure it didnt bond, I couldnt get the stuff OFF !!!
 
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