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**JeffM** · Jun 2, 2005, 04:54 PM

I am sure Mike will help you out, but for now, only use the Porter Cable Polisher on your car, for now.

Dont use the Unigrit Sandpaper right now either.

Actually, keep checking in, and wait for Mike to help you out

**Mike Phillips** · Jun 2, 2005, 07:16 PM

Re: Important Questions need to be answered??

Originally posted by aref
Hi all
I am new member in this forum and this is the first participation for me. I am very admirer with Meguiar's products.

Hi Aref,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

You'll find lots of friendly people on this forum always willing to lend a helping hand and share their knowledge and experience.

In the beginning, I bought the training videotape and I watched it many times. Then, I decided to by some of the products from Meguiar's shop online. I saw a lot of products there in the Meguiar's web compared with small number of products used in the training videotape. I also read in the Meguiar's forum that many members advise for some products and the others advise to another products. I got confused which products should I buy for polishing, waxing and cleaning. I decided to buy most of the products and this is a list of the products I have:

E7200 BACKING PAD
G100A PORTER CABLE POLISHER W/W64DA & W8006
G7101 GOLD CLASS CAR WASH - GALLON
M0216 FINE CUT CLEANER
M0316 MACHINE GLAZE
M2016 POLYMER SEALANT
M2164 SYNTHETIC SEALANT
M3401 FINAL INSPECTION
M8232 BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL SWIRL FREE POLISH
M8332 DUAL ACTION CLEANER/POLISH
M8432 COMPOUND POWER CLEANER
M9910 ULTIMATE WIPE DETAILING CLOTH
S1525 UNIGRIT SANDPAPER-1500 GRIT-25 SHEETS
S2025 UNIGRIT SANDPAPER-2000 GRIT-SLEEVE
S2525 UNIGRIT SANDPAPER - 2500 GRIT SLEEVE
S3025 UNIGRIT SANDPAPER-3000 GRIT-SLEEVE
W4000 WOOL CUTTING PAD
W64 5" ROTARY BACKING PLATE
W65 VELCRO BACKING PLATE
W7000 CUTTING PAD
W7006 6" FOAM CUTTING PAD
W8000 FOAM POLISHING PAD
W8006 6" POLISHING PAD
W9000 FINISHING PAD
W9006 6" FINISHING PAD
A1016 BODY SCRUB
A3316 QUIK DETAILER
G10307 SCRATCH X
G1116 QUIK CLAY DETAILING SYSTEM
M0916 SWIRL REMOVER
M8132 BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL HAND POLISH
M8532 DIAMOND CUT
RESREM03 RESIDUE REMOVAL KIT
X1000 ALL-SURFACE INTERIOR BRUSH
X1020 VERSA-ANGLE WHEEL FACE BRUSH
X1040 VERSA-ANGLE WIDE BODY BRUSH
X1120 SLIDE-LOCK DETAIL BRUSH
X1130 TRIPLE DUTY DETAIL BRUSH
X3080 EVEN-COAT APPLICATOR PAD 2 PK
G10200 GLASS WIPES
G10900 GOLD CLASS RICH LEATHER WIPES
G11500 GOLD CLASS PROTECTANT WIPES
G2310 ODOR ELIMINATOR
G301 DETAILING SWABS
G405 LAMBS WOOL WASH MITT
G7164 64 OZ. GOLD CLASS CAR WASH SHAMPOO
G9416 GOLD CLASS CARPET/INTERIOR CLEANER
M0016 HI-TECH WASH
M0716 SHOW CAR GLAZE
M2616 HI TECH YELLOW WAX - LIQUID
M3416 FINAL INSPECTION
M8032 BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL SPEED GLAZE
M9910 ULTIMATE WIPE DETAILING CLOTH
M9940 ULTIMATE BONNET - 11" FOR ORBITAL BUFFER
PES101V PROFESSIONAL TRAINING VIDEO - VOL. I
W0004-12 SET OF 12 APPLICATOR PADS
X2000 WATER MAGNET DRYING TOWEL
X2020 SUPREME SHINE MICROFIBER - 3 PK
X2050 ULTRA PLUSH SUPER TERRY - 2PK
X2070 MICROFIBER SUPER SUEDE DRYING CLOTH
X3010 ULTRA PLUSH WASH MITT

Also, I bought Makita polishing machine( #9727).

