Read a lot on Klasse here, but still have questions...

V

volkl23

New member
Hi Everyone! I'm so glad I found this site! This is like a car detailer's heaven :-D I bought the Klasse pair with the Sonus thingy (spritz and wheel gel) and will be getting it this coming Monday. The next day, I discovered that I forgot to add a claybar with the order. Now it's going to take another week or so for me to get it.



Here are my questions:



1. If do the whole klasse process, how important is the claybar step? I have a fairly new car (3 weeks old), so I don't know how much contaminants will be on. If I do the Klasse steps now (3 layers of SG), can I use the claybar the next time I wash my car? Basically, will claying ruin the Klasse sealant layer? Is it safe to claybar eachtime I wash the car?



2. How important is the Dawn step? Do you think it's really neccessary? I was reading about the AIO and it mentioned that it will strip off all waxes and such, leaving the paint "virgin" for the sealant. Is this true?



3. I now know that I should wait atleast 24 hours before putting the next layer of SG on. I don't have a garage, so my car will get fairly dusty. Even just with one day, there will be a very very very thin layer of dust on it (miniscule, but still present). Would I have to wash the car again, or can I just use the Sonus quick detailer? I haven't read the directions for it yet (haven't received the pacakge), but can just use the QD to remove the dust? Will this scartch my car?



4. I bought some scratch-x because I've heard a lot of positive comments on it. Is this solely used as a very light scratch remover or is it safe to use as a swirl remover? How does this compare to the 3M SMR? I know they both are slightly abrasive, so I don't know if it's safe to use often? How often do you guys use 3M SMR or scratch-x to remove swirls or scratches?



5. Lastly, thanks for taking your time reading this long post and replying to it!!
 
1) clay removes stuff bonded to the paint, so you will be sealing the stuff in underneath the AIO/SG if you are not claying. Mother's clay bar is good and you can get it locally at AutoZone or PepBoys

2) you will be washing the car with car soap before the process, right? Just use Dawn instead, this will remove any old wax or grease on the paint

3)Just QD befor the next layer

5) I would use SMR over the entire finish, Scratch X is slightly more abrasive and should only be used for localized scratches IMHO. how often? most autopians polish the entire finish about1-2 times a year I believe.
 
1. How important is the clay bar step?



A: Important if your paint has contaminants in it. If your car is 3 weeks old I doubt you do (unless its been sitting on the lot a long time, like my new car was). When the paint is clean do you still feel tiny grains in the paint? If so clay.



No...do not clay each wash. You will strip away the Klasse. Clay only as needed. For most people thats once or twice a year.



2. How important is the dawn step.



A: For you, not very. Dawn strips away old wax and that makes it easier to polish. A strong detergent obviously cleans better as well.



3. next layer of SG



A: For the next layer of SG, you should have a clean car. I don't know whats in the Sonus QD, so I don't know whether its going to interfere with the SG bonding???? If a car only has slight dust, and you use a QD, then scratching should not be an isssue.



If I were you, I'd just wait till your next wash to apply another coat of SG.



4. ScratchX/SMR



A: I use ScratchX on small scratches (when I have them). I use meguiars SMR about twice a year.
 
Dawn wash is really unnecessary with the Klasse system, as AIO is a paint cleaner.



Claying is important, and it's best to clay before you Klasse application. But you can clay after Klasse, it's just that you will remove some of the SG along with the contaminants, and might not get all of the really fine contaminants sealed underneath the SG.



California Car duster. Dust the car and then a quick detail, and you're good to go. But as JB said, it's just as easy to do another layer the next time you wash, if you're a weekly washer like most people on this board.



As others have said, I would get a real swirl remover like 3M SMR, or #9, instead of ScratchX.
 
volkl23- Welcome to Autopia.



1. IMO, the claying step (and/or use of AutoInt's ABC) is VERY important on a new car. The ONLY cars of mine that have not suffered from "rust blooms" (corrosion caused by imbedded ferrous deposits) are those that I clayed/ABC'ed. It might not be noticeable on dark colors, but I'd ALWAYS clay ANY new car. You just don't/can't know for certain what might be on there. Gentle/proper claying does NOT remove much SG, so it WON'T remove contaminants once you've applied the SG.



2. Yeah, skip the Dawn or use it if you like, no biggie either way.



3. *I* would wash the car rather than just QD. *IF* you mar the finish doing the QD you're back to square one. I am a VERY careful detailer, yet I've marred cars doing what should've been an easy and harmless QDing of what appeared to just be "dust". I too would just wait until the next wash. Your car will be well protected with (only) the one coat of SG.



4. Yeah, get some mildly abrasive SMR-type product. Use it whenever you notice marring that bothers you; there's no hard-and-fast rule.
 
Thanks everyone for your prompt replies. I just went ahead and bought a claybar from claymagic at my local autozone, so I'm all set for cleaning my car tomorrow!



One question about claying... do you guys think I shoud use the lube provided with the clay, or use some a soap and water mixture (meguiar's gold class shampoo)? I've read that most people just the soap lube.



Also, do you think it would be a good idea if I clayed WHILE I'm wshing my car as opposed to doing it at the end? I figure the soap/water lube is already on the panel, and since the claybar removes contaminates and such, it would be one less step I can do. What do you guys think?
 
Lube vs soap/water mixture - People use soap/water because its cheaper. If you have the lube I'd use it.



No wash the car first, then clay. You need to wash the car and get all the large amounts of dirt off the car. Otherwise you will be claying using a dirty wash mixture as a lube. Thats just asking for problems.
 
Heh heh, I'm *NOT* intending to :argue wit JB, but I'm on the other side of the clay-while-washing issue. Or maybe he and I are just addressing similar concerns in a different way.



What *I* do (and this worked fine on my swirl-free S8 the other day- no marring) is to wash the panel in question, rinse it, THEN clay it (yeah, go ahead and use the dedicated lube, or use the hopefully clean wash solution from the WASH bucket, NOT the dirty water in the rinse bucket) while still wet with the rinse water, then quickly/easily wash it again. This works just fine. Another method would be to wash/rinse the entire vehicle, THEN clay, and then quickly rewash/rinse before drying. As JB said, you DO want to wash all the loose dirt off the vehicle so you don't grind it in while claying.
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, I'm *NOT* intending to :argue wit JB....
Click to expand...



Nope we are saying the same thing....I think you just said it better than me :up



I read volkl23's post as



1. Soaping the car up

2. Not rinsing

3. Then claying using the (dirty) soap on the car as the lube



I think we are 100% in sync that this is not a good idea

:nono
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top