Optimum product feedback...

A

Andy M.

New member
I'm new, but learning a ton here!



Got some questions.



I have been pleased with the looks I've gotten from Meguiar's polish and Gold Class on my black Passat. I constantly get coments like "Do you wash daily?!" The car is about two months old. I want to step it up, but am unsure which road to go. I am blown by the pics and word of mouth on Klasse. Then I hear Zaino. That sounds like a whole Pepsi/Coke thing. I think the consenses is Klasse for the darker car. Yes?



My question, other than will Klasse/Zaino be apples to fish with Meguiar's, is about layers.



I read(I think) that AIO strips SG. Does that me AIO on AIO on AIO and so on, then just layers of SG forever?



If I were to stick with the store bought Meguiar's, can I put the polish on top of the recent wax, then wax again?



How often, if ever, do I strip these layers off?



Anything else a rookie should know?



Sorry I'm all over the place.
 
Others are better qualified to answer your questions on Klasse, but I think both Zaino and Klasse work well on dark colored cars based upon the pictures people have put up here! Its all in the technique (which includes using proper materials).

Take a look at Zaino on my mom's TL...please note, NO swirl mark removers or abrasives..just Dawn, clay, Z1, Z5, and good ol z2.

http://www.geocities.com/yell00itr/TL3
 
Klasse AIO will strip SG. For the basics of Klasse, you apply AIO and put the SG over the AIO. You can apply as many layer of SG as you like. Klasse should be stripped twice a year, Early Spring and Late fall. That way the late fall treatment will last through the winter months. All you do to start over with Klasse is apply AIO and then start relayering your SG.



Now on to Zaino. You do not need to strip Zaino. You put your base of Z1 on and then apply Z2 or Z5. You can put as many layers of Zaino as you like as well.



Either product is far better than any Meguiars product. You will like either product. I personally have both products, and they both are excellent.



Use the search feature on this board. There is tons of information about Klasse and Zaino that will be of help to you.



Good Luck!!
 
said, look through the archives.

To answer your question about the whole Zaino for lighter colors and Klasse for darker colors.

Klasse and a quality carnauba topper makes the paint, a rich deep, dark, vibrant color.

The Zaino makes the paint super reflective like someone dipped it in glass. Some people dislike this super reflective look in darker colors, but some people love it.

It is really like Coke/Pepsi. I personally like Iced Tea though.

As with Klasse and Zaino, it should blow Meguiars away. I used to be a die hard Meguiars#7 and #26 user. Gold Class wax is not so great IMHO. Lasted only two or three weeks. Good on beater cars along with their Cleaner Wax, I have a 32 oz bottle of that too.

Paint Prep is 90% of the equation to a great shine. It applies to both K and Z. The other 10% is product, technique, materials (towels, applicators), and proper application of product.

Also the details make yor car stand out. Shiny protected wheels (use K or Z), dressed tires, trim, and wheel wells. Very clean and dressed interior. Polished and sealed tail pipes if shiny metal. Clean and sealed head lights, tail lights, and license plates (Klasse AIO and SG or Z work well.)

Once you get through the two big Spring/Fall details (Klasse), maintainance should be a breeze. A weekly washing and QD will bring back that detailed look.

I use the following for a Spring/Fall detail,
1. Wash
2. Clay is needed
3. Remove swirls if present
4. Klasse AIO one coat, but two can be done for extra measure
5. 3-5 coats of Klasse SG
6. Carnauba topper (Blitz as my main carnauba, Pinnacle Souveran on occasion.)
7. Clean and dress everything else

Welcome to the board, and happy detailing :)
Jason

PS any other questions, either post them, or you can e-mail me/IM me.

EDIT: For Klasse/Blitz on silver go to
www.angelfire.com/home/detailing

I should be getting a few pictures of KlasseAIO/SG/Blitz on a blue corolla soon, a few pictures of a beige camry with Klasse AIO/SG/Souveran/Blitz/Paste Glaz, and finally a few pictures of a burgundy/ruby red MB ML320 with one coat of Klasse AIO.
 
I put Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Paste Wax on top of three coats of SG on the back part of my trunk as a test. The extra shine was surely amazing. It must look really amazing with Blitz!
 
Thanks everybody. Would love to hear my car is too shiny.



Q: could "Klasse" produce anymore hits in the search???:eek:
 
Blitz is certainly better than Meguiars #26 and Gold Class. It does give a pretty good shine but the thing that I really love about Blitz is that it gives the best depth of any carnauba that I've tried and is very durable.



Yeah, that particular pic of Zaino on black is too reflective. I have seen some other pics of Zaino on black that were more to my liking. I think that Zaino on dark colors could look nice though. I think I just need to limit the number of coats. At any rate, I must admit that Zaino is not the devil afterall. Hehe!
 
