Soooo confused...

[Ferchu]

Hi there,

I've been reading along these forums to know what my car needs to be the best looking of the neighboord, but I find myself confused about so many options around...
Until now, to my best knowledge there was nothing like a good Carnauba Wax, so, I had no doubt that I needed the Hi-Tech Yellow Wax (#26), but then I found a lot of waxes of sealants going around, and now I oficially confused...
My car is red, and I love red, I own this car from the first moment and I waxed it pretty often, at this time not as often as before, but twice or three times a year (in my "best times" I waxed it almost every wash).
So, the paint does look good, anyway, I do have some swirls, presents from the paint shop and the years, and some other presents from birds (those bastards!).

Reading about I found:

- NXT Wash is the way to go.
- ScractchX will remove the swirls and the birds bombs.
- I have a Glaze from another brand (don't mention it)
- #26, NXT, or apply a sealant like #21 or maybe all of those...

I'm a daily driver, so I want good looking and protection to my paint finish, I do not like to polish, but if there's no other way..., all of my work is done by hand, I'm looking to buy an orbital buffer, but not more than that...

So..., can you help me please?, how to get the best look?

#26 alone
NXT alone
#21 alone
NXT + #26
#21 + #26
and so on, and so on, and so on...


Kind Regards


PD: It rainy here, so my car is dirty, and I can no get pictures of it until it's clear, you know

[Murr1525]

Well, I can give you my thoughts... But as you noticed, the options are endles...

I would do this if you are in a hurry:

1. Wash - Nxt is good
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit
3. ScratchX - This will be good the firsttime to get the stubborn doppings, swirls, since it is a stronger cleaner than ColorX.
4. ColorX - Might be called ColorBoost in your area
5. Wax - #21.

Then, in the future:

1. Wash
2. Clay if needed
3. ColorX
4. Wax - #21

While doing a full 6 or 7 step detail will always give the best looks, ColorX + #21 is really hard to beat for a daily driver without a lot of time to detail it.

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

[Ferchu]

I have an issue with "clay", I do undertand the theory behind it, but honestly I don't see how it could be usefull for me, I didn't found any before-after claying pictures, of this.
Next will it last the "Smooth Surface Clay kit", if I need to clay the entire car (I asume the first time to be that way), will it support it and still be usefull for some other time?

I don't think I need ColorX, as I said, my painting is in good shape, I believe this product is for cases like the one in the Bronco. To give you an idea of my paint state, after washing I can see my face in it without any waxing of special treatment.


Ok, 1 vote for #21 alone then.

[Murr1525]

I have used ColorX right from the start on my new car. It is great on new paint as well. But yo ucould use the regular Cleaner/Wax as well. Just thinking of ways to cut out a step or two for you.

If your car is in good shape, which it seems to be, you could clay it 3 or 4 times with one bar of clay. However, you would need to buy an extra bottle or two of the Quick Detailer. It will run out before the clay does.

As far as pictures.. yeah, I dont know if there really are any. There are extreme ones with overspray, or years of dirt, but I dunno about more regular use.

[Vios]

Having used Meguiars for more than 14 years now and trying pretty much every combination available on both black and red cars, here's what I've currently settled on:

The obvious first step is to wash the car - for this I use the two bucket system (one for the soap, one for rinsing) and two different Meg's mits (one for the paint, the other for wheels and underbody). After soaping up each panel I run my hand carefully over the surface to see if I can feel anything that's still stuck to the surface, if so I make a mental note and return to spot clay the area once the car is dry.

The next step is to apply the Deep Crystal paint cleaner - does it ever make a huge difference to color and clarity - my red is redder, the black blacker. Gets rid of the pollution fallout that washing just can't do. Awesome stuff.

I then follow this with 2 succesive coats of #7 Show Car glaze, working a single panel at a time, and applying the second coat before moving onto the next panel. Wet, wet, wet.

The final step is done over two days - applying two coats of #21 Synthetic sealant. This stuff is just too easy to apply with a dual action polisher - it only takes about 3-4 minutes to apply a full, even coat. After application I wait at least 30 minutes before wiping down with a microfibre cloth, then leave the car to sit overnight and do another application first thing in the morning.

Should be just as easy by hand of course, and the difference it makes to the depth of color (esp. after the second coat) is well worth the effort. Not to mention it's the slickest finish I've ever come across as well, and lasts at least 2-3 months even with the intense heat and heavy pollution fallout here in the Land of Smiles. By comparison, NXT has lost it's slickness and depth of color inside of a week or two in this environment.

So what works for me is:

* Deep Crystal paint cleaner
* #7 Show Car glaze
* #21 Synthetic Sealant

Note that I also have a tube of ScratchX on hand for fixing small scratches, and also keep a bottle of PlastX to spruce up the head/tail lights periodically as well.

