Need your advice on car care for a new car

[showmetheshine]

I've been a Meguiars user for about 20 years, a DIYer not a professional. I've used several of your products, form professional line (#2, #7, #26 although that was years ago, actually that was my first introduction to Meguiars) and the consumer line (Deep Crystal and Next Generations). I have always obtained outstanding results, when I traded in a 10 year old Explorer a few years ago, the dealership couldn't believe it hadn't recently been painted.

My wife recently bought a new 2006 SAAB 9 3 convertible 20th Anniversary Edition Electric Metallic Blue. Now I find myself debating what's the best line (not manufacturer) of products to use on a new paint job. I do mean new, before I took delivery I had them repaint the hood due to a small nick. When I got it back from the paint shop, it had some slight swirls, so I took it back and they polished it again. Looks good! The paint shop said to wait a week and then put on a coat of carnauba wax (in back and forth strokes, not circular) Reading through several forums it seems many people are getting good results with different combinations. I'm curious what you would recommend for new paint? (BTW: I have and sometimes use a old OB, but I pretty much apply/remove by hand)

I was considering the following:
Nxt Gen Wash
#80 Glaze
#20 Sealant

However I'm a little confused between #7, #80, #81 and I guess even DC2 as a glaze and then #20, #21, #26 or DC3 as a wax/sealant (not sure I got all the acronyms correct).

Lastly, what about the top? What is the best method for caring for a convertible, cause this is all new to me.

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks for a great line of products!

[Top Down]

I always thought new paint takes 30-90 days to cure? Just make sure before adding any waxes on. When applying wax, it doesn't matter what direction you're applying since waxes are non-abrasive and shouldn't scratch the paint.
Circles or straight lines?
#7 is a pure polish and has the most oils in it so it will make your car look the wettest. Because it has so much oils, some people find the technique harder to remove, but there's tons of posts here if you search for them.
#80 is a cleaner polish so it has abrasives in it. Using it with a machine, you be should able to remove defects such as swirls.
#81 is also a pure polish (I haven't used this yet so don't know too much)
DC2 is also a pure polish but is more user friendly and clearcoat friendly than #7.


#20 and #21 are both polymer sealants, but #20 has a small amount of cleaners in them which will allow you to skip the paint cleaning step.
#26 and DC3 are both carbauba waxes. Polymer sealants will generally last longer than carbauba waxes.

For your top, I use 303 Top Cleaner to clean it and 303 FabricGuard to protect it. Raggtopp also makes a great cleaner and protector. For Meguiars, they have a Canvas cleaner and Canvas protectant in the marine line if your top is made of canvas.

[TH0001]

"#20 and #21 are both polymer sealants, but #20 has a small amount of cleaners in them which will allow you to skip the paint cleaning step."

While M20 does have some cleaners in it, I don't know if I would necessarly say you can skip the cleaning process.

Polishes you mentioned where 81, 80, DC2, and 7.. I will give you my experience with them...

-80 may be a polish, but it is really a paint cleaner, IMO. It does leave a beutiful finish on the car when you wipe it off (80 leaves behind a gloss similar to 81 or DC2, IMO). It features mild abbrasives that do a good job of removing mild defects via hand/PC but IMO it really shines on a rotary buffer, where it then has the power to remove mild scratches and deeper swirls. 80 is my the staple of my business.

To get an idea of the cleaning power of machine applied 80 and the finish it leaves, check out my thread...

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14204

-81 is a pure polish, and thus doesn't remove defects, though the oils may help hid some minor swirling. To me, it leaves behind a glossy wet finish that is equal to #80. It is also easy to use... I however do not have alot of experinece using it, though it is easy to apply by machine.

-DC2 is a consumer grade, inexpensive polish that also does not feature abbrasives so it will not remove swirls. IMO, it is similar to 81. The finish is similar to 80 and 81.

-7 is the toughest of the three to use. It must be applied thin and should be buffed off several times after being allowed to skim between coats. However, 7 produces a shine deeper and wetter then the other polishes I have used. It is simply amazing, especially on single stage paints. If there is a product that can make black look blacker, this is it.

Since you said you perfer to apply by hand and are using a clear coat paint, I would recommend DC2 for its ease of use.

Sealents..

20 and 21 are very simliar is apperance and are very easy to apply and remove. As mentioned 20 does mention mild chemical cleaners, which my strip the polish you used on the step before. 21 is my personal choice, though the differences are pretty small. I believe that 21 features the same poylmer techonogly that NXT wax uses, which are different then the poylmer techonogly that 20 uses, though I could be wrong.

NXT Wax is actually a sealent that looks better, IMO, then 21, but doesn't last nearly as long.

Waxes

26 and DC3 are both synthetic-carnuba blends that both very easy to apply and remove. 26 will look marginally better and last much longer then DC3.

Raggtopp makes the best cleaners and protectants for canvas tops, IMO.

[showmetheshine]

Thanks for the responses. I've decided to give the Saab a few more weeks to cure before doing anything other than washing. I'll check out RaggTop and 303. I've been reading several of the forums. Seeing some the pictures has inspired me, you guys have certainly done fantastic work!

