Koch Chemie polishes
The Koch Chemie line of polishes I have been testing for about four years now and they are an excellent range that are very versatile and perform so well on a wide variety of paints
I used these polishes just last week on a repainted Nissan Skyline my custom restorer/painter had painted about a year ago. Initially I was testing another brand’s product and it failing to remove the non-uniform 3000 grit sanding marks that the painter had instilled in the paint in a reasonable time frame which. So my next choice was to get out Koch Chemie H9 and F6 as and try that. The combination of H9 and F6 with a Chris Larson wool pad (a twisted wool pad with a thinner pile height so they can be used on a DA polisher if desired) and my Metabo rotary polisher cleaned it up no problems. To finish it off I grabbed my Pad King Green All Rounder pad and a combination of F6 and M3. which removed the super faint holograms from the first step and left it flawless – even with the rotary being used as the second step machine as well on some panels.
What I love about Koch Chemie’s polishes
My preference with compounds, polishes and also single product paint correction systems is to have them spread evenly on the surface really well with the perfect balance of a watery and oily film that is not dry and dusty/powdery but is not greasy either. Right in the middle of the lubrication scale where you have a film under the pad and can see through it but wipe off at the end is super easy.
During the two days it took to do the skyline there was not one ounce of dust whatsoever and the amount of wool fibers shedding all over the panel was barely any. This is a very good trait to have as South Australia is the driest and hottest climate in the southern hemisphere if not the world quite possibly. During summer the temperature skyrocket to massive levels and the highest temperatures in the low to high fourties and the dry air really causes havoc with polishes and makes them dust like mad when in Victoria and other states there is enough moisture in the air to reduce or prevent that
So the polishes get a massive tick of approval from me in regard to their performance, speed of results and the quality of the formulations. You cannot feel any conglomerate or grit in them unlike some which could lead to scouring, their super smooth to the touch and therefore the abrasives are probably sub-micron sized. What I do not know is whether they are non-diminishing or a diminishing abrasive. The other thing I really like about these is that wipe off is extremely easy, they are not sticky and what you see is what you get with them.
Here are the before and after results of a couple panels on the skyline
One thing that these polishes really excel at from my experience is single stage paints from the 1990’s onwards. Some years back when I got my first bottles of these products, there was a 1999 Ford AU Falcon XR8 sedan in original PPG Venom red single stage paint that was being stored at my workshop. It was oxidised and just some H9 compound and a very course foam pad and a forced rotation polisher and in one movement from left to right the paint went from oxidised pink to a bright red and a subsequent hit over the area with another foam and F6 and it was back to like new – the speed of the transformation was very impressive.
TIPS FROM THE GLOSS GURU: The Koch Kombo – Mix into a polish dispenser bottle 75% of their H9 compound with 25% of their F6 medium polish to make what I refer to as Koch Chemie GR8 – The great compounding polish. The F6 gives increased lubricity and finishing potential over the H9 Alone. Whilst it’s true that mixing a compound with a polish can sometimes see the compound contaminate the polish, I find that if you do your mixing or as I like to call it – custom blending between any two or more products of the same brand it tends to work really well. Of course, there is a chance that on some rare paints it doesn’t work so always make small batches of it so you don’t waste too much. A 250 ml bottle would be enough
MY VERDICT
H9
Cut – 9/10 – It could always be improved with some alpha ceramic alumina or other modern abrasive but it is definitely very capable.
Finish: 7.5/10 – The gloss level I managed to achieve on the Skyline and many other paints is actually right up there with some of the best compounds so it’s in the ballpark. Whilst not able to give the kind of clarity that Feynlab A50 does, it’s still excellent.
Ease of use: 9/10 – It spreads well, doesn’t cement itself to the panel and films how I like plus the wipe off is super easy. Considering that this contains glycerine, I was expecting it to be somewhat sticky but none was evident
F6
Cut – 7/10 – An excellent medium cut compound and heavy polish with the ability to finish down super well. This is probably my favourite of the entire line. Whilst M3 is the least aggressive of the three, F6 and the Pad King Green All Rounder or Lone Star Red pad make a great detailer’s default pad and product combination for testing what will work on each vehicle
Finish – 8.5/10 – It’s not going to achieve those mega rich wet finishes of much finer polishes but most certainly is in the mix with alot of other superb medium compounds/heavy polishes that can deliver excellent cut and a nice finish
Ease of Use – 9/10 – No complaints here as it films fantastically well with zero dust and is a breeze to remove. I also like how creamy these products are. Some compounds and polishes leave your hands feeling dried out but these didn’t give me any issues whatsoever. The glycerine was probably the reason why as it’s an emollient in it’s natural form
M3
Cut – 4/10 – Sure this is renowned for finishing out paints on any polisher but it still has some minor to moderate defect removal potential. This would be a great product to combine with my Pad King Gold Universal pad but the colour of the M3 will turn the gold pad surface dark green during use as the dark grey colour of the M3 and the gold of the pad mix to give us that dark green. Try this combo for gloss enhancements
Finish – 9/10 – On the rotary polisher on most paints it can be a dynamite finish at the end and with all other polisher types it will definitely deliver a fantastic finish with them.