We love to see people act on their passion for detailing their own cars! Welcome to Obsessive, Compulsive Club! Also known as the OCC. If you build a paint booth and purchase a paint gun and some paint, you have enough Meguiar's supplies to open both a body shop and a detail shop!

Although I saw the training video many times and how some products are used, many of the products I bought have not been used and I still I don't know how to use it.

We have some brand new videos you can watch just about ready to go that will show you how to use most of our new accessory and product line! When they're ready you'll be able to watch them online here...

New Videos Coming Soon!

At the end, I have some questions need to be answered:

1-What is the difference in using Makita 9727 and Dual action polisher? Like Is Makita used for Polishing and Dual Machine used only for waxing only, is this correct?

Makita 9227 (Good Choice by the way)
The Makita 9227 is a rotary buffer. Rotary buffers use a direct drive rotating action. This means when you squeeze the trigger, the motor engages the gears directly and your polishing pad will begin to spin in a rotating manner. This rotating action is powerful, and while it can be slowed down either through the variable speed adjust built into the body of the buffer or by pressing firmly against the paint with it, you typically cannot stop the rotating action as the motor is too strong. Because the rotary buffer offers so much power, it is the tool of choice for in essence, removing paint.

By the words removing paint, we mean removing just enough paint off the surface around a defects such as sanding marks leftover by wet sanding, or below surface defects such as swirls and scratches. It's powerful direct drive rotating action enables you to remove defects, (remove paint), quickly which is a feature that is important to people that wet sand and then buff out fresh paint, or professional detailers correcting neglected paint. Most people in these professions are usually production oriented, by this we mean, they want to get the job done as fast as they can, while still offering quality results.

Dual Action Polisher
Meguiar's G100, also called a PC, (which is short for Porter Cable who manufactures the unit that has become very popular among detailers and enthusiasts), is what is referred to as a dual action polisher. The reason being is because unlike the rotary buffer that utilizes a direct drive motor/gear set-up, the dual action polisher offers an oscillation action, that is the head of the polisher moves in both a orbital pattern and a rotating pattern at the same time. Also unlike the rotary buffer, if you push down against your car's paint with this tool it will stop rotating and oscillating. This features makes this tool a lot more gentle in it's cleaning and polishing action, and thus much safe to use by enthusiasts and pros alike.

Because it the rotating and oscillating action can be stopped by simply pushing firmly against the polisher while your pad is in contact with the surface, it's also not as aggressive, and thus effective or even fast as a rotary buffer for removing defects.

For example, a rotary buffer is very effective at removing sanding marks out of paint, while a dual action polisher is not. This trade-off is power and effectiveness is the resulting safety factor that enthusiasts love because they know that for the most part, it's almost impossible to make a mistake such as instilling swirls or burning through the clear coat of a car's finish to expose the color coat, or worse, the primer.

These two tool are very different in what they can do for you, but each tool has it place in your arsenal as each tool as a best use.

As mentioned previously, the rotary buffer can be used to remove serious paint defects such as deep swirls and scratches or sanding marks as you saw in our how-to video.

The dual action polisher is better at removing fine swirls using a cleaner/polish, and and also for applying pure polishes and all types of waxes once the finish is swirl free.

Here's some advise, if you have never used a rotary buffer before, don't try to learn on a black Viper! (or any black or dark colored car that is important to you). Instead, watch the video some more to learn proper technique, and then practice on a junker car or get a hood or deck-lid off a wrecked car.

2-In the training tape, I have not understood why he did sanding for the car? When I use the sanding, which problem happened to the car that caused him used sanding?

Wet sanding is typically used to remove orange peel on fresh paint. Orange peel is a dimpled look some paint jobs have after they have dried. The name orange peel is used because the surface of some paint resembles that of an orange. To a car enthusiasts, hoping for a beautiful car, orange peel is undesirable. Instead, a completely flat surface is desired as the flatter, or smoother you can make the surface, the shinier and glossier your car's paint will be and reflection in the paint will be sharper and more distinctive. Thus wet sanding is used to flatten, or smooth out the paint. Afterwards, you will need to use a series of compounds and cleaner/polishes with the corresponding pads to remove the sanding marks and restore a high gloss, swirl free finish.

3-Should I use the clay before I polish the car with machine?

