Cleaner?

[deathspared]

So I have a 2000 Honda Civic and a 2005 Mazda 3. I currently wash, clay, deep crystal polish, then nxt 2.0 wax. I feel like I am missing a step of cleaning, removing swirls, and scratches. My paint is in pretty good condition, but on the civic I have some swirls & water spots.

I am thinking about possibly forgoing the polish every other time and using some kind of cleaner on the whole car. I would like it to be relatively easy to remove by hand. I have done searching on here and I am not sure which are more for spot treatment vs. the entire car. I already have scratch x, but it seems too difficult for the entire car.

Any recommendations would be very helpful. Thank you!!

-Zack

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Cleaner?

So I have a 2000 Honda Civic and a 2005 Mazda 3. I currently wash, clay, deep crystal polish, then nxt 2.0 wax. I feel like I am missing a step of cleaning, removing swirls, and scratches. My paint is in pretty good condition, but on the civic I have some swirls & water spots.

I am thinking about possibly forgoing the polish every other time and using some kind of cleaner on the whole car. I would like it to be relatively easy to remove by hand. I have done searching on here and I am not sure which are more for spot treatment vs. the entire car. I already have scratch x, but it seems too difficult for the entire car.

Any recommendations would be very helpful. Thank you!!

-Zack

If you're doing all your work by hand, maybe try ColorX which is a one-step cleaner/wax. Cleans, polishes and protects in one step and works really well.


G11816 ColorX

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Cleaner?

Another option would be to use Ultimate Compound over the entire finish and then top with the NXT.

You would want to do a Test Spot before doing the entire car.


TEST SPOT

Doing A Test-Spot

Before going over the entire car, see if you can make just one small section look good, that is apply the product you're planning on using over the entire car to just one small section about a foot squared or so. Work it in and then wipe it off, then apply the polish, work it in but not as much as the compound because now you're not trying to remove paint, just spread the product out, then immediately wipe it off, then apply the wax and let it fully dry and then wipe it off.

Now inspect our results. Make sure you can make one small section look GREAT before going over then entire car. If you can't make one small section look GREAT you won't be able to make the entire car look GREAT.

Make sense?

It should look like this,




And if you're having any problems, the post back here after the test section and we'll help you tweak your technique to insure you get it right.

[xantonin]

Re: Cleaner?

Spot treatment by hand

Whole car if you have a DA.

Personally I wouldn't skip the polish process if you're going to do any paint cleaning, unless it's a cleaner/polish. Or a polish/wax.

[Tuck91]

Re: Cleaner?

I really like Meguiars AIO's such as A12 Cleaner Wax, D151, M06 Cleaner Wax or ColorX.
They save so much time and give such good results.

Even SwirlX is a good Cleaner/polish to use by hand on the entire car.

[deathspared]

Re: Cleaner?

Thanks for the responses, that helps. One thing I am unclear on is the difference between the cleaners like swirlx, ultimate compound, scratchx and the cleaner/waxes like step 1 or color x. I'm confused why I would wax, polish, and then wax again.

Can you differentiate these 2 product categories for me?

[Tuck91]

Re: Cleaner?

Order of aggressiveness, from least to most:

SwirlX
ScratchX 2.0
Ultimate Compound

ColorX is a mild/moderate AIO which cleans polishes and protects in one easy step and after using that its up to you if you want to apply a second coat of wax, whether it be NXT 2.0 , Gold Class, DC3, M26 etc.

since your car is not in that bad shape you could do:

Wash
Clay
ColorX
Wax ( optional since ColorX leaves behind a protective coating)


or:

Wash
Clay
SwirlX
Pure Polish ( M07, DC2, M81)- this is also an optional step
Wax- 2 coats


Or if you want you could do:

Wash
Clay
DC1
DC2
Wax- 2coats


the processes outlined above will work great both by hand and a machine such as the G110.

[Murr1525]

Re: Cleaner?

I think you are a little confused with the Deep Crystal Line of products.

There is a:
Step 1 Paint Cleaner
Step 2 Polish
Step 3 Wax

And then also in a maroon bottle is the Cleaner/Wax.

Products like DC Paint Cleaner, SwirX, ScratchX, UC are dedicated cleaners. And the stonger products are more for swirl/scratch removal.

The all-in-one type products like the Cleaner/Wax and ColorX are time savers, but you lose some of the swirl removal ability.

So, a detail would look like:

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Clean - Using on of the dedicated cleaners, like DC1, SwirlX, etc
4. Polish - Optional - DC2 is a nice polish
5. Wax - Your favorite wax
6. Wax - 2 thin coats are best.

OR:

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. ColorX
4. Wax - Your favorite wax

[deathspared]

Re: Cleaner?

Thanks, that helps a lot. I guess I'll use the colorx when i need a shortcut and use swirlx when i want an extra clean.

[Murr1525]

Re: Cleaner?

ColorX should be milder than SwirlX.

I wouldnt use it by hand to remove swirls....

[deathspared]

Re: Cleaner?

One last question. In your opinion, would it be worth the effort of doing

wash, clay, swirlx, deep polish, nxt

vs.

wash, clay, colorx?

Maybe switch off every other time?

[Murr1525]

Re: Cleaner?

If you want the swirls/scratches gone, or at least improved, then you will have to use a dedicated cleaning product at least once.

So, you could definatley pick up a bottle of SwirlX, and do a test spot on your car to see if it is strong enough to remove what you want. If not, you may have to go to Ultimate Compound.

Then after that, you could go with the ColorX style detail to maintain. If you like the looks, you wouldnt have to use the dedicated cleaning products anymore (at least not Ultimate Compound) unless some sort of swirls/scratches were put back into the paint.