I tried the clay bar once before and didn't really like it, but as I recall I probably didn't use enough lubrication. I'll give it another shot, on my Tahoe. Don't think the Saab needs any cleaner at this point. I recently got some overspray from a deck being stained on the Tahoe. I used Meguiars Cleaner/Wax it helped but didn't complete remove it. I didn't have the time to really dig into it, guess its time to put in some elbow grease and

I'm curious about something, I have notice that some people follow #20/#21 with a wax #26, is that necessary? I would assume you need to wait at least 12 hours before doing this, correct?

Also, I saw some posts about waxing the tires? What is this? I use INSANE SHINE, which I love. GREAT STUFF!

Any suggestions on the interior namely Leather. I've used a little bit of everything, can't say I've really been overly pleased with anything. Meguiars Gold Class Leather Polish is about the best I've found. Just curious what the pro's use.

Again thanks for the responses. I've enjoyed reading through these forums. Esp. the one regarding the streaking affects noticed after #21, but I'm still going to try it.

[TH0001]

"I'm curious about something, I have notice that some people follow #20/#21 with a wax #26, is that necessary? I would assume you need to wait at least 12 hours before doing this, correct?"

Nope, it is not necessary at all. Detailing is all about personal preference, which can make it frustrating if your like me (I like soild concrete answers and step by step directions). Try 26 on top of 21, and if you notice a favorable difference, then go for it. I do it sometimes, though I currently perfer NXT paste over 21. I find 26 to be marginally more durable to NXT, and it provides a warmer shine, while NXT provides crazy amounts of "pop" and crystal clear reflexions. You cannot go wrong with either, its just a matter of preferance.

"Also, I saw some posts about waxing the tires? What is this? I use INSANE SHINE, which I love. GREAT STUFF!"

I have never heard about waxing the tires. I have heard about waxing the rims however. The thinking is that since most rims nowadays have a clearcoat that is similar to the clear in your paint, it only makes sense to treat them the same as you would the paint on your car. Polish them up and apply a quality wax/sealent. However, because of the extreme heat that the brakeing system produces, most people apply a sealent such as NXT or 21 to their rims..

As far as leather cleaners, I just use APC dilluted to 10:1, and use the Detailer Line Leather Cleaner and Conditoner. I'm sure there are much better people at anwsering that question.

[showmetheshine]

Here's a few pictures (if I'm doing this correctly) of the 03' tahoe I mentioned that had some overspray in a earlier post. After reading so many threads/posts/etc, I too decided to purchase the G100 (and alot more). While I wasn't 100% successful at getting out all of the overspray, most of the swirls and fine scratches are gone.


My process was:
Nxt Gen Wash
Clay
#83 - 4 passes over the hood, 2 over the rest of the body speed 3.5 - 5)
#80- 2 passes over most of the body (speed 5)
#07 - by hand to hood
#21 - 2 coats to hood, 1 to the rest of the body (speed 3)
Nxt Gen Wax - by hand to hood

All exterior glass - #04 & Meg's Glass Cleaner

Tires - Insane Shine

Interior:
G. C. Leather Cleaner/Condition

Here's some of the before pictures:


You can see some of the overspray just under the bright spot in the clouds:


Some more swirls & overspray:


You can really see the overspray and swirls in these two pictures:


After about 4 pass with #83 w/ 8006 on the hood and 2 passes with #80 w/ 9006. Followed by two coats of #21 and topped with 1 coat of Nxt Generation... this is what we have:









Here you can still see the overspary in the hood... since this was my first time with the G100, I was conservative in aggresiveness. But I did try Body Scrub, Scratch X, and #04(all three by hand), none of which I saw a great deal of improvements...




Here's one of the shot before #09 on the glass, note the small dots of overspray to the right of the light.



and after (Clean!). This was one of the best tips I picked up from the forum.... I've tried several different glass clears and razor blade, nothing got it off, except #09.


I'd like to thank you guys for the advice... I still have some learning/work to do to get the overspray out, but I've got time. Oh speaking of time... Start to finish I'd say about 18 hours.

Any advice on the overspray is welcome.

[showmetheshine]

Correction: to the earlier post... The exterior glass was cleaned with #04 (NOT #09)... sorry about the confussion.

[showmetheshine]

I'll repost the last two thumbnails:

The hood:





Here you can still see the overspary in the hood... since this was my first time with the G100, I was conservative in aggresiveness. I did try (as in a test spot) Body Scrub, Scratch X, and #04(all three by hand), none of which I saw a great deal of improvements...

[Murr1525]

How agressively did you use the clay?

Clay really is the key with overspray... You may need ot make seveal passes, and put some passion into it.

Clay used 'more agressively' like this can leave some minor swirls/marring, so it is likely a pass with #80 or #83 will be needed after.

But it seems like you got the hang of swirl removal at least.

[TH0001]

Looks good, thats alot of paint to learn on Good work...