First, determine if you need to clay. The way you can tell if any car, new or old, needs to be clayed is to feel the surface with the palm of your clean hand after washing, if you feel little bumps on the surface, this is an indicator that you have above surface contaminants. If you discover aboves surface bonded contaminants, then you need to clay your car's finish.

Allow me to add two more questions on your behalf,

Which step, or in what order do I use detailing clay?

We always remove what's sitting on top of the surface below going after what's below the surface.

Clay first, then use a paint cleaner. The only exception is for extremely oxidized finishes where there is so much oxidized paint on the surface that it is more effective to remove the heavy oxidation before using the clay. (Otherwise you load your clay up with dead, oxidized paint that could have been better removed using a paint cleaner).

How often should a person clay their car?

You use clay when you need to. By this we mean, after washing your car, run you clean hand over the surface to feel for how smooth it is, clean paint should feel smooth like brand new glass. If you feel little bumps on the surface, this is an indicator that you need to use detailing clay to remove what we call, above surface contaminants.

There is no rule for how often to clay your car, it's whenever you inspect your car's finish and find above surface contaminants. You could clay your car today, and potentially park it where paint overspray lands on the finish and bonds, and need to clay your car tomorrow, how often you have to clay your car all depends upon what's in the air where you park your car.

Does that make sense?

I'm going to break your next question up into two separate questions...

4a - In my car I have swirls; I want to remove these swirls.

Tips & Techniques for using the G-100a to remove swirls and other paint defects.

Products Used
Quik Clay System
G-100a
W-8006 foam polishing pad
W-9006 foam finishing pad
#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
#80 Speed Glaze
Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax
Ultimate Wipe
Ultimate Bonnet

First wash the car thoroughly. Pay special attention to loosening and removing any dirt particles from cracks and crevices to prevent these dirt particles from being introduced onto the surface during the polishing process. After washing and drying, inspect the surface both visually for below surface defects and with the palm of your clean hand for above surface defects.

If you feel any tiny little bumps still attached to the finish after washing, proceed to clay the paint to safely remove these contaminants. After claying each panel, wipe the panel down with a quick detailer to remove any residue.

Using Painters Tape, tape-off any plastic trim or components that you don not want to get product onto and also tape-off any edges, high points or areas with known thin paint.

Applying #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish with the G-100

Speed Setting - 4.0 to 5.0
Arm Speed - Slow Arm Speed
Pressure - 3-5 pounds of pressure
Work Area - Work a small area at a time, about 1 to 2 feet square
Overlapping motions - Overlap each pass by 50%, move the polisher using different patterns
Time - Work the product until the diminishing abrasives have broken down, but you haven't gone completely to a dry buff.
Amount of product - Don't overuse product, use enough to lay down a film in the area you are working

When using the G100 Dual Action Polisher to remove defects, (This is different then merely applying a polish or a wax because you're trying to remove paint), you need to use a slow arm speed and overlap you passes by 50%. You also want to go in at least two different directions, for example, from where you're standing, side to side, then front to back. You can also move the polisher in a kitty/corner fashion for complete, thorough and uniform cleaning action.

Only work a small area at a time, this will vary according to the shape, curve or body line of the panel you are polishing but for example on a large flat panel, you want to stay around a 12" to 18" squared area. The point being, don't try to work to large of an area all at once or you won't remove the defects equally everywhere.

When you move on to a new section, overlap into the old section for a uniform end results.

When it comes time for applying a pure polish, or a wax, (besides cleaner/waxes like ColorX if you're doing a one-step), the you can polish larger areas and spend less time, i.e. use less passes.

The point of the cleaning step is to remove the defects. Because the G100's polishing action is gentle and therefore safe, it takes time to remove small particles of paint in an effort to remove a defect.

If the below image represents swirls and scratches evenly distributed throughout your car's finish,

Then you can see that in order to remove the defects you need to remove the highest areas of the surface until they are level with the lowest depths of the deepest scratches. In essence, you must remove paint.

