Gloss Enhancers?


Tempest45

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I sometimes struggle to answer "component" questions - it's difficult to explain technical details in generic terms. We always want to be accurate but get caught in the nuances of explanation. And readers here are very quick to pick up slight differences...

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I sometimes struggle to answer "component" questions - it's difficult to explain technical details in generic terms. We always want to be accurate but get caught in the nuances of explanation. And readers here are very quick to pick up slight differences...

 

Sorry, some of us are used to working with technical details!

 

I find this whole issue of "gloss enhancers" to be a red herring that some people on forums insist on chasing.

 

Just to expand on that, due to the persistence of some members on another forum, and the help of a nameless chemist at a (nameless European) car product formulator, the "myth" of Dawn or other mild detergents being able to "strip" LSP was "busted".

 

The takeaway for most enthusiasts was that you have to use something abrasive (a light polish) to really get down to a "naked" surface, and then of course you need to chemically remove any residues from the polish (perhaps not necessary with OPT polishes).

 

But the takeaway for me was more that for years some enthusiasts were "stripping" their paint with Dawn, and applying a new LSP to a surface they thought was "naked" when in reality it had their old LSP with Dawn sheeting surfactants stuck on top...hardly a "naked" surface, yet somehow the paint didn't fall off their car, nor did their new LSP.

 

So I have to take all this "gloss enhancer" hysteria with a teaspoon of amusement.

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I've used Meg's Gold Class soap in the past for various things and it will alter water behavior on the surface of a panel. Tends to sheet and make the water go "flat". Supposed to help with rinsing and water spots.

 

Not sure if that is the same chemical as a "gloss enhancer" or not.

 

 

I'm not a chemist, but I've researched lubricants fairly heavily. I'm used to technical jargon.

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I've used Meg's Gold Class soap in the past for various things and it will alter water behavior on the surface of a panel. Tends to sheet and make the water go "flat". Supposed to help with rinsing and water spots.

 

I find Gold Class to be a pretty bad soap for leaving polymer spotting if it dries on the surface. Again, I'm not sure I understand what the problem is with a soap altering the water behavior on the surface of a panel; this is typically a transient phenomenon. I expect car washes to alter water behavior, I mean that's what soaps/detergents are for. If they didn't alter water behavior there would be no point in using them, because they wouldn't work.

 

Not sure if that is the same chemical as a "gloss enhancer" or not.

Car wash soaps have a lot of ingredients in them for various reasons...cleaning, shining, changing water behavior. Some of the ingredients that are in there for one reason also have "side effects". So yes, I've used soaps that have left polymer spotting (a nuisance but almost every traditional car wash will do this to some degree), I've used car soaps that have killed my beading (a drag because I thought it stripped my LSP).

 

Perhaps I should circle back and ask what your concern is about whatever "residue" is left behind by a gloss enhancer?

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Perhaps I should circle back and ask what your concern is about whatever "residue" is left behind by a gloss enhancer?

I like to know what I'm dealing with.

 

One guy on AG posted about a coating not behaving like it should and it was because a soap left behind residue. A cleaning with D114 took care of this and restored the coating behavior. It's nice to know what to expect from a product.

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