Accumulator
Well-known member
Since I'm cutting and pasting from other forums today (e.g., my Air Wand thread), I thought I'd do this one as well. Time to debunk a little conventional wisdom and eat a little crow 
Not sure if this oughta go in Detailing or in Products, so Mods- please move it if necessary.
Over at MOL somebody asked about applying Pinnacle Souveran. Well, OK, I've used it forever...so I posted my $0.02. And :doh I included the conventional wisdom to *not* let it dry completely, or at least not for too long, lest it be hard to buff off. That's what it says on the instructions, that's what people always say ("it'll take a belt sander to get it off!" as one "expert" put it), and that's what I've always done. Trouble is, like a lot of conventional wisdom, it's just misinformation that's been accepted as fact and perpetuated by people who haven't thought/checked it out for themselves (me included in this case
).
Mike Phillips pointed out that *he* never had any trouble buffing off thoroughly-dried Souveran and suggested that I give it a try. He even admitted that he might be off base and that he'd like to hear how it worked out for me. Here's my reply:
Predictably, since he was speaking from experience, Mike was *NOT* off base at all
I was refreshing the #16 on my wife's A8 yesterday, and I experimented with Souveran on the painted parts, and the unpainted black plastic areas, of the two sideview mirror housings. The temperature in the shop was mid-upper 60s and the humidity was negligible (maybe 30%).
Using a yellow foam applicator, I applied Souveran to both mirrors. On the right side I applied it a little thicker than I normally would, about what I'd expect a typical person to do if told to "apply it thin". It was clearly visible on the surface. On the left side, I applied it pretty thick. Not goofy-thick but I applied a lot more than I'd expect somebody to use.
Both applications appeared to completely flash off in a matter of a few minutes. You could see the presumably dry wax clearly. I then let them dry for an additional period of time.
I let the thinner application on the right side dry for 30 more minutes. It buffed off *very* easily, using a very soft, plush MF (the kind of MF that some find too gentle for LSP buffing).
I let the thicker application on the left side dry for an additional one hour. It too buffed off *very* easily. No problem at all.
So as Mike said, there is no downside to letting a normal application of Pinnacle Souveran dry completely and there may well be an advantage with regard to durability. The "don't let it dry" instruction that I had perpetuated is not necessary and the "it will be hard to buff off if you let it dry" warning which I also perpetuated is downright untrue. I stand corrected.
Heh heh, I really learned something as a result of this thread, both about posting conventional wisdom-type info that I haven't verified through first-hand experience and about applying a product I've used for many years!
Not sure if this oughta go in Detailing or in Products, so Mods- please move it if necessary.
Over at MOL somebody asked about applying Pinnacle Souveran. Well, OK, I've used it forever...so I posted my $0.02. And :doh I included the conventional wisdom to *not* let it dry completely, or at least not for too long, lest it be hard to buff off. That's what it says on the instructions, that's what people always say ("it'll take a belt sander to get it off!" as one "expert" put it), and that's what I've always done. Trouble is, like a lot of conventional wisdom, it's just misinformation that's been accepted as fact and perpetuated by people who haven't thought/checked it out for themselves (me included in this case
).Mike Phillips pointed out that *he* never had any trouble buffing off thoroughly-dried Souveran and suggested that I give it a try. He even admitted that he might be off base and that he'd like to hear how it worked out for me. Here's my reply:
Predictably, since he was speaking from experience, Mike was *NOT* off base at all
I was refreshing the #16 on my wife's A8 yesterday, and I experimented with Souveran on the painted parts, and the unpainted black plastic areas, of the two sideview mirror housings. The temperature in the shop was mid-upper 60s and the humidity was negligible (maybe 30%).
Using a yellow foam applicator, I applied Souveran to both mirrors. On the right side I applied it a little thicker than I normally would, about what I'd expect a typical person to do if told to "apply it thin". It was clearly visible on the surface. On the left side, I applied it pretty thick. Not goofy-thick but I applied a lot more than I'd expect somebody to use.
Both applications appeared to completely flash off in a matter of a few minutes. You could see the presumably dry wax clearly. I then let them dry for an additional period of time.
I let the thinner application on the right side dry for 30 more minutes. It buffed off *very* easily, using a very soft, plush MF (the kind of MF that some find too gentle for LSP buffing).
I let the thicker application on the left side dry for an additional one hour. It too buffed off *very* easily. No problem at all.
So as Mike said, there is no downside to letting a normal application of Pinnacle Souveran dry completely and there may well be an advantage with regard to durability. The "don't let it dry" instruction that I had perpetuated is not necessary and the "it will be hard to buff off if you let it dry" warning which I also perpetuated is downright untrue. I stand corrected.
Heh heh, I really learned something as a result of this thread, both about posting conventional wisdom-type info that I haven't verified through first-hand experience and about applying a product I've used for many years!