Applying #80 Speed Glaze with the G-100

Speed Setting - 4.0 to 5.0
Arm Speed - Medium Arm Speed
Pressure - 3-5 pounds of pressure
Work Area - You can work a larger area than what you do with the #83 DACP
Time - Work the product until the diminishing abrasives have broken down, but you haven't gone completely to a dry buff.
Amount of product - Don't overuse product, use enough to lay down a film in the area you are working. Speed Glaze is rich in polishing oils a little bit goes a long ways

Applying NXT Tech Wax with the G-100

Speed Setting - 3.0 to 4.0
Arm Speed - Medium Arm Speed
Pressure - Light pressure - More than the weight of the machine, you want to engage the foam pad with the surface, not just float over it
Work Area - You can work panel by panel, for example, apply to one half of the hood, then walk to the other side of the car and apply to the other half of the hood. Apply to fender all at once, door, deck lid, etc.
Time - Work the product long enough to make two passes over the finish then move on
Amount of product - Don't overuse product, use enough to lay down a film in the area you are working

Removing Polish or Wax with an Ultimate Bonnet on the G-100

Speed Setting - 4.0 to 5.0
Arm Speed - Medium Arm Speed
Pressure - 3-5 pounds of pressure
Work Area - You can work panel by panel, for example, apply to one half of the hood, then walk to the other side of the car and apply to the other half of the hood. Apply to fender all at once, door, deck lid, etc.
Time - Work the area until the bonnet has removed the wax

4b - Is there any depth to remove the swirl. I mean is there swirl that cannot be removed and other can be removed? Depth?

When it comes to removing swirls, scratches and other below surface defects, you must always be mindful of how thick, or thin your clear coat is, we call this film-build. Here's some pertinent information...

During our Saturday detailing clinics, one of the things we stress is to do a thorough job of removing the defects by focusing on the task at hand. When applying ScratchX by hand this means working small areas at a time and overlapping into these areas when moving on to the next section. Same goes for applying products like the the #80 Speed Glaze. It's important to use a slow arm speed, 4-5 lbs of pressure on the head of the polisher and overlapping motions on the 4.5 to 5.0 setting. If you do this, you will have greatly increased your chances for successfully removing a majority of the defects from your car's finish.

An interesting thing we always try to point out is the defects that do remain after detailing your car. If you have done everything correctly and after wiping off your LSP you discover random, isolated, deeper scratches, (RIDS), this is what you're seeing... deeper scratches.

You see, the shallow scratches will buff out leaving behind the deeper ones. With the thousands of lighter, shallower scratches removed, the remaining deeper scratches will now stand out like a sore thumb making it easier for you eyes to detect them. This is normal. The thing to remember is that in order to remove all the defects means to remove more paint and depending on your goals and how much paint you have to work with, (film-build), you may be better off learning to live with the deeper scratches versus trying to remove them.

Here's a saying to remember,

"You can often improve a scratch, but you cannot always remove a scratch"

Here's a different way of saying the same thing,

"Often times you are better off merely trying to improve a defect than to completely remove the defect"

The point being is this, you only have a certain amount of film-build, or paint thickness to work within, if you remove too much paint you will expose the color coat under a clear coat, and in the case of a non-clear coat finish, you will expose the primer under the color coat.

It's also important to remember that when you're working on a clear coat finish, all of the U.V. protection for the paint job itself is in the clear coat, so the more clear you remove, the less U.V. protection you have left.

Here's a very insightful thread started by a very knowledgeable and experienced detailer that we are fortunate to have as a member of our forum. In this thread he discusses and demonstrates how much paint is being removed during machine cleaning.

How much paint are you removing.

5-Is there any difference on using the products for different car colors?

No, not really. 99.9% of all cars being manufactured today have a clear coat finish, so in essence, you're not working on a color coat, you're working on clear paint.

Here is a related question that comes up often that you might find interesting, it's from the below thread...

Which LSP is better for light colors?

LSP means, Last Step Product, what the person is asking is which wax looks best on light colored cars?

Here's my reply in the above thread,

Originally posted by Cipitio
Hi everybody,

I have a silver and a white car. I was thinking on increase my stock of Meguiar's LSP (couple of tins of #16).

I read a lot that NXT and #26 are awesome for dark color cars.

I want to know your opinion about the best choice on LSP for light color cars.

Thank you for your responses.

Hi Cipitio,

Here's the deal,

First of all, 99% of all cars being manufactured today have a clear coat, so keep in mind, most people are not working on a pigmented paint, but on clear paint. Clear paint is simply resin without color.

That said, if a car wax, or polish will make a dark or black colored paint look great, it's also making a light colored finish look great to it's just your eyes can't see the difference. This is why the best test for a product is always on dark colors and black paint specifically. The true results of a product are going to be the most apparent on black paint, whether its a single-stage finish or a clear coated finish.