[Vios]

Sorry, I should have also mentioned that the DC cleaner is excellent at removing swirl marks, here's a pic of a Z3 I did last weekend:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=19415

[WaspHunter]

Wow I have got to try that... So far I've only been using the Scratch X.

[bullet1]

Originally posted by Ferchu
I have an issue with "clay", I do undertand the theory behind it, but honestly I don't see how it could be usefull for me, I didn't found any before-after claying pictures, of this.
Next will it last the "Smooth Surface Clay kit", if I need to clay the entire car (I asume the first time to be that way), will it support it and still be usefull for some other time?

I don't think I need ColorX, as I said, my painting is in good shape, I believe this product is for cases like the one in the Bronco. To give you an idea of my paint state, after washing I can see my face in it without any waxing of special treatment.


Ok, 1 vote for #21 alone then.

In my opinion, the Clay step is every bit as critical as polishing the paint. Even if your car is new you should run clay over it just to make sure the surface is smooth. I just detailed a 2005 SLK that was in excellent shape and the owner was amazed at how much the clay pulled off the paint. You can use the same piece of clay for many vehicles just as long as you don't drop it on the ground.

I wouldn't think you really need before/after pictures of clay. All I need to see is the white clay that looks black because of what it pulled off the paint like this...



Knowing all that **** was on the paint is all I need to see.

[Coupe]

I dont polish, wax or do anything to the paint without claying first. All vehicles need to be clayed ESPECIALLY new cars. Go ahead and clay it first, i bet you will **** yourself when you see how dirty and contaminated your paint really is.

[Ferchu]

Ok guys, thanks for your comments, now I'm on a way..., so claying is crucial, ok, let's go with clay, no more doubts...

#7, I have 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, aren't they the same thing?, for your comments it seems that #7 has some degree of abrasiveness while the 3M stuff has not.

I'm more biased for waxes, but read on many places that sealants (like #21) are better for taking care of the paint, do #21 come in a smaller bottle? (1 gal is a lot). And I think about #21 and then #26, I could be the happier person on earth..

And the last one, can this products be applied with an orbital buffer?, I have no access to a DA (and won't have, there's not such thing in Argentina), and I'm not too confident on using a rotary...

[Murr1525]

I have not used 3M products, but #7 has no abrasives in it. It is a pure polish.

And yeah, #21 is a pretty big bottle at the moment.

Hopefully a South American member can chime in for what machines to use in your area. Dont just start on your new car with a rotary if you are not experienced, you'll only hurt it. Better off by hand for the moment.

[Ferchu]

Yeah, #7 is the same as Imperial Hand Glaze, a pure polish.

The problem with such bottles is shippment, it's WAYYYYY expensive...

There are no many options around here, a rotary, and..., a rotary..., I recently found a place that imports orbital buffers, what do you think of those?, are they usefull?

Also, I can't find the DC swirl remover online, but I see Swirl Remover 2.0 and another with "Swirl Remover" in it's name, are they the same thing?

[matt colvin]

Swirl Remover 2.0 is #9, a very mild cleaner polish.


The other might be #82?? It says "Swirl Free Polish". At any rate, you'll just need to look at the abrasive scale to gauge the different products.

[Zet]

Originally posted by Ferchu
The problem with such bottles is shippment, it's WAYYYYY expensive...

You could try #20 instead, it's much like #21 with more cleaning ability, and is available in a 16 oz bottle. And check out this thread: What are the differences between Meguiar's waxes?

Originally posted by Ferchu
There are no many options around here, a rotary, and..., a rotary..., I recently found a place that imports orbital buffers, what do you think of those?, are they usefull?

An ordinary orbital buffer will be helpful for applying waxes and pure polishes. Just get one with adjustable speed. But most orbital buffers won't be able to remove defects as well as the PC/G100. Although you can get alternatives to the PC, like for instance a Makita BO6040, but it's quite expensive...

Originally posted by Ferchu
Also, I can't find the DC swirl remover online, but I see Swirl Remover 2.0 and another with "Swirl Remover" in it's name, are they the same thing?

I think what TiT meant was that the DC Paint Cleaner (DC1), could also be effective in removing swirls, it's not actually the name of the product.

Btw, have you read this? Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

[Vios]

Originally posted by WaspHunter
Wow I have got to try that... So far I've only been using the Scratch X.

My standard rule of thumb is always start out with the DC Cleaner on the entire car, then use ScratchX on the areas that still need further attention (if any).

The DC Cleaner is much easier to use than ScratchX, removes pulltion contaminents, and is great for light swirls as you can see. It's probably my favorite product of them all - in fact after the DCC phase, my wife always ask me "Why don't you just leave it at that?"