Bilt-Hamber users ? seeking for feedbacks

[marcoturbo]

Hi,

If I recall correctly, some guys here use Bilt Hamber products (Dynax S50 and Autobalm).

I've ordered some stuff and I'm quite pleased with the products I have.

The Surfex HD is a great and cheap APC/degreaser. I haven't use it on the car yet, but it works fine for domestic cleaning []
The Autofoam cleans well even when not used in a foam lance.

I also have the autowash, hydrate 80 and Deox I haven't used yet and I'm waiting for the Dynax S50.

I consider buying some Autobalm. I've read some topics in detailing forums but I'm looking for "real life" feedbacks [] Does it work fine to fill swirls ? How is the shine ? I know quite well the AG Super resin Polish, is the BH stuff better ?

Of course, pics are welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TTM]

Sly says the balai à chiottes works well to clean the blackson []

 

[marcoturbo]

Do you think the balai à chiottes could help in degreasing/cleaning up your merguez engine bay ?? []

 

[Pastry]

used the aerosol dynax s-50, seems good gives an even spread, dries to colour and consistency of earwax.

used the auto-balm last week. it does fill fine swirls, shine is good but perhaps not as deep as carnuba based waxes. mines a metallic grey anyway so its hard to tell the difference (tested it against the zymol my dad uses on his red 993). applies quite well once you get used to it (dont leave it on long) doesnt need as much buffing as zymol.

overall well worth the money though i cant tell how long its going to last. couple of pics in the pics thread. i bought the kit not sure if the ofer is on but you get a massive shammie a lambswool mit and a pad, along with degreaser, cleaner, clay and balm. for around 50 iirc.

 

[zcacogp]

Autobalm is very good stuff, but use their clay beforehand as well. That is also excellent ...

I need to put in an order of some of their anti-rust stuff. Have to say, my biggest grumble with Bilt Hamber is that they give their products such incomprehensible names. I can never remember which one does what ...


Oli.

 

[tr7v8]

I've a box of BH product & have actually booked Peter Hamber to be a speaker at TIPEC SELNK in November, Auto Balm is great, my 944 isn't in the greatest of paint condition &sits outside all the year round. However the Auto Balm has certainly lasted well & even after 6-7 months still beads & shines with just a quick wash over in AutoWash. Have used the clay & it's OK, ended up using AG paint renovator which gave the same results as clay, quicker. Not used any of the other products yet.

 

[Pastry]

AG paint renovator is just a more abrasive version of their polish; a cutting compound (aluminium oxide iirc) that removes the top layer of paint. Ive got some and it works a treat on red paint as long as you put something on afterwards to seal it. you do get a lot of powder from it.

Clay is to clean the paint of surface contaminants invisible to naked eye; hence the reddish deposits when used. I guess cutting will do the same thing as it takes off the top paint along with any contaminants that might have been on it, but once your paint is scratch free i'd stop using cutting compounds and stick to the clay for preparing the paint for sealing.

BH clay is pretty easy to use, if a little hard when cold, i held it under the hot tap a whicle to squeeze it into a usable shape. i also bought a water bottle with a mister (b&q 99p) to lubricate it, feels a bit gritty as it works then smooths off. just make sure your paint is clean before you use it.

 

[marcoturbo]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll try out some Autobalm in the next weeks. It looks to be a great product for a quick detailing when one doesn't want/can"t use an abrasive correction by machine or the AG SRP/UDS/EGP combo.

I have different clays in stock. The soft BH clay looks to be quite hard.

 

[edh]

The clay worked really well in bringing my paintwork back to life after some serious abuse from PFC 97 pads - I don't put on the autobalm often enough - I should apply it more than annually I think [8|]

 

[morris944s2john]

I have used the clay and it is very good although very stiff. The Bilt hamber etchweld is a very good product- being unusual in being a weldable etch primer, a friend used it on his Morris Minor saloon to good effect. I'm going to buy some and try it out.

The hydrate 80 is a phosphoric acid and PVA type based so called "rust converter". Like all simmilar converters that claim to "convert the rust to a stable overpaintable surface" it is basically rubbish. Try scratching it after it goes black, the rust is still there munching away at your car! Rust will be back in a couple of years, tops.

As for the rust remover white crystals, it works very well at dissolving rust when the item is immersed in a 5-10% solution in water but at £10 for 500g is a hugely expensive way of buying citric acid. Since citric acid can be bought from Ebay for around £10-15 for 5 kilo's you are paying £9.50 for a plastic bottle with a Bilt Hamber label on it.

I am going to try the autobalm. Does well in tests- such as the practical classics one.

 

[marcoturbo]

Thanks John, very useful.

I've bought the Hydrate 80 as it looks very similar to a french product, which is well known here in the classic car world (Ferose) but really more expensive than this product. I used it to paint it back to black my slighty rusty torque tube and my gearbox.
The Ferose stuff looks to be quite effective (I know an old '79 Renault 5 which doesn't rust anymore since the product has been applied to), I 'll see how the Hydrate 80 works (of course, I'll try to do my best to remove/sand the rust before using it).

Even if it's quite expensive, the advantage of the Deox Gel is its viscosity, it should work better on the vertical panels than the (cheap) acid way.