The color that is the least efficient at demonstrating a difference is white paint, whether it's a single-stage, or a clear coated finish. This is why Meguiar's performs all of their testing on black paint.

What you see discussed on forums and elsewhere on the topic of some waxes being better on light colors and some waxes being better on dark colors is simply confusion.

You'll often read where someone will say, "Brand X is great on light colors", what is implied is that brand X doesn't make dark colors look good. If a wax or polish can't make a dark color look good, it isn't making a light color look good, your eyes just can't evaluate the difference.

The best waxes for appearance quality make all colors look good and you can know this by whether or not the wax makes dark colors look good.

Think about it for a second, if you have two identical cars, for example two Honda Accura's. One is white with a clear coat finish and the other is black with a clear coat finish, if a wax makes the black Accura look great, knowing you're working on the same kind of paint, (a clear coat), it's reasonable to assume that it's going to make the white Accura look great, it's just you're eyes won't perceive the difference as easily as they would with the black Accura.

Conversely, if a wax doesn't make the black Accura look good, it's reasonable to assume it's not going to make the white Accura look good for the same reasons outlined above.

6 - I always wash my car day after day, is this affect or remove the wax? And this will affect my car if I wax it again after I wash it?

Washing your car removes wax, even wiping it with a cloth removes wax, basically anything that comes into contact with wax coating on the surface has the potential to affect the coating. By the term affect, I mean... when you touch your car's paint and subsequently the wax sitting on top of the paint, you're disrupting the wax at some level. If you're applying more wax, in the form of a liquid, paste, or spray-on, you are probably removing a little, and then leaving a little behind until you reach the point of diminishing returns.

If you're just running a towel over the surface, or washing with a wash mitt, then you're not adding any wax to the surface and more than likely you're removing a little at the microscopic level.

How far do we want to drill down? Nothing remains the same, nothing is excluded from change. Everything is in a state of chaos according to The second law of thermodynamics. So the answer is yes, continual washing keeps your car clean, it will also tend to wear your wax coating off the paint.

As to the second part of your question, the best time to wax your car is right after you have washed and dried it. Before applying wax however, run the clean palm of your hand down the horizontal surfaces to inspect for above surface contaminants, if you discover any, then remove them using detailing clay.

7 - I use the Final Inspection every time I wash my car, will my car be affected?

Yes, it will look great! No harm will come to your car's paint with continual and frequent use of any Meguiar's quick detailer including Final Inspection. What this will do is insure your car always looks, "Just Detailed"

I hope that you answer all my questions and I am very thankful for your services on this forum.

I hope that we have answered all of our questions, if not we're more than willing to take another stab at them!

If there any booklet or training books that will help me using your products please let me know.

Not yet.

Note: I will provide some pictures for my car and the problems I have on its body.

Kindly Regards

Aref Al-mohammed

We're looking forward to the pictures, just a note to that affect, currently our photo gallery is not working so you'll either have to upload your pictures somewhere else, or wait till our photo gallery is operational again.

**Mike Phillips** · Jun 2, 2005, 10:09 PM

Here's some more information you may find helpful,

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

What's the difference between polish and wax?
(Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle)

There is a lot of confusion about the difference between a polish, and a wax. Many companies are marketing waxes and paint protectants as polishes and glazes and the terms have become almost interchangeable.

Professionals know there is a big difference.

Meguiar's is a true polish manufacture. That is, unlike many of our competitors that can only offer you a few products for cars with cured paint, Meguiar's product range runs from the highest quality finishing papers in the industry, to state-of-the-art pure synthetic paint protectants, to everything in-between.

Example: Most companies only offer the following products:

* Car wash
* Pre-wax cleaner
* One or two waxes (usually some type of natural wax or polymer/silicone synthetic protectant)
* Multi-surface vinyl protectant

And sometimes one or more of the following:

* Some type of wheel cleaner, leather treatment, or tire dressing.

Because they offer such a limited selection, and often times don't even manufacture the products themselves, they really have no expertise when it comes to formulating complex products that professionals require as an intricate part of performing their job duties as skilled craftsman. This is why frequently you will see a product whose purpose is to protect the paint labeled as a polish.

Instead of merely defining the difference between a polish and a wax, below you will find the Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle and the products and procedures for each of the 5 steps.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

The 5-step paint care cycle outlines the 5 basic but important procedures and the accompanying products that enable you to restore and maintain a show car shine on your car's finish.

