Need Suggestions pls.

[Honda]

Hello All,
I need some help to restore my car to showroom look.
My car is 2 years old, Silver color Honda Accord. When the car was new I used to wash car every other month, then wax it to protect it.

I bought NXT car wash and NXT tech wax and using it for last year or so.

Now it's been 6 months or so, I haven't been able to spend time on car due to new job. It's been over 6 months since the car
been washed and wax.

Just for FYI, I'm in Seattle where it's rain every other day.

For Exterior:
1. NXT GENERATION® CAR WASH
2. Ultimate Compound
3. COLORX®
4. NXT GENERATION TECH WAX® 2.0
5. ULTIMATE QUIK WAX
6. ULTIMATE QUIK DETAILER®

For Interior:
1. NATURAL SHINE VINYL & RUBBER PROTECTANT
2. GOLD CLASS™ LEATHER CLEANER & CONDITIONER

Tires:
1. HOT SHINE™ HIGH GLOSS TIRE GEL

Q. I have #1, #4 & #6 from exterior list. Do I need #2 and #3 from the above list? Car is 2 years old, silver color and always been garaged.

Q. I have been applying NXT tech wax with applicator pad. Do I need to apply Ultimate quik wax immediate after finishing with
NXT tech wax? or I can wait next day or so.

Any other advice will be highly appreciated.

Thanks

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

You will want to clay your car if it's been 6 months. The Quik Wax is really more to maintain your car's finish between full waxes, it's really not necessary to wax first with TechWax and then follow that up with Quick wax.

This should help: Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle - Updated!

[Honda]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

You will want to clay your car if it's been 6 months. The Quik Wax is really more to maintain your car's finish between full waxes, it's really not necessary to wax first with TechWax and then follow that up with Quick wax.

This should help: Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle - Updated!

Thanks ClearlyCoated for the link. It's really helpful.

So are these the right steps?

1. Wash with NXT GENERATION® CAR WASH

2. Clay with Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit and use QD for mist

3. Do I need this? --> COLORX® or Ultimate Compound. How do I check if my car has swiral marks?

4. Polish with Deep Crystal Polish

5. Wax with NXT GENERATION TECH WAX® 2.0

I read on the forum that UQW protech from rain and water just spill off it. I would like to achieve this finish after I Wax with NXT tech wax. Are you saying one month do full wax with NXT tech and next month after full wash, do UQW?---> ULTIMATE QUIK WAX

Thanks again!

[Murr1525]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

I would say there are two separate processes, 1 for a full detail, and 1 for a quick detail:

Full Detail:

1. Wash - Nxt, 2 buckets, good quality towels, sponges, etc
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay Kit, maybe get an extra QD bottle
3. Clean - SwirlX or Ultimate Compound as needed
4. Polish - Deep Crystal Polish
5. Wax - Nxt 2.0
6. Wax - Nxt 2.0 - 2 thin coats are best, see if you can wait at least 15 minutes between coats.

Quick Detail:

1. Wash - as above
2. Clay - as needed
3. ColorX
4. Wax - Nxt 2.0

Then, in the future, after your weekly or bi-weekly wash, you would use UQW (Ultimate Quick Wax) to sort of boost the protection back up.

As far as checking for swirls, you would want to get in good sunlight, or under other bright likes like a parking lot, and look for them. If you have swirls you want to remove, you would need the SwirlX or UC. ColorX is good, but wouldn't be my choice for defect removal, esp by hand.

As for your list, you can kind of compare to what I listed as far as what you need. Here are a couple other products I would say are important if you want to do everything well:

1. All Purpose Cleaner - tires, wheel wells, interior, carpets, seats, and a million other things...
2. Quick Interior Detailer
3. Nxt Glass Cleaner
4. Aluminum Wheel Wash or Multi Piece Wheel Wash - for wheels

And of course some soft brushes, towels, etc... And there are always a million other products to look at...

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

A good starting point is learning how to wash your car to reduce the risk of swirls in the future. Swirls are those concentric, cobweb-like light scratches you see on your car's paint.



So how does those concentric swirls form on your paint to begin with? When you look at it, does the pattern resemble the motion you may be currently using to wash your car?

Please review this video. It's an eye opener. Before I saw it, I would have never guessed that anyone could teach me anything new about how to wash a car. Once you have your paint corrected and polished, the proper way to wash a car will help you to preserve your car's finish for longer periods of time.

