Joining the Klasse Klub!

R

roller5435

New member
Okay, after tons of searching and reading about Zaino vs. Klasse vs. Blackfire vs. Platinum vs. Carnauba, and with my vacation days quickly approaching, I had to make a very tough call.



I decided I'd give the Klasse protocol a try. :xyxthumbs I'm excited to see what all the rave is about. I have two black cars that need protecting (one is plain black, one is metallic black), and even though there have been some concerns posted about acrylics on dark cars, I'm going for it. I'll just have to make sure the swirls are gone or minimal before I apply it.



Besides reading every post with Klasse in it, is there any "Klasse FAQs" or "Klasse manuals" or other synopses posted anywhere? I saw a manual for Zaino, but couldn't find anything similar for Klasse. :nixweiss



Thanks in advance!
 
there are at least 2 extensive threads specifically talking about klasse application, durability and review... i believe carguy posted one of the long reviews.



sorry, i don't have the bookmark
 
I'm also ne to the board. After roaming through the site for a short time I decided to go with the klasse on my 02 Toyota Tundra. Went throught the whole routine. Dawn, clay, AIO x2 and SG x2. Paint is now like butter. A big thank you to all who post tips on making the results so great. The instuctions at the CMA website are very good and I reccomend the Klasse-Sonus kit.



This website rocks. Thanks again.
 
Fireproof,



Good to see you over here too. I hope you won't be disappointed with Klasse like I was. I've switched to Zaino but have yet to use it.
 
Hey - good to see you too! ;) Now don't scare me like that. I'm not even going ask why you didn't like it. I'll give it a try and post my results here!



Talk to you later!
 
There are lots of different ways to apply Klasse... wet, dry, QD, water.... not to mention removal. Maybe try searching a bit and deciding for yourself. CMA also has instructions on their site.



I'll try and post more later when i have more time.
 
Alright!! Another Klasse user! I've been using Klasse since I was addicted to this forum and I'm very very pleased with the results. Some people reported that the SG is very hard to remove, well, in order to eliminate that problem, use some QD on the paint and wipe off, it's that simple. Hope you'll have fun working on it and remember...PICTURES!!!!
 
Don't use any water, QD, or liquid of any kind when applying or removing klasse AIO or SG. Klasse does not react well when it comes into contact with liquid BEFORE it has cured.



I usually let the SG sit on my car for 30-60mins before buffing it off. If there are any areas that are too tough to buff I will just leave them until I wash my car next (usually a week later). The spots come out when I dry the car with my towels. Just wiping the damp cloth over the unbuffed section easily removes the leftover product.



My car actually looks better after I wash it then after I apply the SG becuase the unbuffed sections are gone. The car has a crystal clear shine to it.



If you use liquid to aid in application or removal you will get the nasty klasse haze. I know, I used to use water to remove SG, and it always hazed on me a week later.



So far it's been a month and I have 3 layers of SG on my Bimmer and no haze has formed.



Also, don't apply SG if it's going to rain the next day. Try doing it when the next day will be sunny. The heat from the sun will help bake the SG. Conversely, the rain will promote it to haze.
 
68GTO said:
Just offering a divergent opinion: I have not encountered any of the problems Bill mentioned while using a QD to apply either AIO or SG. In fact, to apply either of them dry seems to me to be fraught with difficulties. Every long time user of Klasse products I have read from, including CMA and other distributors encourage the use of a lubricant for application. I have yet to get anything resembling the so called Klasse haze. So far, Klasse on all my vehicles (4) has resulted in exceptional results.
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I agree that using a lubricant is much much easier. And I'm glad you haven't had any hazing issues. BUT, if you search the forums for "klasse haze", you will find many threads. The majority of people who have used the product have gotten the haze at one time or another. It's the select few like yourself who have been lucky enough to avoid it.



I advise all klasse users or potential users to be safe rather than sorry. Don't take chances with application or removal because the odds ARE against you.
 
I have 5+ layers of Klasse on all of my cars and I have yet to see the Klasse Hazing.

I always remove using a non carnuba based QD and it works great.



I've always looked for the hazing but I have never seen it.
 
Intermezzo said:
Fireproof,



Have you read Jimwh's Klasse instructions in the Autopia Articles forum?
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I was hoping for just such an article, and went to the Autopia Articles section to look. But guess what - nothing there except a few "car ownership" articles.



Perhaps the article you refer to (and others like it) were all lost in the server meltdown?? Likewise, in my searches, I come across many posts sending newbies to certain threads/links, but all of them are now dead-ends. :(



If there's another way to find these articles, please let me know!
 
Well, contrary to what BillNorth has posted, I've used water in both applying and removal. :p Like I said, there are many different techniques to using Klasse. It is fairly common though, to use water to assist removal.



I followed Jimwh's instructions for AIO (did it twice) since I applied it right over a workover with SMR. Then I went my own way and poured some SG into a tiny 1 oz squirt bottle to meter my consumption and make it easier to apply on a foam pad. I experimented with using QD as a lube (as suggested by CMA) but ditched that because there was a danger of mistaking dried SG with dried QD. Since my car is silver it would be very hard to see it to check for coverage already. I used simple water instead. I would take my foam pad, lightly mist it with some water, then "scrub" on a few thin lines of SG on the top 1/3 of the pad. Then I would dab the pad on the paint in a couple nearby areas and start applying. This took some experience to get good at it, but soon I figured out how much water mist I needed and how much SG I needed to cover a certain (small) area. Be very sparing with the water mist. I found that you could basically dilute the SG with water this way and apply it so thin that you had to fog it up with your breath to see it. This made me feel good because a lot of older advice I'd dug up basically said that if you could see the SG, it's too much. I applied 5 more ultra-thin coats this way and know I actually did apply something because I was running a 1/2 and 1/2 hood test at the same time, and noticed the 6 coat side was subtly darker (the famous Klasse "tinting" effect). A lot of this technique was ironicaly inspired by Zaino users. :p



In removal I did a modification of the "two towel" technique and just used one towel and my handy water mister. I would mist a section of a panel, wipe it down with the towel, then flip the towel over to the dry side and give it a final drying buff. I felt I could get away with this because my coats were so thin they weren't all that hard to remove. I checked for complete removal by fogging up the paint with my breath again. The fully buffed out areas did not look streaky. I didn't do this for the whole car of course, but just a spot check here and there to ensure I was buffing it well enough. By the way, I had let it dry for an hour or more (depending on my schedule) and decided to follow the "24 hour cure" rule between coats.



Even though my car is silver and very forgiving, I'm sure I have no hazing. I had a theory once that incomplete removal on a microscopic level might result in the haze, but I think another member tried it and still had trouble. The hazing problem is still a mystery as to why it happens.



Having said all this I'm pretty sure I took a definitely "orginal" approach to all this and few do it this way. In retrospect it was probably kinda risky for a newbie, but it worked! I searched for hours on various tips and personal techniques for applying Klasse, and there seem to be very few rules. If you want to play it safe though, follow Bill's advice and use no water for anything.



HTH :D
 
68GTO said:
Nice post Brian. Where did you find the nifty 1 oz squirt bottle?
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At a plastics shop. Some place that specializes in plastics products and custom makes plastic and acrylic stuff. Probably some listed under "plastics" or something in the phone book.



They sold the squirt caps and the bottles in lots of different sizes and volumes so I pieced it together and bought it. It was cheap too (less than $1). One thing that bothered me though, was that the bottle actually holds more than 1 oz when I poured 1 oz of water into it, so I marked off the right level with a strip of tape.



The sharp tip works good for putting the runny SG on a pad though. :up
 
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