Below are the 5 categories of products including pure polishes and cleaner/polishes as they are placed in the 5-step paint care cycle.

The 5-Step Paint Care Cycle includes:

Step-1 Washing

Washing removes loose surface dirt and loose contaminants that have not yet bonded to the surface. All Meguiar's wash products are specially formulated to clean well without stripping wax protection or dulling and drying out all paint types. All Meguiar's washes also contain special conditioning agents that leave behind a slick, high gloss surface.

Because most people wash their car more than any other procedure, it's important to use a car wash solution that is specifically formulated for the unique chemistry used to make modern clear coats. Above all, avoid using common dish washing detergents because these products are extremely harsh and tend to dull the finish down with each use. Dish soaps are also hard on other materials and components such as rubber, vinyl and plastics, remember, when you wash your car with dish soap everything is subjected to the dulling and drying effects high alkaline soaps cause to your vehicle.

Step-2 Cleaning or Surface Prep

Surface Prep includes both paint cleaning (not to be confused with the washing step), and claying the finish (with a clay bar). To help you accomplish these two steps, Meguiar's offers a number of safe but effective paint cleaners and an easy to use clay bar kit that includes everything you need to clay your car's finish.

Paint Cleaners
This includes highly specialized Compounds and Paint Cleaners, which utilize both microscopic and macroscopic diminishing abrasives? technology. Meguiar's has pioneered and led the industry in diminishing abrasive technology since 1901. Over the course of these many years, Meguiar's has developed more formulas than any other company for performing the delicate procedure of removing a defect in the paint, while at the same time, removing as little paint as humanly possible during the process.

Meguiar's diminishing abrasive technology is one of Meguiar's most guarded secrets that is so highly sought after by our competitors and which completely separates us from the rest of the competition when you look at the results with your own two eyes. Our abrasive products, correctly used, leave the surface looking as though it were just polished, not as though it were just scoured with a compounded.

Out of all the procedures in the 5-step paint care cycle, cleaning is the most important procedure because the results from your cleaning step will determine the end result for the polishing and protecting steps.

"A surface won't go clear until it comes clean"

It is vitally important that all bonded contaminants, surface imperfections, oxidation, pore-embedding stains, and built-up road grime, etc. first be removed in order to bring the finish to it's highest potential for clarity, gloss, depth and shine.

Applying a wax, whether it's synthetic, natural or a blend of both, to a neglected surface that has not been properly cleaned and then polished, will merely act to seal or lock the contaminants to the finish, and will do nothing to improve, or remove the other defects and in most cases will only marginally improve gloss, shine and reflectivity.

Clay Bar Technology
Clay bar technology evolved as a natural reaction to the need that arose for a way to safely remove bonded contaminants from clear coat paints without resorting to traditional rubbing or polishing compounds and the resulting scratches caused by the sharp, hard abrasive typically used in these formulas.

In the old days, if you found overspray or any type of unwanted substance on the hood, roof or deck lid of your car that washing didn't remove, you could simply go to the garage and grab any old compound, and together with a rag, you could quickly remove the offending contaminants. After that you could simply apply just about any companies wax and presto-chango, the problem was gone.

Not so simple anymore.

If your were to perform that same procedure to a modern clear coat today, you would see a horrible looking scratched-up mess everywhere you applied the compound, and the wax would do nothing to cover the scratches up.

Enter the Clay bar
Clay bars are non-abrasive bars of synthetic clay called Polyclay. They are somewhat like a high-tech version of Play-Doh?. They work in three easy steps:

1) - First you mold the clay bar into a pancake-looking flat wafer
2) - Second you lubricate the finish with a spray lubricant like Meguiar's Quik Detailer
3) - Third you then rub the clay bar back and forth across the paint (somewhat like a bar of soap against your arm)

That's it! You are now claying your car's finish. As you're doing this, the clay bar will grab onto, lift, and pullout the contaminants that have bonded to the surface of your finish.

Generally speaking for most cars, only the horizontal surfaces need to be clayed, as it is the horizontal surfaces that contaminants tend to land on and if not removed within a reasonable period of time will then bond tightly to the surface. For extremely neglected vehicles, you can always evaluate the vertical surfaces and if need be, clay them too.

