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TWF Quick Look: 303 Aerospace Cleaner and Protectant
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As a motorcycle enthusiast, you may not be familiar with 303 products. Actually, most of our staffers were not either. The 303 line of care products is not specifically targeted at the motorcycle segment, but the applicability of its use certainly makes these products relevant to boaters and motorcyclists everywhere. In our never ending quest to seek out new and relevant products, we bring you 303 Products.
The 303 line of products encompasses many different items: everything from soil/water repelling fabric protectant to patio furniture cleaner and a “Shower Shield,” a product to keep your shower clean. With a Swiss Army-like product catalogue of items like that, we had to narrow down our product review to relevant items that you might use as a motorcycle enthusiast. Of particular interest and the focus of this product review are the 303 Aerospace Cleaner and Protectant.
Based in Palo Cedro, California, the company describes itself: 303 Products, Inc. provides innovative, needed consumer products that are easily the highest quality in their categories. Our products are unique and fulfill needs that are currently left unmet by the competition.
With companies such as Coleman, Winnebago and Sea Ray recommending the 303 Products, there must be some merit to the product line. In fact, a quick glance a the website makes it obvious that we are a bit late to the game in discovering these products.
The first product we tested was the 303 Aerospace Cleaner, a concentrated “industrial” strength cleaning product. The cleaner contains no acids or solvents, is non-flammable, has no odor and creates no fumes. Better yet, it exceeds the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard biodegradability. The pH of the Aerospace Cleaner is in the 9-10 range. To put that into perspective, water has a pH of 7, considered neutral; battery acid has a pH of 1.
The product is so safe you can use it to wash your hands, full strength! In fact the product website even states a 200:1 solution may be used to clean fruits and vegetables! Something that is so gentle can’t clean, right?
The list of possible uses for the Aerospace Cleaner is almost endless. If it’s dirty, you can probably use the cleaner on it. We’ve cleaned dirty bikes before using several products, and with good success. Considering the cleaner is marketed as a general purpose cleaner, this time we did not limit our review to bikes only.
Most of the time we selected a full concentration of cleaner for our cleaning. There is virtually no smell and leaves no residue. It goes on quite easily and application is a breeze. It would have been nice to have a foaming spray bottle to allow the cleaner to adhere to the surfaces a little better. In the extreme Summer heat, it didn’t take much for the cleaner to simply evaporate leaving little opportunity for it to do the job; even in the shade.
In a bucket, diluted with water, with a sponge we noted a considerable improvement in effectiveness; as you might imagine. Despite being diluted, the foaming allowed the cleaner work its magic. That, in addition, to light rubbing worked great on caked on brake dust, tire dressing overspray and spots of chain lube. We tested against straight water and a sponge and it was obvious how well the cleaner worked. The low friction properties make the sponge glide over surfaces with ease as it cleaned. Compared to straight water, where the sponge would get stuck on dirty spots.
Once you’ve spent hours cleaning, the easiest way to keep it clean is to protect it; whatever “it” may be. Accompanying the Aerospace Cleaner is the Aerospace Protectant. The applications for this product are somewhat more specific as compared to the cleaner: rubber, vinyl, clear vinyl, fiberglass, plastic and finished leather.
Surfaces treated with the Aerospace Protectant repel dust, grease, oil, and even water. The idea is like a coat of wax on your car or bike, the protectant makes it easier to clean when it inevitably becomes soiled.
The other major selling point of the protectant is the UV repellency. 303 claims the Aerospace Protectant is “SPF 40 sunscreen for your stuff.” Since there are almost no bikes on the road devoid of rubber or vinyl in some capacity, we were particularly interested in this claim.
The application goes on quite fast; and you do not need a lot. A squirt of fine mist and rubbing the cloth across the surface does the trick. In fact, use too much and you will wind up with a film. This is particularly important when we’re talking vinyl motorcycle seats. The film will be slippery and the last thing you need while dragging a knee is losing traction in the crotch region.
While it would have been nice to test the UV properties, this is something only long-term testing will prove, short of some accelerated lab testing which we’re not exactly equipped to handle. We can say, the protectant does a have a lasting quality that was impressive. The parts and pieces we coated included rubber and plastic and all seemed impervious to weather and made clean up much easier. We even tested it on a faring to see how much easier those obliterated bugs would come off. With little more than the power of water coming out of the hose, nearly all fell right off.
With such success we even started using it on our boots and jackets help remove the gunk. Truth is, once you start to see how well the product works you start wondering how well it’ll keep your kitchen sink clean, or a stainless refrigerator.
Conclusion
Overall, we were impressed with the ease of use of both the cleaner and the protectant; It's a breeze to use whether you're cleaning or protecting. It's pretty cool that usefulness of these products is so wide ranging and varying. Think about it, the same product that can wash fruit also can degrease your engine!? How many other products can make that claim? While the price of the 303 product line can come in a little higher than some other market-niche products, the diversity of usefulness is unsurpassed and worth it; at least to us. So, in that regard it's a great value. A little pricey, but that is not synonymous with a bad value. These are two great products and we're anxious to try some of the others.
If you want to try some of the 303 product line, they are currently offering a sample pack for a paltry $5. You get all sorts of goodies to use including: 303 Aerospace Protectant, 303 Cleaner and Spot Remover, 303 Shower Shield, 303 Instant Windshield Washer Tablets, 303 Wiper Treatment, and 303 Sonic Blast. The handy 2oz bottle of 303 Aerospace Protectant will fit in your pocket better than a Popeil Pocket Fisherman, so do yourself a favor and check 'em out.
The sample kit
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