Electric Metal
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 24, 2024
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- 38
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- 277
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- Location
- Philadelphia
- Vehicles
- Cyberbeast & Cybertruck AWD
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- #1
Saturday morning came and off for the second coat of Sharkhide. First impression when I reached my test panel………… Yikes! I followed instructions to a T and it wasn’t what I expected. Visually looked very streaky. Like I missed a bunch of spots. BUT…….. it was only the first coat. And as the instructions and tutorials say, 2 or more coats is recommended. So I applied the second coat. 74 degrees (Air Conditioned)in my garage and very slight humidity. As I applied the second coat the streaks seemed to disappear, like it was melting and self leveling the first coat. Now I see why the multiple coats are recommended. After the second coat was finished it actually started to look pretty good! After it flashed over and was dry to the touch, me, and my 5 year old twins muscled it outside to bake in the 98 degree Philadelphia sun. After a few hours we brought it back in to the garage to sit overnight. Fast forward to Sunday 3:00 PM. First impression of second coat was 100 times better than the first. Flawless finish. Zero streaks. Subtle, not overpowering shiny finish. Now lets get into the finish itself. Like I said in earlier post, prep is key. Noticed a smudge on the corner of tailgate where I must of moved it and unknowingly left a fingerprint. Now the blemish is emblazoned under two coats of Sharkhide. MY MISTAKE, NOT THE PRODUCT. Moving on I noticed the finish is not as smooth or slippery as the raw uncoated panel was, but not bad. Next I had the kids take their sweaty hands and rub the panel. Yes, it did leave fingerprints but they cleaned up very easily with water and a microfiber towel. No cleaner was needed, so that was a plus. The next thing was to replicate off road driving. I took a tree branch with leaves and simulated the scratching motion of trees hitting and rubbing the side of the truck. Now I did this pretty lightly originally and it left no marks. Then I really laid into it, and surprisingly it was pretty tough. It left some light scratches. Almost unnoticeable. But they were still there. You would really have to get up close and inspect it thoroughly to see them. But realize that my truck, when taken off road did get some light scratches and it was not coated with anything. So we are kinda at a tie with coated and uncoated. Now here is where this stuff may be the product for some………. I washed the panel with soap and water, dried it thoroughly and put Sharkhide on a clean diaper and wiped it down again. Miraculously as of 10:23 pm Sunday the product once again melted and self leveled, and the scratches were gone. Leaving a scratch free finish. Nice! Now the bad…………As per removal instructions I used Lacquer Thinner to remove it from the panel. Not fun! You are basically melting it off the panel. It does take a bit of elbow grease and A LOT OF TOWELS. The only way to describe the removal is like when you were in grade school and you got rubber cement on your hands. It balls up like a jelly and takes several attempts to remove, but it does come off. I can’t imagine having to do an entire truck. Respirator and heavy duty rubber gloves were used. That being said………. If you do use this product, would you really being taking it off? Maybe. I’m just giving you the process of having to remove it. Also note using Lacquer Thinner around plastic ( fender flares, mirrors, bumpers and trim pieces) might pose a problem of staining or damage.
Final Thoughts……….
Pros:
I actually really like this stuff. Seems durable and being able to re-coat when needed to fix scratches is a plus. If you are looking for a coating, this might be the one for you. It is very forgiving with the second application and probably would be even better with a third or fourth. Pretty quick and easy application. Once again, not a knock to Protectaclear, but the application was much simpler. I think if your truck was not going offroad and faced with multiple lashings from tree branches this might be a good coating. Held up pretty good and I was not easy with my simulations.
Cons:
Multiple day application due to having to let the product cure. Application odor was pretty strong. Finish was not as “glassy” as an uncoated truck. Prep work to clean before application is going to a MUST and must be flawless. Removal is going to be a Mother Effer (if desired).
Final thoughts:
I for one am not a believer in coating Stainless Steel. I like the look of it raw and blemishes will arise. That’s me. And I will address them when needed. Remember it’s Stainless, it’s pretty frickin strong. A little buffing and your back in business without having to use a product over and over again. But if I were to coat it, this would probably be the one I use. It was the easiest and most forgiving product so far.
Note: This is an actual test of this product. I was not given this product to test nor was I compensated in anyway by Sharkhide, or by any other company. I’m just a big dummy that tries to find out what works and what doesn’t. Take it for what it’s worth and this was MY application only.
Final Thoughts……….
Pros:
I actually really like this stuff. Seems durable and being able to re-coat when needed to fix scratches is a plus. If you are looking for a coating, this might be the one for you. It is very forgiving with the second application and probably would be even better with a third or fourth. Pretty quick and easy application. Once again, not a knock to Protectaclear, but the application was much simpler. I think if your truck was not going offroad and faced with multiple lashings from tree branches this might be a good coating. Held up pretty good and I was not easy with my simulations.
Cons:
Multiple day application due to having to let the product cure. Application odor was pretty strong. Finish was not as “glassy” as an uncoated truck. Prep work to clean before application is going to a MUST and must be flawless. Removal is going to be a Mother Effer (if desired).
Final thoughts:
I for one am not a believer in coating Stainless Steel. I like the look of it raw and blemishes will arise. That’s me. And I will address them when needed. Remember it’s Stainless, it’s pretty frickin strong. A little buffing and your back in business without having to use a product over and over again. But if I were to coat it, this would probably be the one I use. It was the easiest and most forgiving product so far.
Note: This is an actual test of this product. I was not given this product to test nor was I compensated in anyway by Sharkhide, or by any other company. I’m just a big dummy that tries to find out what works and what doesn’t. Take it for what it’s worth and this was MY application only.
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