Matte paint cleaning

[joelilton23]

Hi all, I've done a bit of searching of old topics, but this has made me a bit more confused, so I thought I would ask the question here:

 

I have an Indian Scout that a friend of mine has just purchased new, and he would like me to detail and protect it - the trouble is, it has matte black paint from factory, and I'm worried about cleaning this with waterless/rinseless wash. From what I have read, rinseless used as directed or diluted to WW strength won't be suitable for this paint, as it may cause streaking on the finish due to the wax element included. I know there was a matte detailer and matte protectant (which are both still available in Aus) but I believe there were issues with it in the US and it was removed from the store? Can anyone shed some light on this, as it sounds like the perfect product for what I want to do with both cleaning and protecting. Also, I believe it is advisable not to treat the tyres with any 'shine' products, but what about rubber and tyre cleaner? 

 

Can anyone give me some recommendations on cleaning and protecting? Any help would be appreciated! I have added a photo of the bike for reference.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2018 by joelilton23

[shane@detailedreflections]

Waterless wash should be okay as it has absolutely minimal wax in it, if any. You can also use diluted APC on it. Matte paints don’t show dirt as much as gloss paints do.  Even better would be a coating prep type product as a cleaner. 

 

We still have matte sealant and detailer since we don’t use a bunch of it.  We haven’t had the issues you mentioned, but it’s also not a daily product for us. 

 

For protection, there are matte specific waxes out there (cleaners), or even matte specific coatings. It’s worth exploring other options. I understand users here are extremely loyal to Adams, but when they don’t offer the product you need...you need to look for solutions elsewhere. 

[moons21]

For the Tire Shine, you are somewhat correct in not using it on a bike.  I do use it on my bike, taking super extra care to NOT get any on the tread at all.  The sidewalls of the tire are ok to use products on but any portion of the tire that might or does come into contact with the road is a major no no.   I will spray some TS onto a foam block and very carefully apply to the sidewall only on my bike.  

[tmevilsizor]

I've always been told that the best cleaner for Matte Black paint on a bike is Windex. It cleans, but obviously no protection at all. I would research the coating for Matte paint as Shane mentioned.

[shane@detailedreflections]

25 minutes ago, tmevilsizor said:

I've always been told that the best cleaner for Matte Black paint on a bike is Windex. It cleans, but obviously no protection at all. I would research the coating for Matte paint as Shane mentioned.

 

If anyone is curious about it, drop me a private message and I’ll make the search easy. We haven’t used it ourselves yet as we haven’t been presented the right situation to do so, but it’s a reputable manufacturer. It would be our go to for a matte vehicle looking for coating. 

[RayS]

As much as I would like to provide you detailing Matte advice, I'll leave that up to the experts.  The advice that I can give you is to keep that beautiful bike under lock and key...what a sweet looking ride.

[Coderedpl]

Fair disclaimer that I take no responsibility if something goes wrong but when I had a matte gray motorcycle I washed it on the regular using car shampoo if it got really dirty. I've also used waterless wash made from rinseless wash without side effects, but a recommendation given to me in the past that I used quite often when it was just a light dusting and for regular maintenance was actually glass cleaner with a mf towel. I had no side effects of unwanted gloss of any kind when using any of those products. I did acquire a matte sealant from somewhere else and applied that to the bike at some point. 

My car is also currently wrapped in matte gray, and I follow the same as listed above. Car shampoo for washing, matte detailer or glass cleaner for maintenance / light cleaning. 
I will admit that I have used the wheel ceramic coating from adams on the vinyl and it made it 'pop' a bit more. My vinyl is matte gray aluminum, and its not a completely flat look, so when I did the coating, the texture or metallic parts of the vinyl per-se popped, but it was still matte and not shiny, BUT you can clearly see the swiping marks from application, so i wouldnt recommend a coating meant for gloss paint. 

 

Not sure if it helps but hey i tried 

[joelilton23]

Carried out the detail today, thanks for all the advice!

 

ended up using glass cleaner on the matte paint, and it worked a treat! Eco APC and Eco wheel cleaner were used on the engine, frame and wheels, and waterless wash and detail spray used on the painted surfaces. The seat was cleaned and conditioned, unfortunately someone had written on it with a ballpoint pen, which didn’t want to budge. The customer has ordered a specific matte coating kit so protection will be carried out once that arrives. Here’s a couple of quick photos

Edited September 29, 2018 by joelilton23

[zw470]

Bike turned out nice 

 

I have matte black wheels on my F150 and I didn't like how they looked after using Strip Wash and Matte Detailer.  They were very dry and almost splotchy looking.  I've been using Paint Sealant and regular Detail Spray with much better results.

[@Dmax_HD]

Good looking bike and nice detail job on it!

 

Has anyone had any luck using the Matte Detailer or Protectant?  Buddy just bought a new Camaro and the hood, roof and trunk lid are matte. He was asking me why to use on it so any feedback would be great, thanks!