A Week With Dr. Shine
I like to keep my ride looking as nice as possible. Some folks have asked me if I ever ride it since it appears that I spend more time polishing it than I do riding it. The truth be known, I spend about 3 hours at the beginning of the riding season detailing the bike and then about 15 minutes after each ride touching it up unless it rains, then it may take me 30 minutes to touch up the bike.
My secret is White Diamond Detailing products. I discovered these products at the Warrensburg Bike Rally in 2010. I parked my bike on the street and this jovial guy came over and asked me if he could show me how to keep my bike clean. I said sure and that was how I was introduced to White Diamond Detail products and to Dr. Shine (Cliff).
I purchased a bottle of Spray Detailer and a Paint Protectant named Black Pearl. Once I used the products I was hooked. The Spray Detailer cleans just about everything off the bike including bugs. Once the bike was clean, I applied the Black Pearl Paint Protectant to every surface on the bike including lenses, glass, chrome, paint and vinyl. This is the first formulation that I have ever used that does not turn your rubber and vinyl surfaces white. It makes waxing the bike extremely easy. As an additional bonus, you can apply the stuff in direct sunlight with no ill effects.
Cliff and I have been talking for over a year about selling these products through the magazines' on-line store but I was reluctant to do so. This year I decided that the time was right and I called Cliff and told him that I wanted to work his booth during the Bike Rally to learn all I could about the product line. Cliff agreed and I spent most of the week of the Bike Rally working the booth.
What I learned will enable me to assist our customers in the best way to maintain the finish of their bikes using the White Diamond family of products.
White Diamond Metal Polish
This is a multi-purpose metal polish that also works well to remove small scratches from the finish of your bike. If you own a boat and the gel coat has hazed, it will remove the haze from the gel coat. It will also remove the haze from headlamp lenses on cars and trucks. During the week, I had an individual challenge me to find an sign of metal corrosion on his wheels. He had just cleaned them that morning with a Mothers product. In about 5 minutes I had filled about half of a terry cloth towel with black residue. He bought two bottles on the spot.
I have even used it to remove melted plastic and rubber from raingear and boots on exhaust pipes. There is no need to clean the surface prior to using the product as it is a cleaner and polish rolled into a single product.
Instructions for use:
- Shake the bottle well. The product consists of a fine jewelers’ rouge suspended in solvent. The jewelers’ rouge always settles to the bottom. A marble placed in the container helps stir the components together. You also need to shake the product as you are using it.
- Apply the product with a terry cloth towel to a small area and work the towel back and forth, never in a circular motion. As you do this, you will begin to feel the cloth drag across the surface. This is the point where most of the solvent has been absorbed by the towel and the jewelers rouge is beginning to work the metal.
- Continue to rub until the piece has been shined and then let the product dry completely. By allowing the product to dry completely you are giving the polish a chance to seal the surface which will retard corrosion and make further cleanup and polishing easier.
- Wipe the product from the surface with a dry terry cloth towel and buff to a high shine. For added protection, cover the surface with Black Diamond Paint Protectant.
White Diamond Spray Detailer
This is a liquid detailer in a spray bottle. It is water based and non-toxic. It can be used as a spot cleaner or as the only cleaner you will ever use. My Honda Fury has never seen soap and water. I only clean it with the Spray Detailer.
It can be used on all surfaces including paint, chrome, leather, vinyl, glass and Plexiglas. Simply spray it on and wipe it off. If you have trouble spots, spray it on and let it set for a minute and then using a fingertip in a micro-fiber towel, rub the surface and re-apply if needed. I have yet to find anything on my bike that could not be removed with the detailer.
When used in conjunction with the Black Pearl Paint Protectant, this is my secret to keeping my bike looking like new. As with the metal polish, this product can also be used in direct sunlight.
Instructions for use:
- Spray on and wipe off with a micro-fiber towel.
- For hard to clean spots, spray on and let it set for a minute or two and them wipe off with a micro-fiber towel.
White Diamond Black Pearl Paint Protectant
This is a polymer based paint protectant that can be applied to any surface. It works on paint, chrome, glass, Plexiglas and all metal surfaces.
It seals the small pores in the surface giving a superior shine and smoothness to the finish. By applying Black Diamond Paint Protectant to all the surfaces on your bike, it will make cleaning your bike with the Spray Detailer that much easier. This has been the combination that allows me to keep my bike clean and polished and still allow me enough time to ride it.
Instructions for use:
- Shake the bottle and apply the product to the surface with an applicator pad and wipe to a vivid shine with a clean micro-fiber towel. There is no need to allow the product to dry before wiping the surface clean.
- The product can be applied in direct sunlight and if the surface to be shined is hot, it will not have an adverse effect on your ability to remove the product from the surface.
The product will not turn vinyl and rubber surfaces white if applied to them. Just simply wipe the product off those surfaces with no ill effect. If some of the product does stay behind, it can be removed with the Spray Detailer.
White Diamond Dressing
This product is designed to clean leather, vinyl, rubber and other synthetic materials within this category. It contains no petroleum products such as silicone so it will not make the surface cleaned slippery. You can use it on your seats without worrying about sliding around on them while riding.
I applied it to the seat on my bike and it looked as if the seat we still wet but when I touched it the seat felt dry and it was not slippery.
As we stated earlier, it can be used on a variety of surfaces. It works very well on the dashboards of cars and your leathers.
Instructions for use
- Apply sparingly to the surface to be cleaned with an applicator pad and wipe clean with a micro-fiber towel.
- On the initial application it is recommended that the product be worked into the stitches with a natural bristle brush to saturate the stitching to extend its life.
Simply Amazing Engine Restorer
This product is not manufactured by White Diamond but is available from our distributor. We have seen it in action and even though we are not able to use it ourselves (the Fury does not have a black engine), we can vouch from experience that the product performs as advertised.
The purpose of this product is to restore the black engines to a like new finish with minimal fuss and muss.
Instructions for use:
- Bring the engine up to operating temperature
- Using a natural bristle brush, clean all of the loose dirt and contaminants from the engine. DO NOT use a NYLON brush for this as the temperature of the engine will melt the bristles.
- Spray the product on the hot engine. It might smoke a little but that is normal. If you happen to spray the product on your chrome or paint, do not worry. Simply wipe it off with a towel. If the surface is hot such as the pipes then use a terry cloth towel otherwise a clean micro-fiber towel will suffice.
- You will see where the product begins to pool on the cases. Use a natural bristle brush to flatten the product out.
- Other than removing any overspray from chrome or painted surfaces you are done. There is no need to remove the product from the surface being treated.
You will be amazed that you can restore the looks of your motor with such little effort. Thus the name “Simply Amazing”.
I learned more than just the product set from Dr. Shine. Not only was it educational but the good Dr. is a hell of alot of fun to hang around with.