One important thing to keep in mind, if a vehicle's finish has bonded contaminants, it is highly likely that it also has below surface defects, for example, pore-embedding stains. For this reason, Meguiar's recommends for best possible results, always use a paint cleaner after claying to insure the finish is clean both on top of the surface as well as below the surface.

Step-3 Polishing

Meguiar's offers two types of polishes, Cleaner Polishes and Pure Polishes. Cleaner Polishes are for removing very light or fine defects while restoring a crystal clear, smooth high gloss surface. Pure polishes are for finishes already in excellent condition and are for the purpose or creating brilliant high gloss with deep dark reflections.

If you look in Webster's Dictionary under the word polish, one of the definitions they include reads like this:

"A preparation that is used to produce gloss, and often color for the protection and decoration of a surface."

This definition best describes Meguiar's Pure Polishes. Meguiar's pure polishes are designed to create brilliant high gloss while preparing the surface for the application of a protective coating. Meguiar's pure polishes accomplish this without the use of abrasives.

Another definition found in Webster's Dictionary for polish is,

"To make smooth and glossy by friction."

This definition best describes Meguiar's Cleaner/Polishes. Meguiar's cleaner polishes are formulated to very gently abrade the surface with Meguiar's Diminishing Abrasive TM and Buffered Abrasive TM technology to remove the finest defects and create a perfectly smooth, high gloss finish.

Depending on what type of paint you're working on, traditional paints like lacquers and enamels, or catalyzed clear coats, Meguiar's has the products specifically designed to work on both types of paints, not to mention many other surfaces such as plastics and polyester resins (Fiberglas Gel-coats).

Meguiar's Trade Secret Polishing Oils
The trade secret oils Meguiar's uses in both types of polishes are unique to the industry and to this day have never been surpassed for creating deep, dark reflections and brilliant high gloss by any of our competitors in over 100 years.

The oils Meguiar's uses are also important in maintaining the original condition of the paint by filling in the naturally occurring microscopic pores and surface imperfections thus preventing detrimental substances and elements as simple as water, or worse, acid-rain, from entering into these pores and microscopic surface imperfections thus causing oxidation and chemical etching. These oils act to replace the original resins as they wear away through natural processes.

When paint is new, it is the most impermeable it will ever be, this means it is a very smooth non-porous, continuous film. With age, exposure to the environment and micro-scratching caused by day-in, day-out wear and tear, your paint develops micro-fissures in the surface along with other defects. These micro-fissures and other defects act to make the continuous film or coating of paint more porous. As this happens, your car's finish becomes more vulnerable to corrosive elements that will attack and degrade your finish.

Remember, waxes, synthetic or otherwise, are meant to be Sacrificial Barriers with the intended purpose sealing the surface, while blocking those things that would attack your paint, from coming into direct contact with the paint.

"Waxes protect your finish by sacrificing themselves so that your paint doesn't have to"

An analogy is your skin. In the same way you can clean, polish and protect your skin, you can clean, polish and protect your car's finish. Soap can be used to clean your skin and remove dirt from the pores. Skin lotions can be used to moisturize your skin, conditioning it and making it more clear and beautiful. Protection products like lotions used to protect hands from exposure to chemicals and UV protectants can be applied to help protect your skin from the things that would attack your skin if these harmful things could come into direct contact with your skin.

While human skin and automotive paint are very different, the analogy is very similar. With Meguiar's, you can:

* Wash your car's finish to remove unwanted and accumulated dirt contaminants
* Clean your paint with our special paint cleaners and cleaner/polishes
* Polish your paint with our pure polishes to create unequaled beauty
* Protect your paint with our advanced paint protection products
* Maintain your car's finish using our fast and easy to use maintenance products.

The unique thing about Meguiar's highly specialized trade secret oils is their ability to restore and maintain the Optical Clarity of both single stage and clear coat paints in a way that waxes alone cannot match, (both natural and synthetic), the results of which are demonstrated in side-by-side comparisons.

Step-4 Protecting

Paint protection products (waxes by any other name), whether they are based on natural ingredients or synthetic ingredients (or a blend of both) provide a protective film, or Sacrificial Barrier (as mentioned above) against Mother Nature and other detrimental or corrosive substances. Without this sacrificial barrier, your finish is susceptible to attack at any time, as harmful or corrosive substances come into direct contact with the surface.