How to safely wash your car without inducing swirls or scratches

[Honda]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

I would say there are two separate processes, 1 for a full detail, and 1 for a quick detail:

Full Detail:

1. Wash - Nxt, 2 buckets, good quality towels, sponges, etc
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay Kit, maybe get an extra QD bottle
3. Clean - SwirlX or Ultimate Compound as needed
4. Polish - Deep Crystal Polish
5. Wax - Nxt 2.0
6. Wax - Nxt 2.0 - 2 thin coats are best, see if you can wait at least 15 minutes between coats.

Quick Detail:

1. Wash - as above
2. Clay - as needed
3. ColorX
4. Wax - Nxt 2.0

Then, in the future, after your weekly or bi-weekly wash, you would use UQW (Ultimate Quick Wax) to sort of boost the protection back up.

Thank you, it's really helpful.

For biweekly wash with UQW, Should I do water rinse only or do full wash with NXT soap? After full wash do I need to put another coating of NXT wax followed by UQW?

Another q. regarding Ultimate compound. Car is still kind of new, only 14K miles. Will this be ok to use on pretty new car?

and for Clay kit, can I use Ultimate quick detailer or just QD? I read it somewhere that UQD can't be use with clay kit.

Thanks again!

[searle]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

You may well only need to use SwirlX, especially if your car only has 14K miles. If you really need to go to UC, that would seem to indicate you need to significantly improve your weekly carcare routine (two bucket wash method, with grit guards, and careful "dabbing" dry instead of rubbing).

You can remove minor swirls with SwirlX by hand, but it can take quite a bit of effort if you have many. If you have a DAObital that would be an easier way.

One other thought. If you do have swirls and want to be sure you have removed them, then you might want to step up from SwirlX to ScratchX (or even to UC). SwirlX has some polish (glaze oils) in it, hence it can partly (and temporarily) hide swirls and make them look like they are removed - but they will "re-appear". ScratchX and UC will more clearly show if the swirls are actually removed, but when done you should consider a next step with SwirlX to "finish" the preparation+polish or a pure-polish (glaze oils) step with M07 or DC3 before you apply your sealant (#21 or NXT) or your wax. This "finishing" step is not absolutely required with new cleaners like UC, but if you have a few extra minutes then it really optimizes your preparation result.

In summary: Try SwirlX first in a "test area", and use that to decide if you need to step up to ScratchX or to UC.

[searle]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

For biweekly wash with UQW, Should I do water rinse only or do full wash with NXT soap? After full wash do I need to put another coating of NXT wax followed by UQW?

UQWax is a top-up wax, not a wash. If your car is just dusty, a rinse (or UQDetailer) may be enough and then UQW as a wax top-up. More likely, a light wash with NXT soap may be more appropriate, and then a UQW as a wax top-up. For my Daily-Driver I wash+UQW every 1-2 weeks. I only re-wax every 6-8 weeks (with #26 carnuba) or every 10-12 weeks (with NXT-2.0 sealant).

[Murr1525]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

After two weeks, I would pretty much guarantee that a wash with soap is needed, and then dry, and use the UQW.

[Honda]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

You may well only need to use SwirlX, especially if your car only has 14K miles. If you really need to go to UC, that would seem to indicate you need to significantly improve your weekly carcare routine (two bucket wash method, with grit guards, and careful "dabbing" dry instead of rubbing).


In summary: Try SwirlX first in a "test area", and use that to decide if you need to step up to ScratchX or to UC.

I haven't done any weekly/monthly car-care for last 6 months or so. Not even regular wash.

Looks like I need UC. Is UC like NXT wax? Just apply with foam applicator, let it dry and remove with clean towel.

Thanks again, this is really helpful.

[Murr1525]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

No, not really. The paint cleaners like SwirlX or UC are meant to be worked into the paint with some passion, and then removed right away.

[ziggo99]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

If you do SwirlX, you could do an IPA wipedown to take out any polish or oils that could be filling in the swirls to see how effective the product was.

[searle]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

Why do you say it looks like you need UC? UC is for removing surface defects, not just for cleaning the paint. What specifically is the paint like, and what defects are there that specifically need to be removed. That will determine what product you need, and what technique you need to work to remove those defects (without doing any over-correction). You may need UC, but not just because you have not done regular washes. A car with only 14K miles may, or may not, need significant correction. A good wash+clay followed by a good SwirlX cleaning and NXT waxing may be just the ticket. In fact, some folks have had WONDERFUL results on quite old cars just with a wash+clay and ColorX (a mild cleaner with polish and wax All-In-One).

