keeping shine in between waxing

[sltintexas]

Hi all, new to meguir's online and to detailing cars for that matter as well.

My prior vehicle was a corolla with 200K miles on it, so much hail damage that it was totalled and we bought it back.... in the few years I had it, I never washed it let alone waxed it....it actually looked better dirty

anyway, enought about me....

I polished & waxed my new car with meguirs products and it looks really nice. I am going to try to clean it once a week or so. The kicker is that I will probably take it to a car wash and have them do it. For $4 I can run it through there in a few minutes. They spray it down with soapy water lightly then hand scrub it with some sponges, then it goes through the wash and they spray it lightly to get everything off. then hand dry it.

All that said, I don't know what kind of soap they use so I don't know how long my wax etc will last. I know ideally I would wash it myself, I already have mcguiars soap.... but I'm being realistic, me washing it ever week by hand won't happen in the long run every week. Maybe every other week, but not every week.

Any way I plan on waxing it ever 6 weeks to 2 months or so.

What should I do in between washings to keep it as shiny given my circumstances. Do I need to polish it more often, spray with the QD?

Any suggestions.

[spence82]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

i would save your money on those car washes cause the soap car washes use is very very strong and will strip that wax off that you worked hard on,and i am sure you would get some free swirls to go with that dry.and yes the best way to keep that shine is quick detailer,or ultimate quick detailer which is meguiars best consumer qd,and is 9-10$ a bottle but well worth it.which wax did you use?

[jfelbab]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

If you feel you have to use a commercial car wash look for a Touchless Laser Wash. This won't deliver a wash as good as you can do manually but it won't instill scratches and swirls. The wash you have described will mar your paint.

As an after-thought I'd suggest you try Ultimate Quik Detailer after each wash and for light dust removal. Use lots of UQD and several clean microfiber towels.

[TXShine]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

You would be much better off washing it yourself using good products and processes (you'll find those here) every three or four weeks and waxing every three months than you would going to one of those car washes every week. Just my opinion.


Those time frames are not what I would recommend to someone trying to take care of their car but, what you have told us, I think it would be the better of the two.

[Deaner5]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

I agree with the other posts here and will just add my two cents.

If you know paint is clean and as you like it, I would suggest going the route of waxing every 6-8 weeks and using something with cleaners and polishes in it like an NXT 2.0 so you only have to use one product (since it sounds like you don't want to be taking a lot of time with everything). I would also say skip the car wash and just do it yourself. Even if it is only every other week, I'm not sure I would trust a car wash to be gentle with my finish like I would be.

I take the time to clay, use DC 1 (cleaner), DC 2 (polish) and top with a good wax either NXT 2.0 or Gold Class only once a year and then keep a solid coat of wax on it the rest of the year and that is about every 6-8 weeks. Granted my car is garaged nearly every night and I am very careful about where I park making sure I'm not under trees and such.

Read up on some of the tips and tricks everyone else likes to use and you will eventually find a system that works for you.

And to MOL.

[sltintexas]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

I'll think about doing the washing myself. In Texas it is so hot, it hard to wash it and get it dry before it start spotting. Plus we are on tight water restrictions and aren't supposed to wash our cars with a hose at home... we have to use buckets. A real pain

I used the NXT tech wax 2.0 and the regular QD. I ran out of the QD so I bought some of the ultimate detailer last night. It works well.

Alot of good info on here, thx for y'all help.

I keep tellin' the wife not to look directly at my car without sunglasses

[tguil]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

It sounds like you are not to excited about washing or maintaining your vehicle. Do a Google search for Protect All Quick & Easy Wash. It is a no rinse shampoo that has worked very well for me. It takes about three gallons of water to wash my full size Dodge Ram. Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine is a similar product. I'd not use either product on a really dirty vehicle but either one should be OK for "Texas dust".

Tom

[spence82]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

if you are dreading washing your car get you a good foam gun

[rebelde33]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

I would buy Optimum No Rinse. You don't need much to wash and there are plenty of videos around (mainly youtube) showing the proper steps. You don't need much water either.

[CAShine]

Re: keeping shine in between waxing

Definately wash yourself. This will ensure no unneeded swirls, plus there is more satisfaction in doing it yourself.