Klasse mechanism of action?

A

alfadub

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I've been working on a red '85 Alfa Romeo Spider. I'm relatively new to detailing, getting into it over the past year or so. I started with some machine compounding and polishing on it, and it significantly improved the finish of the paint but there were still some scratches and oxidation in certain areas.

I didn't want to be too aggressive with the paint correction, primarily because I have a young child at home and want to avoid releasing paint dust, and therefore lead, into the environment. The scratches didn't bother me a whole lot, but the oxidation did.

I tried Mike's technique of using Meguiar's glaze #7 setting overnight to saturate the paint with feeder oils. This increased the gloss and shine of the paint and improved the appearance of the oxidation, but there was still more visible oxidation than I wanted.

I then recently discovered Klasse All-in-One Polish, and Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze. I believe the AIO polish has a chemical cleaner in it which would help remove some oxidation, so I applied it around the hood with a microfiber pad, which helped a little with the oxidation, but was disappointed that it didn't take care of most of it.

In a subsequent session I decided to use a second application of the AIO, hand-scrubbing around the hood with an orange Griot's Garage foam pad. As I was scrubbing it, to my delight it appeared that the oxidation was disappearing. However, I had picked up the HGSG sealant instead of the AIO. I was puzzled that the HGSG sealant appeared to remove more of the oxidation than the AIO polish.

I decided to apply the AIO with orange Griot's Garage foam pad to the remaining areas of oxidation around other parts of the car. Again, not much improvement. I then used the same pad (without washing out the AIO residue) and scrubbed HGSG sealant, scrubbing harder in those areas affected by oxidation. I saw some improvement, but some stubborn areas of significant oxidation (particularly on the strip between the covertible top and the trunk) still remained.

A day or two later, I looked at the paint and noticed that the oxidation had decreased since the day I applied the HGSG sealant. The paint still isn't perfect, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the appearance now.

I'm glad that the Klasse twins worked, but I have a few questions in my mind:
-I would have expected the chemical cleaner in the AIO polish to have more of an effect on the oxidation than the HGSG sealant, but the opposite was observed. Why? Is it because the fillers in the glaze just camouflaged the oxidation? I can understand how fillers can fill in scratches and hide scratches/swirls, but I have a hard time believing that such a thin layer of sealant/glaze can cover or hide visible oxidation. I'm not a chemist or physicist, but my best guess is that the high gloss shine that is imparted to the surface decreases the light reflecting off the underlying oxidized surface, making it appear to have less oxidation.
-Why did the oxidation appear to have improved over the next few days? Did it have something to do with curing of the sealant?

Sorry for the long post. I welcome any comments or explanations.
 
Could be a whole lot of deep oxidation. I worked on a buddy's '93 Honda Civic, in which the paint is inevitably screwed (heavy oxidation and massive clearcoat failure). I used KAIO ,hand-application, and scrubbed the heck out of the paint. I was astonished at how well the KAIO cleaned up and restored the shine the already screwed up paint. But it did not remove all of the oxidation, because it was really heavy.

I'm thinking that maybe the oxidation is deeper than the surface and therefore the only way to remove is with a DA/rotary. Just my guess.

All in all, KAIO is one of my most favored products now.:xyxthumbs:
 
alfadub said:
...my best guess is that the high gloss shine that is imparted to the surface decreases the light reflecting off the underlying oxidized surface, making it appear to have less oxidation.
Click to expand...

Bingo, that's exactly what I was thinking as I read your post... That the Klasse SG is making the oxidation "clearer".

The oxidation needs to be removed via chemical (cleaning) or polishing (abrasive) action. Klasse AIO, as a chemical cleaner, should be able to take care of moderate oxidation, by machine (try it with a light cutting/polishing pad on a DA). I've even been able to correct light swirls with enough passes of Klasse AIO on my Flex 3401 w/ a white LC flat pad. But it takes many, high speed, heavy-pressure passes. I doubt rubbing by hand a little would make much of a dent on any severe oxidation. Especially if compounding/polishing didn't easily take care of it already. Like Ted said, if the oxidation is pretty bad, you'll want to use a DA/Rotary to remove it. I forget the name, but I'm pretty sure that Meg's has a fine polish that also has the old-school nourishing oils like in #7. Whatever that stuff is, it would probably be perfect for polishing away the oxidation. :xyxthumbs:

Saturating with Meg's #7 can be good for old, dry and oxidized paint, but is this even single stage paint? If not, you might be dealing with clear coat failure and not oxidation at all.
 
Just a few points:

1. I'm pretty sure that car paint from 1985 doesn't have any lead in it.
2. As others have noted, removing oxidation by hand with KAIO is going to take a lot of work.
3. KSG (HGSG) is a pure acrylic sealant and doesn't have any "fillers" even if they refer to it as a "glaze".
4. You'll likely be more successful by hand with a product like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound followed by Ultimate Polish if necessary. This is OTC at Wal-Mart, etc.
 
Hi David,
Yes, this vehicle has a single stage paint. When I rub it with a polishing pad the red paint residue comes off onto the pad.

Setec Astronomy,
Could you please explain why you're pretty sure car paint from 1985 doesn't have lead in it? I would be happy if you're right. But according to an article posted by CEE DOG (see http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ons/27124-there-lead-automotive-paints.html):
"Although new paint lines are lead-free, Zahren notes that about 50% of the world's auto paint lines still use lead." [as of 2002.]
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Just a few points:

1. I'm pretty sure that car paint from 1985 doesn't have any lead in it.
2. As others have noted, removing oxidation by hand with KAIO is going to take a lot of work.
3. KSG (HGSG) is a pure acrylic sealant and doesn't have any "fillers" even if they refer to it as a "glaze".
4. You'll likely be more successful by hand with a product like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound followed by Ultimate Polish if necessary. This is OTC at Wal-Mart, etc.
Click to expand...

alfadub said:
Hi David,
Yes, this vehicle has a single stage paint. When I rub it with a polishing pad the red paint residue comes off onto the pad.

Setec Astronomy,
Could you please explain why you're pretty sure car paint from 1985 doesn't have lead in it? I would be happy if you're right. But according to an article posted by CEE DOG (see http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ons/27124-there-lead-automotive-paints.html):
"Although new paint lines are lead-free, Zahren notes that about 50% of the world's auto paint lines still use lead." [as of 2002.]
Click to expand...

The link wasn't working for me so I thoguht I would repost it. I think this is the one: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...tions/27124-there-lead-automotive-paints.html
 
A4 1.8tqm said:
Meg's has a fine polish that also has the old-school nourishing oils like in #7. Whatever that stuff is, it would probably be perfect for polishing away the oxidation. :xyxthumbs:

Saturating with Meg's #7 can be good for old, dry and oxidized paint,
Click to expand...

:iagree: with Meg's #7. If this is truly a single-stage paint, then: Saturating and the subsequent polishing with Meg's #7 can remove the topical oxidation.

But, if the oxidation returns, then the pigments in the paint is, or already has, failed. Time for a re-spray, IMO. Might be an option for consideration on this vehicle---if being restored; or, leave it as is---an unrestored original, as the case may be.

Bob
 
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