FORIAMBILL, My Passat is now 7 months old. I thought I had a great look with the IHG/Blitz combo until I tried the Klasse twins. Now this is just my finding and yours and others may different. My car is Indigo blue. Check out the pics below in my sig. I've got 2 AIO/5 SG layers going on right now. When I was at 3 layers of SG, I wanted to see if I could get a better, deeper, wetter looking shine so I tried the Blitz topper on 1/2 the hood. Now I don't know if its the color being dark, like yours, or just the fact that the paint is still so new but I didn't notice a difference at any angle or with different amounts of light hitting the hood. Because of this, I stripped off the wax by AIO and started the hood over till I was back where I started. Now if you keep the blitz on, you cant layer another SG. SG won't bond and cure with the Blitz on it. Now because I've found that the shine is the same for me and the shine of the SG vs. Blitz will last much much longer (6 months vs. 3 weeks), I just go without a wax topper. Now if I ever feel that the shine is less, I just add a layer of SG. Now I wash my car every Sat. morning and QD (Meg. FI) about everyother day if car is not too dirty. This little routine has produced the best shine and easiest maintainance that I have found so far. I need to add some better pics and different angles to my pics page but check them out. As I'm sure you know, the Indigo Blue can almost look black with the right light and angle so you and I are almost in the same boat. Just some more info for you to think about. :)
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by RIC [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Zaino on black...probably too reflective for some. [/b]</blockquote>
Is that black or NBM in low light? Either way its beautiful.


Ribbon.jpg
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by ShowroomLincoln [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Klasse should be stripped twice a year, Early Spring and Late fall. That way the late fall treatment will last through the winter months. All you do to start over with Klasse is apply AIO and then start relayering your SG.

Now on to Zaino. You do not need to strip Zaino. You put your base of Z1 on and then apply Z2 or Z5. You can put as many layers of Zaino as you like as well.

[/b]</blockquote>

Why is it necessary to strip and start over with Klasse but not with Zaino? Is there something about Klasse that is detrimental when the coat becomes old? I currently have AIO (2x) and KSG (2X) on my black bimmer and the thought of stripping it all off and then starting all over twice a year isn't especially appealing. Would it be bad for my car if I were to just keep layering on coats of KSG every month for the rest of my life? (slight exaggeration)

Also, if Z5 can be layered and AIO cannot, then does that mean AIO is a significantly stronger cleaner than Z5? I would have hoped that one could layer coat after coat of either KSG OR AIO the same way one could with Z5 or Z2. I guess not.

Thanks
 
People have said KSG never yellows or cracks so I do not understand why you would need to remove it twice a year either. I found putting more than one coat of AIO on my car does improve the shine substantially, so maybe it is not that harsh of a cleaner.
 
one more question, (based on reading other posts)...



can I put Klasse on top of my Meguiar's, or must it be on the base paint?
 
Many remove Klasse so they can address paint imperfections. You may devlope swirl marks that you need to remove, or etching of some type. If the top layers of Klasse are marred, sometimes more layers will not fill the problem. So, you must strip the layers and start over. Many just like the idea of starting over fresh with a clean base.



Zaino has Z5, so the system has a way to help swirls and scratches without starting over. But Z5 is not a cure all. Some remove part of their Zaino to fix swirls and imperfections and the re-Zaino.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by FORIAMBILL [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>one more question, (based on reading other posts)...

can I put Klasse on top of my Meguiar's, or must it be on the base paint? [/b]</blockquote>
Klasse needs to adhere to other Klasse (in the case of KSG) or clean paint (in the case of AIO).

If you don't have swirl marks or other paint surface imperfections that need to be fixed with a material, thenyou can just use AIO over the Meguiars, it will clean it off.

One other note, someone (don't remember who) mentioned they tried the wax topper and didn't see a difference, so they used AIO to remove the wax and "start over" on the hood. You can get the wax topper off of klasse by washing with Dawn. it will strip the wax but not the Klasse.

That makes it a bit more appealing to experiment - no need to strip & start over if you don't like/don't see a difference.

Blue Skies,
Andy
 
I'm about to take advantage of a 20% off / Free Shipping holiday promo and spring for a gallon of ONR. Links led me to the Optimum Web site for some interesting reading. They make it sound like their Optimum Polish II is the "perfect" polish. Supposedly removes sanding marks with a cutting pad, removes swirls and instills high gloss with a polishing pad and finishes superbly with a finishing pad. All this on top of long work time, little dusting.... by the sounds of it all other polishes oughta be obsolete. Just wondering if anybody's used it and if the results approach the claims?

I've also been seeing folks raving about Opti Seal and how little is used and ease. Anybody back that up? Howzabout longevity?

I'm trying to whittle down the variety of products I have cluttering up the place. So naturally, a start is to accumulate even more! D'OH! :w00t:

Appreciate any user feedback.

TL
 
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