Motorcycle Detailing

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It’s always interesting when the little guys are able to develop products that beat the giants at their own game.  This has happened several times in the motorcycle detailing business, and we’ve reviewed many unique productsthat are definitely not available on the shelves of your local strip mall auto parts chain and which perform much better than their “As Seen On TV” competition.

And here we have another selection of products from what I’d call a “boutique” car and motorcycle detailing supplier that proves this yet again.  These modern detailing products use the latest polymers, chemical formulations and who-knows-what-else to create shine that Pop could only dream of.

So perhaps we should we call them paint treatment products — PTP’s — for short?  The words “polish” and “wax” seem so…quaint

I used the handful of Danasé PTP’s described here and my feeling is that they are easier to use and provide better results than any of the off-the-shelf, commercially available polishes and waxes I’ve bent an elbow with in my long and storied career as an amateur Simonizer.

But just for grins, I ran side-to-side comparisons on identical motorcycles using the Danasé Paint Sealant and their Wet Glaze with three products I grabbed off the shelf at random: Eagle One Nanowax (review) ($12.99 for 16 oz.); Collinite “Liquid Sapphire Auto Wax” (review) ($14.99 for 16 oz.); and Meguair’s NXT Tech Wax (review)($18.95 for 18 oz.).  I can say unequivocally that the Danasé PTP’s gave noticeably better results than these three.

We’re not sure if the Danasé branded products are actually cooked up by the company in the family garage or if the formulas are licensed from someone else — they perform — and smell — very similar to a couple of the Wizards detailing products we evaluated last year.

Using Danasé Products

As we’ve mentioned in previous motorcycle detailing product reviews, it’s extremely difficult to photograph the before/after differences in this type of product; almost any shiny surface will look much better in photos after it has been cleaned and polished.  So I skipped the before/after photos and I’ll simply describe the products and my subjective findings instead.  And these are subjective opinions — it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine which of these products actually treats and protects as surface better than another.

Besides their performance, the Danasé detailing products are generally a good bargain also.  You would normally pay a premium for high-quality “custom” paint and surface treatment products like these from a boutique manufacturer, but most of the products shown here come in a 16 oz. container, whereas many competitive “custom” surface treatment products are sold in 12 oz. sizes for about the same price.

By the way, the price of off-the-shelf polishes and waxes has risen dramatically recently, with many off-the-shelf products costing as much as or more than the Danasé “custom” detailing products, as you can see from the current list prices of the three competing products I listed above.

One more thing: we’ve noticed that many of the “custom” paint treatment products like these are generally easier to apply, easier to buff out and require less product to spread evenly than the name brand polishes, which makes them easier and more efficient to use and, in the end, even more of a bargain.

Danasé Paint Sealant

Danasé offers a large selection of polishes and paint treatment products and it isn’t always clear from reading their marketing materials or the information on the bottles which one does a better job at what.

So there may be — and probably is — some feature overlap in a few of the products.  I’ve discovered over the years that it’s often the case that some products may work better than others on a particular type of paint or clearcoat, so you may want to try more than one to achieve the desired results.

For example, although the Danasé Paint Sealant works very well on all surfaces, it does seem to have an affinity for painted and clearcoat finishes that are more than 5 years old, at least based on my admittedly limited sampling.  The Danasé Wet Glaze (below), in comparison, works very nicely on modern paint with a thick modern clearcoat.

Based on the product description, the Wet Glaze isn’t a “polish”, and Danasé says that it can be used either under or over other products, which is an interesting feature.  They also say that the Paint Sealant “cures” instantly on the surface as soon as it is applied.

Danasé Paint Sealant is very easy to use — a little goes a long way, it dries very quickly and it can be buffed out almost immediately.  I now always use a microfiber polishing cloth for final buffing and polishing whenever possible (and Danasé has some nice thick ones for sale also).

Very little of the Danasé Paint Sealant (which has a bright green color and it smells just like spearmint!) comes off as residue as it’s being buffed.  If the product is applied in a thin layer, as it should, it seems to nearly disappear into the surface and it leaves almost no white powder residue that can usually end up in the separations between painted surfaces.

It’s extremely difficult to evaluate the protection offered by any type of polish or paint treatment, but the Danasé Paint Sealant does leave a slick-feeling finish that seems to last longer than normal.

Danasé says the Paint Sealant can be applied in multiple coats for a deeper gloss, and this does seem to help, especially when it’s applied to older painted surfaces or older motorcycles that have only a thin clearcoat over the paint.

I tried the Danasé Paint Sealant side-by-side with the three commercially available polishes described above and it was no contest, the Danasé Paint Sealant was easier to apply, easier to remove and seems to leave a slicker, “thicker” surface treatment.

Conclusion:  Provides excellent shine with a slick-feeling surface.  Very easy to use, as it spreads smoothly and is easy to buff out.  It’s slightly more expensive than the Danasé Wet Glaze, but since a small amount seems to go a long way, it probably isn’t much more expensive than an off-the-shelf product.

Cost:  $19.95 for 16 oz.

Danasé Wet Glaze

Danasé Wet Glaze can be used either as a surface treatment in its own right or as a “gloss enhancer” after the surface has been cleaned and polished.

This is my favorite Danasé product and it produces a bike show wet look when used on motorcycles with a modern clear-coated surface.

This is an interesting product; Danasé says it “isn’t a polish and … isn’t a glaze”; it’s an “acrylic polymer” that bonds to the surface.  They also say it can be used either under or over “your favorite wax or sealant for added protection”.

