How to remove trim and motor kote.

Accumulator said:
Hmm...glad I haven't tried it yet.
Click to expand...



Yeah... I would recommend not. I have personally found that I LOVE Adam's VRT under the hood and on textured plastic trim. It's not as easy as spray on, walk away, but it's a nice thick cream, that cleans as it protects, and plus it smells great :heelclick
 
The product is not going to work in all situations. There are a number of factors that WILL affect how well it works:



- How clean the engine/trim is prior to use

- Other products that have been used on the engine/trim

- Weather conditions (humidity/temperature)



Prior to deciding to bottle the product I tested it on:



- Pre-1970 big block Chevy

- 1984 BMW

- 1995 Ford F150

- 1999 Porche 911

- 2001 BMW 330i

- 2004 Porsche Cayenne S

- 2005 Lexus SC 400



This sampling of cars gave me a pretty good idea of how the product responds, as well as its flaws:



- Under some conditions (heavy application, humid climate) the product will not dry properly

- Under some conditions (heavy silicones, grease/oil present) the product become blotchy



That said, this is one of the best selling Sonus products, because there is nothing else on the market (yet) that offers a durable wax coating for the engine.



When I created the pictorial at the end of this article I didn't do anything other than exactly what I said to get the final results.



Anyone not satisfied with the product is due a refund/credit. I stand by all Sonus products. If you're not 100% happy, I'm going to make sure you get a product that works for you.
 
BlackSunshine- The Adam's VRT sounds a little like the Autoglym Bumper Care I like so much. I sometimes top that with 303, luckily the two are compatible (it's nice to also have a spray like the 303 in some cases).



DavidB- I figured you tested it on a wide range of applications and would stand behind it. I bet the condition/cleanliness of the surfaces being treated have a lot to do with the varying results. One of these days I'll give it a try...
 
I'm in the midst of preparing for an oil change that required me to remove a full size "belly" splash guard on my A4. The Sonus/Engine Kote product has been my favorite product for these types of plastic parts/wheel wells for 3 years now because it’s the longest lasting product without attracting dust for these areas.



I always dress the belly pan with Sonus/EK. What I have found is you need to lightly mist the area and let it sit for a bit. Light coats, after each have dried somewhat, is key to building the gloss you desire. Since my pan is off the car now I have the luxury of applying several coats across the span of a few days. In this application I discovered that lightly misting it, letting it dry a bit and then wiping the excess with a paper towel helps bring out the best possible appearance. I'm very happy with the results.



As for wheel wells, I lightly mist them, maybe spread the product a little with a long handled sponge, and then repeat. I usually go with 2 coats and I'm very happy with the results. Bear in mind also that different plastics and surfaces may have different appearances when dressed with this product.



As for the engine bay, I don't use it there. 303 applies, appears, and last perfectly for what I'm looking for. EK/Sonus would remain a permanent staple in my arsenal for the other purposes.
 
Another "non fan" here as well on the MotorKote. I tried it this weekend with the same blotchy results. I will have to try spreading it out as mentioned in the post above. I will say it does dry to a very hard shell but it looks like s$%t. I've been a big fan of the CD2 Engine Detailer but it does contain some distillates. I've not experienced any issues using it once or twice per year.
 
Great thread! I was considering buying some T&M Kote myself. CD2 gets harder to find all the time and I thought this might be a good substitute.



I would be curious to hear from people who don't like the product about their process. Did they clean the engine bay before applying? What are their local climates like (humid maybe)? It seems there are a lot of mixed opinions on this product and I would just love to be able to figure out why.
 
When I tried it on two different engines the conditions were probably 65-70 degrees, medium to low humidity, and garaged. Neither was very dirty to start with, however both were cleaned thoroughly with a QD before applying the motor trim/kote. As far as application, I experimented as posted earlier..on one I followed the directions, spraying and not wiping, letting it dry, and then coming back for multiple applications. The bottle it comes in does not allow you to 'mist' the product at all, it comes out wet and spotty. The other vehicle I sprayed the product on an applicator pad, and spread it out more evenly and let it dry. In both cases the results were spotty, with the sprayed on case being much worse. The vehicle I spread the product on has a very fancy carbon fiber engine cover that has a high amount of gloss. This product definitely left a VERY HARD/THICK coating over the whole thing, and reduced the gloss/shine greatly/looked like total crap. I had an incredibly hard time getting this stuff off too..even citrus degreaser had trouble - let alone stuff like aio etc. I can't see how this stuff can be used well anywhere, considering it never 'smoothes out' and lays down without spots at least in my use, nor does it provide a nice gloss etc. I'm still at a total loss as for any use of this product, aside from possibly a protective coating on something you don't want to look at, like the plastic belly pan underneath the engine, lol.



I read the article David posted regarding engine detailing, and to me - although it's hard to tell because the picture is small - the last picture that advertises sonus trim and motor kote that says it's been on 30 mins and looks perfect - if you look at the black tubing near the front and the plastic trim near the hood latch, it looks spotty to me.

Engine%20Detailing%209.jpg
 
Wish I had read this thread before applying it to my vehicle. I followed the directions and even after one day, it remains somewhat tacky and is already showing dirt. Since it was a pain to apply- the sprayer isn't very good-- I decided to put another coat of wax on the underside of the hood. It looks very clean.



I'm not going to use this on vehicles anymore. Maybe I can find some use for it elsewhere around the house.
 
I would just use something like 303, Adams VRT, or hell, Armor All Tire Foam picked up OTC, it has great cleaning abilities and leaves a nice look which you can still top with anything. I used some in my engine bay today and it worked awsome, let sit, then just washed off, crazy how much grime it pulled out.
 
Yeah, after my similar experience, I've gone back to CD2 Engine Detailer. The best engine detailer I've used and also OTC. I was very disappointed with the Sonus product and a bit shocked as I love all their other products. Hopefully they will make some changes to increase it's effectiveness but for now I'm back to the old staple.
 
am i being dumb here...i cant find this stuff on the autopia site?



sounds like it might be okay if used properly? i know a few people in the uk use it and like it
 
Sorry to hear about how the stuff all turned out for you guys but im sure glad I read this post. Was just thinking about buying some of it and see how it worked. I have used the Griot's engine detailer and had about the same thing happen. Sprayed on nice but when dry it cracked about the second day and after about a week had a yellow tint to it and started flaking off. When I tried to reamove the stuff I could not find a product that would take the stuff off, had to wait for it to wear off.



So inclusion I think I will hold off and just use my Griot's tire and rubber dressing on the engine that I have been using. Wow off topic just noticed this is my first post and how long I have been a member..lol Guess I will say hi and have got alot of info off this site just never post I guess. :bow
 
Glad I read these posts. I just made a large purchase of sonus product including the engine kote. I'm preparing my Mustang for sale and was going to use the engine kote.

Thought I'd read some posts before application. At this point I can't see using it. Nothing is more messy than this kind of product when it doesn't work. When someone uses it properly in an ideal environment and it still doesn't work, enough said. Too bad I didn't read these posts earlier. Scott:wall
 
I ordered a bottle last week, but after reading this I'm afraid to use it! LOL.



I used CD2 and it worked well on my wife's car. I may just stick with that.
 
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