Klasse AIO and KSG - One Year Later, Now What

[ArcticWhite]

Last year I attempted a polish for the first time as there was noticeable discoloration on the back of my white vehicle in addition water stain lines running from the side mirrors to the rockers (present when I purchased the vehicle used). There were also swirls present which I considered minor. Due to lack of options from living in an apartment complex, I am forced to do 95% of my washes at a coin-op (power wash only, no brush or other media used).

In March 2019 I hand washed with a decon soap, IronX, and clayed as prep. For polish I went with M205 on an orange Lake Country pad, applying with an orbital. After CarPro Eraser, I applied KAIO with a white pad and wiped down with microfiber. I then applied KSG by hand and removed with detail spray. Water stains were gone and the rear of the vehicle looked great. Swirls still remained.

Everything started well. About a month later in April 2019 I applied another layer of KSG after washing at a coin-op (using method previously mentioned) and wiping down with detail spray first. No noticeable issues with this, though I do wonder if this was in fact a mistake. I applied one more layer of KSG in June 2019 after a hand wash and dry.

I chose Klasse products for their supposed longevity as unfortunately I am resigned to keep my vehicle under a carport. Towards the end of the season before I put the car away for winter storage, much to my dismay I noticed that the discoloration in the back and the water drip stains from the side mirrors had returned.

1. Is it "safe" to apply KAIO with an orbital again with just a wash as prep? I am not looking to do another clay/polish at this time. Paint is not perfect as already mentioned and I am ok with that – just do not want to make it worse by going this route.

2. Is there still KSG on my car? The return of discoloration leads me to think there is not but this product supposedly has incredible life.

3. Is the coin-op wash stripping the KSG?

4. Am I doing harm in coin-op washing without physical contact? My concern is now that when I am drying the car that I am moving dirt around despite the car visually looking clean, causing damage to the paint.

Really appreciate any feedback you can provide, these forums have been so helpful as I continue my education on paint care. Again, thank you in advance and let me know if more info is needed.

[Mike Phillips]

I chose Klasse products for their supposed longevity as unfortunately I am resigned to keep my vehicle under a carport.
Towards the end of the season before I put the car away for winter storage, much to my dismay I noticed that the discoloration in the back and the water drip stains from the side mirrors had returned.

Instead of blaming Klasse Sealant Glaze, I would think like this,

What's in the water?

What your experiencing is normal. There's dirt in the air that gets into the rain water and both of these things are getting onto your car and causing the stain. It could be they are staining the Klasse Sealant Glaze. I don't know, I've never used this product. I've used the Klasse All-in-One and it's a great light cleaning NON-abrasive paint cleaner/sealant. But I've never been a fan of the Klasse Sealant Glaze.

1. Is it "safe" to apply KAIO with an orbital again with just a wash as prep? I am not looking to do another clay/polish at this time. Paint is not perfect as already mentioned and I am ok with that – just do not want to make it worse by going this route.

Yes.

The surface staining you see will be very topical. That is just on the surface and completely within the realm of what Klasse All-in-One can fix.

2. Is there still KSG on my car? The return of discoloration leads me to think there is not but this product supposedly has incredible life.

I'm sure it's still there - it's just taking the brunt of Mother Nature.

3. Is the coin-op wash stripping the KSG?

Could be. I always put things like this in EXTREMES. That would look like this,

Is washing your car with a Coin-Op Pressure Washer ADDING more Klasse Sealant Glaze?

If it's not adding more - what's the opposite of the word ADDING?

4. Am I doing harm in coin-op washing without physical contact? My concern is now that when I am drying the car that I am moving dirt around despite the car visually looking clean, causing damage to the paint.

Take a bucket and a wash mitt to the Coin-Op and wash your car normal just use their pressure washer for pre-rinse and post wash rinse.

Really appreciate any feedback you can provide, these forums have been so helpful as I continue my education on paint care.

Again, thank you in advance and let me know if more info is needed.

Because you have an orbital polisher, perhaps consider the BLACKFIRE One Step as a first step and then follow this with the BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax.

The first product will strip everything off your car's paint plus remove any current swirls and scratches and leave it protected. You could stop after this.

But to then apply the second product will give you on average 6 months protection.


The above is what I do for a one-step for customers. It's fast. It's easy. It works on any paint system. And the products both wipe off easy.

[ArcticWhite]

It truly is incredible how each little detail (such as quality of water) can impact your car care regiment. I'm a pretty paranoid individual in general so I am always wary of causing harm, usually over-thinking and taking (often unnecessary) precautions.