This brings up the topic of Water Beading. While most people use the visual indicator of water beading on the surface to mean their finish is protected... it is actually only an indicator of High Surface Tension.

High Surface Tension does not automatically mean the coating that has been applied is actually providing any real or meaningful protective characteristics.

Meguiar's R & D department has decades of expertise in creating the most advanced polymer-based formula's made from state-of-the-art engineered synthetic polymers, which are able to evenly cross-link very tightly to the surface and offer real protection on a multitude of surfaces against a multitude of attacks. Our products can also achieve optimal cross-linking within 15 to 20 minutes after application allowing the excess product to be removed shortly thereafter.

Some of Meguiar's polymer-based waxes include:

Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax
#20 Polymer Sealant
Medallion Premium Paint Protection
Gold Class Clear Coat Car Wax
Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax
Marine Flagship

Even our Spray Waxes contain high performance, engineered synthetic polymers, as do some of our Car Wash products.

Besides acting as sacrificial barriers to protect the underlying surface, a premium wax can also increase the visual appearance of a finish. Many of Meguiar's waxes will not only provide better protection than the competition, but will also:

* Increase optical clarity and distinction of image (D.O.I.)
* Enhance and increase the reflective characteristics of medium to dark color finishes
* Add shine and slickness
* Create wet-looking gloss
* Fill-in and hide swirls and scratches
* Provide the most UV protection available
* Offer water sheeting action, or water beading action (depending on the wax)

Choosing the right wax for your finish and your unique circumstances is something our Surface Care Experts would love to help you determine. Just call our Customer Care Hotline and talk to a knowledgeable technician to help you make the right choice.

Step-5 Maintaining

Maintenance products, like our Quik Detailer, and our Quik Wax, allow you quickly clean your car and restore that just waxed look in just a matter of minutes... practically anywhere.

Meguiar's Quik Detailer removes fresh contaminants before they have a chance to bond or etch into the surface.

Meguiar's Quik Wax quickly and easily boosts your already existing wax protection while turning your finish dramatically darker and increasing shine and gloss.

Meguiar's actually invented the concept of a mist and wipe product for consumers back in the early-80's with the introduction of their mist & wipe product called "Trigger Wash"

As leaders and experts in the surface care industry, we have a history of creating new products, such as mist & wipe products like our Quik Detailer and M-34 Final Inspection to help our customers maintain and beautify their vehicles.

In keeping with that history, we have just introduced a brand new spray wax that produces similar results as Meguiar's Quik Wax. It's actually a part of Meguiar's NXT Generation line of products based upon Meguiar's ESP Technology (Engineered Synthetic Polymers) and is a companion product to Meguiar's new NXT Tech Wax it's called NXT Spray Wax.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle clearly demonstrates there are 5 basic steps to professional and intelligent car care.

Using the correct Meguiar's products and the right technique, you can remove scratches and swirls that have accumulated from years of neglect to successfully restore a flawless, show car finish as demonstrated here on a 1991 BMW E34 M5. The left side is untouched, while the right side has been professionally restored using all Meguiar's products.

The 5-Step Paint Care Cycle enables you to understand exactly what a product is not just by the name on the label, but by the results the product accomplishes according to the 5 different groups of procedures outlined in the 5-Step Paint Care Cycle.

If a product is labeled a polish, but in fact is used to protect the paint, then you know it's a wax or a paint protectant and not an actual polish in the true sense of the definition of the word.

Here at Meguiar's we manufacture some very complex products, of which polishes and waxes are only a small portion of our complete line.

[b]

**Mike Phillips** · Jun 2, 2005, 10:10 PM

Also, there is a ton of great reading in the below forum catagory, especially in the Hot Topics forum.

The Information Station

**Mike Phillips** · Sep 7, 2005, 06:06 AM

He aref... you still out there?

**Mike Phillips** · Oct 26, 2006, 07:24 AM

Re: Importants Questions need to be answered??

Important Questions need to be answered?

Hey aref... are you still out there?

**Superior Shine** · Oct 26, 2006, 04:13 PM

Re: Importants Questions need to be answered??

There went everything you wanted to know about finish care but were afraid to ask!!!!!!!!!

**Lydia** · Oct 26, 2006, 07:22 PM

Re: Importants Questions need to be answered??

Is this guy for real?

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Importants Questions need to be answered??

Importants Questions need to be answered??

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