Street Dreams Detail - BMW 3 series coupe

D

DETAILKING

New member
Well, I redid my famous propeller test and took some pics. I had slightly different results this time, but the order of magnitude was approximately the same. Since I used up all my sample sizes of KLASSE SG, that product was not involved in the test. Note that in the last test, it mirrored the results that I had with Zaino........

Anyhow the line up was NU FINISH, Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion, Klasse AIO, Mothers cleaner wax, Zaino Z2, and 3M Imperial hand glaze.

Here is a pic of the lineup before the test........

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1575126&a=14081291&p=57188065&Sequence=0&res=high (sorry guys photopoint ate my before pic!!!)

I was trying to get a feel for the cleaning strength / abrasive nature of these products. I used an old boat propeller that I had recently painted with rust-oleum BLACK spray paint.

I used 100% white cotton applicators that were made from cutting up an old T-shirt. I prepped the propeller with 3M SMR to remove any oxidation or loose paint and then washed it in DAWN dishwashing liquid.

For the test, I applied a few dabs of each product on their respective applicators and rubbed with medium constant pressure in back and forth strokes about 10 times. Here are the results (this pic works):

orig.jpg



It is hard to see in the pics (sorry about the quality), but my conclusions are: (in order from mildest to harshest)

1. Zaino Z2 / 3M imperial hand glaze (TIE)

2. Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion

3. Mothers Cleaner Wax / Klasse AIO (TIE)

4. Nu finish

Nu finish was definately the harshest. The black on the applicator was DARK and consistant. KLASSE and Mothers were next in line, with a lighter more greyish appearance. PPCL was next, and seemed to be quite mild. For Zaino and IHG, virtually no black paint was transferred onto the applicator.

I know this is far from a scientific test, but I did have fun doing it on a rainy saturday. Make your own conclusions........
 
DK,



Kind of an interesting test for abrasiveness. It does not shock me about NuFinish, that is some pretty harsh stuff. The smell alone could peal paint off stuff :)
 
Very interesting test, DK, and it confirms what I have known for a long time about the products you tested. Your test makes me want to go buy some 2' by 2' pieces of sheet metal and paint them to use for polish and wax testing.
 
The prop was painted a few months ago with muliple coats of RUST-OLEUM paint.



David....GREAT IDEA! But like I said, I am really sure of what this accomplished besides benchmarking the relative harshness of the products. They will perform differently on clear coats than spray paint. But the results were interesting. I often wonder if it's mostly the cleaners or abrasives in the product that are doing the work. A good test in my opinion would be to use a 30X magnifier and look for micro marring.....that would be the true sign of abrasives.....



If anyone wants to send me a SMALL sample of a product I will add it to the test!



DK
 
If you bake spray paint, it'll be 100% harder (well not exactly) but significantly.



I'm curious as to what a water test would be, that is if you rubbed with water on the paint, how much of it would come off, just probably as a benchmark.



I asked a long time ago if anyone wanted to paint panels and coat them with various waxes, because I have access to an industrial gloss meter.



Excellent, idea DK, but it should be expected considering your background ;)
 
I rubbed it down with a wet paper towel and then dried with a white rag. I didn't notice any paint coming off on those items............
 
Your test is great. Thank you. It proves to me that:



1) There is no way I'll ever put NuFinish on my car, though I might recommend it to someone with a badly oxidized/swirled finish that wants to clean it in one step. (iiissssh! Makes my skin crawl!)



2) I am still opposed to one-step cleaner/protectants. I want to use abrasives when the car needs it, and I don't want any abraisves when it doesn't. If I do my washing, drying and QD'sing carefully, I SHOULD be able to apply wax/sealer products manyt times between any abrasive treatment at all.



for those of you who want to test products - why not just goo to the junk yard and buy a trunk, hood or door from some wreck? You're right - the best and moist accurate tests are going to be on clear-coated automotive finishes. Still, I think DETAILKING'S test is perfectly valid and worthwhile.
 
When the Waxtest originally came out I emailed them about doing this type of testing.



"If you would like to provide some real useful information you should do a test to determine which products contain abrasives and/or harsh chemical cleaners. In order to test this you would need non-clearcoated panels and white towels(assuming the panel color chosen is not white). This is a test many people wold find useful. And it would be completely objective. Either the product removes paint or it doesn't."



Their response:

"We thought about that, but that's grounds for some legal problems, according to our council, as we'd be saying "product x could damage your finish, and product y won't.""
 
so I can repeat the test with new products?



Products I would like to involve are liquid glass, BF polish and sealant, finish first, and meguires #20.
 
That would be another interesting test. I know for a fact that Finish First is pretty strong stuff. It does remove quite a bit of paint from a non-cleared car. I'm curious how it rates against Liquid Glass. Both seem to be prettty similar products.
 
I agree. I'm just curious to see if one is slightly more abrasive than another. I would hope that they don't perform exactly like its "counter part." Hmmmmm!
 
On the can of Liquid Glass it states it has no abrasives and contains only mild inert cleaning agents but it has a very strong solvent smell. I did my own little test on my very oxidized chrome shower rod. Finish2001 by Turtle Wax(comparable to NuFinish) was the strongest, with the white rag being the blackest. Liquid Glass was next and was black but not as black. Klasse AIO was third, which was a dark gray and did not clean the chrome as well as the other two.
 
The logic thewaxtest uses in their argument seems flawed to me. They are afraid that if one product removes paint and the other doesn't then they will be saying that one product will damage your finish and the other wont?



How is that different than their current testing philosophy? Basically what they are saying now is that the poor finishers in their test will not protect your paint (very well or for very long) and the higher rated products will. How is that different than the proposed abrasive testing?



As long as the test is real-life - as in the test is done on a car or car part and not on some painted surface with a very different finish - then I don't see a problem. It would also help people figure out what products to use to solve which problems, and which products to avoid if they don't have any problems (i.e. using an abrasive swirl remover on a near flawless finish).



Just my thoughts...
 
I'm sorry I just noticed this thread. Did you get all the samples you needed for your next phase of testing?



I have Finish First polish and Finish Prep, and Blackfire's polish and protectant. I'd be happy to send you samples.



PM me if you like.
 
waxman...sure sure :)



Maybe I'll test some wet sanding paper and some rubbing compound too. Oh, I know, I'll use a PC with the rubbing compound to create a benchmark for what "real bad abrasive" means :) Then I'll cough up $5K for a new paint job...



On second thought, maybe someone should just pickup a scrap panel... :)
 
this is the first reference i've seen to finish first on these boards. what's the general consensus on this stuff? i have some and have used it occasionally, but haven't used any of the other products that are popular with autopians. i've been pretty happy with the results from ff, but i'm also new to the detailing process (getting interested because of a new car delivery in march).
 
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