This is the product that makes me wonder whether Danasé has worked some type of licensing deal with Wizards; it has the same “purple grape” smell as the Wizards Shine Master we reviewed last year.

Danasé claims that “Wet Glaze also repels dust” and it “applies so easy that is almost seems to melt right into the paint.”  While I’m not sure about its dust repellent capabilities, Wet Glaze is very easy to apply and it buffs out very easily also.

The product spreads easily, dries very quickly and offers almost no resistance when buffed out.  The ease of use is one of the main differences between this product (and also the Danasé Paint Sealant) and typical off-the-shelf polishes and waxes, which, in my opinion, almost always require a greater quantity to cover the same surface area and are almost always harder to buff out.

Danasé Wet Glaze was also compared side-by-side with the three commercially available polishes described above and it was also easier to apply, easier to remove and it also seems to leave a slicker, “thicker” surface treatment.

Conclusion
Danasé Wet Glaze can be buffed off the surface with only a few wipes, and the surface gets a nice, shiny and slick feel, almost like it’s been treated with some type of plastic coating.

Cost: This is also a good bargain at 16 ounces for $16.95.

Danasé Pure Polish

Danasé Pure Polish is a sort of “old school” polish that reminds me of the stuff Dad used on the Olds.  It contains no silicone or wax or abrasives and it smells something reminiscent of a European polish of a now-forgotten brand that I used long ago.

While the Pure Polish works as expected, I think the other Danasé products seem to work better on modern clearcoat paint, but I found that this product also works well on chrome, metal and motorcycle windscreens, so if you’re looking for a “one size fits all” solution, this may be it.

Pure Polish feels more like one of the commercially available products when it’s applied and when it’s buffed out — it dries into more of a glaze and sort of has that “grabby” effect when it’s buffed out, unlike the Wet Glaze or Paint Sealant, which glide smoothly off the surface.

Conclusion
If you need a polish, this might do it for you, but the other Danase products seem to work with less effort and do an outstanding job, and I prefer them both.

Cost:  $16.95 for 16 oz.

Danasé Gloss Amplifying Shampoo

The word “shampoo” is used liberally here; Danasé Gloss Amplifying Shampoo is what I would call a “car wash”, designed to help keep the freshly treated surface looking good without stripping off the polish you just applied last weekend.

Gloss Amplifying Shampoo is biodegradable, and Danasé says it has a “synthetic gloss booster” that can “enhance the depth and clarity of your paint”.  Not sure about that, but it does a good job at cleaning and seems mild enough to keep the polish on the bike and not running off on to the ground with the rinse.

I’m of mixed feelings on these special types of car/bike wash products; I usually stick with the basic off-the-shelf types because I’m not a fan of some of the formulations that try to do too much by adding a polish or quick shine to the wash formula, but this one works well.

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Cost:  $8.95 for 16 oz.

 Danasé Turbo Shine

Most of what I call the “custom” or “boutique” motorcycle detailing surface treatment manufacturers also make a “quick polish” formula designed to compliment their polishes.  The quick polish formulations are used in between the full wash-and-wax applications.

Danasé Turbo Shine is their version of a quick polish, and I’ve used it as a “waterless” wash to clean up minor dirt and dust and bugs on both the motorcycles treated with the other Danase products and motorcycles that have not been polished in some time.

Turbo Shine works well, leaving the original Danasé Wet Glaze finish looking fresh.  I only use a microfiber buffing cloth to wipe it off, as the microfiber supposedly traps all the dust and dirt and prevents it from scratching the surface.

Although I’m not a big fan of clay bars for cleaning painted surfaces on motorcycles or cars, the Turbo Shine is designed to act as a clay bar lubricant also, if desired.

This product also works on chrome, plastic, rubber and metal, making an easy job of cleaning and quick detailing.

The problem, if you can call it that, is that the Danasé Wet Glaze and Paint Sealant are so easy to use anyway, it doesn’t take much more time to do the full treatment than it does to apply Turbo Shine.

Although Turbo Shine works well, and it may be formulated to work with the other Danasé paint treatments, it’s a bit harder for me to tell whether it works better or worse than commercially available quick polish products, like our current favorite, Britemax #6S Spray & Shine.

Cost:  $9.95 for 16 oz. spray bottle.

Danasé Leather Rx

I don’t often use a leather treatment, but Danase sent along a bottle of their Leather Rx to try.

Leather treatments usually come either as a leather cleaner; leather “food” in the form of a grease or wax that is absorbed by the leather; or a product like the Leather Rx — a combination product, in this case a cleaner, conditioner and protectant.

Leather Rx also has a UV inhibitor to help protect from sun damage.  It does a good job at cleaning leather and restoring some of its original luster, but it seems to leave the leather a bit more slippery than I’d like.

This isn’t really noticeable on a leather jacket, but I tried it on the leather seats in my car and it left them with a slightly slippery surface, probably due to the conditioners in the formula.  This may or may not be the desired effect.

Leather Rx is a non-greasy formula, so the leather feels dry after it’s treated.  It has a sort of leather smell.

I can tell you this: I recently had some repairs done to a nice leather motorcycle jacket and they charged me an extra $30.00 to do a “clean and treat”, and it doesn’t look any better than when I use the Danasé Leather Rx, so my advice is to save yourself a bundle and get some of this to clean and treat your leathers.

Cost:  $15.95 for 16 oz.

Conclusion

The Danasé motorcycle detailing products work very well, they’re easy to apply and, even better, very easy to remove with a quick buffing.  In fact, I’d say that’s one of the best features of these products — it takes very little effort to get that “custom” shine, and that’s what it’s all about, right?  Riding is always more fun than polishing!