Anyone have any insight or suggestions for the use of Klasse?
Here's an application guide for both products,
Klasse Application Guide
It's fairly thorough for application by hand or machine.
A couple of notes, AIO is an All-In-One product and falls into the cleaner/wax category although the protection ingredients are what most people would classify as a wax as in a Carnauba type wax, point is it's a cleaner/wax able to restore mildly neglected surfaces depending upon how bad the paint is and how you apply it.
The directions on the bottle state,
Apply small amount of KLASSE on a clean and dry surface with a DAMP cotton cloth. Use even, firm pressure. Wipe off. No drying time is necessary. If surface is oxidized, apply till most of the oxidation is removed and smooth glossy, finish appears.
While it's best to always follow a manufactures directions here's a couple of comments on the above.
From the early days of car wax, (1920's), to the present a lot of wax companies will recommend using a damp applicator to apply their product, this is just my guess as to why so take it with a grain of salt, by getting your applicator pad or piece of terry cloth or t-shirt damp with water first means the liquid wax won't seep into the cloth as much as it would a dry cloth because the there's no place for the liquid to go as the fibers or the foam cells already have moisture in them. Kind of like getting out of the shower and trying to dry off using a wet towel, it doesn't work because there's no place for the water on your body to go to as the towel is already full of water.
This acts to keep the product on the surface of the applicator and means instead of going into the cloth or foam it will go onto the paint which is where you want it. Makes sense. It will also help in spreading the product out because it won't be trying to absorb the product so the only other place the product has to go is onto the paint. Then for what it's worth, at some level the dampness, which is water, is a lubricant so it doesn't hinder the lubricity of the product you're trying to spread out.
The only downside of this is you're introducing water to the formula, kind of sort of... that is used correctly the applicator is only damp, not wet as in dripping wet so used correctly the small amount of water used to make the applicator wet shouldn't affect the performance of the product because it's negligible.
All that said, if you're a purist, then you don't want to add anything to the chemists formula as you want pure formula working for you on the paint. Adding water or anything to your applicator pad could affect or adulterate the performance of the product. Probably not enough to make a difference but a way to only use just the product and not add water to the mix is to just start out using the product a little heavier than recommended or moisturize your applicator pad with the product instead of water. Kind of depends upon how serious you take your detailing.
I would opt for only using just the product on my paint and skip dampening my applicator with water. Also, using a small foam applicator pad will limit how much product is going to be used dampening your applicator because its small. Using a large applicator will give you a larger surface to apply the product but it will also soak up more product that will never actually be left behind the surface.
Not sure if this is to D.O. or not but again, just a few comments on the age old advice of using water to dampen your applicator pad before apply a wax or paint sealant.
As for this portion of the directions,
Apply small amount of KLASSE on a clean and dry surface with a DAMP cotton cloth.
Generally speaking, if you're using a cleaner/wax it's because the surface is neglected and in bad shape, if this is true then you want to use a cleaner/wax on the heavy or wet side, not the "small amount" or light side. The reason for this is because most cleaner/waxes either use chemical cleaners or physical abrasives to clean the paint and often a combination of both.
If the paint is in bad shape then you want plenty of liquid, (chemical cleaners), on the surface working for you, as in chemically dissolving and loosening any dirt or contaminants in and on the surface. Using a small amount means there's only a small amount of chemical cleaners work on the paint for you, so typically the worse condition the paint is the more wet or heavy your want to use a cleaner/wax.
Make sense?
As for the Sealant Glaze, the directions on the label state,
Apply extremely thin film, (about 2 FL OZ per car), on clean, dry surface with soft cotton cloth. Allow to dry, then wipe off with dry cloth. For oxidized surfaces, precede with application of KLASSE "All-In-One" Cleaner Protector
Modern clear coats don't really oxidize, at least not like a traditional single stage paint will oxidize and it has to do with the chemistry of the paint itself. The problem most people have with clear coat paints isn't' oxidation but instead is swirls, scratches and etching. These are all defects in the paint and the way you remove them is to abrade the surface until you level the upper most surface with the lowest depth of the defects you're trying to remove. This is where most people get frustrated and that's because modern clear coats tend to be harder relative to traditional single stage paint and that makes it hard for you and me to remove small particles of paint in an effort to remove the below surface defects. Thus the reason tools like the PC 7424XP have become so popular over the last 15 years. The machine will always do a better job than your four fingers pushing down on an applicator pad when it comes to removing defects out of a clear oat finish.
True oxidation on a single stage finish is easy to remove because these types of paints tend to be softer than clear coats and thus easier to work on by hand or machine. Also oxidation is merely topical, that is dead paint on the surface which is easily abraded off.
So if your finish is neglected and you want to use the KLASSE AIO then follow the manufactures directions but perhaps consider using it a little wetter or heavier than suggested just so you have an ample amount of liquid, (chemical cleaners), on the surface going to work on the paint on your behalf.
Again, these are just a few comments, take them for what they're worth.
Should I use AIO or Sealant Glaze?
AIO is a cleaner/protectant, it's in what we generically call the "Cleaner/Wax" category because it cleans the paint and then leaves some protection behind.
SG is a pure sealant, so theoretically a pure sealant will leave more protection ingredients on the surface to protect the paint.
I'm a big fan of using a system approach, that is using products formulated by the same chemist as there's going to be a
Synergistic Chemical Compatibility between products.
You lose this when you start mixing products from different chemists, (companies).
Make sense?
The KLASSE Twins are a real popular Tag Team, that is you use the AIO to first clean and prep the paint and then apply the SG to seal and protect it.
