Making Your CI Look New Experiment Completed

To ALL,

This experiment was originally posted in the (general discussion section).

Evan if possible can you switch the original post to here ?

Well,
(6) wks has passed and here are my results.
ALL testing has been done by following the manufactures instructions and suggestions.

The product that I have been testing is (SHARKHIDE METAL PROTECTANT)some people have mentioned it before.

Supplies Used:

1. 100% virgin lacquer thinner (1)gallon
2. soft papertowels (lots)
3. Gerber babie diapers (flat fold style)
4. Sharkhide Metal protectant (2)qts
5. Sharkhide "Clint"(telephone consulting)

Test Results:

Sorry for no pictures (camera broke) but cary @ Camp-Inn has been sent some of the samples.

1. 292 continuous hours of (salt spraying) by a certified lab in Mass.
2. 1000 hrs of heat 95 deg
3. 1000 hrs of artificial sunlight with well/city water spray
4. Approx 750 hrs of pond water
5. approx 750 hrs of ocean salt water
6. approx 800 miles of road testing
7. bend test

As far as my results have proven this Sharkhide Metal Protectant WORKS (sharkhide.com) ask for Clint. I have tried to simmulate as best as I could but the decision is YOURS. As part of my results there is a very noticible difference between the protected side and the bare aluminum Un-protected side.
The metal shows water spots,white corrosion marks along the (brushed direction)of the surface and basic oxidizing of the aluminum. The protected side looks as new as the day I sealed it

You can do your own testing if you feel to do so but as far as I'am concerned I will be using this product and hopefully by then my camera will be fixed or replaced so I will be able to post some pictures of the samples and my CI. As far as I can see this product will outlast the woodys wax and Walbernize.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will try to answer but Clint @ sharkhide would be the person ask.

 

Dave,

It sounds to me like Sharkhide Protectant is much closer to a lacquer clear coat than a wax. If so, it would/should outlast Woody Wax & Sealant. Did you get the impression you were putting on a thin clear coat?

Hilditch

 

Hilditch,
Correct it's not a wax but it's not a lacquer finish either. Its almost water like and when it dries clear but it is not permanent it will eventually wear off over time. the nice thing about it is that you dont have to apply it all the time like wax it should last about a year or so and than all you have to do is re apply.when you re apply the product it activates the coating not giving it a build up look.you dont want to apply it too much just wipe it on.the best thing about it is that if you screw up you can take lacquer thinner and wipe it off. did you check out sharkhide.com web site.??

 

forgot to mention that the product wont chip,crack or break off. that why i did the bend test.

just proving to myself what the manufacture stated what it will do.

 

it will also outlast the walbernize too !!!

 

Has anyone else tried (or plan to try) the SHARKHIDE METAL PROTECTANT?
Pat

 

Pat,
I've been researching everything to try and figure out what I'm going to do. We purchased Dave's #406 due to a death in his family and I know that he cares a lot about how it was going to look. As do I...I think all his efforts have been more than enough to convince both my husband Bill and I that we will use it. I've gone to the website, watched all the videos, etc. and will be ordering it tomorrow. I don't care if it looks shiny for the rest of it's life - I just don't want white spots, etc. all over it, but MAINLY I don't want to have to WORK on the skin all the time and worry about it. If we go to the beach I want to be able to run it through a car wash and go on my merry way. This seems to be the product to do that. We'll be applying 2 coats minimum - I don't want to miss any spots!

 

If you use a car wash DO NOT use the aluminum cleaner setting and DO NOT use the foaming brush to clean it. You will be one very unhappy camper.

 

Car Wash... Foam brush??
I use the Drive-thru car washs all the time (like Brown Bear in WA)
I try to do it after every trip on the way back in if able to.

I use the Foam brush, but not the Tire cleaner. Use:
- Hi-pressure rinse quickly to get it wet and heavy dirt
- Pre-soak
- Foam brush
- Hi-press Soap
- Wax

Might be another soap or rinse in there somewhere, but I use it all the time and am not noticing anything visually bad?
I'm probably missing something, but does the job as best I can tell..

Thoughts??

 

Foam Brush Issues

1) Often the brush is too stiff/coarse & will scratch the surface (which is also a problem for cars, too)

2) Brush may contain dirt & small stones/other material that will scratch the surface. Even if you tried to clean it out, you run the risk of there still being debris in the brush.

Also, the brush does not clean as well as a hand washing with a sponge/cloth (coverage is not as good.)

I just wash ours at home...First, working one side or part of the tear at a time, rinse it to get rid of any grit that may cause scratching when you wash it. Then use warm water with a mild detergent (like Ivory dish soap) & a microfiber cloth. Try to wash with the grain of the aluminum - not across it or in circles. That way, should you still have some grit on it and scratch it while washing, the scratch won't be as noticeable. Rinse as you go. Also, try not to wash it in direct sunlight as the soapy water will dry quicker than you can rinse it off and dry it, leaving spots behind.

The car wash wax is probably one of the better waxes to use as it is meant for vehicles.

 

Oh, Ok... understand now.

Brushes are the soft squishy Foam ones. Doesn't really clean that much, but looks like it does heheh... puts a lotta foamy soap on it.
So far so good.
Can't wash at home, Condo and soap restricted to certain areas only and not going to hook up, tow over wash in the sun and back, so the Self wash works fine... I keep looking for that Patina that Colleen & Roland have, but guess due to washing will take a lot longer time if at all...

thanks for the update, coming up to 3 years in May... seems just like yesterday I was picking it up and driving the wilds of Montana..