UC is not a wax, and hence is not supposed to be "just applied" nor is it supposed to be let dry. You need to read the various threads and/or watch the Meguiars videos. Cleaners (like SwirlX, ScratchX, UC) need to be specifically "worked", especially if manually applied. That said, you need to exercise a little care, especially as you move up to more aggressive cleaners (like UC). You also need to work small areas at a time, starting with a test area.

It sounds to me like you are just jumping to the conclusion that you need an aggressive cleaner, and have not taken any time to study how to use one or exactly what needs to be done or how.

This is the right time to take some time and learn about the options and techniques. I say to start slowly and easily, and only move up once you see what the paint surface is actually like and what it really needs (and once you have at least learned a little technique using the milder cleaners).

[Honda]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

Why do you say it looks like you need UC? UC is for removing surface defects, not just for cleaning the paint. What specifically is the paint like, and what defects are there that specifically need to be removed. That will determine what product you need, and what technique you need to work to remove those defects (without doing any over-correction). You may need UC, but not just because you have not done regular washes. A car with only 14K miles may, or may not, need significant correction. A good wash+clay followed by a good SwirlX cleaning and NXT waxing may be just the ticket. In fact, some folks have had WONDERFUL results on quite old cars just with a wash+clay and ColorX (a mild cleaner with polish and wax All-In-One).

UC is not a wax, and hence is not supposed to be "just applied" nor is it supposed to be let dry. You need to read the various threads and/or watch the Meguiars videos. Cleaners (like SwirlX, ScratchX, UC) need to be specifically "worked", especially if manually applied. That said, you need to exercise a little care, especially as you move up to more aggressive cleaners (like UC). You also need to work small areas at a time, starting with a test area.

It sounds to me like you are just jumping to the conclusion that you need an aggressive cleaner, and have not taken any time to study how to use one or exactly what needs to be done or how.

This is the right time to take some time and learn about the options and techniques. I say to start slowly and easily, and only move up once you see what the paint surface is actually like and what it really needs (and once you have at least learned a little technique using the milder cleaners).

Thanks Searle,

You are correct, I have absolutely no idea what I need to do

So what do you suggest. Examine first in what condition the paint is? Should I look for something specifically like scratches, swiral marks etc. I will post some pictures today.

Thanks again for your help!

[searle]

Re: Need Suggestions pls.

...So what do you suggest. Examine first in what condition the paint is? Should I look for something specifically like scratches, swiral marks etc...

Yes. Right now, are there swirls or scratches visible? If so, you would need to consider a defect removal process. If not, then probably just a very good cleaning and waxing. You will also need to be honest with yourself and decide how much work and effort you really want to spend to get increasingly small additional improvements (Daily-Driver versus true ShowCar).

No matter what, you want to first wash and then clay. Then, as Murr1525 previously indicated, you can go for a "Full Detail" with steps for cleaner (SwirlX) then glaze (DC3 or M07) then Synthetic sealant/wax (NXT, 2 coats). Or, as he indicated, you can do a "Quick Detail" using ColorX as All-In-One cleaner+glaze+wax and top with NXT as 2nd coat.
- If after the wash+clay it looks OK (no real defects) then the "Quick Detail" (ColorX +NXT) route is likely "good-enough" (95% of the results with 40% of the effort).
- If after the wash+clay you see minor swirls, then a vigorous hand-applied SwirlX or light DA-applied SwirlX is likely needed, followed by optional glaze and then 2 coats NXT
- If after the wash+clay there are serious swirls or scratches, you need to read the threads about swirl removal, and be much more energetic with the SwirlX (and/or use DAOrbitor to assist and/or (likely) step up to more aggressive cleaners like ScratchX or UC -- or even professional detailer assistance).

With any luck, you will get away with the ColorX or maybe (more likely) the hand-applied SwirlX plus glaze to get your finish back to great shape (then NXT to protect it)

If you are unfortunate and have serious issues (I would bet NOT, with only 14K on the car), then take your time and dont be any more aggressive than necessary (better to under-do correction than to over-do it).

I think there is a huge probability that you will only need the ColorX or SwirlX approach, and will be delighted with the results. LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES.
- after you get your finish back to where you want it, dont forget your regular washes+UQW !!