Ease of Use – 8.5/10 – Just the fact that the polish is not white so the dye in it will discolour pads. This is a minor issue and most people don’t care and it will wash out but for sure it’s something that really bugs me. I like my pads to stay looking like new and changing the colour of the foam on the face of it sure is annoying but not the end of the world
LABOCOSMETICA FIERO
This is the sole polishing product that I have purchased so far from the italian company. The main reason I bought it was that it is both an adaptive abrasive polish and a primer without resins and fillers so there is no need for prep sprays before applying ceramic coatings due to it’s self assembled monolayer and non IPA fearing formulation where alcohol and other solvents cannot hurt it.
This is the claims from the company
Our primer was designed to prepare the surface for the subsequent coating application phase. It guarantees a strong and lasting link between the surface and the applied coating. Traditional primers that use resins and fillers to achieve an excellent finish take a long time to bond to the paint, usually 6 to 12 hours of waiting! With FIERO all this does not happen because it allows the application of the chosen coating immediately after the finishing phase , thus saving the detailer a lot of time. FIERO is a super sincere finish and is compatible with all coatings
► FIERO allows you to shorten processing times on any type of paint and expresses its maximum finishing capabilities in the presence of sensitive surfaces such as reflow, soft and sticky paints (Nissan Skyline R35 self healing reflow paints though their probably set like stone by now) and some Subaru and other asian paints.
My experience using it
Unfortunately I found the product to not spread and film very well on the painted surface and was quite dry. To remedy this I tried moistening my pads, different pad materials but had the same results but fortunately I had the solution in 30 ml of Nanolex Optimizer – a viscosity changer and polish-coating filming improver from Florian and Sebastian in Germany which hopefully soon will be available in Australia as we start selling it especially for those who use 3D ACA 510 alot – Optimizer makes it creamier and not separate.
Adding the optimizer to the product improved it and made it stay wetter for longer it actually usable without the dryness. Since having this problem with the first bottle I tested, I have contacted Labocosmetica in Italy and they have had the Australian distributor get in touch with me and send me out a bottle with a small amount in it to test.
To my delight it worked absolutely superbly with a lovely moist and slightly oily film that just spreads and keeps on spreading and staying moist so that the abrasives contained within it can keep on working. The one thing I know for sure about polishes is that if the abrasives in the products are suspended in a well lubricated formula that stays moist on the painted surface and doesn’t get dried out or clumped up on the pad, they will keep on working and deliver a great result. Dry buffing and overloading a pad to the point where it’s caked in paint residue and also too much product as well will be detrimental to your polishing performance and end results.
As far as performance goes- it certainly has a moderate to almost medium level of polishing power. Heavy polishing would be about as aggressive as I would say it’s capable of reaching at a real stretch. I have not yet tested it with every kind of pad in my brand’s arsenal as well as others but I plan on doing so as I need to use up the entire bottle then replenish it with a new bigger sized one. This will be my go to product to use before I apply a coating so there is no need to be applying prep sprays as I hate the idea of polishing for hours or dozens of hours then spraying on solvents and wiping with any towel – a huge marring risk with some paints and a real headache to deal with.
Rest assured I will update you all in the future with what two pads work the absolute best with it. At a guess I would say foam wise my Pad King Frostbite cutting pad would stretch the Fiero to it’s maximum potential as far as defect removal but not be the ideal pad for the product. At the moment I’d say my Gold universal pad would be the one to choose.
Cut – Due to it’s adaptive abrasives I would not be able to put one number on it’s level of cut but instead a range of between 2 and 5.5 out of 10 depending on the pad you use with it.
Finish – 8.75/10 – Whilst not the pinnacle of final polishes, this does finish down very well on the paints I have tested it on so far with the main technique being to finish at speed four and a half on a DA polisher – according to the instructions on the label. This is a nice addition to a detailers arsenal however there are many other options out there in terms of pre coating primers
TIPS FROM THE GLOSS GURU: Add Nanolex Optimizer or a tiny drop of parrafin oil (Diggers brand from bunnings warehouse) to the pad to increase the lubrication and spreadability of any dusty compound and watch the dusting effect be minimised alot or completely. Do not use too much product with polishing – all you need is enough to have a film of it on the surface you can see and stays moist for your polishing cycle whether it’s fifteen to thirty seconds or fourty five to ninety seconds or even longer.
Try the one drop application method – it is amazing how far one drop of product can go on good paint. For oxidised paint, porous paint or sanding marks use more.
RANKING THE BRANDS SO FAR
#1 Compound – Feynlab A50 (most cut great clarity)
#2 Koch Chemie H9
#1 Compounding Polish/Medium Polish – 3D One
#2 Koch Chemie F6
#1 Finishing Polish – 3D ACA 520
#2 Labocosmetica Fiero
Happy polishing everyone and I’m always available monday to friday from 9 till 5 pm for free advice and technical support on all detailing topics and of course sharing my in-depth pad knowledge.
NEXT UP – THE SONAX PROFILINE RANGE & CSI CERAM X, XX AND SYSTEM ONE
Matthew