Auto detailing is not helping me with this problem lol.

That being said, I was very excited to see that you had personally answered my post as it really helps to put my mind at ease.

I haven't had a whole lot of time today to research BLACKFIRE One Step but what little I have been able to review is impressive and it is likely the right product for me. I love that the prep work would be minimal or non-existent as suggested in your post, with clay bar being an optional step based on some reading I've done.

I've read that people use everything from a yellow cutting pad to a finishing pad for the One Step - any recommendations or is it more dependent upon the state of the paint than anything?

If you also have a favorite pad for the BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax I'm all ears.

I found a few posts (both below) you made regarding BLACKFIRE on a C7 Corvette but it seemed like there was quite the mix of pads used (and possibly some additional prep work/polishing).

I may end up sticking with KAIO in the short run so I appreciate your comments addressing it. Nice to know I won't necessarily be in for a full prep and polish just yet no matter which way I go.

I will do some more thinking on a wash plan for this year; the coin-op I frequent always has someone nearby to yell at you for handwashing. The car looks clean, the white dry cloth I use isn't stained afterward, but the soap has a 9-9.5ph (I was very curious about this at one point and tested a sample) so I imagine the chemical cleaning properties aren't able to lift everything. I may revisit this in a separate post at a later date.


Incredible stuff Mike. I really do appreciate you taking the time for my questions.

-Mike C

700 HP Hennessy Vette and Jeep Cherokee - Waxed and Coated
10 Month Update - BLACKFIRE One Step - BLACK 700 HP Hennessy Corvette

[Mike Phillips]

First - I'm not sure why, but your posts keep going into the,

Moderation Queue

Could be the links in your Sig Line and the number of posts you have. I'll look into it.

I've read that people use everything from a yellow cutting pad to a finishing pad for the One Step - any recommendations or is it more dependent upon the state of the paint than anything?

The pad you use with any AIO or one-step cleaner/wax depends on the type of paint, (hard or soft), and the level of defects to be removed.



Paint hardness

The harder the paint the more aggressive you can go with the pad and NOT see micro-marring.

And the opposite is - the softer the paint the softer you must go in order to not induce micro-marring as the pad itself has a certain level of cut or abrasiveness.


Level of paint defects

The worse the paint the more aggressive you want to go wit your pad choice - balanced against what I wrote above. IF in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to stick with foam POLISHING pads, not foam cutting or foam finishing. Keep it in the middle of the pad spectrum.

The better the paint condition, the softer the pad you can use but for the most part, you're really only going to get defect removal with a foam POLISHING pad, not a finishing pad. So back to the "good rule of thumb".

And if you're new to machine polishing,

More pads are better

You cannot buff out a car with a single pad.


Here's some related articles on the above topics.

Good rule of thumb when using an AIO - stick with foam polishing pads by Mike Phillips

How many pads do I need to buff out my car?

Factors that can cause a pad to stop rotating on a DA Polisher

If you also have a favorite pad for the BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax I'm all ears.

I found a few posts (both below) you made regarding BLACKFIRE on a C7 Corvette but it seemed like there was quite the mix of pads used (and possibly some additional prep work/polishing).

The BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax is a finishing wax/sealant. Another way to express this is it is a,

NON-CLEANING wax/sealant

When using a non-cleaning wax or sealant, or in the case of BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax, which is a HYBRID i.e. a mix of both wax and sealant, (but still no cleaning ability), then you ALWAYS use a soft foam finishing or soft foam wax pad.

You're NOT trying to remove defects, just spread out an even layer over the surface/car. For this type of product you also ONLY need one pad. It's only when doing correction work with a compound, AIO or polish do you need more pads.

Incredible stuff Mike.

I really do appreciate you taking the time for my questions.

-Mike C

No problem. I would say most people don't think of what I do here on the forum as a part of Autogeek's Customer Service. Most people think customer service is when you call our 1-800 phone number and talk to a customer care staff member.

BUT - what I do here on the forum is customer service. Unlike a phone call however, what I share endures FOREVER, or as long as Autogeek pays their server bill.


I would challenge you or anyone to take questions like you have asked or ANY set of questions about detailing in all it's aspects and post them to ANY Facebook Group and see if you get the same in-depth quality and volume of information PLUS LINKS to even MORE information that is in-depth and quality.

Facebook is a HORRIBLE interface to share quality info - so I'm happy to say you're not going to get this kind or level of help on any FB group or YouTube and especially not Instagram or Twitter.

But remember, I'm not a YouTube Influencer - so take anything I say or type with a grain of cyber salt.