Semi Tank [120 gal]

H

hook

New member
Ok, one of the benefits of living near a detailing guru is that you can stop by and get good advice and maybe check out some products first hand. In my case, I'm lucky because the guru I live near is Tim/Snake, proprietor of www.tacscar.com.

So, a couple weeks ago I stop by to pick up some supplies - Klasse, a couple towels, a gallon of EF CP, some other stuff. As I'm leaving he says "here, try this on the Lexus" and hands me some Pinnacle Souveran. Is this great, or what?!?
:bounce

I waited a while to try it, because I wasn't quite ready to commit to a wax topper over the AIO/SG. Now I have, here's the story.

The car has dark blue, metallic paint. Swirls had already been removed with 3M SMR, and it had AIOx2 and SGx3 on it, applied over a period of a couple weeks (no less than 24 hours cure time between coats). It looks pretty good at this stage.

So Sunday I decide to try the wax. <strong class='bbc'>I don't think I've ever had as much fun waxing a car.[/b] The souveran goes on smooth, and comes off with no grunting required during buffing. I'm not sure I'd even call it buffing. It just glides on, and glides off. And that smell! Tropical paradise!

I did 1/2 the hood, to see if I could see a side-by-side difference. Honestly, I didn't think I could. So I did the rest of the hood. I don't know if it was the power of suggestion, the intoxicating smell, or catching the light just right, but now the hood looks...softer, warmer, kind of, than the roof and trunk deck. But nothing I could point to and say "see? it's different."

So I did the roof. And after that, the trunk didn't look as good. So I did the trunk. Now I might as well do the sides, so I do.

It looks incredible. Warmer, darker, somehow. Softer, but still has sharp reflections, if that makes any sense. I could even see the difference today as I walked to it in the parking lot after work. I'll post pics as soon as I pick up the prints and scan them.

I'm sold. I don't know I can justify the cost of Souveran, but I think that car will continue with carnauba (Blitz, once the Souveran's gone?) over top of the Klasse. At least until I decide to try Zaino on it.... :)

Tim, many many thanks for the wax and the excellent tips shared while we talk. I'll stop by later this week, we can take some pics with your digital if you want. And thanks to all those here who answered my questions, either when I posted them or in the archives. It has made a huge difference in the appearance of my vehicles.

Now, about this Maxima...

:)


Blue Skies to All,
Andy
 
on the experience with Souveran. I love this wax too. Just saying it only costs $20 a hundred million times helps with the price tag.



Anyhow, all I hear is good things about Souveran, you and I and countless other people having great experiences with it.



Also, the applications per can is also good. I'll probably get 40 wax jobs on a decent sized sedan from this can I have.



Anyway, stopping my tangent,

congrats on your experience with Souveran,

Jason
 
Wow, that's fantastic. I purchase all my non-zaino detailing stuff from Tim, he provides outstanding service. I've been meaning to try the Souveran on my new 300M, but now that its late in the summer season maybe I'll take the plung next year. Its funny, I just placed an order with Tim tonight and had Souveran on the order form several times but kept deleted if off, I guess I'm just pondering.... wondering if that $70 wax was all it's made up to be. Sounds like it is. Can't wait to see your pic's. Thanks
 
I used Souveran on my '01 330i about 2 months ago. I have been washing it weekly followed by/or just QD with Crystal Mist. It has been super hot, humid and very rainy (not to mention the oversized BUGSand BIRDS here) and it is still extremely shiny and beading water like it was just waxed! I was considering switching to Blitz after reading the forum here, but if the Souveran lasts at least 2 months like this, I have no reason to switch. The next coat will go over the Klasse twins or Zaino just for the heck of it....



H
 
Yeah, Tim=Snake. But don't be misled by his nickname. He's the nicest guy you'll ever do business with.

As for the Souveran, I'm a bit skeptical about it lasting 2 months. I've never heard of anyone getting that kind of durability under extreme heat. Laters.
 
I'm not kidding! My wife thinks I'm nuts... I have been working on the dark green Mustang with Klasse and just topped the hood with Souveran. Even she can't believe the way it looks now. It looks like its been laminated. When I told her I wanted to do her beemer, she pointed out that it was still super shiny and beading water like it was the day I put the Souveran on. I think the Crystal Mist has something to do with it, because I do make sure that stuff goes on at least once a week.



H
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by bigboyhf [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>When I told her I wanted to do her beemer, she pointed out that it was still super shiny and beading water like it was the day I put the Souveran on. I think the Crystal Mist has something to do with it, because I do make sure that stuff goes on at least once a week.

H [/b]</blockquote>
The Crystal Mist certainly helps. One thing, though, and others here may speak with more authority, but I believe that beading is actually not a really good indicator of how much wax is left on your car.

When I first started here, water was still beading on the Maxima with just 3M wax, after 6 months. And I used a real chamois to dry - once a week!

Now, with Klasse (and, in the case of the Lexus, Klasse+Souveran) on it, the beading is about the same, but when it has water on it and I drive, it just slides right off - super fast! The difference is amazing.

So I no longer judge the amount of wax left by the beading factor.

Blue Skies,
Andy
 
It still feels like wax and the beads do still slide right off. If beading isn't a good indicator, then what is??? Also, if you are putting the Souveran over the Klasse (what I am doing to my Mustang now) how often do you refresh the Souveran, and do you use dawn to remove the residue before laying on the new Souveran?



H
 
I would wash with a quality shampoo and then put on a coat of Souveran. Washing with dawn will remove whats left of the wax. I just wash with a shampoo and layer another coat on.



Well the re-applying of Souveran depends. If it is a dily driver, weekend driver, or a show car. A daily driver outside 24/7, I am going to re-apply every 3-4 weeks. Garaged daily driver 6 weeks. weekend driver in a garage 8 weeks. This is just a guess of the durability of Souveran from what i have read and experinced. Of course washings and maintaining with a carnauba Qd qill extend the life of souveran.



I had two coats of Souveran alone on a MB ML320 for 7-8 weeks. This car is a weekend warrior for the summer and after a wash, the paint still looked good. I guessed if I QD with Show Off I would have made the paint almost as the day I put Souveran on. I just then Klassed AIO it for the winter. I choose no Carnauba on top. Just see how the Klasse AIO performs with one coat. Also due to the fact that I have gotten lazy relishing my last few days of summer.



Jason
 
Jason gave you some real good advice. I would just follow with some Souveran over your existing coat every 4 weeks or so if its a daily driver. Laters.
 
Well it is definitely time for more Souveran... I think it blew off the car on my 2 hour trip to Orlando last night. The car's computer says I averaged 86.2 miles per hour. I don't know if the extra weight of a couple of coats of Klasse and Souveran would slow me down, or the decrease in wind friction would make it faster???



H :p
 
My good friend drives his straight truck across the state a few times a week and the tanks have taken a beating. On top of that, one of the chemicals he carries is an Alkali [not sure of the properties] but a 55gal drum opened on him and it seeped all over onto the tank, inherently causing massive pitting and damage.

He mentioned it being cleaned up and polished back to an acceptable finish.

Could anyone recommend steps to clean, polish, and protect the tank?

What type of cleaning method/cleaner would be acceptable?
Mothers M&A polish on a powerball? DA?

Any advice and/or procedures would be helpful.

Thank you!
 
The easiest way would be with a rotary, using a wool pad(it will ruin the pad, so use an old one)

If your going to tackle this by hand, I would use Xtreeme Metal Polish. Be sure and wear gloves, or your hands will be black for a week

Welcome to Truth In Detailing, hope to see you around
 
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