Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

[texasmuser]

Looking to learn how best to get and keep my vehicles (Maroon '97 F150, 100K miles; Silver '05 Lexus, 75K miles; Silver '07 Mercury Milan, 56K miles; Black '07 Kia Spectra, 60K miles) looking good and preserving the paint the best way possible, within a tight budget and time constraints.

All vehicles are never sheltered from this blasted sun and other elements here in North Central Texas.

This is what I've doing:
* wash occassionally with whatever brand of car wash is on sale (for instance, right now I'm finishing up a 100 oz. bottle of Blue Corral Wash and Wax Concentrate);
* clay once - maybe twice - a year;
* this is where it really falls apart: I'm been using Meguiar's Clear Coat Body Scrub, but the bottle's empty. I have a bottle of Mother's California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax which I think worked pretty well (similair to the Body Scrub I believe), but it's just about empty too. I've also been using Meguiars Gold Class Liquid Wax, but that bottle's just about empty too.

So, clearly I need to replenish my stock of stuff . . .

This is what I'm thinking (here's where I need help, I think):
* buy and use Meguiars Deep Crystal Car Wash;
* clay;
* Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner Step 1;
* Gold Class Liquid Wax.

Am I correct that I use the Paint Cleaner AFTER clay (or before)?
Am I missing something/key steps?

Thanks, in advance, for all you help/comments/suggestions!

[dtuna42]

Re: Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

Yes, clay before the liquid cleaner / polish.

I was looking for the "5-step process" that is on here somewhere, but don't remember where it is, so maybe you can search for it, or someone else will chime in soon...

[the other pc]

Re: Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle - Updated!

......

This is what I'm thinking (here's where I need help, I think):
* buy and use Meguiars Deep Crystal Car Wash;
* clay;
* Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner Step 1;
* Gold Class Liquid Wax.

Am I correct that I use the Paint Cleaner AFTER clay (or before)?
Am I missing something/key steps?...

Yes, wash first, then clay, then the cleaner afterward. Chemical cleaners work best when the finish is clear of above-surface contaminants.

Are you missing something? No. That's a good, basic routine. But you can modify it or add to it as needed.

For example, if you find defects that are too severe to remove with the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner you could step up to ScratchX 2.0 or Ultimate compound.



pc.

[wifpd4]

Re: Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

Texasmuser,

That's quite the array of vehicles. If you don't own a dual action buffer, I might suggest getting one. It will give you several options to take care of your vehicles.

Washing is pretty fundamental and there are many good washes available such as Gold Class and Ultimate Wash and Wax.

Clay bars and lubricant are available as a kit. You should clay at least once, perhaps yearly more often if needed.

Now you can use a dual action to help you out quite a bit. You can use a cleaner wax like ColorX and a yellow polishing pad to do a quick clean up and base coat of wax. Then follow that with a wax of your preference.

If however you want to get into paint correction, you should review the videos available here and pick up some Ultimate Compound and some Ultimate Polish and both some yellow and black pads. There is a lot of information here regarding paint correction. View the photos and discussions from the Saturday classes. Realize each of your vehicles are different and will respond differently, so start out with a test spot using the least aggressive method on each vehicle before proceeding.

The five-step process is the way to go.

All of this can be done by hand, but you may enjoy it more working with a dual action.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

You've gotten some good advice from some of our regulars here already but we want to point out one little thing - in your introduction post you said you found our forums while trying to figure out what happened to our Body Scrub, only to find out it was replaced with Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner. Well..........Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner was subsequently discontinued and essentially replaced with Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. DC Paint Cleaner was a very mild, primarily chemical based cleaner. As such it did a great job for what it was, but it really struggled to effectively remove swirls, etchings and other moderate to severe below surface defects. Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish make use of some pretty high tech abrasives found in two of our most popular professional products, but in a more user friendly formulation. Quite often the compound can be used on its own and just followed with your favorite wax, or for maximum gloss and clarity it can be followed with Ultimate Polish prior to waxing.

[juliom2]

Re: Neebie Needs Some Guidance . . .

Meguiar's Ultimate Line is one of the best offerings in the car care market.Cost effective, delivering results.: