The next generation in 1-step, car care. Product Review by Terry Freiberg
This is the most significant new product we've introduced in a decade. It is, in my opinion, the best one-step car care product available in the world today. For our existing customers, think of Menzerna One Step Acrylic Jacket as Klasse All-In-One on steroids. It cleans, burnishes the surface to a mirror-like shine and seals the shine under a vibrant, durable, acrylic jacket. And it does all this in one application!
If you're a car care enthusiast, I beg your indulgence for just a moment as I go back to Car Care 101 for our new readers. While enthusiasts recognize the advantage of separate compounding, polishing, glazing and finishing steps, the sad fact is that most people in the world do not take care of their car's finish and those that do, want to do it with a one-step "wax". These one-step products, even the best of them, are primarily strong, petroleum solvent cleaners combined with a small amount of natural or synthetic "waxes". The solvents remove old wax, pollution and imbedded road grime that normal washing doesn't remove. This reveals a clean layer of paint which is then sealed under a layer of "wax". It works. Everyone agrees that their car looks better after it is "waxed".
One-step products have gotten better over the last few years but they still suffer from two problems. First, they really do not increase surface "shine" and secondly, the strong solvents needed for cleaning limit the durability of the product. Let me explain. Shine is a function of light reflection which is a function of surface smoothness. To increase light reflection, be it on your car's paint or the Hubble telescope, you need to burnish the surface smoother and smoother by polishing with smaller and smaller polishing agents. One-step products use solvents to clean the paint but rarely contain any polishing agents to actually increase surface shine. Secondly, the solvents in these one-step products, which can be up to 90% by volume, severely limit the product's durability. That's why a paste cleaner/wax will protect for about 90 days while a liquid cleaner/wax will only last 20 to 30 days!
A better way to clean, polish and really increase shine.
The other, and arguably better, way to polish a surface is to use a polishing agent, literally a mildly abrasive talc. These agents polish or burnish the surface to a mirror-like shine and can be suspended in a water-based emulsion eliminating entirely the need for strong petroleum solvents. Polishing using micro-fine abrasives is a technology in which Menzerna of Germany is a world leader. Menzerna has over a 100 year history of making the finest, in size, consistency and quality, polishing powders in the world and their polishing products are used by many of the world's automakers.
Marrying a polishing powder with the world's best acrylic sealant.
In one wipe-on/buff-off application One Step Acrylic Jacket removes existing wax or sealants, burnishes the surface to a mirror-like shine and protects the finish for 6 months or more with a jacket of acrylic polymers.
Like all polishes, One Step Acrylic Jacket leaves a light film of polishing residues. These residues, while minimal, are enough to collect in body seams and stain trim moldings. After final buffing, we recommend opening all doors, the hood and trunk and wiping all body panel edges. You can also mist a detailing brush with a quick-detail spray or residue remove (Black Baron Foam Pad Lubricant & Residue Remover works great) and run the brush around emblems and body seams. Larger moldings and wheel arch moldings can also be cleaned with a residue remover or do what body shops do, mask off these moldings before you polish the vehicle.
True polishing involves mechanically moving polishing agents over the paint. While One Step Acrylic Jacket can be applied by hand, you will always obtain better results (greater shine) by applying with a dual-action, machine polisher like the Porter Cable 7424.
Applying One Step Acrylic Jacket by hand.
Applying One Step Acrylic Jacket by dual-action machine.
Maintenance Products.
One Step Acrylic Jacket contains an acrylic polymer sealant. Nothing else is required. That said, enthusiasts desiring even more shine or extended durability can add one or more coats of High Gloss Acrylic Shield. Simply mist High Gloss Acrylic Shield on top of One Step Acrylic Jacket and buff residues to a brilliant shine. No curing time is required. The first coat of High Gloss Acrylic Shield can be applied immediately. Allow eight hours between additional coats of High Gloss Acrylic Shield. I recommend applying one coat of 1-Step Acrylic Jacket and following with a mist and wipe of High Gloss Acrylic Shield for the very best shine. Wash vehicle every week with Menzerna Auto Shampoo and after drying, mist and wipe with High Gloss Acrylic Shield. This extra step only takes a few minutes and the extra layers of High Gloss Acrylic Shield will add to the depth of shine.
Mist, wipe & buff after washing or anytime with High Gloss Acrylic Shield to increase shine and durability.
Two Kits Available
Menzerna One Step Acrylic Jacket is available in two specially prided kits:
Menzerna Instant Shine Kit for Hand Application Menzerna Instant Shine Kit for Machine Application
Two side-by-side tests.
If you're a car care enthusiast, you'll probably have two questions. First how does One Step Acrylic Jacket compare to Klasse All-In-One and second, how does it compare to Menzerna's own Final Polish II and FMJ?
Menzerna Acrylic Jacket vs. Klasse All-In-One
To answer the first question I did one half of my wife's, 1-year old, Mini Cooper with All-In-One and the other half with One Step Acrylic Jacket. Both products were applied with a Porter Cable 7424 polisher using a green, German Polishing Pad and buffed by hand with a Microfiber Buffing Cloth. Separate pads and buffing cloths were used to prevent any cross contamination. Based on having used both products separately, I would have put money on:
The Results:
All-In-One still holds the record for of ease of application. It buffed on and wiped off the left side of the hood with absolute ease. I also buffed over the black vinyl hood stripe. It brightened the stripe and there was no evidence of product build-up on the edge of the vinyl stripe. Acrylic Jacket was also a breeze to apply and while the remaining film was heavier than All-In-One, it buffed off easily by hand. I backed the car out into direct sunlight and looked closely at the edge of the vinyl, hood stripe. No residue build-up on either side! Acrylic Jacket wiped off as residue free as All-In-One even around emblems and over the hood stripe. Next I took a new, clean, Microfiber cloth and ran it over both sides. No difference in slipperiness! I even peeled back the masking tape, closed my eyes and wiped from side to side. I absolutely could not tell where one product stopped and the other product began. Lastly I looked at the shine from various angles. At first glance, both sides appeared to have an excellent shine. The clouds in the sky were visible on both sides of the hood. Upon further observation, and I'm being picky, I was able to discern a noticeable difference in the shine. The shine on the All-In-One side was "softer". The reflection of the clouds on the Acrylic Jacket side were crisp and sharp, almost laser-etched in the finish. The tendrils and wisps of cloud were clearly delineated. The All-In-One side displayed the cloud but lacked the edge detail. There's no way I would have caught this difference without a side-by-side comparison. The Klasse side of the hood looked like a standard TV while the Menzerna side of the hood looked like a high definition TV.
Acrylic Jacket vs. Final Polish II and FMJ
I applied Final Polish II to the left side of the hood of my 1-year old, pewter, Mercedes using a white, High Gloss, Constant Pressure Polishing Pad on my Porter Cable 7424. I buffed off residues by hand with a Microfiber Buffing Cloth. I then applied FMJ on the left side of the hood using a Red, Concours Finishing Pad on my 7424. Again I did the final buffing by hand. On the right side of the hood I applied One Step Acrylic Jacket using a Green, German Polishing Pad on my 7424 polisher. I buffed off residues by hand using a Microfiber Buffing Cloth. Obviously it took twice as long to detail the left side of the hood because I performed two separate steps. Final Polish II, being a true polish, also left more residues in body seams than One Step Acrylic Jacket. I'm in the habit of opening all doors, the hood and trunk when detailing and wiping down the edge to remove residues but I probably could have gotten by without doing this had I just used Acrylic Jacket.
I ran a fresh Microfiber cloth over both sides. Big difference! The FMJ side was noticeably "slipperier" than the Acrylic Jacket side. My cloth whizzed over the FMJ but encountered noticeably more friction when it hit the Acrylic Jacket side. This means that FMJ is going to provide better water sheeting, producing fewer water spots over time. I then backed the car into direct sunlight and looked at the car from different angles. I could not detect any difference in shine between the two sides. Both sides gave me a crisp, sharp reflection of the clouds in the sky.
I couldn't tell any difference between the two sides.
Conclusion:
I remain a car care fanatic and will continue to take the time and effort to perform separate polishing and waxing steps. That said, as I become more time and age challenged, Menzerna has demonstrated that I can create a world-class shine in one step. To the vast majority of people that want to take care of their car with a 1-step product, I can't think of a better product than One Step Acrylic Jacket.
Con: Some polish dusting around emblems and in seams. Con: Can white stain trim if allowed to dry on moldings.
Available in a 16 oz. bottle with instructions and a 32 oz. refill.
If you want to boost the shine and create even more protection than what this product already offers, you should consider adding Polycharger®. Polycharger is the world's first Wax Booster™ supercharging your liquid wax, sealant, quick detail spray
